Jesus and others did it Anyway #10
Pastor
Mike Barnett
THEME:
YOU WILL BE TEMPTED TO RELY ON THE GRACE OF GOD TO THE POINT OF SPIRITUAL
APATHY, BUT CHOOSE TO LET GOD SANCTIFY YOU AND SET YOU APART FROM THE WORLD
ANYWAY BECAUSE THAT IS DESIRE FOR YOUR
LIFE!
Philippians
2:12-16 (pg. 831) says:
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always
obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to
work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for
it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God
without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like
stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast
on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. A Christian can
be tempted to misuse the grace of God to the point where their behavior
reflects that of the world, but that is not what it means to be a Christian.
THE
BIBLE SAYS in 1 John 3:6-9 (pg. 863) says:
"No one
who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen
him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does
what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because
the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God
appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one
who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he
cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God". 1 John 3:6-9
WHAT
IS SANCTIFICATION?
·
The word,
“Sanctification” literally means to be “___________ ______________” (set apart)
for God.
·
Sanctification
is being free from _____________(sin) and the _______________________(restoration)
of our true selves in Christ.
·
Sanctification
is the ____________________(transition) from
self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.
·
Sanctification
is the process of becoming the person God created us to be.
·
Sanctification
is the ____________________(process) of becoming more
like __________________(Jesus) and less like the world.
·
Sanctification
is thinking, acting and being just like Jesus.
·
Sanctification
is the work God does in us as we _____________________ _____________________(surrender control) of our life to Him.
TRUTH:
Walking the Christian life is merely taking one step after another. And with
each step of surrender, unholy desires lose more and more of their power.
Deliverance from sin does not come by continually struggling to subdue the
flesh, but by continually allowing the Holy Spirit to fill, renew, and
transform our mind.
·
THE BIBLE
SAYS THAT GOD _____________________(PROMISES) TO
SANCTIFY ___________________(EVERY) FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.
1
Thessalonians 5:23-24 (pg. 837) says:
"May God
himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do
it".
Jude
1:24-25 ((pg 866) says:
"To him
who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious
presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power
and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and
forevermore! Amen". Jude 1:24-25
Philippians
1:6 says:
"Being confident of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus". Philippians
1:6
HOW
COME MANY PROFESSING CHRISTIANS DO NOT LIVE A SANCTIFED LIFE AND THEREBY LOOK
LIKE JESUS?
A. Some are in ______________________(process) of becoming more like Jesus.
Philippians
3:10-16 (pg. 831) says:
I
want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of
sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from
the dead.PHP 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have
already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ
Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not
consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.PHP 3:15
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some
point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already
attained. Philippians 3:10-16
B. Some are in ____________________(disillusionment) and really do not know Christ even though
they think they do – they are not in process at all.
Matthew
7:21-23 (Pg. 686) says:
"Not
everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will
tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!' Matthew 7:21-23
THE
STEPS TO HOLINESS/SANCTIFCATION
1. I must ____________________________(understand)
what I am _____________________(asking) for in sanctification – I am asking God
to set me _________________(apart) from the world for His Holy
____________________(purposes).
·
I am not asking
that God will make me less than ______________________(human)
– (Our humanness is not to be equated with sin).
·
Sanctification
is not the crucifixion of our basic human self.
·
The process of sanctification is
basically asking God to enable me to ______________________
____________________________(yield completely) to Christ whatever the
consequences may be - I am asking that I might receive by simple _________________(faith),
the ___________________(fullness) of God, whether I immediately feel emotion or
not.
2. I must ______________________(believe) "entire sanctification" is a _________________(gift)
to me from God.
·
I must allow
my faith to lay hold of a new power in Christ to believe that he can and will
sanctify me!
NOTE:
Just as I believed at first that God delivered me from the guilt of sin
because he said it, so now I must believe my faith will take hold of a new
power to _________ ___________(not sin) because He _____________(says) it is so.
A
BIBLE STORY
Mark
5:25-36 (pg. 711) says:
25 And a woman
was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many
doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew
worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him
in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she
thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her
body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power
had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who
touched my clothes?" "You see the people crowding against you,"
his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, `Who touched me?' "But
Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her,
came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has
healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." While Jesus
was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus,
the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why
bother the teacher any more?" Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the
synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Mark 5:25-36
·
Just like we
must believe he will heal us when we are physically sick…We must believe by
faith that he can and will sanctify us of our ______________(sin)
nature.
A. After all,
sanctification is just ________________________(spiritual)
________________________(healing) & ________________________(wholeness).
NOTE:
It is _________ ___________________(no harder) for God
to sanctify you as it is for Him to save you, or heal you.
THAT
IS WHAT MAKES FAITH, FAITH!
Hebrews
11:1-2 says:
1Now
faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
·
WE MUST THROW
AWAY FOREVER ALL OUR _______________________(DOUBTS)
ABOUT GOD’S WILL FOR OUR SPIRITUAL WHOLENESS AND WELL BEING - WELCOME IT WITH
ALL YOUR HEART!
NOTE: Quit looking inside
yourself to see if you have faith -Sanctification is not a matter of your _______________________(feeling), but of _______________________(believing) and
taking.
3. To start the process
of sanctification I must
surrender everything ______ __________(I am) and everything ________ _________
__________(I am not) to God!
THE
BIBLE SAYS in Ephesians 4:22-24 (pg. 828):
22 You were
taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which
is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
·
All sin is an
attempt to get my love and validation ___________________(needs)
met on my ______________(own) strength ______________(apart) from God.
NOTE:
The very ________________________(moment) you give Him
all, you are set apart by Him and for Him – the process had begun!
·
Keep trusting
that God’s renewing, sanctifying, work is going on within you (for it is) and
you will begin to see the change in the way you think and live in time.
·
Hold on to
what the __________________(Bible) says is _________________(true)
of you as a "Christ follower"!
THE BIBLE SAYS in Romans
6:15-23 (Pg. 799) says:
15 What then?
Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to
someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether
you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to
righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that,
though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of
teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You
have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put
this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you
used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to
ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness
leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to
sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the
things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been
set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to
holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life inn Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:15-23
Romans
8:9-17 (pg. 800) says:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit,
if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you,
your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of
righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the
dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore,
brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live
according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you
will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you
will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are
sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a
slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.n And by him we cry, "Abba,n
Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we
are God's children. 17 Now if we are children,
then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in
his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:9-17
4. Embrace the fact that
God uses _______________________(problems) _________________Trials)
and _______________________(sufferings) in your life to sanctify you (set you
apart from the world).
"If
we suffer persecution and affliction in a right manner, we attain a larger
measure of conformity to Christ, by a due improvement of one of these
occasions, then we should could have done merely by
imitating his mercy, in abundance of good works". John Wesley
·
John Wesley
tells us that the best way to escape our suffering is to embrace it, receive
and endure it.
·
THE READIEST
WAY TO ESCAPE FROM OUR SUFFERINGS IS TO BE WILLING THEY SHOULD (ENDURE) AS LONG
AS GOD PLEASES.
·
In other
words give your problem a hug and let it go because…
·
We attract
more suffering by running from it.
·
In life,
sometimes we attract the things we want, but we also attract the things we
don’t want by dwelling on them.
THAT'S
WHY THE BIBLE SAYS:
4 Rejoice in
the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is
near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:4-8
·
ONE OF THE
GREATEST EVIDENCES OF GOD’S LOVE TO THOSE THAT LOVE HIM IS, TO SEND THEM
_______________________(AFFLICTIONS), WITH
_______________________(GRACE) TO BEAR THEM.
·
Even in the
greatest afflictions, we ought to testify to God, that in receiving them from
his hand, we feel pleasure in the midst of the pain, from being afflicted by
Him who loves us, and whom we love.
"THE
READIEST WAY WHICH GOD TAKES TO DRAW A MAN TO HIMSELF IS, TO AFFLICT IN THAT HE
LOVES MOST, AND WITH GOOD REASON; AND TO CAUSE THIS AFFLICTION TO ARISE FROM
SOME GOOD ACTION DONE WITH A SINGLE EYE; BECAUSE NOTHING CAN MORE CLEARLY SHOW
HIM THE EMPTINESS OF WHAT IS MOST LOVELY AND DESIREABLE IN THE WORLD."
John Wesley
·
A “Christ
follower” is one who _____________________(embraces)
all events, ___________________(good) and _________________(bad), as God’s
will.
Job
2:9-10 says:
9 His wife
said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and
die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we
accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all
this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2:9-10
Ecclesiastes
7:13-14 (pg 475) says:
13
Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
14
Then
times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.
·
WE OUGHT TO
QUIETLY SUFFER WHATEVER BEFALLS US, TO BEAR THE DEFECTS OF OTHERS AND OUR OWN,
TO CONFESS THEM TO GOD IN SECRET PRAYER, OR WITH GROANS WHICH CANNOT BE
UTTERED; BUT NEVER TO SPEAK A SHARP OR PEEVISH WORD, NOR TO MURMER OR REPINE;
BUT THOUROUGHLY WILLING THAT GOD SHOULD TREAT YOU IN THE MANNER THAT PLEASES
HIM.
·
There is no
love of God without patience, and no patience without lowliness and sweetness
of spirit.
·
Humility and
patience are the surest proofs of the increase of love.
·
Of the sins
which God has pardoned let nothing remain but a deeper humility in the heart,
and a stricter regulation in our words, in our actions, and in our sufferings.
·
The bearing men, and suffering evils in meekness and silence, is the sum
of a Christian life.
·
Too many of
us are not theologically prepared too suffer.
·
When we
suffer, instead of trusting God, we complain.
·
We demand
that our circumstances change quickly instead of our heart, attitude – the
thing that God is wanting to change through our
suffering.
·
GOD USES
SUFFERING TO __________________________(MATURE) THE
CHRIST FOLLOWER!
Hebrews 12:7-12 (pg. 852)
says:
7 Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not
disciplined by his father? 8 If you are
not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate
children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we
have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How
much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as
they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in
his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those
who have been trained by it.HEB
·
When we
suffer there will sometimes be mystery. Will there also be faith? Yes. If our
attention is focussed more on the cross and on the
God of the cross than on the suffering itself.
5.
God uses the spiritual disciplines of ______________ _________________(Bible study) and _________________(prayer) to continue the
sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within us.
·
We Speak to
God through prayer.
Luke
11:9-12 (pg. 735) says:
9"So
I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who
asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be
opened. 11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks
for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
·
God Speaks to
us through His Word.
John
15:1-8 (pg. 764) says:
1"I
am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while
every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to
you. 4Remain in me, and I will
remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5"I
am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my
words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Hebrews
4:12-13 says:
12For
the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
INTODUCTION
TO THE TEACHINGS OF JOHN WESLEY
Throughout
church history, John Wesley and countless Bible teachers believed that a Christian
could reach a state of spiritual perfection called entire sanctification. Being
fully sanctified does not mean the person is perfect in every way, but that
they are perfected in love.
What
is love?
1
Corinthians 13:4-8 says:
4 Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are
prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Perfect love" is: Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul. And
loving your neighbor as you love yourself one moment at a time.
Matthew
22:37-39 says:
37 Jesus
replied: " `Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'n 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.'n 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments." Matthew 22:37-39
The
Doctrine of Perfect Love – In the Words of John Wesley:
In
what sense is a Christian not perfect?
1. "Perfect
love" is salvation from (sin).
1
Thessalonians 5:22-24 says:
"May
God himself, the god of peace sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful
and he will do it".
·
The
perfection the Bible speaks of is perfect in love.
1
John 4:16-18 says:
16 And so we
know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love
lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that
we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are
like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives
out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made
perfect in love.
1
John 4:16-18
In
what sense can Christians become perfect?
·
A Christian
is so far perfect, as to not commit sin.
·
If,
therefore, the heart be no longer evil, then evil thoughts no longer proceed
out of it: For a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.
·
They are
freed from evil thoughts and evil tempers.
Galatians
20 I have been
crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I
live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Romans
25 Thanks be
to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave
to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.RO 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus,n 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit
of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans
·
He is pure
from unrighteous, carnal anger.
Ephesians
4:26-27 says:
26 "In
your anger do not sin"n :
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians
4:26-27
·
The image of
God is restored in them.
"Not
that they have already attained all that they shall attain, either are already
in the sense perfect. But they daily ‘go on from strength to strength;
beholding’ now, ‘as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, they are changed into
the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.’ "And
where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom."John
Wesley
·
They feel
that all their sufficiency is of God, that it is He alone who is in their
thoughts.
The
Bible says in Philippians 4:4-9
"4 Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy--think about such things. 9
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it
into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9
1
Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:
"Be
joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire". 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18
GOD’S
PERFECT LOVE KEEPS US STEADY WHEN STORMS COME!
"The
bottom of the soul may be repose, even while we are in may
outward troubles; just as the bottom of the sea is calm, while the surface is
strongly agitated…the best helps to growth in grace are the ill usage, the
affronts, and the losses which befall us. We should receive them with all
thankfulness, as preferable to all others, were it only on this account, - that
our will has no part therein". John Wesley
In
Describing those Christians who have experienced
"Perfect Love":
·
In their
trouble they cry unto the Lord, and he shows them that he has taken away their
sins, and opens the kingdom of heaven in their hearts, ‘righteousness, and
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.’
·
"Sorrow
and pain are fled away, and ‘sin has no more dominion over’ them Knowing they
are justified freely through faith in his blood, they have peace with God
through Jesus Christ; ‘ they ‘rejoice in hope of the glory of God,’ and ‘the
love of God is shed abroad in their hearts". John Wesley
NOTE:
THE BELIEVER CAN AND MAY INDEED SIN (AFTER) BEING SANCTIFIED!
In
describing the battle to keep "perfect love" on a daily basis:
The
Bible says in 1 John 2:1,2
1 My dear
children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does
sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not
only for ours but also forn
the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1,2
·
The believer
does not make a practice of sinning, but if the believer never sins, why should
there be an "advocate" for the believer.
·
Because even
the most mature of Christians can fall into sin there should be no spiritual
pride in any of us when we minister to a person who has sinned – no hint of superiority;
no contempt for the one who has fallen, no forgetfulness that we all face
temptation.
The
BIBLE SAYS in Galatians 6:1
1 Brothers, if
someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1
2. It (perfect love) is
constantly both proceeded and followed by a gradual
work.
3. It is both
instantaneous and progressive.
John
Wesley was asked, "But whom then do you mean by ‘one is perfect?"
John
Wesley’s reply:
·
"We mean
one in whom is ‘ the mind which was in Christ,’ and
who so ‘walketh as Christ also walked;’ a man ‘ that
hath clean hands and a pure heart,’ or that is ‘cleansed from all filthiness of
flesh and Spirit; ‘ one whom is ‘no occasion of stumbling,’ and who accordingly
does not commit sin".
NOTE:
John Wesley recognized this danger of people deceiving themselves into thinking
that they are above sinning again and emphasized the need for a moment to
moment reliance on God’s love in the form of the cleansing blood of Christ.
34 Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34
NOTE:
It is impossible to sin, when I am living on love.
:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not
rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does
not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1CO 13:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will
cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge,
it will pass away. 1 Corinthians. 13:4-8
·
All sin is an
attempt to get my love and validation needs met on my own strength (apart) from
God.
·
God’s
"perfect love" is not received by feeling, but by (faith).
·
When I
receive God’s "perfect love" by faith I walk free from selfishness,
sin, fear, guilt, shame, and condemnation!
Galatians
5: 16-26
16 So I say,
live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want. 18 But if you are led by the
Spirit, you are not under law.
GAL 5:19 The
acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn
you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
GAL 5:22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the
Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying
each other. Galatians 5:
16-26
9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved
you. Now remain in my
love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command
is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one
than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant
does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for
everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my
command: Love each other. John 15:9-17
John
Wesley and his followers taught that:
1.
The place were we suffered defeat is the place were God wants us to experience (victory)
over the power of sin.
2.
God not only sees us holy, he (makes) us holy.
"Both
the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers". Hebrews
2:11
3.
God deals with our sin nature in this life through a (second) (work) of (grace)
called “entire sanctification”.
·
Others have
believed in this second sanctification, but up until the time of John Wesley,
the prevalent view was only that this transformation could only take place at
the time of death.
·
The earlier
concept of sanctification was a positional holiness – that Christians are
complete in Christ.
·
Being
complete in Him did not mean an actual and spiritual transformation of the
individual, but only that in Him we are complete; only in him are we holy.
·
Wesleyans do
not accept that we must wait until we die to be sanctified or to have the sin
nature problem fully dealt with. We believe the arena of our failure is also
the arena of our victory.
JOHN
WESLEY’ S TEACHINGS ON PRACTICLE AREAS WHERE THE BELIEVER IS SANCTIFIED
(SEPARATE) FROM THE WORLD:
ON
FORGIVING OTHERS:
·
Because of
sin, relational conflict is inevitable. You will sin against others. They will
sin against you. You need to forbear with others. You need to forgive.
·
When I become
bitter or unforgiving toward others, I’m assuming that the sins of others are
more serious that my sins against God.
·
The cross
transforms my perspective.
·
Your
relationship with others must be based on your relationship to God through the
cross.
The
Bible says:
32 Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
John
Wesley taught Christians:
·
God is the
first object of our love: It’s next office is, to bear the defects of others.
And we should begin the practice in our own household.
·
WE SHOULD
CHIEFLY EXERCISE OUR LOVE TOWARDS THOSE WHO MOST SHOCK EITHER OUR WAY OF
THINKING, OR OUR TEMPER, OR OUR KNOWLEDGE, OR THE DEISRE WE HAVE THAT OTHERS
SHOULD BE AS VIRTUEOUS AS WE WISH TO BE OURSELVES.
Regarding
conflict and personal relationships Wesley said:
·
Expect
contradiction and opposition, together with crosses of various kinds.
·
Consider the
words of
·
Opposition is
given from God, not man! God gives you this opposition or reproach; it is a
fresh token of his love...And will you disown the Giver; or spurn his gift, and
count it a misfortune? …therefore receive them from God not from chance with
willingness, with thankfulness, yieldedness,
gentleness, sweetness. Why should not even your outward appearance and manner
be soft?
·
Beware of
tempting others to separate from you…
"Suffer
not one thought of separating from your brethren, whether their opinions agree
with yours or not. Do not believe that any man sins in not believing you, in
not taking your word…do not condemn or think hardly of those who cannot see
just as you see, or who judge it their duty to contradict you, whether in a
great thing or small. I fear some of us have thought hardly of others, merely
because they contradicted what we affirmed. All this tends to division; and, by
everything of this kind, we are teaching them an evil lesson against
ourselves". John Wesley
Romans
14:1-15:7 says:
1 Accept him
whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but
another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on
him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the
man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his
own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make
him stand.RO 14:5 One man considers one day
more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one
should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special,
does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the
Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and
gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.
8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we
die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.RO 14:9 For this very reason,
Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead
and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do
you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment
seat. 11 It is written:" `As surely as I live,' says the
Lord,`every knee will bow
before me;every tongue will confess to God.' "nRO 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself
to God.RO 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one
another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle
in your brother's way. 14 As
one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no foodn is unclean in itself. But if anyone
regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you
eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your
brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do not
allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and
drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is
pleasing to God and approved by men.RO 14:19 Let us therefore
make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.
All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes
someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat
meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.RO 14:22 So whatever you believe
about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does
not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because
his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is
sin.
RO 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2