SERMON SEEDS J42 FOR 1/8/07
Posted by: jpeters <jpeters@...>
SERMON SEEDS FOR JANUARY 8, 2007
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PSALM 119:15-16
THIS TIME NEXT YEAR
Christian, where will you be this time next year?
Will you be at the same job?
Will you live in the same house?
Will attend the same school?
Will you have the same friends?
Will your health or the health of your loved ones be the same?
Where will you be this time next year? You can't answer one of these questions with certainty. You can only think you'll be at the same school or be at a new school. You can only think you'll have the same job or a new job. You can only think that your health or the health of another will be same or get worse. You can only think that you'll live in the same place or that you'll move. You can only think that you'll have the same friends or new ones.
Where will you be this time next year? Although you can't answer that question, if you want things to be different, in most cases you'll have to work at it.
Granted, there are things that we can't control, and only God knows for sure where will be and what we will be doing.
But if you want a different job, you'll have to work at finding one.
If want to be in a different school, and you are in a position to make your own decision, you'll have to work at applying at a new school
If you want new friends you'll have to work at developing new friendships.
If you want to live in a different house, you'll have to work at finding a place and moving there.
Health is not as definite. We can't guarantee health. But I do know this, if we want this best health possible next year at this time, we need to work at being healthy.
Now, Christian, let me ask you another question. Where will you be Spiritually this time next year? Will you have become more like Jesus in your behavior? Will you have licked any bad habits? Will your prayer and devotional life improve? Will you be a better witness for Christ? Will you have obeyed 2 Peter 3:18 - But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ?
You are probably thinking, "I really don't know!"
But let me tell you this: You will be no better off Spiritually this time next year, unless you work at being more Spiritual this year.
To grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a command to be followed.
So how are we going to make sure that at this time next year we have grown Spiritually?
Romans 12:1-2 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
First of all, in order to grow in this coming year, we must be yielded to God. Because God has shown us great mercy by saving us, keeping us, loving us, and protecting us, we should present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice. That means we make ourselves available to God to go where He wants us to go, to do what He wants us to do, and to be what He wants us to be.
When we are holy, we are set apart for God.
When we do what is acceptable unto God, we do what pleases Him.
This is our reasonable service. I always think of it as the least we can do.
The work really starts after we yield ourselves to God.
Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world. Some have rendered this phrase as "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold." The world here is the world system, and the Christian is warned against loving the world and being like the world. 1 John 2:15-17
Romans 12:2 tells us that instead of being conformed to this world, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
A greater transformation has already taken place in your life if you know Christ as Savior.
2 Corinthians 5:17
God's Holy Spirit lives inside of you and has made a great transformation, but He wants that transformation to go even further in this coming year. He wants transformation to continue by the renewing of your mind.
Why must your mind be renewed? Very simply, you are what you think. Luke 6:45
What does the Holy Spirit use to renew your mind?
He uses the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12
If God uses His word to renew our minds, that very simply means that we need to expose our minds as much as possible to the Word of God. That's why you should be in Sunday School, morning service, evening service and prayer meeting.
But there's another way to renew our minds with the Word of God, and that's what I want to talk about in the remaining minutes of this message.
Turn please to Psalm 119:15-16 - I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. [16] I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
There are four things to do here that will renew your mind, if you decide to do just as the psalmist had decided to do. Throughout this passage the psalmist says "I will"!
We are going to begin with the last statement in these verses which reminds us to
Remember - ...I will not forget thy word.
The psalmist says ...I will not forget thy word.
The psalmist was determined to remember God's Word. Why?
The psalmist was determined to remember God's Word because of the transforming power it has in the life. Psalm 119:11, 119:105, Jeremiah 15:16
So my challenge to you is to remember God's Word if you want to be different this time next year.
Here's what I suggest you do:
· Write out a verse on a 3 x 5 card with the verse on one side and the reference on the other. Carry it with you.
· Work on the verse throughout the week so you can say it to someone the next Sunday. Make yourself accountable to somebody for the saying of the verse.
· Save the cards and review them regularly.
Now if you say, I can't memorize, I beg to differ with you. Through repetition you memorize lots of things, including lists of numbers like Social Security or phone numbers. Through repetition you can memorize Scripture.
Also consider this week's memory verse. You can memorize because God will enable you. Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Reflect - I will meditate in thy precepts...
To meditate on something is to mull it over in your mind. It is to reflect on it. It is kind of like a cow chewing her cud. She chews on what she has eaten for awhile, then swallows it and it goes into one of her three stomachs. Later, she brings it up again and chews some more. This way she digests her food.
Reflect on the memory verses that you know.
Mull them over in your mind.
Apply them to your life.
Talk to the Lord about them. Make them a prayer, if that's applicable.
Will this process of meditation really help to renew your mind? Psalm 119:98-99
Respect - ...and have respect unto thy ways.
When I love and respect my Heavenly Father, I will strive not only to memorize and meditate on Scriptures, but I will strive to obey the teachings, the ways of God.
Psalm 119:11 - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 119:112 - I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
Psalm 119:100 - I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
And you know that God is pleased with obedience! 1 Samuel 15:22-23
Rejoice - I will delight myself in thy statutes...
Do you want to know what you really rejoice or delight in?
Consider what you think about most.
Consider what you talk about.
What you talk about will be a dead give away for where your priorities and interests really lie.
I want to go back to a verse we considered earlier.
Jeremiah 15:16 - Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah was called by the name of the Lord God of hosts. In Christian vernacular we would say that he was a child of God.
Because Jeremiah belonged to God, Jeremiah delighted in the Word of God.
Christian, you are a child of God.
Do you rejoice or delight in the Word of God.
Delighting in God's Word will help you meditate on God's Word. Psalm 119:97
Psalm 119:97 - O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
So, this time next year where will you be?
Will you have grown Spiritually? Will you be further along in your walk with God?
You will grow Spiritually if you are transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Remember - ...I will not forget thy word.
Reflect - I will meditate in thy precepts...
Respect - ...and have respect unto thy ways.
Rejoice - I will delight myself in thy statutes...
It's decision time now.
Where will you will be Spiritually next year at this has much to do with your commitment to memorization and mediation.
Are you willing to strive to memorize, mediate and review the memory verses this year?
Are you will to be accountable to somebody else while doing it?
Let's Pray
This is a detailed elaboration upon a previously shared outline
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ISAIAH 6:1-8
A FRESH LOOK
A "fresh look" is usually something which helps, encourages, and refreshes our hearts. It is a new way of looking at something which we have never seen before.
There was prophet, a man of God in the Bible, who, one day, received a fresh look. He had been serving God, and was a saved man. But God gave him a vision which gave this prophet that FRESH LOOK. The prophet's name is Isaiah. His story is found in Isaiah 6:1-8.
Perhaps you need the same fresh look which Isaiah received. Perhaps you have been spinning your spiritual wheels lately, and need to get back on track. If it is true of you, we trust God will help you this morning. It is our prayer that you will receive a fresh look.
However, you can not get a fresh look unless you have had the first look.
The first look that realizes that you are a sinner. Isaiah 64:6
The first look that realizes that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
The first look is the look which calls on the Lord Jesus as your Savior, in faith, believing on Him alone for forgiveness and eternal life. Romans 10:13
A FRESH LOOK IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY Vs. 1
It was in the year King Uzziah died.
Uzziah was a great king of Judah, who reigned for 50 years. He was a giant in his day.
2 Chronicles 26:5 shows his rise to power.
2 Chronicles 26:16&21 show us his sin problem.
Uzziah, even with his leprosy, would have been loved and respected. So the year he died, was a year of tragedy. In this tragic year Isaiah received a fresh look from the Lord. He saw the Lord on a throne, "high and lifted up".
My friend, sometimes your greatest vision of the Lord, your fresh look at God, will come when someone is removed from your life.
Why? All too often we get our eyes on people instead of on the Lord. The Lord has to help us get our eyes off of people and back on Him.
Sometimes we see the Lord clearer when someone well beloved by us becomes sick and is laid aside.
Sometimes we see the Lord clearer when someone well beloved by us passes away.
Sometimes we see the Lord clearer after being hurt, or disappointed by one of his saints, seeing them withdraw from us, or us having to withdraw from them.
A FRESH LOOK AT THE GLORY OF GOD Vss. 1
Isaiah says, ‑"I SAW THE LORD" - It is our natural habit to see people.
But Isaiah got his fresh look by seeing the Lord.
WHO IS THE LORD HERE?
The apostle John in John 12:37-41 tells us that the Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ.
"SITTING UPON A THRONE" - a truth to remember.
Jesus is King. The word "throne" is synonymous with kingship.
My friend, Jesus Christ is still on the throne.
He is still in charge.
He still hears and answers prayer.
"HIGH AND LIFTED UP" - Where is the Lord Jesus?
He is high above everything and everybody.
Where is the Lord Jesus? Lifted up! More important, more prominent, more worthy than anything or anybody!
"AND HIS TRAIN FILLED THE TEMPLE" - Isaiah may have been in the earthly temple. But, I believe that his vision was of the heavenly temple. I believe Isaiah was receiving a vision of heaven!
The "train" here has nothing to do with railroad tracks. It refers to the hem or fringe of his garment.
Psalm 104:1-2 tell us his garment is light.
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. [2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
Vs. 2 - Seraphim means "burning ones".
Seraphim are angelic beings which seem to be guarding the holiness of God.
There is a definite lesson to learn from them, as they appear before the Lord.
Six wings - Two covered the face - reverence.
Two covered the feet - humility.
Two made them fly - service.
Twice as much effort is given to submission and humility than is given to service.
Twice as much effort is given to worship than to service.
Vs. 3 - The seraphim remind us that God is holy.
He is separated from sin.
He is separated unto righteousness.
Vs. 4 - The room's foundations shook at the worship of the Lord. This suggested the awesome presence and power of God.
The temple began to fill with smoke.
In Israel's history, smoke was a symbol of the presence of God.
Isaiah was struck with the fact that he was literally before the Lord in all his glory!
ISAIAH HAD A FRESH LOOK AT SELF Vs. 5
He saw the Lord. And, to the Old Testament mind, that would have meant automatic death! Instead, it meant a new perspective.
Isaiah compared his righteousness and holiness to that of God. The response of this saved man was, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
The words of Isaiah remind me of what Peter said, after Jesus had worked a miracle by providing a miraculous catch of fish. Luke 5:8
In both cases, Isaiah and Peter were comparing themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you look at Christians around you, Christian, you will not be too greatly impressed with your own sin.
Instead, compare your life to God's standard for holiness, the Lord Jesus Christ. Compare yourself to Him who never sinned, and see how you do! You might discover that you dont like yourself as much as you thought you did.
A FRESH LOOK AT FORGIVENESS Vss. 6-7
Now, here's the good news!
In the Old Testament temple there was an altar of sacrifice where atonement was made for sin.
One of the "burning ones", the seraphs, goes to the altar and removes a coal and places it on Isaiah's tongue.
My friend the price for your cleansing was paid for at Calvary.
If you have already accepted Christ as Savior, the blood of Christ has been applied to your account.
When we sin anew, we do not need to be saved again, but for the sake of maintaining fellowship with God, we need to be cleansed.
The Lord cleanses us as we confess our sins. 1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5
A FRESH LOOK AT RESPONSIBILITY Vs. 8
Notice that when God asks, "WHO SHALL I SEND?" that no seraph, no cherub, no angel responds.
Why?
Because God has ordained, that it is the cleansed, forgiven, child of God, who is to take the message of salvation!
The one who has experienced forgiveness and cleansing is to take the message of cleansing and forgiveness to others.
As you are cleansed by God, and "right" with Him, Christian, you might just hear Him saying, "WHO WILL GO FOR US?"
Who is "us?" - The Trinity, of course!
Isaiah's answer to God's question, was, "Here Am I, Send me!"
Isaiah was given a commission to go to Israel with bad news. He was also told that Israel would not respond.
God gives you and me a different commission. Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 5:14-16
Get a fresh look:
IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY
OF THE GLORY OF GOD
AT SELF
AT FORGIVENESS
AT RESPONSIBILITY
This outline is a great elaboration upon an outline first shared in Sermon Seeds A1
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Matthew 9:27-38
WHEN JESUS ACTED
THE BLIND SAW Vss. 27-31
THE DUMB SPOKE Vss. 32-34
THE SHEEP WERE SHEPHERDED Vss. 35-38
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Mark 3:1-6
THE HARD-HEARTED
INSPECT CRITICALLY Vss. 1-2
IGNORE THE FACTS Vss. 3-5
INCITE REBELLION Vs. 6
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James 1:19-22
GLORIFYING GOD
God is glorified by the Christian when there is:
REACTION OF PATIENCE Vss. 19-20
REMOVAL OF SIN Vs. 21a
RECEPTION OF GOD'S WORD, Vs. 21b
RESPONSE TO GOD'S WORD Vs. 22
Sermon Seeds A49
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Revelation 2:1-7
EVALUATION
COMMENDABLE WORKS Vss. 1-3, 6
REPREHENSIBLE WOE Vs. 4
SERIOUS WARNING Vs. 5
ENCOURAGING WORDS Vs. 7
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DAY AND NIGHT
GREAT BIBLE WORDS #8
(It is not necessary that you use these lessons as a series. You can use them for a one week lesson in Sunday School, Bible Study, or Prayer Meeting.)
GODS FAITHFULNESS
Genesis 8:22 - While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
GODS GUIDANCE
Exodus 13:21-22 - And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: [22] He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Exodus 40:38 - For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
OUR MEDITATION
Joshua 1:8 - This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
OUR PRAISE
1 Chronicles 9:33 - And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.
OUR PRAYERS
Nehemiah 1:6 - Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
Luke 18:7 - And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
OUR TEARS
Psalm 42:3 - My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Acts 20:31 - Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
OUR LABOR
1 Thessalonians 2:9 - For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.
GODS SERVICE (IN HEAVEN)
Revelation 4:8 - And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
Revelation 7:15 - Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
SATANS TORMENT
Revelation 20:10 - And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
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