Scripture Reading: John 12:37-41
Isa 6
Proposition: You must submit to the sovereignty of God!
I. It will provoke you to worship! 1 - 4
A. His glory will require it! 1,4
B. His holiness will demand it! 2,3
These will give you some help with I Cor 11:10.
True worship often silent - 2 Chron 5: 11 - 14
II. It will provoke you to confession! 5 - 7
A. It will tear away all facades! 5
Most people in America live in a fairy tale world; TV
(soaps, hero movies), Novels (romance, sci-fi), Sex (pulp
novels, porno), Attire (what makes the man, sexy, fad, dress
for success), Cosmetics (not orderly arrangement of natural
assets but a desire to create an image that does not exist
due to dissatisfaction with what God created) therefore it
is no wonder that we have such a hard time coping with
reality and can so easily affect a form of religion without
any power. We are accustomed to living in a dream world, but
God says, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Eph 5:14
B. It will cleanse your heart! 6,7
The old office of Compline - End of day prayer. "I confess
to almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
and before all the company of Heaven, that I have sinned, in
thought, word, and deed, through my fault, my own grievous
fault; wherefore I pray, almighty God, to have mercy upon
me, to forgive all my sins, and to make clean my heart
within me."
III. It will prepare you to serve! 8 - 10
A. It will give you ears to hear! 8 - wax of sin and self
removed.
B. It will give you a clear call! 9, 10 - no ifs ands, or
buts, he even got the exact message!
IV. It will prepare you to endure! 11 - 13
A. It will give you patience! 11,12
Written 740 - Assyrian Captivity 722, 18 years of a hard
seemingly fruitless ministry
B. It will give you hope! 13
After all the destruction and apparent loss of all hope,
there is a remnant! In fall, the trees seem to be dying, as
they lose their leaves. But, it is only then they can become
fruitful as they drop their seed! The seed had to be shaken
and scattered to become productive. Your life often needs to
be shaken and your dead leaves cast off and your talents
torn from your limbs in order to become a productive
Christian. The shaking may hurt and can cause despair,
unless you are prepared to endure. If you are, then you know
the shaking is for good and you can have the hope of a
better ministry!
