SCRIPTURE READING:
I
PETER 1:13-22
SCRIPTURE TEXT: 1
PETER 1:18-19 (KJV) Forasmuch as ye know
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by
tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot:
INTRO:
Two hundred thirty
years ago our country fought for and won her freedom.
Since that time
there have been many other conflicts and wars to
maintain our freedom and provide freedom for others.
We must never forget
THE PRICE THAT WAS PAID for our freedom (it was
the blood and life of others).
Some two thousand
years ago, Jesus paid the price to fulfill God’s promise
of freedom from sin.
Just as we
sometimes forget THE PRICE THAT WAS PAID for our
National Freedom, we also forget THE PRICE THAT WAS
PAID for our spiritual freedom
I. THE LOST OF FREEDOM
GENESIS 1:26-27 (KJV)
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man
in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
NOTE:
Man is the high
point of God’s creation.
When man was created he
was created free from sin.
GENESIS 1:31 (KJV)
And God
saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And the evening and the morning were the
sixth day.
With every freedom
comes the responsibility of choice.
We can chose to live
in the freedom we have, or give it up for something
else.
ROMANS 6:20 (KJV)
For
when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from
righteousness.
Adam and Eve chose
to give up the freedom from sin, in order to experience
the knowledge of good and evil.
GENESIS 2:16-17 (KJV)
And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of
the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of
it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.
The spirit of man
dies when it loses its freedom.
The longer man is
separated from God the more oppressive sin becomes.
PROVERBS 5:22-23 (KJV)
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and
he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness
of his folly he shall go astray.
JOHN 8:34 (KJV)
Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin.
ROMANS 6:16 (KJV)
Know
ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of
sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Sin is an evil and
cruel taskmaster and we need to be free from sin’s
control.
ROMANS 6:23a (KJV)
For the wages of sin is death...
HEBREWS 9:27 (KJV)
And
as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment:
ROMANS
7:24 (KJV)
O wretched man
that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?
We are in desperate
need of freedom from sin, but how can we obtain it?
II. THE PROMISE OF
FREEDOM FROM SIN.
NOTE:
When Adam and Eve lost
their freedom from sin, God promised to provide a way
for them to reclaim this freedom.
GENESIS 3:15 (KJV)
And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.
A.
GOD KNOWS
ALL US AND OUR SINS.
NOTE:
Our weakness and fallen
nature is not hidden from God.
PSALMS 103:14 (KJV)
For he
knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
PSALMS 90:8 (KJV)
Thou
hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in
the light of thy countenance.
He is well aware of
our inabilities to redeem ourselves.
PSALMS 130:3 (KJV)
If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand?
B.
GOD LOVES
US IN SPITE OF WHOM AND WHAT WE ARE.
PSALMS
130:4 (KJV)
But there is
forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
JEREMIAH
29:11 (GW)
I know the plans that I
have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for
peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future
filled with hope.
NOTE: God has provided
a way for us to return to the freedom He created us for,
the choice is ours to make.
JEREMIAH
29:12-14 (GW)
Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to
me, and I will hear you. When you look for me, you will
find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, I will let you
find me, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from
captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and
places where I've scattered you, declares the Lord. I
will bring you back from the place where you are being
held captive.
III.
THE PRICE THAT WAS PAID.
1
PETER 1:18-19 (KJV)
Forasmuch as ye know
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by
tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot:
NOTE:
There are
those, sad to say, who think they can obtain Salvation
though efforts of their own.
A.
WE WERE
NOT REDEEMED (BOUGHT BACK) WITH CORRUPTIBLE THINGS:
· Silver
and gold (money)
· Vain
conversation (behavior)
B.
OUR
REDEMPTION WAS PAID BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.
MATTHEW 26:26-28 (GW)
While
they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He
broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said,
“Take this, and eat it. This is my body.” Then he took a
cup and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He gave it to
them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my
blood, the blood of the promise. It is
poured out for many people so that sins are forgiven.
1 JOHN 1:7& 9 (GW)
But if we live in the light in the same way that God
is in the light, we have a relationship with each other.
And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every
sin. God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our
sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything
we've done wrong.
CONCLUSION:
God longs to free us
from the bondage of sin and to fulfill to us the promise
of freedom from sin.
The choice is ours to
make:
·
Freedom to sin and become more and more in its bondage.
·
Freedom from sin and the liberty to live as God intended
us to live.
JULY 9, 2006
“THERE IS SOMEONE
I WOULD LIKE YOU TO MEET”
SCRIPTURE
READING: JOHN 4:1-30
SCRIPTURE TEXT: JOHN
4:28-29 (KJV) The woman then left her
waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to
the men, come, see a man, which told me all things that
ever I did: is not this the Christ?
INTRO:
I enjoy and feel proud
to introduce someone I love and respect to someone who
does not know them.
That’s how we
should feel about Jesus.
We have the glorious
privilege and the awesome responsibility of sharing the
Gospel message with those around us.
The only
qualification we need to share the Gospel is that we
have experienced the Grace of God ourselves.
We may not all be
not called to preach, but we are all called to witness.
ACTS 1:8 (KJV)
But ye
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth.
People often try and
use the excuse, “I’m not trained or qualified to share
the Gospel.”
God does not call
the qualified, He qualifies the called.
I wish to share with
you several different groups of unlikely people that God
used to spread the Good News.
-
A farmer
-
A demoniac
-
An adulteress
-
Ignorant &
unlearned men.
I. AMOS (A herdsman &
farmer)
AMOS 7:14-15 (KJV)
Then
answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet,
neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and
a gatherer of sycomore fruit: and the LORD took me as I
followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go,
prophesy unto my people Israel.
NOTE:
Amos was not a son of a
prophet nor had he attended a prophet school.
He was completely
untrained.
The only
qualification he had was the call of God.
His message was
simple:
-
Sin no matter
what it is, is still sin when compared to God’s
grace.
-
Religious
rituals, that which fail to disturb one’s conscience
or change one’s live, are not pleasing to God.
-
The greatest
peril to men’s souls lies not in poverty but rather
in prosperity.
-
God’s dealing
with man is for their restoration not destruction.
II. A DEMONIAC.
LUKE
8:38-40 (KJV)
Now the man out of whom
the devils were departed besought him that he might be
with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to
thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done
unto thee.” And he went his way, and published
throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had
done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus
was returned, the people gladly received him: for they
were all waiting for him.
NOTE:
Here is probably the
last person anyone of us would consider to carry the
Gospel message.
-
Everyone in the
area knew him and feared him.
-
He lived among
the tombs. (wrong side of the tracks)
-
He was beyond
the hope and help of mankind.
-
He had been
possessed by a legion of demons.
The very best sermon
preached is the changed life that takes place when Jesus
touches a person who has been bound by sin.
People wanted to
know what made the change in his life.
All this man had to
do was to tell the people that knew him what Jesus had
done for him.
III. AN ADULTERESS.
JOHN 4:39-42 (KJV)
And
many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for
the saying of the woman, which testified,
He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans
were come unto him, they besought him that he would
tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And
many more believed because of his own word; and
said unto the woman, “Now we believe, not because of thy
saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that
this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
NOTE:
Here was someone who
had been discarded by society and rejected by the decent
folks of the community.
Her sin was a sin
of morality that was highly condemned even in the
Samaritan community.
JOHN 4:28-29
(KJV) The woman then left her waterpot,
and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
“Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I
did: is not this the Christ?”
This woman did three
things in sharing Jesus.
-
She left her
waterpot (Jesus changed her priorities)
-
She went to the
men
-
She shared how
Jesus knew all about her yet did not reject or
condemned her.
IV. IGNORANT &
UNLEARNED MEN.
ACTS
4:13 (KJV)
Now when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were
unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they
took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
NOTE:
These men were consider
uneducated by those of higher learning.
They had no degree
in theological studies.
Too often we put
more stock in man’s education than in God’s
inspiration.
NOTE:
The two men that had
the greatest influence in both the Old and New
Testaments were men of high education; Moses & Paul.
Education is a tool;
inspiration is the power and the authority of God.
God’s anointing can
overcome the lack of a tool, but the most sophisticated
tool can not replace the anointing.
1
CORINTHIANS 1:26-29 (KJV)
For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are
not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh
should glory in his presence.
CONCLUSION:
We are all called to be
witnesses and none of us can find an excuse why we can’t
share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We are the Bible the
unbelievers read.
JULY 16, 2006
“THE NEED FOR A
SPIRITUAL CHECKUP”
SCRIPTURE READING:
PROVERBS 4:20-27
SCRIPTURE
TEXT: PSALMS 139:23-24 (KJV)
Search me, O God, and
know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if
there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.
INTRO:
It is very important
that we have annual physical checkups.
Early detection of
health problems can save us considerable money and
suffering.
It will almost
always bring changes.
-
We may need to
take certain medicines
-
We may need
surgery
-
We may need to
make changes in our lifestyle
But if we catch it
early enough we will be able to live a long and healthy
life.
Those who fail to
have regularly checkups often find out about health
problems too late.
This is also true
considering our spiritual health.
ILL: What Do You Do
With Sin? (“Nip it in the bud”)
The sooner we detect
sin creeping into our lives the easier it is to get rid
of it.
Knowing what to do
and doing it are two different things.
Solomon knew what
needed to be done but he failed to heed his own advice.
There are several
areas in our lives that we need to pay close attention
to in regards of our spiritual checkups:
-
Our mind
-
Our ears
-
Our heart
-
Our tongue
-
Our eyes
-
Our feet
I. OUR MIND (vs. 20)
PROVERBS 4:20a (NIV)
My
son, pay attention to what I say;
NOTE:
Our thinking process is
vital in our spiritual life.
PROVERBS 23:7a (NASB)
For
as he thinks within himself, so he is.
Thinking that needs
to be changed.
NOTE:
Negative thinking never
considers the power of God.
2
KINGS 7:2 (NLT)
The officer assisting the king said to the man of
God, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the
windows of heaven!" But Elisha replied, "You will see it
happen, but you won't be able to eat any of it!"
PSALMS 66:18 (GW)
If I
had thought about doing anything sinful, the Lord would
not have listened {to me}.
We need our mind
renewed continually.
ROMANS 12:2 (NIV)
Do
not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
II. OUR EARS
PROVERBS 4:20b (NIV)
4:20
listen closely
to my words.
NOTE:
Whose voice we listen
to will make a great difference in our spiritual life?
-
The voice of man
(self-serving)
-
The voice of
Satan (disobedience to God)
-
The voice of God
The voice of God
is best heard in the Scriptures.
ROMANS 10:17 (KJV)
So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God.
III. OUR HEARTS
PROVERBS 4:23 (KJV)
4:23
Keep thy heart with
all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
NOTE:
Our heart is the center
of our emotions, what we love and what we desire.
Our heart and mind
effect more of our physical body than any thing else
this is also true concerning our spiritual body.
MATTHEW 13:22 (NIV)
The
one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is
the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it
unfruitful.
JEREMIAH 17:9-10 (KJV)
17:9
The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the
reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and
according to the fruit of his doings.
We need to check the
desires of our hearts continually.
IV. OUR TONGUE
PROVERBS 4:24 (GW)
Remove dishonesty from your mouth. Put deceptive speech
far away from your lips.
JAMES 3:5-6 (KJV)
3:5
Even so the tongue
is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold,
how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the
tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue
among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and
setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on
fire of hell.
JAMES 3:9-10 (KJV)
Therewith
bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we
men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of
the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My
brethren, these things ought not so to be.
V. OUR EYES
PROVERBS 4:20-21 (KJV)
My
son, attend to my words… Let them not depart from thine
eyes;
PROVERBS 4:25 (KJV)
4:25
Let thine eyes look
right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before
thee.
NOTE:
Where are we looking
for guidance and direction?
It is easy to get
distracted by the glitter of this world.
ILL:
Lot looked to the well
water land of
Jordan.
GENESIS 13:10 (KJV)
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain
of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before
the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the
garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou
comest unto Zoar.
HEBREWS 12:2 (KJV)
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith…
VI. OUR FEET
PROVERBS 4:26-27 (KJV)
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be
established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
remove thy foot from evil.
NOTE:
Our feet are our
foundation. Where we walk and what we stand for will
determine where we spend eternity.
PSALMS
1:1 (KJV)
Blessed is the
man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat
of the scornful.
PSALMS 15:1-2 (KJV)
LORD, who
shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy
holy hill? He that walketh uprightly…
PSALMS
23:1-3 (KJV)
The LORD
is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for his name's sake.
CONCLUSION:
“A spiritual
checkup is the key to spiritual health.”
JULY 30, 2006
“LEARNING
ALL ABOUT HEAVEN BUT NEVER TAKING THE TRIP”
SCRIPTURE
READING: MATTHEW 7:21-27
SCRIPTURE TEXT: JAMES 1:22-24 (NIV)
Do not merely listen to the
word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone
who listens to the word but does not do what it says is
like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after
looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets
what he looks like.
INTRO:
I have wanted to take a
cruise to Alaska as long as I can remember.
There are many
people who say they want to go to Heaven but have never
accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
They are like those
who gather all in information about taking a cruise but
never going on one.
JOHN 3:5 (KJV)
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. “
The Bible tells us
that all of us are born into sin.
ROMANS 5:12 (KJV)
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned:
ROMANS
5:17 (KJV)
For if by one man's
offence death reigned by one…
ROMANS
5:18 (KJV)
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon
all men to condemnation…
ROMANS
5:19 (KJV)
For as by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners…
I. SALVATION IS NOT
DEPENDENT ON OUR GOODNESS.
NOTE:
Too often we seek to
compare our sinfulness or lack there of with others whom
we consider more sinful.
2
CORINTHIANS 10:12 (KJV)
For we dare not make
ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some
that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves
by themselves, and comparing themselves among
themselves, are not wise.
ILL:
Five men facing with
escaping from a forest fire by jumping a 30 foot leap
over a chasm 1,500 feet deep.
-
A very sinful
man (can jump 2 feet)
-
A less sinful
man (can jump 10 feet)
-
A morally good
man but doesn’t go to church (can jump 15 feet)
-
A man who goes
to church but has not accepted Jesus as his Savior
(can jump 20 feet)
-
A man who has
accepted Jesus as his Savior (walks across on the
invisible bridge of the Grace of Jesus Christ)
NOTE:
Eternity in Hell is not
dependent on the amount of sin in our lives but rather
on the fact that we have failed to accept God’s grace.
II. SALVATION IS BASED
ON OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST AND HE ALONE.
NOTE:
God has freely provided
Salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
It is a free gift
the God offers to all who would accept.
There are several
steps in experiencing God’s Salvation.
-
We must
acknowledge ourselves as a sinner.
-
We must
acknowledge that we are unable to save ourselves.
-
We must
acknowledge that Jesus paid the full price on the
cross.
-
We must accept
Him as our Lord and Savior.
ROMANS
2:13 (GW)
People who
merely listen to laws from God don't have God's
approval. Rather, people who do what those laws demand
will have God's approval.
NOTE:
There are those who
want to accept Jesus as Savior, but are unwilling to
accept Him as Lord.
Three things that
we are to do if we are in obedience to God’s Word.
A. WE ARE TO
LOVE.
NOTE:
The Word of God teaches
us that we are to love God more than anything or anyone
else.
MATTHEW 22:36-40 (KJV)
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.
It is how we care
one for another that shows whether or not we are true
Christians.
JOHN 13:35 (KJV)
By this
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another.
NOTE:
We will either LOVE,
HATE, or be INDIFFERENT.
B. WE ARE TO
WORSHIP.
NOTE:
How can we say we love
God and His people if we fail to gather together to
worship, work and share with one another.
HEBREWS 10:24-25 (GW)
We
must also consider how to encourage each other to show
love and to do good things. We should not stop gathering
together with other believers, as some of you are doing.
Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even
more as we see the day of the Lord coming.
LUKE
4:16 (KJV)
And he came to
Nazareth, where he had
been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into
the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to
read.
C. WE ARE TO GIVE.
2
CORINTHIANS 9:6-10 (NLT)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds
will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously
will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own
mind as to how much you should give. Don't give
reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves
the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously
provide all you need. Then you will always have
everything you need and plenty left over to share
with others. As the Scriptures say, "Godly people give
generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be
forgotten." For God is the one who gives seed to the
farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will
give you many opportunities to do good, and he will
produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
NOTE:
How we deal
with the following three items in our relationship with
God; reveals where we place God in our lives.
CONCLUSION:
It is not enough to
know all about Heaven, we must make sure that we will go
there when we die.
