Series: Experience the Spirit
Theme: The Body of Christ needs to learn to experience the Spirit in their everyday lives so that they grow spiritually. We can learn to experience true spirituality as we see the Spirit at work in our daily lives and activities.
As we learn to recognize the Spirit and embrace His Spirit spiritual growth will take place in our lives.
Over the next few weeks we will be seeking to learn how to experience the Spirit in various dimensions of our life. The intent or focus of this series is to encourage all of us to be intentional about our spiritual growth.
According to researchers America possess the world’s largest infrastructure for implementing spiritual growth and assisting people in their spiritual development. This nation has about 450,000 churches according to Answers.com. There are 1,000’s of para-church organizations in the USA as well. We have an estimated 3,000 Christian Schools in this country with this number dwindling every year. We have seemingly unlimited Christian products, resources, and even experts in this country. We have 100’s of Christian radio stations and TV stations in the USA. We have more Bibles than you can imagine in this country with close to a 100 translations and versions of the Bible available today. We have more than we need to grow spiritually in this country, yet “Spiritual Maturity” is highlighted as the number one problem among Christians today by the Barna Research group in a 2009 study.
Visual Illustration: Reference the table on the altar filled with spiritual growth resources.
Many Christians cannot define or have a very hard time defining what Christian Spiritual Maturity is or even looks like. Yet, many will say that they want to grow into spiritually mature Christians.
In the research done by the survey, “Many Churchgoers and Faith Leaders Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity” the conclusion to this study is found on www.barna.org and also on www.livingontheedge.org. Here are some of the findings from this 2008/2009 research survey.
Born Again Christians identified the following problems or obstacles to their spiritual growth:
1. Distractions or obligations (24%)
2. Lack of motivation (20%)
3. Sinful habits (14%)
4. Lack of involvement (13%)
5. Other reasons make up the rest
Pastors were also interviewed and asked what hinders peoples spiritual growth and here where there 3 top reasons.
1. Personal motivation
2. Competing obligations and distractions
3. Lack of involvement in activities that nurture spiritual growth
Our goal is to help you grow spiritually over the next 6 weeks leading up to Easter. I pray, this series will give you practical ways to grow spiritually as a Christian.
On a side note: In the research survey the researchers determined that many churches and ministers did not have a direct plan or definition of Spiritual Maturity. But on our website we did place our seven core values of Christian Hills Church. These seven core values-steps describe spiritual growth and the steps along our journey to spiritual maturity.
Highlight the cyclical steps to spiritual growth and spiritual maturity. Encourage the church to go to our website to read through the seven steps to spiritual growth at www.christianhills.org.
Our seven core values give a plan for spiritual growth and is summarized below:
1. EVANGELIZE. Our belief is that lost people matter to God; and, therefore, the church needs to focus on reaching them with the Gospel. This will be accomplished by three means:
a. By relational evangelism, which is a process that takes time and serious diligence. This does not happen by just one time sharing the gospel with someone but by establishing a relationship with the lost individual. We will train our people in this type of evangelism with programs like “Contagious Christian”. We will seek to model this evangelistic approach through our own lifestyle. See Luke 5:30-32, Luke 15, and Matt. 18:14.
b. By anointed preaching and teaching which will change lives. This form of communication is God’s plan for explaining the who, what, when, where, and why of Christianity. See Romans 12:7, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, and James 1:23-25.
c. By being culturally relevant to the lost community yet remaining Biblical in my approach. There will be no compromise of the Gospel in any way but culturally relevant and creative ways will be implemented to open the eyes of the lost to the truth. See 1 Cor. 9:19-23.
2. REALIZE. When the gospel is evangelized by the above process, lost individuals come to a realization that they need to become born again. This decision occurs by the following means:
a. Life change happens through the above process of presenting the truth.
b. We believe that life change is also a result of the Holy Spirit working in individuals (the seekers) hearts and minds. The Holy Spirit will also use Christians to help people see the light of eternity.
c. With the Holy Spirit enlightening the mind of the evangelized repentance occurs.
d. Once a decision is made, discipling enters the picture. This happens best in small groups and in one-on-one relationships. We will seek to offer classes to new believers to teach them the basics of Christianity. See Luke 6:12-13 and Acts 2:44-47.
e. We will stress mentoring of new believers from other mature Christians.
3. BAPTIZE. Once the believer understands the meaning of their new birth, they will be encouraged to be water baptized and baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The two baptisms:
-Water Baptism (Romans 6)
-The Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, Acts 19:1-22, 1 Cor. 12, 13, 14)
4. REVITALIZE. This has to do with the renewing of the mind. This is accomplished by four means:
a. By stressing that Christ’s followers are to strive toward continuous growth. See 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:14-16.
b. We believe that the pursuit of full devotion to Christ and His great commission is normal for every believer. This includes teaching by the leadership on the concepts of stewardship, servant-hood, no pride, pursuit of God and finishing strong. See 1 Kings 11:4, Phil. 2:1-11, 2 Cor. 8:7.
c. We will emphasize that excellence honors God and inspires people. This includes the concepts of evaluation, critical review with love, intensity in the cause of Christ, and excellence in serving the Lord. See Col. 3:17, Mal. 1:6-14 and Pr. 27:17.
d. We will teach to all that the church is to be led by men and women with leadership gifts. This includes teachings on empowerment, servant leadership, delegation, strategic focus, and being intentional in our vision. See Neh. 1-2, Rom. 12:8 and Acts 6:2-5.
5. SPIRITUALIZE. We believe that Christians are to demonstrate love, authenticity, and genuineness at all times. This will be achieved by four means:
a. The Matthew 18 principle will be enforced, and gossip will not be tolerated.
b. Character will be modeled and stressed by the leadership and required to be upheld by the church.
c. 1 Cor. 13 will be modeled by the leadership. See also Neh. 3, Luke 10:1 and John 13:34-35.
d. Hypocrisy will not be tolerated and will be pointed out and dealt with as Jesus Christ dealt with it in Matt. 23. See also Eph. 4:25-26, 32; Heb. 12:1; and Phil. 1:6.
6. MATERIALIZE. We believe that a Christian church is made up of servants, men and women serving each other with their gifts. This will be stressed through four means:
a. We will all seek to choose to lose to God and our own selfish desires. See John 13.
b. This will be accomplished by unity being emphasized and modeled. Note: sometimes we may disagree on subjects, but we can still disagree and be united as one in the Love of Jesus. See 1 Cor. 1.
c. Spiritual gifts will be taught, demonstrated, and monitored by leadership. See 1 Cor. 12, 14; Rom. 12; Eph. 4; Ps. 133:1. We will incorporate programs like, “Networking” and Wagner’s “Spiritual Gifts” to help people discover their gifts.
d. When the church is accomplishing the above, we will continue to repeat this six-step cycle over and over in individuals’ lives, in the church, and within the community.
7. EVANGELIZE. When we do the above cycle then we will reproduce ourselves as Christians and start the cycle all over again in others lives.
T.S. – Our first step toward spiritual maturity and to experiencing the Spirit starts with the Bible. It is the one resource breathed to life by God and then placed into our hands by God to follow.
Sermon: Experience the Spirit - In the Word
We live in an era today where the Devil is spilling out lies to the Church and many are buying his lies rather the truth of God’s Word. The reason is they don’t know what the Bible teaches and what it does not teach. We have to much Biblical illiteracy in this country which is filled with spiritual growth resources.
Last week I asked what you would do if God showed up in person and we watches a clip which described one persons reaction – But today I have another video illustration of the Devil showing up in church. I could ask the question, “What would you do if the Devil showed up in Church today?”
Video Illustration: The Devil in church? Wake up call from sermoncentral.com. (4 minutes).
The Devil is very active in our society today in deceiving many to throw their Bibles away and to buy into lies of this world rather than in the truth of Scripture – God’s Written Words of life.
We need to be reminded that the Bible was written:
• over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to A.D. 100)
• over 40 generations
• over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. - kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars)
• in different places (i.e. - wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
• at different times (i.e. - war, peace)
• in different moods (i.e. - heights of joy, depths of despair)
• on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
• in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
And it is still the number one best seller in the world!
Scripture Text: Let’s look at what the Bible says about itself.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV).
Introduction:
All Scripture is God breathed – what does that mean?
Barnes notes this about the Bible and our text: It is given by inspiration of God - All this is expressed in the original language by one word - Θεόπνευστος Theopneustos. This word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means, God-inspired - from Θεός Theos, "God," and πνέω pneō, "to breathe, to breathe out." The idea of "breathing upon, or breathing into the soul," is that which the word naturally conveys. Thus, God breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life Genesis 2:7, and thus the Saviour breathed on his disciples, and said, "receive ye the Holy Ghost;" John 20:22. The idea seems to have been, that the life was in the breath, and that an intelligent spirit was communicated with the breath. The expression was used among the Greeks, and a similar one was employed by the Romans.
John MacArthur states this about our text and the Bible:
Now let me make it as clear as I can to you. The Old Testament is not a collection of the wisdom of ancient men. The Old Testament is not a collection of the best of religious thinking. The Old Testament is not a collection of the good musings of godly people. The Old Testament is the Word of God. It’s not the thinking of any men, good men, godly men or ancient men in and of themselves. It is the word of God. And the writer of Hebrews says God spoke...God spoke. The Old Testament was God speaking to the fathers by means of the prophets. In these last days since the coming of Christ, He has spoken again. And He has spoken in the Son. The gospels record God speaking through His Son--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The book of Acts, God speaking through the extension of the proclamation of the message of His son. The epistles, God speaking through the deep and profound understanding of the meaning of the life and ministry of the Son. And even Revelation, the consummation when the Son comes back in glory, the consummation of God’s communication to this world.
So, the Old Testament is God speaking and revealing Himself. The New Testament is God speaking and revealing His Son. The Old Testament is God’s self revelation and that is the theme of the Old Testament. From Genesis to the very end of the Old Testament, to Malachi, and all in between, the main character is God. It is the revelation of God, who He is, what are His attributes, what are His attitudes, how does He react to every possible given human situation, what is He like, what does He do, that’s the Old Testament. It is the revelation of God. It is not the story of man. It is not the story of Israel. Those stories are there but it is the revelation of God and we see God revealed through man, through history, through Israel, through all that happens. God’s attributes are sometimes listed very clearly as in the Psalms. On the other hand, sometimes we see His attributes very clearly and He’s not even mentioned, such as in the book of Esther where no mention of God is made and yet He is the dominant force and dominant character throughout the entire book.
As I expressed earlier you can find Jesus throughout the entire Bible as well.
Dr. Dan Hayden notes this about our text and the Bible:
God merely spoke, and the world came into being. Well, God spoke again another time, and the Bible came into being. The Bible is God’s Word – God spoke, and the Bible is what He said. Have you ever breathed on a pane of glass in the winter and seen your breath take form as the glass fogged up? Well, that’s what happened with the Bible. God breathed out words – and those words took form on the pages of the Bible.
In 2 Timothy 3:16, it says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
Now, this is Paul’s answer to the perilous times of the “last days.” People need the Word of God. They need the Scripture which is inspired by God. The phrase “given by inspiration of God,” is one word in the Greek text. It is the word theopneustos, which means "God-breathed." Theopneustos is a compound word, with theo the Greek word for God, attached to the word pneustos which means “wind, or spirit, or breath.” We have this word in our English word pneumonia – a disease of the breath, or lungs. So, this verse literally says that all scripture is “God-breathed.” When you think about it, that’s what words are. They are breath resonated over the vocal chords and shaped by the tongue and lips and teeth. When we speak – it is our breath.Therefore, all Scripture is God’s breath, or God’s spirit. When the human authors like Moses, or David, or Isaiah, or Paul, wrote Scripture – that Scripture was God’s inspired Word. These men were guided in such a way that what they wrote was exactly what God wanted them to write. God actually spoke through them so that the result was a book that was really written by God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” It is “God-breathed.”
So – The next time you see your breath on a cold day, think about this verse. The Bible is seeing God’s breath.
Visual Illustration: Hold up the Bible this is the breath of God which came to life. It is still alive and relevant. It is still speaking to people’s hearts and minds today. It is still directing individual lives, churches and even countries. It’s on a mission and it will fulfill its divine mission and destiny!
T.S. - The Bible is inspired by the Spirit and it is alive and it is actively ministering in different ways today. The first way the Bible minister’s is through teaching.
I. The Word of God is useful for teaching
a. The primary mechanism God uses to transform lives is teaching from the Bible. It’s empowered by the Holy Spirit to change people’s hearts and lives.
i. He uses imperfect people like me to communicate His life changing messages.
1. Over my 25 plus years of ministry many people have come up to me after a message and said “How did you know I was struggling with this?” I did not but the Holy Spirit did and he took the Bible that day and spoke right into their situation.
ii. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would teach us through the Word of God.
1. Jesus said, “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”(Luke 12:11-12).
a. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches us and equips us to say what many preachers are saying in pulpit all across the country today.
2. John 16:13-15: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
a. The Holy Spirit is still communicating the Words of Christ and God to this world today. Jesus is still teaching His followers, God is still speaking to His people.
b. God’s Word – the Bible is still speaking into people’s lives all across this planet today.
iii. Peck states on sermoncentral.com the following:
1. Teaching focuses on the Bible as giving us instruction to live life. Now this assumes that we come to the Bible as learners, because only learners can be taught. This instruction or teaching isn’t just about heavenly things, but it’s about practical things like being a good spouse, being a good parent, loaning out money, starting a business, and so forth.
b. Many have asked me “What is the main message of the Bible?” (The following answer is from Biblica.com)
i. The Bible addresses many basic issues of life and death, of the present and the future, and so it is difficult to select just one theme as the main one. Students of the Bible have generally grouped the leading topics treated in the Bible under two main heads. Let’s look briefly at both of them.
1. The first school suggests that the main message of the Bible is the wonderful presentation of salvation. The good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is the fundamental message of the Scripture. Under this head there are many basic truths:
a. God created a majestic universe and crowned it by forming the first man and woman in sinless perfection.
b. Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation from Satan, and fell into sin and shame. The consequences of sin are obvious, but people everywhere still love to rebel against God.
c. Yet God did not abandon humanity on its course to destruction. He chose one people to demonstrate his special care and from them to provide a Savior for the whole world.
d. God sent his own son Jesus Christ to bear the awesome consequences of sin. God does not just blithely disregard sin, but he poured out all the terror of eternal condemnation on his son in those terrible hours of suffering and death on the cross.
e. In the resurrection of Jesus, God demonstrates his victory over sin and calls people everywhere to identify with this victory by faith in Jesus Christ.
f. In living in this salvation, we know that life is not meaningless, but we live surrounded by God’s love, and bound for eternity with him.
2. The second school of thought views the main message of the Bible from a much different perspective. These readers agree that salvation is certainly very important, but it is only part of a much greater message. That bigger message goes far beyond the man-centered focus of salvation to embrace the purpose of all time and space. We may call this message the revelation of God’s plan and purpose for the universe. Under this head there are also many basic truths:
a. God in his dynamic and creative essence resolved to create the universe and delight in it.
b. However, God is not the sole transcendent being. There is a rebellious and fallen being named Satan who opposes God and his plan. He deceives and undermines God’s purpose everywhere.
c. This conflict marks all history and results in two kingdoms. Satan foments disorder and all that is bizarre and sinister. Quarreling and dissension among God’s people is often his most horrid device.
d. In sending his son Jesus Christ, God established the decisive hour in this conflict. In his servanthood, Jesus was the opposite of all the pomp, pride, greed and egoism that Satan promotes.
e. In Christ’s death, Satan declared victory over God, but the resurrection turned that seeming victory into actual defeat.
f. Satan still prowls the world, but he realizes he cannot win. God’s people are now heralds of his present and coming kingdom. Gradually the contours of the final conflict emerge across the world.
g. Eventually evil so captivates and enslaves humanity that the climactic end time of history arrives. Finally, Christ returns to earth as the victor and God’s kingdom is established for all eternity. The purpose of God’s creation and universal plan is achieved.
i. Both these majestic messages are found in the Bible. They are simply two perspectives on one majestic theme: God’s Plan For His People And His Cosmic Kingdom.
ii. What is your heart’s response to his message?
3. My personal response is I agree with the two above but I am convinced that the Bible is all about Jesus Christ our Messiah – God coming in the flesh to deliver us from ourselves.
a. In my Old Testament Survey Class I gave a handout showing how Christi is represented or referenced in every book of the Bible. I handed these out about a month ago if you would like one please let Pastor Moy know and we will make up some more.
c. The Bible is the best teacher in the world and it has been the best teacher over the history of the world because of the involvement God’s Spirit and its presence in this written Word.
T.S. – The Bible is productive in teaching us how to grow spiritually in our walk with Jesus. But it is also profitable for rebuking us when we fall into error.
II. The Word of God is useful for rebuking
a. No one likes to be rebuked but God’s Word is designed to do this so that the Christian may grow spiritually.
b. The Bible tells us that those who are wise and have wisdom will listen and respond appropriately to a rebuke:
i. Proverbs 1:22-33: The book of wisdom says:
1. Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
a. God rebukes us so that He can get us to admit we are wrong and to encourage us to change our sin filled ways. His plan is to bless us not to harm us. He wants to protect us from the destruction of sin filled lives.
ii. Peck states: Rebuking sounds kind of harsh, but really it just means confronting our wrong ideas about life. This assumes that all of us carry around misconceptions and distortions about God, about ourselves, and about life that need to be changed. For instance if I measure success in life by how much money a person has, but the Bible measures success by a person’s faithfulness to God, then my criteria for success has been rebuked, and I need to change my definition to conform to God’s definition.
1. Rebuke defined by Bing: 1. To tell somebody off: to criticize or reprimand somebody, usually sharply. Or a telling off: a reprimand or expression of criticism or disapproval.
2. This is what God does to us and He uses the Bible as one of the means to rebuke us.
3. Illustration of King David and Nathan the prophet from 2 Samuel 12.
iii. The following from http://www.truechristianity.com/christian/judgement.htm:
1. Jesus and the Apostles were very bold and rebuked and condemned evil. They even openly rebuked people in the church for doing evil, in order to strengthen the church….Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13).
2. Rebuking a sinner, exposing corruption, correcting someone in love or disciplining ones children is not judging wrongfully. If so, Jesus and the Apostles who were our example to follow would have been in error. I believe that the Devil is lying to people to convince them that Biblical correction is judging. Therefore, many believe that it is fine to go on sinning and not obey God by warning others. This is the opposite of the example set by the Apostles. People are more likely to take note and remember strong stirring words. Strong words cause people to repent and not remain lukewarm.
3. Bold ministry can turn people off but they would probably turn away anyway and be considered by God to be lukewarm. Therefore, they probably would have been rejected by God anyway. In the Bible people mostly either turned well away or became committed believers.
iv. The Bible tells us that if we don’t warn someone in error to turn from evil, we are partly responsible. Ezekiel 33:8-9: “ 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.”
1. The Bible tells us that there will be times that we need to rebuke someone so that they are delivered from the grip of sin and death.
v. Revelation 3:19 says: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
1. This tells us that a rebuke is done because of love!
a. Jesus rebuked out of love!
2. The Bible God’s Word rebukes us so that we change and repent so that we can receive grace and forgiveness and the Love of God.
vi. Rebuke has 77 occurrences in the Bible.
1. It’s more common than people care to admit today and it is a necessary part of our spiritual development.
T.S. – The Bible was given to us by God to rebuke us back into His love and it is also given to us to correct false beliefs and misconceptions of God and even about what life is about.
III. The Word of God is useful for correcting
a. Correction means to show someone what is true and what is wrong.
i. Reference the upcoming series with the gay clergy claiming God is okay with their sin and lifestyle because He made them that way. The Bible is clear Homosexuality is a sin and the Bible states it plainly. But many want to rewrite the Bible on this subject but research proves them wrong. It is sin and will always be sin to God and His Word. Let’s look at a few passages of Scripture:
1. See Genesis 19 – It tells why the cities were destroyed because of the corruption of the people in this city (Notice the time frame it’s “Before the Law”)
a. Jude 7 states: “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”
i. Bible is clear on this sin. Sin is sin!
2. See Leviticus 18:22: 22“‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” – sodomy is a sin (Notice the time frame is during “The Law”)
3. See Romans 1:18-32: 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30slanderers, God–haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
a. Sodomy, homosexuality is a sin even after the law era and into the grace period (After the Law).
i. It is not a cultural issue but a universal sin from Genesis through Revelation.
b. The Bible is the one that corrects false teachings and beliefs and it is given to us to help us see what is sin and what is not sin.
ii. Peck states: Correction is similar to rebuking, but it focuses in on behavior instead of beliefs. This assumes that all of us lose our way in life sometimes, that we can easily wander off the course God has for us and end up roaming around in circles. The Bible corrects us when it gets us back on track in life, when it shows us where we are and how to get back on course with where God wants us to go.
iii. Definition of cor•rec•tions from Bing: 1. alteration that corrects something: an alteration that removes an error 2. written comment on error: something written beside an error in a text to point out what should be there instead 3. removal of errors: the removal of errors from something, or the indication of errors in something 4. modification to calculation: an adjustment made to a calculation or measurement to compensate for an observed deviation from ideal conditions 5. punishment to reform somebody: punishment, especially when meant to improve or reform the person punished 6. finance fall in prices: a fall in prices or activity in a stock market following a rise or busy period.
iv. Bibleinfo.com tells us this about correction:
1. Correction. When is correction a helpful gift? When someone is compromising.
a. It’s in the Bible, Galatians 2:11, TLB. "When Peter came to Antioch I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing for it was very wrong." Correction is helpful when it is motivated by love rather than condemnation.
b. It’s in the Bible, I Corinthians 4:14, TLB. "I am not writing about these things to make you ashamed, but to warn and counsel you as beloved children." Correction is helpful for those who want to grow spiritually.
c. It’s in the Bible, Hebrews 12:7, TLB. "Let God train you, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected?" Scripture is also the source of correction for people’s lives.
d. It’s in the Bible, II Timothy 3:16,17, NIV. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
v. The Bible was given to us by the breath of God to correct our behaviors and to correct our view of what is right and wrong in God’s eyes.
T.S. – The Bible is profitable for correcting us when we are in the wrong doing the wrong things. It shows us the right way to get back onto the path of spiritual growth and maturity. When we learn from the Bible, repent when rebuked and take correction from the Word of God we then grow in righteousness.
IV. The Word of God is useful for training people up in righteousness to do good works.
a. God’s Word shows us how to grow spiritually and as we grow spiritually we will automatically start doing good works.
b. Peck states: Finally, training in righteousness focuses on the Bible’s role in helping us live the kind of lives that please God. This assumes that a life of integrity doesn’t come naturally to us, that we need help to live the kind of life of integrity we want to live. The Bible trains us to do that which we could not do on our own when it comes to a life of integrity.
c. So what is righteousness?
i. The Greek word that we translate as righteous is dike (pronounced, dee-kay). And while the ancient Greek meaning was tendency, the use of this word in the Bible implies justice and conformance to established standards. Justice means doing the right thing; and conformance to established standards (in the Bible) refers to following the ways of God. So, the word righteous can also be translated as just, since righteousness is so closely tied to justice.
d. The following is from http://www.2001translation.com/Righteousness.html:
i. Here are a few conclusions about what the Bible says is righteousness, and the scriptures from which these conclusions have been drawn:
1. If you really want to be righteous, you can be – Matthew 5:6, ‘Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blest because they will be satisfied.’
2. If you flaunt your righteousness, you won’t receive a reward – Matthew 6:1 ‘Be careful not to do righteous things in front of men so they can see what you are doing. Otherwise, you won’t have a reward with your Father in heaven.’
3. Righteousness involves living for God’s Kingdom – Matthew 6:33, ‘[If you] put the Kingdom and righteousness in first place, then all these [other] things will be given to you.’
4. The things you do prove whether you are righteous – Matthew 11:19, ‘Wisdom is proven righteous by the things it does.’
5. The things that you say prove whether you are righteous – Romans 3:4, ‘Your words can prove you righteous, and you can win when you’re being judged.’
6. Someone who deliberately misleads other people can never be found righteous – Matthew 12:36, ‘I tell you that everything people say to mislead others, they will have to answer for on the Judgment Day.’
7. Immoral, unclean, and greedy people will not be found righteous – Ephesians 5:5, ‘All those who are immoral, unclean, and greedy (which really amounts to being an idol worshiper) won’t have any inheritance in the Kingdom of God and the Anointed One.’
8. To be counted righteous, you must treat other righteous people very well – Matthew 25:37-40, ‘Then the righteous will ask, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison, and come to you? And the king will say to them, I tell you the truth, when you did it for one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for me.’
9. Righteous people are at peace with others – James 3:18, ‘The seeds of the fruit of righteousness are planted in peace by those who are making peace.’
10. You have to be an honest judge to be found righteous – John 7:24, ‘Quit judging from the way things look on the surface; judge righteously!’
11. Righteousness involves standing up for right things, even if that invites persecution – Acts 4:19, 20, ‘If it’s righteous in God’s eyes to listen to you instead of to God, judge for yourselves. But we can’t stop talking about the things we’ve seen and heard.’
12. A righteous person has faith in God and His promises – Romans 3:28. ‘We believe that a man is called righteous due to his faith, so he doesn’t have to follow the Law.’
13. True righteousness requires more than just faith – James 2: 24, ‘A man is called righteous by the things he does, not just by his faith.’
14. To be counted as righteous, you can’t be immoral or continue in a sinful course – Romans 6:12-14 ‘As the result, don’t allow sin to rule your mortal bodies and don’t obey its desires. Nor should you offer your body parts as unrighteous weapons of sin. Rather, offer yourselves to God as someone who has been raised from the dead, and [offer] your body parts to God as weapons of righteousness. So, sin must not be your master, because you aren’t under Law, but under [God’s] loving kindness.’
15. Most people in the world aren’t considered righteous – 1 Corinthians 6:1, 2, ‘Would any of you who think you have been [wronged] by another dare to take it to court [to be tried by] unrighteous men, rather than by the Holy Ones?’
e. God’s Word is what leads us to righteousness and truth and it is given to us by God to show us how to please and honor the Lord.
Conclusion:
GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Every Scripture passage is inspired by God. All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God’s approval.
Psalm 119:1-8: You will experience the Spirit as you hide God’s Word in your heart.
We once again today are going to use the Bible to teach us – to remind us – to correct us – and to lead us into righteousness. The next Scripture text we are going to look at is found in 1 Corinthians 11: 17-34: It teaches us once again about Jesus sacrifice and the act that gave us the ability to enter into God’s presence.
Communion then Altar Call
