“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God” (2 John 1:9), thus says the Lord. God said, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” (Psa. 127:1). This Implies two things: One, that you can build a house without the LORD. That is by avoiding or taking away from His Plan, by adding your own making your church one of the 33,000 plus competing and often contradictory denominations. Two, it also implies that You can build the house by the LORD “According to the pattern”. “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 1:13). This is the Lord’s one true church…
King David said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23). In What Way Does the Lord Order Our Walk? In Love – 1 Cor. 13:13; Matt. 22:37, 22:39; John 15:12; John 14:21; Psalm 119:11, 119:140, 1 Cor. 13:13 “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Love What?
• God: Matt. 22:37 • Your Neighbor: Matt. 22:39 • One Another: John 15:12 • The Word: John 14:21
o Psalm 119:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”
o Psalm 119:140 “Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.”
Turning trials into triumph: Having the knowledge and perspective that adversity can accomplish much good With patience endure adversity till it accomplish its work All the while seeking the wisdom God gives in answer to prayer to help put it all together When this is done, even trials can be a source of joy for the Christian!
We must understand apathy is a subtle enemy, we must guard ourselves, that we don’t become victims, that we don’t become guilty of apathy, not caring toward the things of our Lord and His church…
Life “under the sun” is vanity…Without God, there is no meaning in life…Without God, you will not be able to truly enjoy your time on earth
Buttons that cause us to be happy, buttons that cause us to be angry, buttons that turn us on, and buttons that turn us off. We all have buttons.
What happens when those buttons are pushed defines us.
How we react says, God’s in control, or the Devil is in control
How you handle people who push your buttons, says a lot about who controls your life
o If you push back, with anger and blame that means the captain of your emotions, is the devil, the flesh
o If you return evil with love and gentleness, then the captain of your emotions is God, the Spirit
“For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—” – Deuteronomy 11:22
What great things the LORD did for His children because they Hold fast to Him: • He drives out their enemies, even though they are mightier than they are • Where ever the sole of their foot stepped, that land would be theirs • No man will be able to stand against them. All because of God’s, “…greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm—” – Deuteronomy 11:1-2.
From John chapter 14 verse 1-3 and 14 what we will see is that: • Jesus Came From Heaven • Jesus Walked Among Mankind • Jesus Returned To Heaven • Jesus Is Preparing a Place for Believers • Jesus will Return to Bring all things to an End. What wonderful hope the Lord our Savior gives to those who love Him.
We live in such turbulent and sin-filled times: Where leaders of nations have zero discernment between right and wrong, moral and immoral and justice and injustice. But, having that knowledge, that wonderful assurance, offers us a “FOR-TASTE OF GLORY DIVINE”. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:4 ), thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57 ), deliverance is of the Lord (Prov. 21:31), You have saved us from our enemies (Psalm 44:6-7), for the battle is the Lord’s (1 Sam. 17:47 ).
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THE FAILINGS IN MANY CHURCHES TODAY ARE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE LACK OF OR ABSENCE OF HOSPITALITY. Let me ask you; How many times have you heard people say, “The church just isn’t growing like it used too!”, or “I remember when during a gospel meeting chairs had to be set up, people were standing in the isles and in doorways”, How about, “I remember when there were 3, 4, 5, even more baptisms at every meeting?” Or, “It seems like the church is getting smaller and smaller” And the one I hear the most, the one that I believe is the most telling, and is the most condemning is: “People today just aren’t interested, they don’t want to hear about Jesus” I would say to the later, * Maybe people aren’t interested in us, because we’re not interested in them?