We see the reverse of this rule: "Do unto others before they do unto you." or "You got the gold, you make the rules." These are the world's answers, which are opposite of what Jesus said. He wants us to live by the Golden Rule.
I. Its Content A. It is broad: "in all things" in NIV: "so in everything..." 1. But what if they hurt us or one of our family? 2. But what if they get on our nerves? 3. But what if they obviously don't like us? B. It is clear and plain. 1. There is no escape clause or "except" or "unless...." 2. We have to love as Jesus loved, and practice grace as Jesus did. 3. Look at Luke 6:27-31 and see how to live out the Golden Rule. C. It is practical and useful. 1. If we all lived by this rule this would be a better world....better families.... better churches. 2. It would keep us from getting bitter. II. Its Challenge A. Its difficulties: 1. It is not the way Satan's world system works. 2. It awakens ourr weaknesses and makes us feel used and abused without the practice of God's grace in our lives. B. Its benefits: 1. Practicing it would make us more like Jesus. 2. It would keep others from determining our reactions. 3. It would keep us from embarassing ourselves by bad reactions. C. Only the Lord can help us meet the challenges of the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is not given as a suggestion. Living by it will make us better people and better witnesses.
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Hopefully, we all want to do the right thing. Our text will help you to know what it means to do the right thing.
I. Vs. 7-8a - Get right with God. A. Submit to God -- resisit the devil - in that order! You can't resist the devil until submitted to God. B. Draw near to God.... C. He will draw near to you. If you feel that God has forsaken you, remember that He is right where He has always been. He didn't move, you did. II. Vss. 8b-10 - Get right with yourself. A. Vs. 8b - Cleanse your hands -- purify your hearts. Get right inside and out!!!! B. Vs. 9 - Really be sorry for your sins. This is not about lifestyle. It means that if you are not right with God, you should not be happy. C. Vs. 10 - Humble yourself. III. Vs. 11 - Get right with other people. A. Don't speak evil of people. This is what gets us out of sorts with each other. B. Watch your tongue. Words really can hurt. C. We can't judge, but we can care. IV. Vss. 13-16- Get right in the plans for your life. A. Vs. 13 - Don't presume on tomorrow. B. Vs. 14 - Accept our limitations of time and make the best of it. C. Vss. 15-16 - Seek God's will. Vs. 17 - This verse brings a fitting end to this sermon. A lot of people do not see the importance of the Bible. But it is not unmportant to Christians. We believe in it, as the saying goes, "from cover to cover." No matter who thinks that the Bible is unimportant, it is still important. Why?
I. Verse 16a - The Bible is important because it was/is inspired. A. "Inspiration" literally means "God-breathed." (Clarified in 1 Peter 1:20-21) 1. I have no technical knowledge of how the Holy Spirit inspired these men, but He did it. 2. The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes. B. The Bible is a unique gift of God to us of the revelation of Himself. 1. What we really know about God is what has been revealed in scripture. 2. We can't make God be just what we want Him to be C. Hopefully, the Bible that you hold in your hand is in your heart and head. II. Verse 16b - The Bible is important because it is profitable. A. It is profitable for doctrine - What we believe. 1. What we believe must be based on the Bible. 2. We have no choice as to whether or not God is the creator, that Jesus came to save us from our sins, etc. B. It is profitable for reproof and correction. 1. Reproof means that the Bible tells us about right and wrong, and that it reproves us when we do wrong. We base morality on the Bible. 2. Correction means that if an action contradicts the Bible it is to be corrected. C. It is profitable for instruction in righteousness. 1. The Bible tells us that we are not righteous, but that our righteousness is imputed - given through faith in Christ. 2. Imputed righteousness is to be lived out by us and affect our behavior. III. Verse 17 - The Bible is important because it matures us. A. The word "perfect" here means complete or mature. 1. We mature in the faith as we grow in our knowledge of the bible. 2. If we are not growing in the faith, it is because we are not heeding the Bible. B. The Bible thoroughly prepares us to do good works. 1. The Bible prepares us to work for the Lord. 2. The Bible puts us to work for the Lord, witnessing and ministering..... C. If you want to mature in your faith read and study the Bible. There is no substitute for it. The Bible is important for all of these reasons. If we are to be growing, effective Christians, we will have to be familiar with the Bible. We must choose the Bible over Oprah, TV sitcoms, hollywood hotshots and the collected wisdom of the world. Vss, 6-7 - Gnostics and Judaizers were trying to get into the Colossian Church. Paul tells the Colossians to continue to walk (live) in Christ. He was saying: "Your life, your salvation is anchored in Christ. He establishes you - be grateful for it."
I. Vs. 8 - As you live in Christ, keep in mind that He is the cetner, the core, of your life. You owe your life, your soul to HIm. A. Beware of anything that keeps Christ from the center...... B. We can remove Christ as the center of our lives with programs and buildings, etc. These are not bad, they are just not Christ! C. Who or what is at the center of your life. II. Vss. 9-15 - As you live in Christ, keep in mind that He alone is sufficient for your salvation, for your life. A. Vs. 9 - He is God. B. Vs. 10 - He alone has the power and authority to make our lives complete, to fulfill the desires and joys of our lives. C. Vs. 11 - He alone can overcome sin in our lives. D. Vs. 12 - He alone can raise us from spiritual death. E. Vs. 13 - He alone can forgive our sins. (1 John 1:9) F. Vss. 14-15 - He alone can free us from legalism and from the power of Satan. III. Vss. 16-19 - As you live in Chrisst, keep in mind that it is Christ, not religion that holds individual Christians and churches together. The main thing is for us to keep Christ at the center our lives, individually and together as His church. Remember: IF JESUS IS NOT AT THE CENTER SOMONE OR SOMEONE ELSE IS. That is One word came to mind when I thought of this text - UP. Why? There is nothing down about it. It is all up. If we are to live victoriously, we must be up like these first Christians. Here is what I mean:
I. They were prayed up. 1:14 A. They prayed individually. 1. We need time alone with Jesus. 2. D.L. Moody: "Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure." B. They prayed together. 1. In 1:14 they prayed in "one accord." In 2:1 they were in "one accord." We can't have one without the other. 2. There is power when we pray together. It makes satan tremble. C. They prayed fervently. James 5:16 II. They were filled up. 2;4a A. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8: Fulfillment of a promise. B. They allowed this to happen. 1. We have to open our hearts and minds to Him in order to be filled. 2. Can we be filled. Illustration: "Are you a cup or a sifter?" 3. Will you be filled? C. They acted on the filling of the Holy Spirit. They began to follow His leadership, and this is what we need to do. III. They were fired up. 2:4b (and vs. 3) A. They were fired up to obey Jesus. (They obeyed Acts 1:8. Will we?) B.They were fired up to share Jesus. 1. The Holy Spirit fires us up to tell others. That's God's plan. 2. Others need to hear and we need to tell! C. They were fired up to be together, to be in fellowship with each other. Acts 2:42 & 44 IV. They were caught up. (The whole sense of the text.) A. They were caught up by a great person - Jesus. 1. Jesus is who and what it is all about. 2. Jesus is our head and our passion. B. They were caught up in a great cause. 1. The cause of Christ and His church. 2. It should be our cause too. 3. What is your cause? C. They were caught up by a great purpose. 1. A great Christian was asked what was the greatest lack in people today. He replied: "Purpose!" 2. We need to get caught up in the purpose of serving Jesus, for we are all His servants. Look what these disciples did with nothing like the resources that we have. So let's get prayed up, filled up, fired up and caught up. When we do, we will have victory and we will have revival. Part of our witness is to show the world Christian wisdom. We do not show this wisdom by being "smart-alecky" and "know-it-all." In our text, James reveals how not to show Christian wisdom and how to do it.
I. Vss. 14-16 - How to not show Christian wisdom A. Vs. 14 - We do not show Christian wisdom by being envious, overly ambitious, or arrogant. 1. To be envious is to hate someone else's success. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. 2. Verse 16 tells us what is wrong with this kind of thinking: a. It causes disorder in Christ's Church. b. Arrogance breeds evil: "every evil thing..." c. It opens a door for sin. B. Vs. 15 - The "wisdom" described above is not from Christ, Rather it is: 1. Earthly - not from above 2. Sensual or natural 3. Devilish and demonic C. We can all act like this if we are not careful - so let's be careful! II. Vss. 13 and 17-18 - How to show Christian wisdom A. Vs. 13 - We show Christian wisdom by behaving ourselves. Example: Being gentle and not rough and callous. B. Vs. 17 - We show Christian wisdom by doing and saying the right things. 1. "Pure" - right motive 2. "Peaceable and gentle" Compare this with verse 16. 3. "Reasonable" (KJV:"easy to be entreated") 4. "Full of mercy" 5. "Good fruits" 6. "Unwavering" 7. "Without hypocrisy" C. The result of this kind of behavior is Christian righteousness. Where are you in this sermon? Are you wise in Jesus or unwise in the world? Your witness to the world depends on how you relate to this passage. Weigh your life, your attitude, your outlook on life against this text. Note: I want to share with you an idea that came to me while reading in Jeremiah this morning. It is just a brief outline, which is all I have on it at this time. My prayer is that you can take it and use it in your ministry. Bro. Joe
Jeremiah did not have a high opinion of the human heart. He saw the condition of the hearts of the people that God called him to prophesy to, and he came away knowing the possibilities of evil in the human heart. I want to share some various conditions that can prevail in the hearts of people. You might identify yourself in here somewhere and let God do some "heart surgery" on you. I. There are hard hearts. These hearts are illustrated by the "wayside" in the parable of the sower. The word of God cannot find abode in it. II. There are stubborn hearts. This condition is different from the hard heart in that the person might know what is right to do, but stubbornly, and obstinately, decides to go his or her own way. III. There are indifferent hearts. The people with indifferent hearts do not care about other people. They do not care what people do as long as they leave them alone...You get the picture! IV. There are sinful hearts. This condition might be characterized by all of the above, but it is different in that this heart eats, drinks and sleeps sin. The pleasures of this world, for example, have taken over their lives. V. There are yielded hearts. Thank God for the people who have given their hearts to Jesus and are willing to be used of Him in His service. Of all the conditions mentioned above, don't you want your's to be a yielded heart? Let the Holy Spirit remove any hardness, or stubborness, or any indifference, or any sin that might be in your life and give you a yielded heart. Your life will be better for it. Paul lived the Christian life to the fullest extent, and his inspired writings tell us to do the same. Our text verses reveal some ways that we can do this.
I. Vss. 9-10 - The fullest extent of love A. Vs, 9a - Christian love is sincere. 1. It is not phony or pretended but real. 2. It does not manipulate others. 3. It is not just talked about but practiced. 4. It does not exclude others. 5. Vs. 9b - It will result in a better life. B. Vs. 10 - Christian love will help us to be kind to people and let others be first. C. If we love to the fullest extent, our lives will be better, more fulfilled, and our fellowship will be an oasis of love for us and for others. II. Vss. 11-13 - The fullest exent of service A. Vs. 11 - We will serve the Lord fervently. 1. We will serve in the fire of the Spirit. 2. Illustration: Athiest at church that was on fire: Churchmember: "This is the first time I've seen you at church." Athiest: "This is the first time I've seen this church on fire." B. Vs. 12a - We will serve the Lord joyfully and patiently. C. Vs. 12b - We will serve the Lord prayerfully. Prayer gives our service the power to serve effectively. D. Vs. 13 - We will serve the Lord sacrificially. Don't be afraid to care or share. III. Vss. 14-16 - The fullest extent of humility. A. Vs. 14 - "Bless those who persecute you..." 1. Paul was writing to people who knew the meaning of real persecution. 2. This is easy to say but not to do, for the tendency is to strike back. B. Vs. 15 - Rejoice with joyful and weep with the sorrowful. C. Vs. 16 - Treat people with a spirit of equality. 1. We should not consider ourselves better than others. 2. We should not be "wise in our own conceits..." IV. Vss. 17-21 - The fullest extent of fellowship. A. We must live in good relationship with other people, and if we can't, we need to take a long look at our attitudes. B. Vs. 17a & 19-20 - We should not be vengeful. C. Vs. 17b - We should be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. This does not mean to compromise truth, but to live as a good example. D. Vs. 18 - For our part, we should live at peace with all people. E. Vs. 21 - Overcome evil with good. To what extent do you love? To what extent do you serve? To what extent are you humble? To what extent do you live in good fellowship with others? Note: Scroll down for a Father's Day idea.....
According to the account in John 1, these first disciples already knew Jesus. Their response to Jesus' call can teach us about what our own responses should be. I am not referring to a call to preach, but to be a follower of His, whatever your work might be. Look at their response. I. They heard His call. A. It is significant that they heard His call in the midst of daily life - their daily tasks. 1.Not at a religious service. 2. Not in a moment of crisis. 3. Not in a moment of great significance. 4. But in the midst of doing what they did everyday. B. They heard His call to change the course of their lives. 1. Their lives would never be the same again. 2. Jesus wants to change the course of our lives too. C. They heard His call to make financial and social sacrifices. II. They responded immediately. A. We often "drag our feet" when He calls us. 1. To witness to someone. 2. To minister to people in need. 3. To take personal responsibility for prayer and Bible study in our lives. B. We need to develop a sense of immediacy. Why? 1. The time is short. 2. The task is all-important. C. Are you a "foot dragger"? III. They left everything. A. Following Jesus was worth everything to them. 1. Is it the same with you? 2. They were not concerned about the benefits involved. B. Following Jesus does not always call us to follow Him to the extent that we . have to leave everything, but it does call us to follow Him at all costs. C. What is following Jesus worth to you? IV. They followed Jesus. "followed Him" A. They did not follow a religious movement, but a person. We are Jesus people and we are Jesus' people. B. They did not follow a political movement. I don't mean that we should not get involved politically, but to do so is not to always follow Jesus. C. They followed Him into His work. 1. Preaching 2. Teaching 3. Healing. Just because Jesus has not called you to be a minister or a missionary does not mean that He has not called you to follow Him. Will you hear His call and respond immediately? Will you declare yourself as His servant? |
All of these materials are free of charge. There is no copyright on them and you are free to use them as you see fit. I am happy to be of assitance to you in your preaching/teaching minstry.
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