Sister Sharron Sunday School 9/22/13

Sister Sharron Sunday School 9/22/13

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

After all that God has done for us, I tell you, I didn’t give up anything for God.  God got rid of things that were not beneficial for me.  He is still working on me.  I had habits that I built through life and He is still working on them.  We should live godly, holy, and acceptable.  This is our goal and according to the word of God it is reasonable for us to do these things.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We have new goals.  We have new dispositions.  We carry them out.  We have new sympathies.  We are renewed from the inside out.  It is not just when we come to church.  We have a new life.

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

We want to be careful of our opinion of our self.  We deal with the public a lot and some of them are so full of themselves that you cannot help them.  We need to be able to be taught.

Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

What we do should benefit the whole body.  It is not all about me.  If we are not careful all we will think of is us, us, us.  I am sometimes amazed that people are not willing to give up their own ways for the benefit of the whole body.  We need to get along as we tell the children.  We need to adjust.

Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Rom 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Rom 12:7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

Rom 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Rom 12:9  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Unfeigned: There is no deceit.  We don’t cover up and pretend we are something that we are not.  We are more than glad to prove our love.

Rom 12:10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

We are to have a respectful love one to another.  We need to treat even our enemies with human dignity in order to present our love from God.

Rom 12:11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Rom 12:13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

We are going to concentrate on the thought of, ‘given to hospitality’ today.  We are all to be given to hospitality.  We are workers together.  I thought, “I want to have good manners and I want to have hospitality.  I should study it.”

On Abraham:

Gen 18:1  And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

They didn’t have air conditioning in the tent.  He was willing in the heat of the day.

Gen 18:2  And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Look at Abraham’s attitude.  Did he just sit there and wait for them to come to him?  No he ran to meet them and bowed; he considered them honorable.  He was courteous, free, and affectionate in his greeting.  He was open-hearted and generous. 

Religion does not destroy but build good manners.

Gen 18:3  And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

Gen 18:4  Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

Gen 18:5  And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

Here he was very concerned about their comfort.  When we have guests we need to prepare for their comfort and not have them ill at ease.

Gen 18:6  And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

Gen 18:7  And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

Gen 18:8  And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

In the heat of the day they went out and killed a calf right away.  It is not always instant but sometimes takes time for preparation.  Abraham was so willing and happy to do this. 

They were as happy to be a guest as he was happy to serve them.  He stood with an attitude of a servant ready to serve.  Both Abraham and Sarah worked together.

1Ti 3:1  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

A bishop is an officer and an overseer.  It is not just up to the congregation but what I would call the elders should also be given to hospitality.  They should love it and be given to hospitality. 

‘Given to hospitality’ means fond of guests.  It means friendly, generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, helpfulness, neighborliness, courteous, amiability, generosity.  These are attributes of hospitality.  They are good attributes.  It is what makes hospitality.

Tit 1:5  For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Tit 1:6  If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

Tit 1:7  For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

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

A lover of hospitality:  isn’t this wonderful? 

“He Careth for You”: Brother Naylor in Heart Talks.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Pe: 7). God cares for us in the sense of having a personal interest in us. We are the work of his hands, and as such he is interested in our prosperity. He watches over the development of our lives; he notes every step of progress. The one who plants a flower, waters it, cares for it, and watches the development of each tiny shoot and bud, cares more for that flower and has a deeper interest in it than has the one who merely stops for a few minutes to admire its full-blown beauty and to enjoy its fragrance. To the one it is only one plant out of many, but to the other it has a special meaning and attraction and worth, because its bloom and fragrance are the result of his labor, care, and patience. It is his plant. So it is with God. He gave us our being; he has nourished and protected us and watched us develop day by day; he is interested in us and desires our lives to bloom and send forth a fragrance of trueness and purity all around. Let us so live that he will not be disappointed in us.

He cares for us because he created us for his glory and to fill a place in his eternal kingdom. He created us, not merely that we might have an existence, but for a purpose for himself. He wants us to make a success of our lives, not simply for our own advantage, but to fill the place for which he created us for his purpose and glory. And because of this he will use every endeavor to help us succeed in our lives.

He cares for us in the sense that he loves us. “The Father himself loveth you.” “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” “God so loved the world.” He has a deep and abiding affection for every soul, and even when we stray away from him into the depth of sin, his heart yearns over us as a mother over her erring boy, only his love is stronger than a mother’s. He sends his servants out to seek the lost, and his Spirit to plead with them. Sinner, he loves you. Though you have grieved him and have repelled his Spirit over and over again, yet his eye beams with pity, his heart is tender with love, and his arms are outstretched toward you to welcome you to his embrace.

If he thus cares for the rebellious and neglectful sinner, how much does he care for his own obedient, loving children! How tender his love! Sometimes in a dark and troublesome hour when his face seems hidden, we may feel as did the disciples when they cried out in their distress, “Carest thou not that we perish?” Ah, he did care. At once he arose and rebuked the elements and brought the disciples safely to the land. Yea, he does care. “He careth for you.” His help may sometimes seem delayed, but it will come and just at the time to be most effective. In your joys and victories and seasons of refreshing he cares for you and also in the time of trial, of persecution, of heaviness and longing, and of bitterness of soul. In it all he cares, and he will bring you through when he sees the soul refined and fitted for his purpose. “He careth for you.” Believe it. Let your soul exult in it and shout it aloud. Or if you can in your sorrow only whisper it, let your heart still say: “He loves and he cares. I will trust him and be content.”

Again, he cares for us in the sense of taking care of us. His care is proved in his making so beautiful a world to be our home. The flowers, the fruits, the grains, the grasses, the animals, the sunshine, the winds, the rains, and all were made to minister to man’s need, comfort, and happiness. For us these exist. That we may be fed, he causes the earth to bring forth bountifully. That we may be clothed, he makes the cotton and the flax to grow out of the soil, the wool upon the sheep, and causes the silkworm to spin its glossy house. That we might be warmed, he made the coal, the gas, and the forests. That we might be protected, he made the stone, the wood, the iron, and the clay that we might have houses.

He cares also for our bodies, that we may have health. He gives us pure crystal water to quench our thirst and cool us in fever, balmy oxygen-laden air to build us up, and countless other blessings. Above all this, he is himself to us a Great Physician whose word heals our suffering bodies and takes us out of the grasp of death.

He cares for us spiritually, giving us his grace to help in every time of need to shield in temptation, to strengthen in trial, to make strong in adversity, courageous in danger, and valiant in conflict.

Truly, he cares for us. Let us doubt and fear no more, but commit ourselves to him, knowing that he will “in no wise fail” us.

Luk 19:1  And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

Luk 19:2  And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

Luk 19:3  And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

Luk 19:4  And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

Luk 19:5  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

Luk 19:6  And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

Luk 19:7  And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

Luk 19:8  And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

Luk 19:9  And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

Luk 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Do you think that Zacchaeus knew that was going to happen?  Look at his response.  I don’t know if Jesus went right away or later.  How prepared are we?  We need to be prepared for if someone is coming to my house like Jesus.

If Jesus should come to your house today…

Isn’t this a beautiful account.  I love Zacchaeus, his response and his openness.