Sis Karen Sunday School 7/24/11

Sis Karen Sunday School 7/24/11

The Grace of God

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Grace definition: 

1. Unmerited favor
2. The influence of The Divine upon the soul and it’s reflection in the life
3. Gratitude
4. Benefit
5. Graciousness
6. Joy liberality
7. Gift
8. Pleasure
9. Thanks, Thankworthy, Giving,
10. Acceptable
11. health and help

This week we want to study on the influence of The Divine upon the soul and its reflection in the life.  To me this is a challenge!  This grace of God teaches us some things.  We’ve received the most marvelous things through this grace, “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Eph 2:8 by grace you are saved, not of yourself, it is the gift of Christ. 

We’ve received a priceless gift; it cost the precious blood of Christ.  Do we not desire to protect it?  Think of a gift that your family got you that none could afford, are you just going to put it away in a closet or misuse it? 

Through the grace, when we receive it in our soul, we begin to deny ungodliness and clean up our life.   

Ungodliness is all things contrary to God.  We all gave ourselves to some of the lusts of the world, some lusts more than others. 

Some that we gave into were more abhorrent than others, for example I was a terrible liar.  That is abhorrent. 

The enemy walks around as a roaring lion and he is good at his job.  As we grow in grace we begin to see things that we need to deny.  Immediately after receiving this grace, we deny sin, but there are things that, as we walk along, God puts his finger on and says, “That has to go.” 

For example: I loved the style of country music, more the style than the words.  I remember the day when God said, “That has to go.”  He didn’t tell me everything all at once, one day I knew that the love of that had to go.  Everything that he shows us if we are honest and upright as he shows us we get rid of it. 

Anything that would lead us to doubt Him, doubt his being or doubt or deny any of His attributes we need to deny.  Anything that would cause us to doubt or deny His providence we need to deny.  The very word good comes from God.  He is good. 

Anything that would cause us to doubt his government we need to deny.  He has everything under control.  We need to never doubt.

Anything that would cause us to doubt His influence on souls we need to deny.  God is still working with souls.

Anything that is opposed to true worship, the beast and the image, paganism and man’s ideas we need to deny.  Paganism is alive and well today in our world.  The beast is a mixture of Christianity and paganism; we need to be careful that we don’t sympathize with the beast or the image. 

It works on our heart to sympathize with people.  We must treat people right but resist anything that would influence us against true worship.  We need to be careful to not sympathize with any of the teachings of the beast or the image.

This spirit is deceptive; it doesn’t come appearing as the beast.  It comes looking good: as an angel of light.  We need to love the soul, but take the proper stand in love.  Our standing is their only hope for help.  If we sympathize then we open ourselves up to the spirit.

Neglect will open us to these things.  We must keep God first and not forsake attendance to church.

The influence of The Divine upon the soul will help us to deny worldly lust.  The abhorrent lust is just as bad as the other.  Deny gluttony because we want to honor God not for a worldly reason.  Deny drunkenness: anything that alters our mind.  There are more things than alcohol that fall into the category of drunkenness. 

Shopping is something that I could be drunk on.  I love to go to greenhouses and see the new plants.  Our own way is something that we can be drunk on, “I want to have my own way.” Some may say.  That is the hard way.  The easy way is to let God work.  That is the best way.

It will help us deny worldly lust, filth, anger; there is a right way to handle anger.  We cannot lose our temper and throw a fit; we can be angry when people are mistreated.  Revenge, God said “vengeance is mine, I shall repay.”  His working is to bring to the place of repentance and is much better than any vengeance that I could repay. 

It will help us deny being a respecter of riches or honor, God help us to love even the down and out.

The influence of the divine teaches us to how to live soberly, having every temper under the government of reason and reason under the government of the Holy Spirit.

We want the grace of God to affect our disposition.  We don’t want to have an angry disposition. 

We want to have a good humor.  We cannot all have a good sense of humor, I admire those with a good sense of humor, but we want to have good humor.

I work with someone that is a good worker but they are very moody.  I never know how they are going to be.  Am I going to have to get them in a good mood, cheer them up?  We want to have a consistent mood.  Not up one day and down the next, mad one day and angry another and maybe happy next.

We cannot change our mood on our own.  I don’t like being in a bad mood; the grace of God can change us.  Our prayer to God is, “Liberate me; make me to go in the way of your commandments” as David said. 

Every once in a while I ask God to make me go in the way of His commandments.  We cannot give into the flesh. 

Many things can alter a sound mind.  Listening to the news too much can depress me.

2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Sound mind means a clear understanding, sound judgment, a rectified will.  A clear understanding will come from studying God’s will.  Pray daily for good judgment that you will make good decisions today. 

How many times in this day do you hear, “My mind is so bad.”?  God has promised us that He would give us a sound mind.  We need to claim a sound mind.  If God can heal us and our body than he can heal our mind.  

When we are doing everything we can, denying ungodliness and avoiding intoxicating things, should we not claim a sound mind? 

‘Holy passions’ is another definition of a sound mind.  So we can think, speak and act right.  Sometimes you just don’t know what the right thing is.  If we will practice doing what is right in every situation then God will help us when the challenge comes to do what is right.  It is so important to do right because others are looking on. 

Do the right thing; it will help someone else.  Doing right is always right.  No need to be jealous of another’s love, there is plenty of love to go around.

Festus told Paul that he was mad, “much learning has made you mad.”  Paul said, “I speak forth the words of truth and soberness.”  Acts 26:25

1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

Sober means abstain from wine and be discrete, it means have a sound mind.  When people are drunk, they don’t think right.  It takes two weeks for an alcoholic to think right after they come off of alcohol. 

Sober means to abstain.  It is prevalent in this day for even those that claim to be Christians to drink some wine.

1Th 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Not giving into anything that would intoxicate us.

Tit 1:8  But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

Sober – self controlled and sound in mind.

Tit 2:2  That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

Tit 2:4  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Tit 2:6  Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

Sound in mind, in control of your mind.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Abstain from wine

1Pe 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

This may have been talking of the destruction of Jerusalem there was a way out but they must be sober.

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

You cannot be vigilant if you are intoxicated; your mind is distracted.  Have your senses all sharp and your soul on guard.  Don’t be overcharged with the affairs of this world.  He that wars doesn’t entangle himself not in the affairs of this life.  We can vote and pray for our country but we shouldn’t get inflamed on either side of the political issues.  Be careful that you don’t get entangled.

Be sober, be vigilant, be awake, keep awake and never be off our guard.  If we’re not sober we cannot be very steadfast.