SERMON SEEDS H23 FOR 8/23/04
Posted by: jpeters <jpeters@...>
SERMON SEEDS FOR AUGUST 23, 2004
Sermon Outlines this week include four previously shared outlines, plus three new outlines from Luke, Ephesians and Jude.
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Joshua 9
I'M NO FOOL - OR AM I?
Use examples of how people have been fooled.
We like to think that we are not easily fooled, and yet there are times when we can be deceived.
Satan is the master of deceit. Ephesians 6:11, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, John 8:44
Joshua and the Children of Israel had great success conquering the promised land. They were given specific instructions for destroying the inhabitants of the land. Exodus 23:31-33, Deuteronomy 7:2,16.
The residents of Gibeon realized that they would be destroyed,
They decided to use trickery to deceive Israel. Although the Israelites probably didn't consider themselves very gullible, they were deceived for three reasons.
1. THEY JUDGED BY APPEARANCE Vss. 1-13
2. THEY ASSUMED THEY WERE BEING TOLD THE TRUTH Vss. 14-15 - They could have checked out the story first.
3. THEY FAILED TO ASK GOD Vs. 14-15
Note the consequences of the decision.
DISOBEDIENCE Vss. 15-17
CRITICISM Vs. 18
LIVING WITH THE SITUATION Vss. 19-17
PROTECTING THEIR ENEMIES (See Chapter 10
Sermon Seeds A52
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Psalm 63
SOUL TALK
THE SEEKING SOUL - Vss. 1-4
THE SATISFIED SOUL - Vss. 5-7
THE SECURE SOUL - Vss. 8-11
Sermon Seeds C37
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Jeremiah 15:16
BIBLE STUDY
DISCOVER GOD'S WORD - "Thy words were found..."
DIGEST GOD'S WORD - "...and I did eat them;"
DELIGHT IN GOD'S WORD - "...and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:"
DECIDE TO BE GOD'S CHILD - "...for I am called by thy name O Lord God of hosts." (Without deciding to trust Christ as Savior and becoming a Christian, Bible study will be meaningless. See 1 Corinthians 2:14)
Sermon Seeds A 30
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Mark 7:1-13
TRADITIONS
All churches, even those who do not follow a liturgy do some things just about every week in their services. Some of these things include singing the Doxology, taking an offering, greeting each other with a time of hand shaking, and making announcements. These things can be called traditions. There is nothing wrong with tradition, unless they become more important to us than obeying the Word of God. This was the problem the Pharisees had when they talked to Jesus about a violation of one of their traditions.
THE REALITY OF TRADITIONS - Vss. 1-4 - Everyone has traditions. The Pharisees had traditions for ceremonial washing.
THE RESPONSE TO VIOLATORS - Vs. 5 - It's easy to find fault with those who do not follow the same traditions that we follow. The Pharisees found fault with the disciples for not following prescribed tradition.
THE REBUKE OF JESUS - Vss. 6-13 - Jesus points out that the keeping of tradition was important to them than obeying God's Word.
Sermon Seeds B10
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Luke 9:57-63
WILLING?
Many people who say that are willing to follow Jesus really arent. Here are three people who claimed they would follow Jesus but werent as willing as they sounded.
SOME ARE WILLING BUT DISILLUSIONED Vss. 57-58
Evidently this man thought that following Jesus would mean prosperity. Jesus told the disillusioned man that it meant sacrifice.
SOME ARE WILLING BUT DISORIENTED Vss. 60-61
This man would follow Jesus when he thought the time was right, after he buried his father.
Jesus told him that following Jesus meant preaching now.
SOME ARE WILLING BUT DISTRACTED Vss. 62-63
This man was more interested in family and friends than following Jesus.
Jesus told him that the one who began a task and looked back wasnt fit for Gods kingdom.
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Ephesians 4:4-6
NARROWING IT DOWN
We as Christians talk about priorities.
We know that God is important.
We know that we have an obligation to the Lord Jesus because he died for us.
We know that we will answer to God someday.
And yet we conduct our lives as though our obligation to God were the least important thing in our lives.
We have a broad spectrum of responsibilities and interests, but it is time for us to get our priorities straight. It is time to narrow down what we do, eliminating other things, so that we do what is important to God.
Ephesians 4:4-6 - There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; [5] One Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
These verses were actually written to encourage unity within the church. They speak to me about what is important to God, and have challenged me to try narrowing down the details of my life so that I will concentrate on whats important.
The Trinity is very evident in these verses. You will see the emphasis on God the Holy Spirit in verse 4, God the Son in verse 5, and God the Father in verse 6.
THERE IS ONE BODY
That body is the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the church. 1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 12:5
The church which is the body of Christ is made up of every person who has truly placed their faith and trust in Christ as Savior.
You and I are members of one body.
We all have different functions, but we must work together, if the will of our Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus is to be accomplished.
All too often we get independent. We do our own thing without considering what our responsibility is to the church, the Lords body.
We have all been given at least one Spiritual gift to use in service to the Lord and to the rest of the body, the church. If we fail to do what we can do for the body of Christ, the church is handicapped, just as you are handicapped if one of your body members, like the fingers fail to do what they are supposed to.
We get so wrapped up in our little worlds, that we become independent of the church, and the other members of the body. If your eye or another part of the body did that, youd be in big trouble!
1 Corinthians 12:14-21
Being a member of the body of Christ, the church is more than showing up when I feel like it or putting money in the plate. In order for you to do your part within the body, you must accept the fact that your contribution is important and that you are obligated to use whatever gifts and talents God has given you to help and encourage the other members of the body of Christ.
THERE IS ONE BODY
THERE IS ONE SPIRIT
The one Spirit is the Holy Spirit.
The word Spirit is capitalized.
That shows that it refers to one Holy Spirit, God the Holy Spirit.
In a sense of the word, we have many spirits in our lives.
We might have a joyful spirit, or an angry spirit.
We might have a jealous spirit, or a spirit of cooperation.
We might have forgiving spirit, or a bitter spirit.
We might have a spirit of hunting, or a spirit of sports, or a spirit of pleasure, or a spirit of independence, or a Spirit of pride.
All too often, people try to set apart one of these or one of many other spirits as holy or most important in the life.
The Holy Spirit indwells the Christian. Romans 8:9
If there is only one truly holy Spirit, it makes sense that this Spirit should be the only Spirit controlling my life.
When He controls, all my attitudes and my priorities are going to be right. Ephesians 5:9
How do I allow one Spirit to control my life?
1. Confess all known sin.
2. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit.
Luke 11:13 - If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
My friend, when we, as Christians, do not allow Gods Holy Spirit to be the ONE PREVAILING SPIRIT in our lives, we are missing Gods best, not only for ourselves, but for the whole body of Christ.
ONE HOPE
Ephesians. 4:4 - There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
God, through the work of His Holy Spirit, called you to salvation. If you accepted the call, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have one hope.
What is that one hope?
It is the hope of Heaven.
It is the hope of eternal life.
This hope is not a maybe, but a certainty. Revelation 21:1-4, 1 John 3:2-3
We will be like Jesus when we are in His presence.
Because we have this one hope which extends into all eternity, we are to live our lives in pure way.
I am to live my life as a citizen of Heaven, because thats exactly what I am!
ONE HOPE
ONE LORD
We all give lip service to the fact that Jesus is Lord.
And we realize that Jesus, as God, rules in Heaven.
And we realize that Jesus will rule when He returns to earth.
We call Jesus, Lord, but here are some sobering verses.
John 13:13 - Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Matthew 7:21 - 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.
Our biggest problem is saying that Jesus is Lord and not acting like it.
Our trouble is we try to have more than one Lord in our lives. Thats like having more than one boss telling us what to do. Matthew 6:24
ONE FAITH
There is one faith in the sense that there is one body of truth in which to believe. There are the basics of salvation that must be the tenets of their faith.
There is also one faith in the sense of one person in which to place my faith.
There is only one faith that saves and that is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:36
The concept of one faith is important because there are many teaching that there are many ways to Heaven.
A typical comment is that We are all serve the same God. Or Were all going to the same place.
WE DO NOT ALL SERVE THE SAME GOD!
WE ARE NOT ALL GOING TO THE SAME PLACE! John 14:6, 1 John 5:12
ONE BAPTISM
The Holy Spirit has already been mentioned, so the baptism here is not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism speaks of identification.
When a Christian is baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, he or she is identifying himself or herself with the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is only one baptism that is necessary.
That is the baptism that comes after belief in Jesus as Savior.
It is the one baptism that follows the one faith.
The pattern is simple enough.
Matthew 28:19-20 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
First a person is to believe on Christ, becoming a disciple.
Next they are to identify with Christ by being baptized.
Then they are to grow in Christ through learning.
Acts 10:48 - And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
ONE FATHER
Ephesians 4:6 - One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Why should I make sure that I have no idols in my life?
Because there is only one God!
Why should I worship only one God? Because there is only one God!
Why should I bring all my problems to my Heavenly Father? Because He is above all!
Notice the completeness of our God. He is above. He is through. And He is in us!
Such a wonderful, all powerful Heavenly Father is to be worshipped and adored.
IT IS TIME TO NARROW THINGS DOWN!
ONE BODY
ONE SPIRIT
ONE HOPE
ONE LORD
ONE FAITH
ONE BAPTISM
ONE FATHER
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Jude 1:20-25
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
I have entitled this message From Here to Eternity. There was a movie by that name, but the movie had nothing to do with Heaven.
Those of us who are Christians are looking forward to everlasting life or eternity in Heaven.
The trouble is, when we were saved, Jesus just didnt take us there. In fact for some us it will probably take us a long time to get from here to there. In the meantime, how do we, as Christians, go about living, moving ahead until the day the Lord calls us home? How do we get from here to eternity?
The little book of Jude is a pretty fiery book. For most of the book, Jude, a half-brother to Jesus takes on apostasy and tells his readers to earnestly contend for the faith. Alexander MacLaren calls Judes outburst against apostasy thunderings and lightenings. At the end of the book, however, Jude tells his readers what to do with their lives while they are moving from here towards eternity.
Alexander MacLaren - The storm ends in gentle rain and he tells the brethren who are yet faithful how they are to comport themselves in the presence of prevalent corruption, and where is their security and their peace. Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Volume XVII, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1944) p, 97 (This is a reprint.)
We are going let Brother Jude show us how to move From Here to Eternity.
PROGRESSING
Jude 1:20 - But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith,
It wouldnt take long with the right equipment to destroy a house, but ask anyone who builds one, and theyll tell you it takes much longer to build one.
It wouldnt take long to destroy your character or ruin your testimony.
But character building as a Christian is never done. Building and maintaining your testimony are an ongoing process.
A saint no less holy than the Apostle Paul said that he hadnt made it yet in Philippians 3:12-14.
So how do we progress in the Christian life?
building up yourselves on your most holy faith,
What is your most holy faith?
It is the same faith mentioned in Jude 1:3, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
The faith once delivered is found in the Word of God.
In order for you to progress in your Christian walk, to increase in personal faith, and to be sound in your beliefs you need to be daily in the Word of God. Romans 10:17, 2 Peter 3:18,
Being grounded in the Word of God for the day will help you progress in the things of God.
Psalm 119:11, Jeremiah 15:16
PRAYING
Jude 1:20 - But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
We all know that we should pray. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
We all know that God answers prayer. Matthew 7:7-8
But what about praying in the Holy Spirit? What do we know or understand about that?
The power of the Holy Spirit is the secret to effective prayer. Romans 8:26-27, Ephesians 6:18
In order to pray in the Spirit I must be controlled by or filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18,
Galatians 5:16
How do I become filled with the Spirit?
First examine your life for all sin that would grieve or quench the Spirit. Confess that sin to God.
Ephesians 4:32, 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Second, ask God to fill or control you with His Spirit. Luke 11:11-13
When we pray in the power of the Holy Spirit we will worship God properly, for supernatural praise is a result of being filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18-20,
Not only will we worship properly, but we will ask properly. 1 John 5:14-15
And remember, a prayer in the Spirit is a prayer of faith. Mark 11:22-24
We miss so much when we do not pray in the Spirit.
PRESERVING
Jude 1:21 - Keep yourselves in the love of God,
The best way to keep myself in the love of God is to abide in Christ. I abide in Christ as I pray in the Holy Spirit and as I am obedient to Him. John 15:9-10
PURSUING
Jude 1:21 - Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
We are to be actively looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ at his Coming.
· When Jesus comes for His own, He will in His mercy take us out of the World and all its woes.
· When Jesus comes for His own, He will in His mercy take us to Heaven.
· When Jesus comes for His own, He will in His mercy judge and reward us.
· When Jesus comes for His own, He will in His mercy give us new resurrection bodies.
So, how are we to look for the mercy of our Lords coming? 1 John 3:1-3, Titus 2:11-13
Mark 13:35-37
PARTICIPATING
Jude 1:22-23 - And of some have compassion, making a difference: [23] And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
We are not to sit, soak, and sour until Jesus comes.
We have work to do!
There were those who were in danger of going to apostasy.
They needed to be helped. They needed to be reached.
There are some who just need compassion. Perhaps they are on the brink of turning their backs on the Lord.
There are others who have gone farther and they need to be yanked out of the fire.
Fear in this verse means caution. We need to be careful as we help others that we not fall into sins ourselves.
We need to be concerned about those who have gone off into false teaching and those who have not trusted Jesus as their Savior.
PRAISING
Jude 1:24-25 - Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, [25] To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
We have reason to praise God from here to eternity.
It is God who will keep us from falling or stumbling.
It is God who will present us blameless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy.
I dont think any of us can really imagine what joy there will be in Heaven when we are in the presence of His glory.
We praise the only wise God.
We praise our Savior.
He is to receive from us all glory, all majesty, all dominion, and all power.
As we praise Him, we are to submit to Him as absolute sovereign.
From Here to eternity let us be:
PROGRESSING
PRAYING
PRESERVING
PURSUING
PARTICIPATING
PRAISING
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