SERMON SEEDS H3 FOR MARCH 22, 2004
Posted by: jpeters <jpeters@...>
SERMON SEEDS FOR MARCH 22, 2004
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REAL MEN ARE STEADY
REAL MEN #6 ELISHA
This is a complete lesson.
Some things stick with you. Over 20 years ago I was telling Bob Smith, a man paralyzed from his waist down, that I was going to do a series on Elisha the Prophet. Bobs reply was right on when he said He was steady!
~ What does it mean to be steady?
~ Who is the steadiest Christian you know?
~ What Scriptures do you know that tell us we should be steady as Christians?
Throughout his life Elisha proved himself to be a steady prophet, or a steady man of God. A real man of God will follow Elishas example. Here are some ways that Elisha showed himself to be steady.
STEADY TRAINING 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
Ø God chose Elisha to be Elijahs successor. Vss. 15-16
Ø After Elijah called Elisha, what did Elisha do?
Ø How did Elisha learn to be a prophet?
Ø What responsibility does the local church have in training future leaders? How should we go about training future leaders? Ephesians 4:11-12, 2 Timothy 2:1-2,
Ø Do we ever push people into leadership when they are not ready? Why?
STEADY TRANSITION 2 Kings 2
V Everyone knew that Elijah would be leaving. Vss. 1-8
V What did Elisha know about the future that would be a concern to Him?
V Why did Elisha refuse to leave Elijah alone? Vs. 9
V Was Elishas request selfish? Vs. 9
V Why was Elishas request a hard thing? Vs. 10
V What are some hard things that men of God should be requesting of God?
V Why do you think Elisha tore his garments when Elijah was taken to Heaven? Vss. 11-12
V What was the significance of the parting of the waters by Elisha? Vss. 13-15
V How do we know when someone is ready teach, preach or lead?
STEADY TESTIMONY 2 Kings 4
& Why is a mans testimony important?
& Read verses 1-7.
& How did this instance affect Elishas testimony?
& What lessons are here for those who will be leaders?
& Read verses 8-10.
& What was Elishas testimony to this woman that
prompted her to do what she did?
& How should we treat Godly leaders today?
1 Timothy 5:17-18
& The lady had no child but Elisha promised her a son and
a son was born. Vss. 11-17
& The son became sick and died. It was his response of
concern and prayer that saved the child. Vss. 32-37
& Why is it important that men of God be compassionate?
& Why is it important that men of God be men of prayer?
STEADY TRANSMISSION 2 Kings 5
ü Naaman was a mighty Syrian general who had leprosy. Vs. 1
ü His wifes maid, an Israelite, told her about Elisha.
Vss. 2-3
ü When the Syrian king was approached, he sent Naaman to the king of Israel. Vss. 4-7
ü Elisha was not afraid to speak up, to speak for the Lord and to take on the hard jobs. Vs. 8
ü Why is it that men sometimes shrink away from certain jobs for the Lord?
ü How do we know when its time to attempt something for the Lord that seems difficult at best, and impossible at the worst?
ü How was Elishas procedure and proclamation bold and risky? Vss. 10-12
ü How was Elisha vindicated? Vss. 13-19
ü In what ways does God vindicate His servants today?
STEADY TRUST 2 Kings 6:8-23
P With Gods help, Elisha was warning the King of Israel about the ambushes of the Syrians. Vss. 8-10
P The King of Syria sent to capture Elisha, when he discovered what Elisha was doing. Vss. 11-14
P Why did Elishas servant panic? Vss. 15
P Why did Elisha fail to panic? Vss. 16-17
P What does Elisha teach us about trust?
P What verses do you know that remind us to trust God in the midst of troubles?
STEADY TERMINATION 2 Kings 13:14-21
6 When should a leader retire?
6 When did Elisha retire? Vss. 13-21
6 What does Elisha teach us about faithfulness?
6 Elijah and Elisha both finished well.
6 What does The Apostle Paul teach us in Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
6 What does he teach us in 2 Timothy 4:7-8?
2 Timothy 4:7-8 - I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: [8] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
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Psalm 121
KEPT BY GOD (2)
Psalm 121 is a Psalm that tells those who are born again Christians, that they are Kept By God!
In this Psalm we discover four things about Gods keeping.
GODS KEEPING IS A CHOICE Vss. 1-2
This morning you are trusting someone or something to keep you and to give you a sense of worth.
The choice is yours. There are many bad things to trust and only one good one.
Psalm 121:1 - I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
It is possible that this is the song of a traveler who is approaching the great city of Jerusalem which was surrounded by hills.
He is actually asking a question here. I see the hills, but is this where my help is coming from?
· Hills are strong things. They offer protection. They offer security.
· Hills are high things. They were often places of worship often of idols, false gods.
· Hills are fallible things. The hills dont always protect us the way we want them to. The hills are often not sufficient to meet our needs.
We all have hills that we look to.
In spite of hills, Jerusalem was often defeated. Hills are not the ultimate source of help.
What are some of the hills that people look to today?
· There is the hill of my own ability and my own self effort.
I can make it on my own. I will be comforted by my own
ability to control things.
· There is the hill of friendship - I will depend on my friends to comfort, keep, and help me
· There are the hills of religion including the hill of law keeping.
If Im religious, attending church, being baptized, taking communion, doing religious things, then I am kept securely.
· There is the hill of morality.
If I live a good, clean, moral life, that will help through my problems and make me acceptable to God.
· There is the hill of good works.
So I know Im not perfect, but if I just do lots of good things for people, I will be kept and secure.
· There is the hill of being born into the right family.
If I have been born into and/or baptized into a Christian family, then I am kept by God and secure.
· There are the hills of hobbies and sports.
I have lots of toys and play lots of games. Ill just trust these for comfort and diversion when things are bad.
· There is the hill of popularity.
As long as I am loved and accepted by others, Im okay.
Are these hills where my help is coming from?
· The hill of friendship friends often fail us, disappoint us, and even die.
The hill of religion there are many false religions out there, and just being religious never got anyone into Heaven. Proverbs 14:12, Ezekiel 18:4
· The hill of my own ability and self effort I am human. I am fallible. I am a sinner. I have failed God. Isaiah 64:6
· The hill of morality Every person has broken the 10 commandments.
One example - Matthew 5:21-22 - Every one of us has gotten angry without cause. Therefore we have all broken Gods commandments.
· The hill of family They will fail me too. And just being born into a Christian family doesnt make me a Christian any more than being born in a garage would make me a car.
· The hills of hobbies and sports At the end of life, what will they be worth?
· The hill of popularity It is temporary, and fallible.
If these things are my hills, I dont have much help. 1 John 2:17,
Psalm 121:2 - My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
What qualifies the Lord to help us? He has all the power needed as creator of the universe!
I already mentioned how human, and flawed, and sinful we are.
If a righteous God is going to have anything to do with us, He has to do something to help us with our sin problem.
He did.
He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God to earth.
On earth the Sinless Son of God died in your place and mine for our sins. Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21,
The Good News is that Jesus didnt stay dead. He arose!
Notice in the Psalm that a decision was made on the part of the author. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
You need to make a similar decision.
You need to decide to stop looking to the hills for your help and to put your trust in the Lord Jesus.
To be kept by God is a decision you make.
You make that decision when you put your trust in the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Romans 10:9-10, 13
If you havent made Jesus your choice, you are in trouble. John 3:18
If you have made the choice to believe on Christ you are kept by God. You are His child!
John 1:12-13
Now if you are a Christian, if you have trusted Christ as Savior, where is your help coming from?
Is your help coming from the approval of others?
Is your help coming from sports and hobbies?
Is your coming from government?
Is your help coming from your family?
Is your help coming from your own self effort?
Whatever you spend time with is an indication of where you sense your help is coming from.
Make sure you help is coming from the Lord.
Make Him your choice.
GODS KEEPING IS CONSCIENTIOUS - Vss. 3-4
Psalm 121:3-4 - He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. [4] Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Christian, God has made a commitment to keep you.
Christian, The Lord Jesus has made a commitment to keep you. John 10:27-30
Almighty God is watching out for you 24/7.
He doesnt take a nap. He doesnt take a vacation.
He is too conscientious.
GODS KEEPING IS COMFORTING - Vss. 5-6
Psalm 121:5-6 - The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. [6] The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
God is a great Keeper!
He has all the resources of the universe at his disposal to meet my needs.
He has all the power of omnipotence to protect me, so that nothing under the Sun or under the moon can hurt me, unless it is in his perfect will for my life.
If we had time this morning we could have testimonies of just how God has kept each one of us.
He has kept us when finances were low.
He has kept us when we were in danger.
He has kept us from the slander of others.
He has kept us during times of sickness and health.
He has kept us alive, and even when we die, he will still keep us alive. John 11:25-26
GODS KEEPING IS COMPLETE - Vss. 7-8
Psalm 121:7-8 - The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. [8] The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
God will take care of you even as you face evil.
How does he do this?
He promises that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:25-29
If you know the Lord as Savior, you are kept by God.
If your loved ones know Jesus as Savior they are kept by God.
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Matthew 21:1-11
PALM SUNDAY (2)
INSTRUCTIONS Vss. 1-3
INTENT Vss. 4-5
INVOLVEMENT Vss. 6-9
Of the Disciples Vss. 6-7
Of the Crowd Vss. 8-9
INQUIRY Vss. 10-11
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Mark 14:34-36
THE BEAUTY OF GETHSEMANE
A SORROWFUL SAVIOR Vs. 34
A SEEKING SAVIOR Vs. 35
A SUBMISSIVE SAVIOR Vs. 36
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Luke 19:28-44
HERE COMES THE LORD!
(Palm Sunday)
THE LORD'S DIRECTIONS - Vss. 30-31
THE LORD'S DESIRE - Vss. 32-34
He had a need.
THE LORD'S DESIGNATION - Vss. 35-38
He's the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
THE LORD'S DECLARATION - Vss. 39-40
The rocks would cry out if His disciples didn't.
THE LORD'S DISTRESS - Vss. 41-44
Sermon Seeds E3
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Colossians 3:1-4
VICTORY IN JESUS
THE PROOF - If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
THE PREFERENCE - Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
THE PREMISE - For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
THE PROMISE - When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
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1 John 4:8 etc.
YOU ARE LOVED!
Lloyd Ogilvie is Chaplain in the U.S. Senate. He grew up with this attitude towards himself: do and you'll receive, perform and you'll be loved.
"When (he) got good grades, achieved, and was a success (he) felt acceptance from his parents." His dad taught him to fish and hunt and worked hard to provide for his family, but he rarely said,
"Lloyd, I love you." His dad tried to show love by his actions and sometimes there was a twinkle of affirmation in his dad's eyes. But Lloyd still felt empty.
When Ogilvie became a Christian, he immediately got so involved in discipleship activities, that he says, "I did not experience the profound healing of the grace I talked about theoretically..."
Eventually Ogilvie became a post-graduate student at the University of Edinburgh. Because of financial pressures, he took a double course load all at once. This was very demanding, and he was exhausted by the constant feeling of never quite measuring up. No matter how good his grades were, he thought they should be better. He was not experiencing the very grace and joy that he was studying about.
Then one day, one of his professors, a short energetic man named Dr. James Stewart, confronted him in a corridor. Stewart knew exactly what Lloyd Ogilvie's problem was. He looked Ogilvie in the eye intensely. He smiled warmly, grabbed Ogilvie's coat lapels, drew him down to within a few inches of his own face and said, "Dear Boy, you are loved now!" ( Craig Bryan Larson, Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers, Copyright 1996 by the author, Published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, page 132)
And I say to you this morning, "YOU ARE LOVED NOW!"
You are loved by family.
You are loved by friends.
You are loved by me.
But most of all, YOU ARE LOVED BY GOD!
Oh how much happier you would be if you realized that no matter what happens in your life today, God still loves you!
No matter what losses you experience, God still loves you.
No matter how badly you fail, God still loves you.
No matter how badly you feel, emotionally, Spiritually, or physically, God still loves you.
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS AUTHENTIC - 1 John 4:8
Not all love is true love.
We say "I love Pizza," or "I love steak." That kind of love is just a personal preference.
Sometimes somebody will tell you good news or do something nice to you and you might say, "I love you man!" But that kind of love is not true love. It is a spur of the moment, response of joy.
Many a guy has told many a girl that he loves her, wanting her to do things that are only appropriate in marriage. These guys will appeal to the girls and say, "If you love me, you'll do this."
A great answer for the girl to use to that kind of guy is "If you really love me, you'll wait until we are married."
God's love is the real deal. It is authentic.
1 John 4:8 - "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
God has various attributes or qualities that are part of His nature.
One of those qualities is love.
Notice from 1 John 4:8 that one can not know real love unless they know God. It is God who is the source and originator of true love.
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS ATONING - 1 John 4:10
We said that God's love is an attribute or quality of God.
But it is not the only attribute of God.
God has many attributes.
God is not only love, but He is holy. Leviticus 11:44, Psalm 99:3, Isaiah 40:25
Not only is holiness an attribute of God but so is righteousness.
Righteousness is closely related to holiness. God is separate from sin and that's holiness. God demands justice for sin. That's righteousness. Psalm 11:7,
God's holiness and righteousness holds you accountable for your sin. Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:23
You deserve to die. You deserve the punishment of hell.
But this is where God's wonderful atoning love comes into play.
God in His love sent His Son to earth. Being perfect, without sin, Jesus could have condemned us all! He could have condemned us because He was righteous and we are not. He was sinless and we are not! John 3:17
So what did Jesus do to save the world?
God in His justice demanded that someone pay for our sins.
God in His love sent the sinless Lord Jesus to die in our place.
That is God's atoning love! Man could not pay for or atone for his own sins. He needed help. And God in His love sent the Lord Jesus. 1 John 4:10
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS AVAILABLE
Jesus has died for your sins.
Jesus has risen from the dead.
As God, Jesus is present now.
And through His Spirit He says, "Come".
"Come, and accept my forgiveness."
"Come, and put your trust in me."
"Come, and accept my love."
My friend, Jesus did all that was necessary for you to be forgiven of your sins. There is only one thing he wants from you, and he will not do this for you.
All the Lord Jesus wants is for you to place your faith in Him.
Loving forgiveness for all your sins is available if you but trust Him as your Savior, as your forgiveness from sin. Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16
God's love for you is available, but it is you who must decide.
You may have been attending church all your life, but if you have not made a personal decision to trust Christ, you have not accepted God's available love. You have rejected it. If you continue to reject it, the outlook is bleak. John 3:36
God's love was available to you for salvation.
God's love is available for you on a daily basis.
He loves you still and wants you to avail yourself of that love.
There was a great Old Testament saint by the name of Enoch.
It is said of Enoch that he walked with God.
Enoch talked to God all day. Enoch listened to God all day.
As he talked to God and listened to God he made himself available to the love of God.
Christian, God wants you to feel His love.
Christian, God wants you to enjoy His love.
Christian, God wants you to accept His love on a daily basis.
How do we accept His love? By abiding, remaining close to Him, just as Enoch did. John 15:4-5,
John 15:7
Christian, God's love is available to you.
When you hurt, come to Him. Matthew 11:28
When you have sinned, come to Him. 1 John 1:9
When you need peace, come to Him. John 14:27
When you don't know which way to turn, turn to Him. Psalm 32:8
When you need a friend, come to Him. - He's the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
When you are disappointed come to Him. 1 Peter 5:7
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS ABIDING
Christian, God does stop loving you.
To me, one of the greatest verses in all Scripture is Ephesians 1:6 - "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
If you are a born again Christian, you are accepted by God.
What more can you ask for.
Friends and Family might not always accept you.
Your enemies will not accept you.
Your government, your employer and perhaps even your church may not always accept you.
But you are always accepted in Christ!
Oh God does not accept your sin. You need to confess that.
But God does accept you as His child in Christ.
And this kind of love is an abiding love.
One of my favorite passages that shows this abiding love is Psalm 121. This Psalm uses the idea of God's keeping power as the expression of God's love. (I closed this message by reading Psalm 121 as the congregation listened with their eyes closed.)
YOU ARE LOVED BY GOD!
SERMON SEEDS D47
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