If you are a Christian, it’s because somewhere along the way you made a choice. You said: I want to follow Jesus Christ, and you trusted Him as Savior and Lord of your life. Perhaps, that decision came as a struggle for one reason or another. Yet, making that decision was not nearly as difficult as maintaining that decision. Starting is not nearly as tough as following through. Many begin but few finish.
Saul’s downward progression to his ultimate demise is evident in his story from the beginning of his kingly reign to its end. In particular, 1 Samuel unveils at least five downward turns in his fall to the depths of spiritual, mental and emotional decline when he consulted the dead for guidance. Of course, Saul’s slide could never happen to any of us today – right?
In his song, Only the Good Die Young, Billy Joel sang: I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners are much more fun. If you feel the way Billy Joel feels you just may have a coronary if you listen to this sermon. So, consider this warning: What you are about to hear might be too radical to take seriously. At the same time, what you hear is the key to fulfillment, happiness and success.
Self-control is a quality found in the character of God. At least nine times the Bible tells us that God is slow to anger, i.e., God controls His emotions; God restrains His agitations; God never acts rashly. The person who breaks out of the egg and soars on the winds of the Spirit has learned to manage well his/her mind, emotions and passions. Here’s the question of the day: How can a person reel in the emotions and passions? How can a person manage explosive agitations? How can a person live below 212* Fahrenheit?
Sarah’s adamant posture may be seen as the rock. God telling Abraham to let Hagar and Ismael go is to be seen as the hard place. Abraham would have to go against Sarah or go against God. What decision did Abraham make? As we find ourselves between similar rocks and hard places, we are faced with the same dilemma faced by Abraham. Will we go with God or against God? Is there any room for middle ground or negotiation? Can we be content to be a distant speck in the rearview mirror?
Not only are worry and anxiety symptoms of assuming somebody else’s responsibilities, they are also evidence of a deep problem. What problem? Not knowing God. You may think that the propensity to worry is connected to DNA inherited from previous generations. However, worry is actually the result of not knowing God well enough. Anxieties and insecurities about life come under control when we possess an adequate understanding of who God is and how God cares for us. Don’t miss this opportunity to wipe worry from your life. Learn how now.
God has given us a treasure house of promises, and on each of those promises is a name. What name? Your name and mine, and precisely when the time is right He brings those promises to fruition. Consequently, life is often a celebration for the believer, but once in a while life for the believer can seem more like a shootout at the OK Corral. It happened to Abraham and it can happen to us.
Show me someone who is effective as a Christian, and I’ll show you someone who knows his or her Bible. Possessing an intimate knowledge of the Bible is paramount for the person who, as Peter says it: wants to have his entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ abundantly supplied. However, why is biblical knowledge so important? Why does biblical knowledge precede self-control? How does a person draw knowledge out of the Bible and into his head and heart? The answers to these questions hold the key not only to personal healing but to the healing of our society and the world.
In Genesis 17 and 18, we saw Abraham as a champion of the Lord. He had risen to a spiritual height from which it seemed he would never descend. Yet, in Genesis 20, our high-flying champion comes crashing to the ground. We will see in these 18 verses that the power of evil still lurks within the heart of even the most consecrated men and women of God. We are ever to remain aware of the possibility to fall short of the mark set for us in Jesus Christ. If we follow Abraham to the altitudes of loftiness, be careful to avoid following him to the depths of despair
Part of our creational make-up is the sexual. When God created the bodies of Adam and Eve, He didn’t say: Oops, I didn’t mean to put that there. However, the sexual is to be viewed within the parameters of moral excellence, and moral excellence means channeling the sexual in a way that honors God, edifies others, and satisfies self. Of those three, the first is the most important and the third is the least important, but how are those three applied in practical, enjoyable ways?