Sunday Mornings Now That You Know July 25th 2010
Finding Favor series
II Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
John 13:7 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
The last time I spoke to you on this subject I said that there are 3 kinds of blessings recorded in the Bible and any one who desires to can claim them.
The first is simply to live by doing the right thing. And it is available to anyone in the world.
The second involves a personal invitation from God to become one of His children. John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God This is God’s grace, His unmerited favor. You and I did nothing to deserve it and it is available to anyone in the world.
It is the third area of blessing that we have been talking about.
This 3rd area of blessing is available to those who have accepted God’s invitation to become His children and are living by the principles that He has put in place.
The first denotes action the second just being but this 3rd is both.
Notice that this blessing is not received from just obeying God’s principles or by accepting God’s invitation to become a child of God. It is a combination of both. Look at Joseph’s life as recorded in Genesis 39:2-3 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
Potiphar a pagan that had no relationship with Lord, recognized that the Lord was with Joseph because he witnessed the Lord blessing everything he did. He Did… Not just talking about God but doing about God…
One of the great problems of our western civilization is that after 2-3 generations of affluence we have become lazy and have bought into the lie that say’s to us that we are owed a comfortable lifestyle just because we are as good as everyone else. The result is that we have developed an entitlement mentality that says we don’t need to put forth anymore effort then just enough to get by and so we begin to coast. The great tragedy of coasting is that it can only take you in one direction and that is down.
Research tells us that 80% of the population will work just hard enough to master the skills necessary on their job just to avoid getting fired. And then they begin to coast.
James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
If the implanted Word is received it will work itself out into actions. It is never sufficient to simply hear the Word, we must take it into our heart and do it. Simply hearing a good sermon or Bible study will not make you grow and receive God’s best blessings. The implanted Word must be accepted & then put into action. It is in the doing of God’s Word that spiritual growth and the blessings of God come.
It is common knowledge that the doctor’s most ANNOYING PATIENT (except for the one who doesn’t pay his bills) is the one who doesn’t follow his orders. Such a person comes into the doctor’s office with a complaint, submits to an examination, hears the diagnosis, and is told what to do. But that’s as far as it goes. The patient either cheats on the recommended diet, doesn’t take the prescribed medicine, refuses to exercise, continues to smoke, or doesn’t return for a checkup.
In so doing, he not only frustrates the doctor but also may hasten his exit from this world.
God has "problem patients" too–Christians who hear His Word and understand what they should do, but who don’t follow through. And the result is people don’t see God’s blessing on what they do because they don’t do anything.
Unless we obey God’s Word, we cannot experience spiritual health.
If we are doers of the Word, we will not be God’s "problem patients." Obeying God is the best prescription for spiritual health and being in a position to receive His blessings and favor in our lives… Amen?
The Lord hasn’t made His Word available just to give us interesting reading. He is preparing us for action.
God’s word only flourishes in the enriched soil of true obedience.
To think otherwise is to delude ourselves.
Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ calls for more than simply putting new information into the computer of our brain – important as that is.
When we listen to a sermon, read a devotional message, or gain new insight from a book, we must determine to put into practice what we have learned. Only then can God’s truth become a personal possession.
Do not merely listen to the word, Do what it says. That’s the kind of serious-minded response to truth the apostle James is calling for.
A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas or dreams about God.
Do you feel as if you’ve reached a spiritual plateau? New light is not given unless you are walking in the light you already have. The growth equation for the Christian is always hearing + doing = growing.
One step forward in obedience is worth years of hearing about it.
The Bible contains the stories of people performing or living out the Word of God. It’s obedience that pleases God and proves our love for Him
Jn 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
No truth of God stored in the mind will ever meet our needs,
Until that truth gives birth to faith And faith gives birth to deeds.
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Let me encourage you to 3 lifelong actions to position your self for God’s blessing on your life.
1. Seek God Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
2. Study God’s road map II Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)
3. Surrender you will to God James 4:7 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
John 13:7 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Too many Christians mark their Bibles but their Bibles never mark them! God wants His people to put His Word into action
