Review of Past Lessons
· All to be saved2nd Peter 3:9b
“He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – NIV
· Evangelism
Matthew 28:18-20
“18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” – NIV
· Being Spirit Filled
Romans 8:9
“ 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” – NIV
1st Corinthians 6:19-20
“19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” – NIV
· Set Your Mind on Things Above
Colossians 3:2
“2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” – NIV
If you are not following Jesus, then who are you following? Who is doing the leading? If it is yourself you are not living a Spirit Filled life, if it is person you are not living a Spirit Filled life, if it is no one else but God you are not living a Spirit Filled life. If you are not living a Spirit Filled life then you are not Spirit led, and if you are not Spirit led then you do not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9)!
· Put to Death Your Old Nature
Colossians 3:5-7
“5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” – NIV
· Be Holy
1st Peter 1:13-16
“13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.” - NIV
The last message in this series we were talking about how we as Christians need to be in the Word of God. We need to be holy and allow the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. The only way that will happen is if we are willingly getting into the Word of God every single day. The more you study the Word of God, the more it saturates your mind and life. Someone is reported to have asked a concert violinist in New York’s Carnegie Hall how she became so skilled. She said that it was by “planned neglect”. She planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal.
Some less important things in your life could stand some planned neglect so that you might give yourself to studying the Word of God. I know some went home on Sunday after service and didn’t turn on the t.v. and got into the Word of God. Sometimes we waist so much time on things of this world, that we forget what we as Disciples forget what we are supposed to be doing. Now I am not saying that t.v. is bad or anything, I am not saying go home and burn it or toss it out. What I am saying is the more you study the Word of God, the more your mind would be saturated with it. It will be no problem for you to be Christ minded. You won’t be able to stop thinking about Him.
To be Spirit-filled is to live a Christ-conscience life, and there is no shortcut to that. You can’t go and get yourself super-dedicated to live a Christ-conscience life. The only way you can be saturated with the thoughts of Christ is to saturate yourself with the Book that is all about Him. If you are going to be Spirit filled and Spirit led, you have to be Spirit fed.
Sanctification
In this journey that we are on God calls us to be holy and not only holy but sanctified. We have always heard the term sanctification or the quote “I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost”, but what is sanctification? Sanctification is the ongoing development of holiness in the life of a Christian. Paul gives an idea in his letter to the church in Thessalonica:1st Thessalonians 4:1-5
“1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;” - NIV
Paul came into Thessalonica in Acts 17 and we read in verses 1-10 about how brief his stay was there. He had come in and preached Jesus and of course wherever you go and you start to preach Jesus there is almost always going to be some kind of opposition. He went in and ministered there and in verse 4 we see that people got saved and received the message of the Gospel. But something went awry as in verse 5 some Jews were envious of them and the Word says that, “they took some evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.” By verse 10 Paul and Silas had to flee from the city and they ended up in Berea. Now Paul had gone in and made Disciples, and now these recent converts from paganism were thus left with little external support in the midst of persecution. Paul’s purpose in writing this letter was to encourage the new converts in their trials, to give instruction concerning godly living. He listed out some things that they need to stay away from – sexual immorality, lust, taking advantage of people, and so on. Basically he was saying to them in the midst of all the sin that is taking place, all the evil that is there, to separate yourselves unto God.
The word “sanctification” here in the Greek means holiness. We have been talking about living a holy lifestyle that is pleasing to God. We are to be holy as God is holy. We should be renewing our minds daily and pleasing God rather than ourselves. It is a process. There are those who say they are Christians, but they have not changed anything about themselves. They are still the same as when they didn’t even have relationship with God.
Romans 6:1-2; 6-7; 12-14
“1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him?” – NLT
“6 Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” –NLT
“12 Do not let sin control the way you live;* do not give in to its lustful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God’s grace.” –NLT
Listen, it is a daily process of being sanctified. Everyday we must choose to separate ourselves from the world. How does this happen?
John 17:17
“17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” – KJ
They say that being a Christian is a hard thing to do...I agree. It is tough sometimes to stand against majority for God, but sometimes I think just reading about what we are supposed to do is even harder for some. How can we pick up our cross daily if we can’t even pick up the Word of God daily?
It is submitting our lives to God and allow Him to take complete control over every thought, action, reaction. Everything about me, all that I am, all that I ever will be should be based on the Word of God. This is not just a Sunday and Wednesday deal. It is a lifestyle that God has called us to live.
When you live your life for God, the way He wants you too, it is easy to find out what God’s will is for your life.
Message from Pastor James:
I pray that these messages that I have posted helps you with your walk with God. I will continue to post my messages as I am able to. I would like some comments or feedback either on here or you can email me at pastorjames@gmx.com. God Bless you all and may the Lord direct all your paths!
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