Pastor's Sermon
Outlines
JANUARY 1, 2006
“LOOKING BOTH WAYS”
SCRIPTURE READING: ISAIAH 30:18-26
SCRIPTURE TEXT: ISAIAH 51:1 Hearken to me, ye
that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord:
look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the
hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
PHILIPPIANS 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before,
INTRO: New Years is a time for refection and
vision.
It is by looking to the past and from where we have
come and what we have come through, that will help us
shape our vision for the future.
As individuals and as a Church we must have a vision
for the future.
There are many people who are wandering through life
without a vision.
If we seek a vision of our future without considering
our past our vision will be flawed.
It is by looking to the past that we are able to
develop a vision for the future that will bring glory to
God.
I. LOOKING TO THE PAST.
ISAIAH 51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow
after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto
the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of
the pit whence ye are digged.
NOTE: There are several ways we can look to our
past that will affect our vision for the future.
-
By
dwelling on the negative things of the past we will
most likely develop a negative vision for the
future.
-
By
dwelling on the positive things of the past we will
most likely develop an unrealistic vision for the
future.
-
We
must look at both the positive and negative things
of the past to gain a proper vision for the future.
A. LOOKING TO THE NEGATIVE THINGS OF THE PAST.
NOTE: When we look at the negative things of the
past we can gain strength and trust to see a vision of
the future.
We all face negative time in our lives.
There are two ways of looking at the negative things
of the past.
Those who dwell on the negative things of the past
will never be able to have a positive vision of the
future.
They fail to allow God into their future because they
feel He has failed them during the negative things of
the past.
It is often during these negative times of life that
we grow closer to God and learn to rely on Him more.
ILL: Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the
desert so he could lean how to lead the Children of
Israel through the desert.
B. LOOKING TO THE POSITIVE THINGS OF THE PAST.
NOTE: By looking to the positive things of the
past we can gain encouragement and faith to develop a
vision for the future.
By failing to consider the negative things of the
past, we will not be prepared to handle the negative
things of the future.
We learn more through failure than we do through
success.
II. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE.
NOTE: There is a great danger in seeking to
live in the past and failing to look towards the
future.
ILL: “Please Don’t Live In Yesterday” by Bob
Perks.
NOTE: There is one thing that a Christian has
that the world does not in regards to developing a
vision for the future, and that is the promises of God.
ISAIAH
30:18-26
A. WE MUST TRUST IN GOD’S TIMING.
One of the most difficult things we must lean
to do is to wait on God’s timing.
ISAIAH 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait,
that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he
be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the
Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that
wait for him.
Those who had to wait for God’s timing:
-
Abraham
-
Joseph
-
Moses
-
David
B. GOD WILL HEAR OUR PRAYERS.
ISAIAH 30:19 For the people shall dwell in
Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be
very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he
shall hear it, he will answer thee.
1 JOHN 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that
we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to
his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
that we desired of him.
C.
WE WILL BE FACED WITH DAYS OF DIFFICULTIES.
ISAIAH 30:20 And though the Lord give you
the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet
shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any
more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
NOTE:
Whenever we face times
of difficulties and adversities we can either allow them
to draw us closer to God or we can let them drive us
away from Him, the choice is ours.
ROMANS 8:28
And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.
D. GOD WILL GUIDE
US IF WE WILL LISTEN.
ISAIAH 30:21
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,
This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the
right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
NOTE: There are many voices in this world that is
clambering for our attention and one of the loudest is
our own desire.
E. WE MUST GET RID OF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS OUR
WALK WITH GOD.
ISAIAH 30:22 Ye shall defile also the
covering of thy graven images of silver, and the
ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast
them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it,
Get thee hence.
F. GOD HAS PROMISED TO BLESS US.
NOTE: God longs to bless His people and will
bless His people if only we will obey and trust Him.
ISAIAH 30:23-26 Then shall he give the rain
of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and
bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat
and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in
large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young asses
that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which
hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon
every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day
of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover
the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun,
and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the
light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up
the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of
their wound.
JEREMIAH 29:10-13 This is what the
Lord says:
When Babylon's 70 years are over, I will come to you. I
will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this
place. 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. 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.
CONCLUSION: The blessings of God depend upon our
relationship with God.
We will received God’s blessings, He is more
concerned with spiritual than physical, when we put Him
first in our lives and everything and everyone else
behind Him.
THIS IS A THREE PART SERMON
PREACHED ON JANUARY 8, 15 & 22, 2006
“CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR part 1 & 2”
SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 19:16-22
SCRIPTURE READING: JOEL 3:14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley
of decision.
INTRO: How often have we had opportunities
almost in our grasp only to miss it?
Once in a lifetime opportunities we had lost because
of the decisions we made or by failing to make a
decision.
If only we had made a different decision
things would have been a lot different.
ILL: The ride in a Steam Locomotive when 5.
There are four different examples in the Bible, that
we will consider, that shows to us how we can come close
to receiving God’s fullness in our lives but miss it
because of the choices we make.
This is a two part sermon and this morning I want to
consider two who were believers who came so close to
receiving God’s best but didn’t.
I. THE RICH YOUNG RULER (unwilling to be fully
committed)
MATTHEW 19:16-22
NOTE: This man was a religious man. (Vs.
17-20)
MATTHEW 19:21-22 Jesus said unto him, If thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to
the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come and follow me. But when the young man heard that
saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great
possessions.
Each one of us will come to different times in our
live when God will give us the choice of choosing Him or
choosing something or someone else.
There are many who want to be a Christian but are
unwilling to surrender to God everything in their lives.
God wants to bless us, but to be fully blessed by
God we must be willing to be fully committed to God.
MARK 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him,
and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way,
sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up
the cross, and follow me.
NOTE: We often limit this story to be about
money.
If God does not control our finances He does not
control us.
If we fail to bring our tithe to God, if we fail to
support the work of God, then we don’t love God as much
as we think we do.
MATTHEW 22:37-40 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 neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
But there is more to this story than money.
There are many legitimate things that we can allow to
come between us and our relationship with God.
MATTHEW 19:23-26
The more we keep from God, the less control God has
in our lives.
A. FAMILY
MATTHEW 10:34-39 Think not that I am come to
send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a
sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against
his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the
daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's
foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and
he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and
followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that
findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his
life for my sake shall find it.
When family members become more important to us than
our relationship with God they will begin to turn our
hearts away from God.
ILL: Abraham sacrifice of Isaac.
GENESIS 22:15-18 And the angel of the Lord
called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and
said, “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for
because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld
thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless
thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the
stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the
sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
PART 2 – JANUARY 15, 2006
II. DEMAS (Chose the things of this world over
the things of God)
2 TIMOTHY 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me,
having loved this present world, and is departed unto
Thessalonica…
NOTE: There have been many Christians who have
started their walk with God only to be distracted by the
things of this world.
Moses had a very difficult time with the Children of
Israel wanting to return to Egypt for the leaks and
garlic.
MARK 4:18-19 And these are they which are
sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares
of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the
lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and
it becometh unfruitful.
NOTE: The world has many things to offer that in
themselves are not sinful until they come between God
and us.
C. S. Lewis said, “God has created all pleasure,
Satan seeks to cause us to seek the legitimate pleasure
in an ill-legitimate way.
1 JOHN 2:15-16 Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world.
When we begin to seek to satisfy the hunger of our
soul (emotions, that what makes us feel good inside) and
our physical needs (that which makes us feel good
outside) above our relationship with God, we will begin
to draw away from Him.
A. POSSESSIONS
MATTHEW 6:19-21, 33 Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also… But seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you.
NOTE: There is nothing wrong with acquiring
things, but when acquiring things become more important
than acquiring God’s approval, or seeking to fulfill
God’s will for our life, it is wrong.
MATTHEW 19:28-30 And Jesus said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me,
in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the
throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every
one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and
shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first
shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Those who will be satisfied with just a cabin in
Heaven are those who want Jesus as their Savior but not
as their Lord.
ILL: The rich woman who house in Heaven was a
shack.
2 TIMOTHY 2:20-21 But in a great house there
are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of
wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to
dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these,
he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet
for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
B. ACTIVITIES
NOTE: There are many activities that Christians
can become involved with that in themselves are not sin
but when we allow them to come between our relationship
and responsibilities to God they become sin.
ILL: King Saul
1 SAMUEL 13:11-12 And Samuel said, What hast
thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people
were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within
the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered
themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, The
Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I
have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced
myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
God called Saul to be king but when Saul thought that
he was losing his kingship; he allowed his kingship to
come between him and God.
C. POSITION IN LIFE
NOTE: God allows us to achieve an important
position to fulfill His purpose but if we are not
careful we can let that position come between us and the
will of God.
1 SAMUEL 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast
little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head
of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king
over Israel?
CONCLUSION: We will be faced through out our
Christian life with choices that will either draw us
closer to God and will cause us to drift away from Him.
JOSHUA 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to
serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve;
whether the gods which your fathers served that were on
the other side of the flood, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.
1 KINGS 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the
people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions?
if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And the people answered him not a word.
JANUARY 22, 2006
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR part III
SCRIPTURE
READING: ACTS 24:22-27
SCRIPTURE TEXT: ACTS 24:25 And as he reasoned
of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come Felix
trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I
have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
ACTS 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost
thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
INTRO: Have you ever had a chance to make a
decision one way and instead made it a different way and
latter regretted it?
The decision we must make about our relationship with
Jesus will follow us throughout eternity.
MATTHEW 27:22 Pilate saith unto them, What
shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
There have been many people who have come close to
accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, only to turn
away at the last moment.
There are two major reasons why this happens:
ILL: The people during Noah’s days.
GENESIS 6:3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall
not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh…
There will come a day when God will say, “It is
enough”.
GENESIS 7:16 A male and a female of every
animal went in as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord
closed the door behind them.
ILL: When I heard the voice of God. “Lloyd you
either come now or I will never bother you again.”
Too often we only view God as a loving forgiving
benefactor and fail to see Him as a Holy and Righteous
Judge.
HEBREWS 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment:
I.
PROCRASTINATION
ACTS 24:25 And as he reasoned of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come Felix
trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I
have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
ILL: Procrastination is one of the devil’s
favorite tools.
It is said that Satan once called to him the
emissaries of hell and said he wanted to send one of
them to earth to aid women and men in the ruination of
their souls. He asked which one would want to go. One
creature came forward and said, "I will go." Satan said,
"If I send you, what will you tell the children of men?"
He said, "I will tell the children of men that there is
no heaven." Satan said, "They will not believe you, for
there is a bit of heaven in every human heart. In the
end everyone knows that right and good must have the
victory. You may not go."
Then another came forward, darker and fouler than the
first. Satan said, "If I send you, what will you tell
the children of men?" He said, "I will tell them there
is no hell." Satan looked at him and said, "Oh, no; they
will not believe you, for in every human heart there's a
thing called conscience, an inner voice which testifies
to the truth that not only will good be triumphant, but
that evil will be defeated. You may not go."
Then one last creature came forward, this one from
the darkest place of all. Satan said to him, "And if I
send you, what will you say to women and men to aid them
in the destruction of their souls?" He said, "I will
tell them there is no hurry." Satan said, "Go!"
Bruce Thielemann, "Tide Riding," Preaching Today No. 30
Most of us have lost opportunities because of
procrastination.
There are many dangers in putting off our decision
about Jesus.
·
We may pass away before we can make the
right choice
·
When the right time come we find that we
are no longer interested
·
When we think we are ready God does not
draw us.
JOHN 6:44 No man can come to me, except the
Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him
up at the last day.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:2 God says, "At the right
time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped
you." Listen, now is God's acceptable time! Now is the
day of salvation!
JEREMIAH 8:20 The harvest is past, the summer
is ended, and we are not saved.
II. AN
UNWILLINGNESS TO COMMIT TO FULLY BELIEVE
ACTS 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul,
“Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
NOTE: Throughout our Christian walk we are faced
with decisions of whether or not to believe God’s
direction or provision
ILL: The Children of Israel’s journey in the
wilderness and finally at the edge of Canaan Land.
There comes a time when everyone who is being drawn
to God must let go of self and reason and commit to
fully trust in God’s grace.
The devil seeks to get us to reason out our condition
(sin) and how we can be saved.
-
He
will seek to convince us that we haven’t sinned and
we don’t need to be saved.
-
He
will seek to convince us that we have sinned too
greatly and can’t be saved.
-
He
will seek to convince us that we can save ourselves
by good works or some other way.
-
He
will do anything to keep us from coming to the cross
and accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior.
It is not enough to say we believe we must take
action with our belief.
JAMES 2:19-20 (NLT) Do you still think
it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well,
even the demons believe this, and they tremble in
terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that
does not result in good deeds is useless?
There are those who believe that Jesus is the Son
of God, they even believe that He died on cross and rose
from the grave, but they are unwilling to fully commit
and put their trust in Him.
MATTHEW 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
CONCLUSION: If through procrastination or lack
of faith we lose our wealth or even our health, it is
one thing, but to lose out on salvation is quite
another.
If we put off our decision for Jesus Christ as
our Savior or refuse to believe enough to put our trust
in Him we are taking the greatest risk. Who knows what
tomorrow may bring.
JANUARY 29, 2006
“WALKING IN THE LIGHT”
SCRIPTURE READING: I JOHN 1:3 – 2:2
SCRIPTURE TEXT: 1 JOHN 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
INTRO: One of the greatest hindrances to
successful growth, either personally or collectively as
in a church, is the lack of unity.
God has designed us to live in perfect harmony
with Him and with each other, but Satan has sought to
destroy this through sin.
ISAIAH 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy,
that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his
face from you, that he will not hear.
We have been created as triune, body, soul and
spirit.
·
Body, our physical nature
·
Soul, our intellect and emotional
nature
·
Spirit, our spiritual nature
It is our physical part of our being that
allows us to do whatever activity we are involved in.
It is our soul, our intellect and emotional nature,
which controls the physical nature.
It is our spirit, our spiritual nature, which
controls our soul nature which in turns controls our
physical nature.
God wants us to be in total unity but this cannot
happen until our spiritual nature comes under His
complete control.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:23 And the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we allow our spiritual nature, to come under
the control of anyone or anything other than God, we are
unable to live in perfect unity, either personally, in
our daily lives, or collectively as a church.
There are four steps we must be willing to take if we
truly want to walk in harmony with God and with each
other.
-
We
must walk in the light of God’s Word.
-
We
must acknowledge ourselves as sinners.
-
We
must repent of our sins and accept God’s Grace.
-
We
must seek to live a life free from sin.
I. WE MUST WALK IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD.
PSALM 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.
NOTE: The secret of living in unity with brethren
is found in walking in the light with Jesus Christ.
1 JOHN 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from
all sin.
There are two areas of Jesus’ walk in the light that
we as His followers must seek to emulate:
-
He
sought always to please His Father.
JOHN 5:30b … because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
JOHN 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to
do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
We cannot please God and knowing go against
His Word.
AMOS 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be
agreed?
It is through the Word of God that we can know what
God’s will is and what is against God’s will.
Disunity comes when we seek to walk in our own will
instead of God’s will.
-
He
sought always to server others.
MATTHEW 20:28 (NLT) For even I, the Son of
Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and
to give my life as a ransom for many."
PHILIPPIANS 2:3-8 (NLT) Don't be selfish;
don't live to make a good impression on others. Be
humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.
Don't think only about your own affairs, but be
interested in others, too, and what they are doing.
Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his
rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the
humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.
[8] And in human form he obediently humbled himself even
further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.
NOTE: To walk in the light as Jesus walked in the
light, we must seek to be servants instead of masters.
LUKE 22:24-26 (NLT) And they began to argue
among themselves as to who would be the greatest in the
coming Kingdom. Jesus told them, "In this world the
kings and great men order their people around, and yet
they are called 'friends of the people.' But among you,
those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank,
and the leader should be like a servant.
JOHN 13:12-17 (NLT) After washing their feet,
he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you
understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and
'Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. And
since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you
an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. How
true it is that a servant is not greater than the
master. Nor are messengers more important than the one
who sends them. You know these things—now do them! That
is the path of blessing.
II. WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE OURSELVES AS SINNERS.
1 JOHN 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 JOHN 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
NOTE: If we are not honest with ourselves about
ourselves we can not be in unity with God or with
others.
God classifies sin in two ways:
MATTHEW 12:31-32 (NLT) "Every sin or blasphemy
can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit, which can never be forgiven. Anyone who
blasphemes against me, the Son of Man, can be forgiven,
but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be
forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
We as humans, seek to classify sins by the ones we
hate in others and the ones we tolerate in ourselves.
God classifies sinner in two ways:
LUKE 12:47-48 (NLT) The servant will be
severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he
refused to do it. "But people who are not aware that
they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much
is required from those to whom much is given, and much
more is required from those to whom much more is given.
ILL: A prostitute’s sin and a preacher’s sin.
For us to walk together in harmony we must all
realize that we are all in the same boat, sinners in
need of God’s Grace.
III. WE MUST REPENT OF OUR SINS AND ACCEPT GOD’S
GRACE.
1 JOHN 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.
NOTE: To know we are sinners in not enough, we
must repent of our sins and accept God’s Grace.
IV. WE MUST SEEK TO LIVE A LIFE FREE FROM SIN.
1 JOHN 2:1-2 (NIV) My dear children, I write
this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody
does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world.
NOTE: Just because we have become Christians does
not mean we no longer struggle with sin.
We must seek to live a life free from sin
through, prayer and fasting, reading God’s Word, and
joining others in worship.
We ought not to sin but when we do we must repent
and seek God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of those
we may have sinned against.
CONCLUSION: Let us seek to walk in unity with
each other by walking in unity with Jesus Christ.
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