God says to be holy (1 Peter 1:13-16 and other places), but what does that mean? God is Holy, which means that He is flawless. Does that mean we need to be that too? Well, ideally, yes, but God knows that we're fallen and can't (or more precisely, won't) keep His perfect law. We're to fulfill the spirit of the law and be active in the pursuit of holiness. We're to strive to be God's vessel of light and exhibit His qualities in the world. We're not to love the things of this world/worldliness/fleshly things, but we're to use them for Him.
Many current movies are looking at "the end of the world" or something ridiculous like a sudden appearance of zombies. I'm not saying anything about those movies one way or another (that's another post for another day), but I am saying that the people preparing for something like that are confused (and maybe crazy?) about the end. Quoting my pastor, "I don't know when the end of the world is gonna be, but I do know Jesus is coming." Many take the decline of America to be a sign of the end of the world; I take it to be a repeat of history: a great nation is fading.
History buffs have looked for patterns throughout history and found many; one in particular is applicable to this topic. The number one sign that a culture, kingdom, nation, or empire is fading is not the economy, not the president/king/queen/emperor (though that might have something to do with it), but the suppression of Truth (Romans 1:18). If any culture has ever suppressed Truth, this one has. In fact, not only has it suppressed it, it has denied it's existence!
The Spirit of the Age will try in every way to get us, as Christians, to compromise. No matter how hard we try, we will be unable to resist because our own flesh nature is in league against us. The Spirit of the Age is stronger than we are. Why then do we not cave on everything? As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit helping us to conquer our own worst enemy - ourselves. The Spirit of the Age is NOT stronger than the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.
In our pursuit of holiness, we can't just sit around. God doesn't do all the work. The pursuit of holiness is a war! This is the only war that is more peaceful on the front lines than anywhere else. By fighting sin, God gives you peace. God gives you His peace for it's duration, but there will be turmoil at it's conclusion.
Have you ever been sitting around in a room with a window, where the light's shining in? What do you see? Among other things, I see the little fuzzy things floating around in the air. Without that light you couldn't have seen them. That's one of the things the Holy Spirit does. He is like the light that shows us all the fuzzy things, the dirt, the contaminants in our lives. Once He shows you a fuzzy thing, though, DO NOT "Try harder" to fix it; fix it by drawing closer to God (Galatians 5:25).
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sermon Reconstruction - Truth
The world has rejected Truth. Postmodern thinking says that there is no "true truth" or "Truth with a capital 'T.'" Think about that for a second. If there is no absolute truth, then it's not absolutely true that there is no Truth. Is that bonkers or what?! Nevertheless, people believe it.
By saying that there is no Truth, they reject God's Word (John 17:17b "...Thy Word is Truth."). By rejecting God's Word, they reject Christ (John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."). By rejecting Christ, they reject God (John 10:30 "I and the Father are One."). By rejecting God, they become fools (Psalm 14:1a "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'").
No wonder God says in Isaiah 55:8 "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways." God doesn't think like we do. In v. 9, He reveals to us that His thoughts and ways are superior to ours. In v. 10, God tells us that without His Word, there is no life. So if you reject God's Word, you reject life; which means that anyone who hasn't accepted God's Word is dead in their sin, but I have wonderful news: God raises the dead! The dead to sin are not without hope, because if you put your faith in Christ, let go of any claims to righteousness or goodness, and turn your life around to focus it on serving God and bringing Him glory, then your sin will die with Christ on that old rugged Cross, and you will be raised with Him alive and ready for a relationship with your Heavenly Father.
By saying that there is no Truth, they reject God's Word (John 17:17b "...Thy Word is Truth."). By rejecting God's Word, they reject Christ (John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."). By rejecting Christ, they reject God (John 10:30 "I and the Father are One."). By rejecting God, they become fools (Psalm 14:1a "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'").
No wonder God says in Isaiah 55:8 "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways." God doesn't think like we do. In v. 9, He reveals to us that His thoughts and ways are superior to ours. In v. 10, God tells us that without His Word, there is no life. So if you reject God's Word, you reject life; which means that anyone who hasn't accepted God's Word is dead in their sin, but I have wonderful news: God raises the dead! The dead to sin are not without hope, because if you put your faith in Christ, let go of any claims to righteousness or goodness, and turn your life around to focus it on serving God and bringing Him glory, then your sin will die with Christ on that old rugged Cross, and you will be raised with Him alive and ready for a relationship with your Heavenly Father.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Sermon Reconstruction The Holy Spirit - Part 2
The Holy Spirit is in the Old Testament, but it's not very clear who He is. He is referred to as "The Spirit of God" in Genesis 1:2 and other places, but in John 14 Jesus gives us a formal introduction to Him. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be a Comforter and a Helper, one who would come alongside us. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth and that the world cannot receive Him. This is a sad reality in that the culture has not only not received Him, it has rejected any idea of Truth. Because they have rejected Truth, they are bound in darkness by lies, and they don't want or allow the Truth to set them free.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul talks about the Holy Spirit, but before we go into that, let's have a little history lesson (don't cringe, I said "little"). In ancient history, the primary religious thought was that gods dwelt in temples. Both in pagan religions and in Israel, the god of the area dwelt in a temple of some kind. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that the Spirit of God dwells in is as Believers! Talk about rockin' the boat! That's a totally different idea. That DOES NOT MEAN that we are God or part of God, that just means that we are allowing God to be seen through us. In our actions, in our words, in everything, we become more like Him. We have to let Him mold us, transform (Romans 12:2) us into His image bearers.
A parenthetical note: The Bible does NOT tell us all there is to know. It tells us all we NEED to know to live for God. There is more to God than what He tells us, but what we need to know in this life is contained in God's Holy Scripture.
There is an interesting word parallel between Genesis 1:2 and Luke 1:35. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God "hovered" over the face of the waters; in Luke 1:35, the Power of the Highest was to "overshadow" Mary. If you look at the original language, those two words both mean 'to envelope' or 'to cover'.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit:
Baptizes us - If you have been born again, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Indwells us
Marks/Seals us - We're marked by the Holy Spirit as God's. When we come to Christ seeking His salvation and forgiveness, the Holy Spirit marks us as God's. He gives us a treasure -forgiveness, freedom from guilt - that nothing can take from us. (Romans 8:35, 38-39)
Walks with us - Comes alongside us
Convicts - Whether we listen or not
Fills us - We're commanded to be filled with the Spirit, this is something we must to take part in. We have to submit to God's will in order for Him to fill us. We're not to be influenced by anything but the Holy Spirit. Yield to Him in order to be filled with the Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul talks about the Holy Spirit, but before we go into that, let's have a little history lesson (don't cringe, I said "little"). In ancient history, the primary religious thought was that gods dwelt in temples. Both in pagan religions and in Israel, the god of the area dwelt in a temple of some kind. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that the Spirit of God dwells in is as Believers! Talk about rockin' the boat! That's a totally different idea. That DOES NOT MEAN that we are God or part of God, that just means that we are allowing God to be seen through us. In our actions, in our words, in everything, we become more like Him. We have to let Him mold us, transform (Romans 12:2) us into His image bearers.
A parenthetical note: The Bible does NOT tell us all there is to know. It tells us all we NEED to know to live for God. There is more to God than what He tells us, but what we need to know in this life is contained in God's Holy Scripture.
There is an interesting word parallel between Genesis 1:2 and Luke 1:35. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God "hovered" over the face of the waters; in Luke 1:35, the Power of the Highest was to "overshadow" Mary. If you look at the original language, those two words both mean 'to envelope' or 'to cover'.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit:
Baptizes us - If you have been born again, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Indwells us
Marks/Seals us - We're marked by the Holy Spirit as God's. When we come to Christ seeking His salvation and forgiveness, the Holy Spirit marks us as God's. He gives us a treasure -forgiveness, freedom from guilt - that nothing can take from us. (Romans 8:35, 38-39)
Walks with us - Comes alongside us
Convicts - Whether we listen or not
Fills us - We're commanded to be filled with the Spirit, this is something we must to take part in. We have to submit to God's will in order for Him to fill us. We're not to be influenced by anything but the Holy Spirit. Yield to Him in order to be filled with the Spirit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)