Brother Bill Sunday School 10/14/12

Brother Bill Sunday School 10/14/12

The thought is still on reservations, but the thought is directed more to the life of dying out.  It is still the same thought of saying good bye to our ways and dying out to our flesh. 

Jesus knew what it was like to die out to His own will.  When He went to the cross, there was some agonizing there.  He knew what He was going to face.  He said, “This is what I want, but Father I want what you want.” 

It is good to have desires.  The scripture says, “He that desires a wife desires a good thing” and, “He that desires an office of a bishop desires a good thing.”  The scriptures talk about having desires.  As long as our desires don’t take us away from what God desires then there is nothing wrong with having desires. 

One thing that I have learned about God’s desires is that they are better than ours, God has a purpose in His desires.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

I am crucified with Christ.  The life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me.  He loves us.  This has helped me in my life.  There are times when you may want, ‘this way.’ But God doesn’t want that way. 

God loves you.  The thought of that alleviates the storm.  He is doing things right.  Whatever His plan is for you, it is right and He loves you.  You can trust Jesus.  God has your best interest at heart.  This was a help to me in the time of storm.

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Mat 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

When Peter said this, Jesus looked around about at His disciples.  Peter was a leader.  He was kind of the ‘spokesman’.  He said, “I go fishing” and the others said, “I’ll go with you.”  Jesus told Peter that he was off in the way he was thinking as an open rebuke. 

Jesus may have been realizing that Peter would influence the others.  He said, “You are out of order.”  Peter was openly rebuked.  Peter had feelings, probably tender feelings.  No one likes to be rebuked openly.  Jesus said, “You have to deny yourself.  You better not love your life.” 

We need to be crucified so that when we are rebuked we can take it and not let it get us off track.  This is just one of hundreds of examples of the different ways that we need to crucify our flesh. 

We get up in the morning and don’t always feel like reading and praying.  I have to push myself to have proper devotions.  I know what it is like to fall from having proper devotions and I don’t want to do that again. 

When the bacon is burned in the morning still say, “thank you honey.”  We have to live a life of being crucified to the flesh.  An attitude that is working in the mind must be left aside.  We say, “God I love you and I will take up the cross joyfully.” 

We take up the cross so that others can see the cross instead of me.  Jesus is who will draw people anyway.  If we will willingly lift up the cross no matter how heavy it is, God will send help. 

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross.  Can you see in your mind the goal that is set ahead?  Jesus was a good example.  Any of us can go through things for a short time.  Endure.  He endured for the joy that was ahead. 

When we got saved, there was joy to Jesus.  He purchased that by going to the cross.  There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents.  When we endure, think of the joy that is in heaven. 

When we endure, think of the joy that is set ahead for us.  We will see our loved ones again in heaven if we endure.  Part of the joy is for here too, we see the purpose of God fulfilled in what we are going through.  This helps us to keep a right attitude: the cross in our life is for an eternal purpose for the salvation of souls.  There is a purpose in the cross right here and now.

Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

To hate means to love less.  It will just not work if we don’t say good bye to our flesh and what we want. We will not be successful in our Christian walk if we don’t die out. 

Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Luk 14:29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Luk 14:30  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Luk 14:31  Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Luk 14:32  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Luk 14:33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Unless we die out, we are going against forces that in ourselves we will not have the means to overcome.   We have to die out and rely on God.  The things that are before us in our life we cannot overcome in our own selves.  We have to be sold out to God.

If we don’t count the cost then we will end up trying to make peace with the devil.  We see in this scripture that they sent an ambassage of peace to the enemy.  If we don’t get sold out we will go back to the ways of the world and the devil.  We are either going ahead or we are backing up.  There is no staying still in our experience. 

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

When I got saved, it made a separation in our household while I was living with my family.  People could have the attitude, “You know, my being saved is causing too much problem in the home.”  They leave God and go back yet they end up losing what they left God for anyways. 

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Do you want to be fruitful for God?  You be like that seed that dies out.  If you don’t die out then you will limit yourself as to what you can do for God. 

If you do die out, you are going to be an instrument of God in the way that He wants and you will bear fruit for God.  You need to die out and say good bye to your own ways.  You might as well; you will not get your own way anyway. 

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Every day when you get up, “I die daily.”

Luk 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Pro 13:7  There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

Give yourself for God and you will have riches.  “There is a whole lot of life on the other side of death.”   When you die to self you will find a wonderful life. 

Some count the cost as high, but there will be persecution and trials no matter what side of the fence you are on.  There will be tough times that come to all.  By living for God, if there are deeper depths that we need to get into as far as dying out, can you imagine what it may open up for us?  Let’s live a crucified life for God. 

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

They loved not their lives unto the death.  This is talking of those that overcame him by the blood, (they were saved), and by the word of their testimony, (it is not our literal words, words are cheap.)  People can say, “I have the goods and not have a thing.”  Their testimony was that they obeyed the word of God; if we do not then we will not have a testimony. 

This is a good formula, be saved, give heed to the word, and be sold out to God.

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

If we want to be Christ’s we must crucify the flesh.