Brother Bob Sunday School 5/20/12

Brother Bob Sunday School 5/20/12

We are saved from sin and walking up the Highway of Holiness.  This lesson is about choices.  It is very important that we make the right choices.  The most important choice that we can make is to serve God. 

The Bible is our road map to heaven.  This map is very important.  It is important that we take all the words of God.  Jesus didn’t beat any into submission he led by example.  So are we to be.  We are leaders by example and not herders.

Shepherds vs. sheep herders:  Herders drive the flocks and beat the sheep into submission.  Sheep are excitable and herding doesn’t work.  It causes stampedes and death.  It causes sheep to be lost.  We want to be shepherds with Jesus as our perfect example.

Everyone must choose for themself to take all of God’s word and apply it to their hearts.  We can know personally God’s love for our hearts and apply His Word to our hearts.

Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

If we are His children then we will be chastened.  If you are not being chastened once in a while you need to become alert and check out your experience.

Yield peaceable fruit of righteousness:  The saints are peaceable. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

‘If’ is the biggest little word you find in the Bible.  If you suffer with Him…  Jesus suffered and we need to be willing to suffer too.  We need to be willing to suffer with Him and take all the Word of God.

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

We cannot presume upon God but we must be obedient to His word.  “Few there be that find it.”  We want to be among that number.

There is no peace, joy, or righteousness in strife.  Strife is a destroyer.  Stay in the kingdom and Spirit of God.  If we are not staying in the Spirit of God then it won’t be long until we are not staying in the kingdom of God.   We like to read the good scriptures but we cannot live on dessert.  We need vegetables too.  We need it all.

Saints will have some that think to be their enemy.  Saints look upon them not with enmity but love.  Our enemies are not people but evil spirits. 

Luk 6:27  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Luk 6:28  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

We don’t pray evil on them.  We want to see them saved.  They are lost and doomed for hell.  There is nothing worse than that.

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

We are not only to love them but to turn the other cheek.  It will take effort to do this.  ‘Resist not evil.’  This Word of God is for me and it is for you.  I cannot put this on you.  You must choose to take it yourself.  I don’t want to put it on you.  I don’t want to beat or drive anyone.  It is free for all to choose.  We need to choose every word.  We need it all. 

We must choose to keep the flesh under subjection.  The enemy is looking on and he will try to jumpstart the old carnal man.  He will put the jumper cables on you.  It will take work on our part to not let him do that.

We don’t run around sticking out our cheek for someone to strike, we avoid strife.  If we’ve been beaten around by someone that needs to be saved, we don’t run right back there for them to beat us again.  Not unless God sends us.  They need a savior.

Make no provision for the flesh.  Mortify it.  Jesus instructs us to take up our cross and follow Him.  Jesus died on His cross.  We must die on ours.  The old man must be crucified.  We must stay in the Spirit.

We need to be easily entreated.  Saints are easily entreated.

Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Everything that you have belongs to God it is not ours but His.  What an example we have in Jesus. 

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

It is necessary that we choose to obey all the Word of God. 

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

This is strait and simple instruction. 

Perfect – reference G5046 in Strongs Concordance Τέλειος teleios tel'-i-os

From G5056; complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with G3588) completeness: - of full age, man, perfect.

Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

God wants us to grow up.  Be of full age and be complete.  We are pressing on. 

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Gal 5:26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

We cannot be defiled with any of the works of the flesh.  We cannot have them tagged onto us.  We don’t have to.  God is all powerful and is power over all the power of the enemy.  We have access to His keeping grace. 

Hatred means to love less.  If you love less then you are a respecter of persons.  To be a respecter of persons is sin. 

Variance means hard to get along with, always disgruntled.

Emulations, we want to love those that oppose us.  We don’t want to be jealous or in competition with others. 

Strife only comes by pride and God hates pride.  We don’t want to be defiled with any of these things.  These are all bad choices that will lead to spiritual death.  They which do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  When we are not walking in the Spirit and following the Spirit then we will be overcome by these things and a root of bitterness will spring up. 

It is the little foxes that spoil the vines.  Some of these things seem to be smaller than others, but in reality there is no way to lessen any of them. 

Heresies, why take on anything that isn’t truth.  We love truth. 

We may even have a reason to have these emotions but we must refuse it because if it takes on the spirit of the flesh then it will always lead to destruction.  It is so important that we stay in the Spirit of God, walk in the Spirit, and live in the Spirit.

Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

God has grace for us.  Our God is a consuming fire.  We don’t want to suffer the wrath of God.  Godly fear doesn’t rob us of peace and joy, but works to help us give Him an acceptable service in love, peace and joy.

Deu 5:6  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Deu 5:7  Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

This is the first commandment.  God has to be first place in our lives.  Whatever we are doing or planning on doing, it must be in subjection to God.

Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Deu 5:8  Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

Deu 5:9  Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

Deu 5:10  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Hate to love less.  If we love God less than anything then it is hate.  He has to be first place.  The commandments are very important.  ‘All’ is a very important word.  If we love Him with all then we will not be putting anything before Him.

We have an adversary that is sly, sneaky and very subtle.  He will do His best to set snares for us and hinder us from doing all that God would have for us to do.  We must be very diligent and walk and love in the Spirit.

Deu 5:11  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

God’s name is to be honored, cherished, and exalted.  We don’t use it lightly. 

I was very guilty of this before I got saved.  It had a terrible habit of swearing.  God has been so good to me.  I didn’t know the Bible was true, but I always believed in God.  Three or four days after I gave my life to God, I didn’t know how to serve Him but I knew that He deserved all honor.  I was sawing trees and it is important that the trees lay so that the skidder cat can just back up and pull them out.  I fell this fir tree and it fell on the wrong side of a standing tree.  As I saw that I started to swear.  I hit that ground right by that stump and repented and God forgave me and took that from me.  I thank God for that.