THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT
PROGRAM AIR DATE – 12-14-14
LESSON TITLE: “DAY’S OF YOUR LIFE!”
WELCOME
TODAY WE ARE BLESSED WITH A WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD, THE BIBLE. THIS BOOK IS GOD'S LIVING WORD. IN ITS PAGES WE ARE TOLD “FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND POWERFUL AND SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD.” IT IS IN THIS BOOK OF BOOKS THAT WE FIND THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF MAN'S QUESTIONS AND NEEDS. THIS MORNING YOUR AREA CHURCHES OF CHRIST WELCOME YOU TO A PROGRAM COMMITTED TO THAT PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY. AS WE PRESENT THE LIVING WORD. NOW HERE IS YOUR HOST RAY SULLINS.
GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY HOLIDAY’S TO YOU AND YOURS! THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING, LET ME WELCOME YOU TO THE PROGRAM. THE LIVING WORD IS A WORK OF OUR LORD, DEDICATED TO DOING GOD’S WILL IN HIS WAY! AS ALWAYS, IT WILL BE OUR PRIVILEGE TODAY TO SING SONGS OF PRAISE AND TO STUDY FROM HIS WORD. IN THESE ACTS OF WORSHIP, MAY WE ALL BE ENCOURAGED, BUT ULTIMATELY MAY WE EACH PRAISE GOD ACCORDING TO THE SACRIFICES TO OFFER TOWARD HIS THRONE. IT WILL ALSO BE OUR HONOR THIS MORNING TO SPEAK WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYER. WILL YOU BOW WITH ME AS WE TALK TO OUR CREATOR?
PRAYER: OUR GOD AND FATHER, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS DAY AND THE MANY GREAT BLESSINGS OF LIFE. THE PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE TO BE CALLED YOUR CHILDREN AND TO SERVE YOU. AND FATHER WE ASK THAT THIS DAY AND EVERY DAY THAT YOU MIGHT HELP US TO STRIVE TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR WILL THAT THIS WORLD MIGHT KNOW YOU AND OBEY YOUR TRUTH. AND FATHER IN THE END GIVE US THE GREAT REWARD OF HEAVEN AS WE HAVE BEEN FOUND FAITHFUL. AND THROUGH YOUR GRACE, LOVE, AND MERCY HELP US TO BE RECIPIENTS OF THOSE WONDROUS PROMISES AND BLESSINGS WHICH ARE FOUND IN YOUR WORD. IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.
WELL, LET’S GET RIGHT TO OUR FIRST SONG OF THE MORNING! WON’T YOU JOIN IN WITH THE CONGREGATION AT THIS TIME AS WE SING TOGETHER, “TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS.”
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT COME TO MY MIND DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON. HOWEVER, I THINK ONE THAT STANDS OUT THE MOST IS THE REALITY OF JUST HOW GREAT WE HAVE IT AS AMERICANS. ISN’T IT WONDERFUL TO BE A CITIZEN OF THE GREATEST AND MOST BLESSED COUNTRY ON THIS EARTH? FURTHERMORE, THINK ABOUT OUR HOMES, OUR POSSESSIONS AND OUR WONDROUS GIFTS FROM GOD. ISN’T IT ALSO EQUALLY GREAT TO HAVE A FAMILY AND TO BE A PART OF A SOCIAL STRUCTURE WHICH WAS PLANNED AND ORDAINED BY GOD HIMSELF?
NOW READ WITH ME FROM EPHESIANS 2:19, WERE PAUL TALKS OF ANOTHER GREAT BLESSING WE HAVE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. THERE WE READ, “NOW, THEREFORE, YOU ARE NO LONGER STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.” PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR THIS GLORIOUS TRUTH! NOT ONLY ARE WE MEMBERS OF A GREAT COUNTRY AND A PART OF A PHYSICAL OR EARTHLY FAMILY, BUT BEST OF ALL WE ARE CITIZENS IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD! THE VERSE PROCLAIMS US AS SAINTS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE WHICH GOD BUILT. ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL? ISN’T THAT PRECIOUS TO KNOW?
CONTINUE WITH ME AT THE NEXT VERSE, 20, AS IT GOES ON TO TELL US WHY WE HAVE THIS BLESSED OPPORTUNITY AND FROM WHERE IT IS FOUNDED. THERE WE READ, “HAVING BEEN BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE, IN WHOM THE WHOLE BUILDING, BEING JOINED TOGETHER, GROWS INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD, IN WHOM YOU ALSO ARE BEING BUILT TOGETHER FOR A DWELLING PLACE OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT.” THANKS BE TO GOD AND HIS SON, FOR IT IS THROUGH CHRIST THAT WE ARE A PART OF THAT PRECIOUS HOUSEHOLD OR FAMILY OF GOD. FOR CHRIST ALONE IS THE “CHIEF CORNERSTONE;” IN WHICH THE WHOLE BUILDING, TEMPLE AND FAMILY ARE JOINED TOGETHER IN.
NOW THE QUESTION YOU MUST ASK - ARE YOU A PART OF THE FAMILY? ARE YOU IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD? HAVE YOU DONE WHAT GOD REQUIRES THAT YOU BE CONSIDERED A PART OF HIS PRECIOUS FAMILY? IF YOU HAVE NOT OBEYED GOD AND DONE WHAT HE COMMANDS IN HIS WORD, RESPOND TODAY BEFORE IT’S EVERLASTINGLY TO LATE!
THIS MORNING, WE WILL CONTINUE OUR SERIES OF STUDY WHICH IS CALLED, “THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR.” AS FAR AS OUR SPECIFIC LESSON OF THE DAY WE WILL FOCUS ON THE TOPIC, “DAY’S OF YOUR LIFE!” SO PLEASE STAY WITH US THIS MORNING AND AFTER OUR NEXT SONG TOGETHER, I WILL BE LEADING OUR MAIN THOUGHTS OF THE DAY. NOW IT’S TIME TO JOIN IN OUR SECOND SONG OF THE DAY, THE NAME OF THIS HYMN, “TO CANAAN’S LAND I’M ON MY WAY.”
LESSON
BY RAY SULLINS
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CONTINUING WITH US NOW AS WE GO TO GOD'S WORD AND WE LOOK AT ANOTHER LESSON IN RELATIONSHIP TO SPECIAL DAYS AS WE'VE LOOKED AT IN THIS SERIES TOGETHER TRYING TO CONSIDER AGAIN THOSE DAYS THAT GOD HATH DONE CERTAIN AND SPECIAL WONDROUS THINGS FOR OUR SAKE UNTO HIS GLORY. AND WE'VE LOOKED AT, FOR INSTANCE, THE DAYS OF CREATION AND WE'VE CONSIDERED TOGETHER THE DAYS OF JUDGMENT. WE'VE LOOKED TOGETHER AT THE IDEA OF THE DAYS OF WORSHIP, AND THE DAYS OF JESUS' LIFE. SO MANY THINGS TOGETHER UP TO THIS POINT THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CONSIDER IN ORDER THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT GOD'S PATTERN IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE DAYS OF LIFE.
AND WITH THAT IN MIND THEN WE WILL CONTINUE THIS DAY AND I'LL ASK YOU TO TURN FIRST OF ALL TO GENESIS CHAPTER 3 WITH ME. AND I THINK IT'S THERE THAT WE WILL FIRST SEE AT LEAST THE EXPRESSION THAT WE WANT TO USE. MAYBE NOT IN THE WAY THAT IT IS SPECIFICALLY USED IN THE NEGATIVE SENSE HERE BUT THE EXPRESSION ITSELF. AND THEN WE'LL GO TO A FEW POSITIVE EXAMPLES AS WELL AND BEGAN TO HOPEFULLY OPEN UP OUR EYES TO A VERY SIMPLE YET VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC THAT WE WANT TO COVER TODAY ABOUT THE DAYS THAT GOD HAS BROUGHT NEAR US OR PREPARED FOR US.
AND SO YOU MIGHT NOTICE WITH ME THERE IN CHAPTER 3 AND YOU REMEMBER WITH ME IN CHAPTER 3 THAT THIS IS RIGHT AFTER THE SIN OF MAN AND WOMAN THERE IN THE GARDEN. AND CERTAINLY THE SERPENT IS GUILTY OF SIN AS WELL. AND BECAUSE OF THIS, NOT ONLY IS MAN AND WOMAN PUNISHED, BUT ALSO THE SERPENT IS PUNISHED. AND IN VERSE 14, NOTICE WHAT IT IS THAT THE CURSE SAYS TO THE SERPENT, THAT IS THE CURSE FROM GOD TO THE SERPENT, “BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS, YOU ARE CURSED MORE THAN ALL THE CATTLE, AND MORE THAN EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD; ON YOUR BELLY YOU SHALL GO, AND YOU SHALL EAT DUST ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE.” NOW THERE IT IS. ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE. DO WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE BORN IN THIS WORLD, BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD BY GOD, CREATED AND PLACED WITHIN THE WOMB AND THEN GROWING TO THE POINT THAT WE'RE DELIVERED AND THEN UNTIL THE VERY END OF OUR LIVES - HEBREWS 9:27 - WHEN WE DIE - IT'S APPOINTED UNTO MAN ONCE TO DIE - THEN AFTER THE DEATH THAT WE EXPERIENCE THE JUDGMENT WILL BE.
BUT WE KNOW BETWEEN THAT ENTRANCE TO THIS LIFE AT CONCEPTION AND WE KNOW UNTIL THE DAY WE BREATHE OUR LAST BREATH OF AIR ON THIS EARTH THAT THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE. THESE CONSIST OF THE DAYS AND THE HOURS AND THE MOMENTS OF OUR LIVES. THEY CONSIST OF THE WEEKS AND THE MONTHS IN THE YEARS. AND WITHIN THEM WE CAN LOOK BACK AND WE CAN SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE AS WE WERE GROWING UP AS A CHILD IN THE HOME OF OUR PARENTS. WE CAN SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO GO ON OUR FIRST DATE SO TO SPEAK AND TO FIND THAT ONE THAT WE LOVE. WE CAN SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO GO TO SCHOOL AND WE CAN SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE A FAMILY. ON AND ON AND ON WE COULD GO ABOUT THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE, THOSE THINGS THAT STOOD OUT - THOSE PRECIOUS MOMENTS, AND AS I MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE NO DOUBTS EVEN IN YOUR MINDS THINGS THAT COME TO A FORETHOUGHT. BUT I WANT YOU TO NOTICE HERE AS HE USES THIS IN THE NEGATIVE SENSE. HE'S SAYING TO THE SERPENT YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFER, IF YOU WILL, ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE BECAUSE OF THE SIN WHICH YOU HAVE COMMITTED.
NOW I WANT YOU TO TURN OVER WITH ME TO PSALM 23 AND CERTAINLY WE'RE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH PSALM 23. IT'S A PSALM THAT IS USED SO OFTEN, ESPECIALLY IN AND AROUND DEATH. I THINK VERY FITTINGLY AND RIGHTLY SO BECAUSE IT IS SO COMFORTING IN THE FACT THAT DAVID HERE REMINDS US THAT GOD IS EVER AND ALWAYS WITH US NO MATTER WHAT. BUT NOTICE WITH ME WHAT HE SPECIFICALLY SAYS IN THIS PSALM IN VERSE 6 OF PSALM 23, “SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE; AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.” WHAT DID HE SAY? GOD'S GOODNESS, GOD'S MERCY WILL ALWAYS BE FOLLOWING ME. HOW OFTEN? EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. YOU KNOW WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BEING A CHRISTIAN? YOU KNOW WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BEING A FOLLOWER OF GOD? THAT GOD IS EVER WITH US. THAT WE ARE NEVER ALONE. ISN'T THAT WHAT HE TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THERE BEFORE HE LEFT THEM IN MATTHEW 28:20, “AND LOW I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS EVEN UNTIL THE END OF THE AGE.” YOU SEE, FOR AGES AND AGES - FOR ALL OF YOUR DAYS - GOD NEVER LEAVES OUR SIDE. HE IS AS THAT FATHER WHO IS EVER GOING TO BE WITH US. BUT UNLIKE THE FATHER, BECAUSE HE IS A SPIRIT AND BECAUSE HE DWELLS IN US, HE IS LITERALLY ALWAYS WITH US AND CAPABLE OF HELPING AND ASSISTING US AS HE HAS PROMISED THROUGH HIS WORD.
NOW, CERTAINLY WE ALSO KNOW AS WE CONSIDER THIS TEXT THAT OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED. YOU KNOW, YOU AND I HAVE KNOWN MANY PEOPLE WHO'VE LIVED VERY LONG AND HEALTHY LIVES. BOTH OF MY GRANDPARENTS ON MY FATHER'S SIDE LIVED TO OVER NINETY. BUT THEN I CAN ALSO KNOW THAT IN LIFE THERE HAVE BEEN THOSE WHO HAVE DIED AT A YOUNG ADULT AGE. SOME WHO HAVE DIED AS CHILDREN, SAD TO SAY. AND EVEN SOME WHO HAVE DIED AS INFANTS. ALL OF THESE SOMETIMES TO US FROM AN EARTHLY STANDPOINT ARE VERY TRAGIC. BUT WE KNOW THE BREVITY OF LIFE. WE KNOW THAT EVEN A PSALMIST TALKS ABOUT THERE IN PSALM CHAPTER 90 OR THE 90TH PSALM. HE SAYS SPECIFICALLY THAT OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED, VERSE 10, “THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES ARE SEVENTY YEARS; AND IF BY REASON OF STRENGTH THEY ARE EIGHTY YEARS, YET THEIR BOAST IS ONLY LABOR AND SORROW.” YOU SEE, THERE BEGINS TO BE AN IDEA TO LIFE OF NOT ONLY THE COMPLEXITY OF LIFE BUT THE DIFFICULTY OF LIFE. THE TRIAL OF LIFE.
IF I WERE TO ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT YOUR LIFE AND I WAS TO THINK ABOUT MY LIFE FOR JUST A MOMENT, WE PROBABLY WOULD COME TO THE SAME REALIZATION THAT THERE ARE MANY GOOD DAYS - MANY WONDROUS DAYS IN THE LIFE THAT WE LIVE BEFORE GOD AND BEFORE OUR FELLOW MAN. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF TRIAL DAYS AND PROBLEM DAYS AND HARD DAYS AND SUFFERING DAYS AND EVEN SICK AND PAINFUL DAYS. YOU SEE, SOMETIMES WHEN YOU LOOK AT SCOPE OF LIVE DESPITE THE FACT OF GOD AND HIS LOVE AND HIS GOODNESS AND ALL THE WONDROUS THINGS HE HAS DONE IN OUR LIFE, THERE IS ALSO A LOT OF NEGATIVE TO LIFE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE CAN SOMETIMES EITHER BE AS IT SEEMS LABORIOUS. ISN'T THAT ALSO WHAT JOB WAS KIND OF SAYING THERE IN JOB 14 AND VERSE 1? HE SAYS, “MAN WHO WAS BORN OF WOMAN IS OF FEW DAYS,” BUT THEN GUESS WHAT HE SAYS, “AND FULL OF TROUBLE.”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
AND SO AS WE CONSIDER THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE AND THE BREVITY OF LIFE AND SUCH THINGS, I NOW WANT YOU TO TURN OVER WITH ME TO THE BOOK OF LUKE. AND WE WANT TO LOOK TOGETHER IN CHAPTER 1. AS WE LOOK HERE AS AUTHORED THE BOOK LUKE BY A PHYSICIAN, ONE WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN EDUCATED AND ONE WHO CERTAINLY GIVES US A LOT OF GOOD DETAIL CONCERNING THE LIFE OF CHRIST AND MANY OF THE THINGS THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE LIFE OF CHRIST. NEAR THE END OF THE THINGS THAT ARE BEING SAID IN CHAPTER 1, WE GET TO WHAT IS CALLED ZACHARIAS' PROPHECY. AND THIS IS RIGHT AFTER THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. AND MANY GREAT THINGS ARE BEING SPOKEN ABOUT - THE THINGS THAT JOHN WILL DO AND THE PREPARATION THAT NOW IS GOING TO BE MADE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMING OF JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. AND WITHIN ALL OF THESE ENCOURAGEMENTS OF GOD BEING THERE FOR HIS PEOPLE, OF LOVING HIS PEOPLE, OF HELPING HIS PEOPLE AS HE HAS IN EVERY AGE AS HE'S CARED FOR ABRAHAM OR AS HE'S CARED FOR ISRAEL IN THE DAYS OF MOSES AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
NOTICE WHAT HE SAYS WITH ME CONTINUING THERE IN VERSE 74. HE SAYS, “TO GRANT TO US THAT WE, BEING DELIVERED FROM THE HAND OF OUR ENEMIES, MIGHT SERVE HIM WITHOUT FEAR, IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE HIM ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE.” DID YOU HEAR THAT? DID YOU HEAR THIS PROPHECY? THOSE THINGS THAT,AS WE MIGHT SAY OF OLD, THAT ARE BROUGHT ABOUT AS NEW? A COMMAND THAT IS NOT IN THE SENSE ONE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN HEARD, BUT NEVER BEEN HEARD LIKE THIS CONNECTING IT TO CHRIST AND THE GLORIOUS THINGS THAT ARE ABOUT TO BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE COMING OF OUR SAVIOR AND LORD. AND HERE IT SAYS THAT WITHIN THE DAYS THAT WE LIVE, AND THE CARE, AND THE PROTECTION THAT GOD GIVES US WE HAVE A DUTY. AND GUESS WHAT THAT DUTY IS? THAT WE WOULD LIVE IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.
NOW WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THAT, AS WE LIVE IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE OUR GOD IN HEAVEN ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE, WHAT I REALLY LOVE ABOUT THAT IS THAT - HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND HOLINESS? IF YOU WERE TO DEFINE HOLINESS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY? HOLINESS IS GOD. GOD IS THE FULL ESSENCE OF HOLINESS, WHICH MEANS THE CONCEPT OF PURITY - RELIGIOUS PURITY - AND THE ABILITY THAT ONE HAS TO, AS GOD EVEN SAID TO THE HEBREW PEOPLE, BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY. YOU SEE AS GOD IS HOLY, WE MUST BE HOLY. THAT'S THE SAME MESSAGE HE GAVE TO ISRAEL - THAT THEY STRIVE TO BE HOLY FOR HE WAS THEIR GOD AND HE WAS HOLY AND THEY WERE HIS PEOPLE AND THEREFORE, THEY MUST BE WHAT? HOLY. ARE WE STRIVING TO BE HOLY? RELIGIOUSLY PURE AS GOD HAS COMMANDED US TO BE?
BUT NOT ONLY HOLINESS BEING MENTIONED HERE BUT WHAT ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS? WE FIND AGAIN THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, SPECIFICALLY IN 1JOHN 3, THAT IT IS THERE THAT WE ARE TOLD TO PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS JUST AS - GUESS WHAT? HE IS RIGHTEOUS. SO IF I AM TO BE ONE WHO IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS BEING RIGHT OR GODLY AS GOD'S IS RIGHT AND GODLY. WELL CERTAINLY - WHAT AM I STRIVING TO BE? I'M STRIVING TO LIVE ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE BEFORE MY CREATOR IN HEAVEN, BEFORE MY GOD IN HOLINESS FOR HE IS HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS FOR HE IS HOLY AND HE IS RIGHTEOUS. SO WHAT AM I TRYING TO DO? I'M TRYING TO IMITATE. I'M TRYING TO EXEMPLIFY WHAT IT IS THAT GOD HIMSELF SHOWED WHILE HE EVEN IN THE FLESH WAS ON THIS EARTH IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. ONE WHO LIVED A PERFECT LIFE, A PERFECT EXISTENCE.
NOW TO UNDERSTAND THAT BETTER WE COULD GO TO FIRST CORINTHIANS 11 AND VERSE 1 WHERE PAUL SAID, “IMITATE ME, JUST AS I ALSO IMITATE CHRIST.” BUT I WANT TO LOOK WITH ME THERE RATHER AT THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS CHAPTER 5. AND IN EPHESIANS CHAPTER 5 YOU WILL KNOW WITH ME THAT THE FIRST VERSE SAYS, “THEREFORE BE IMITATORS OF GOD AS DEAR CHILDREN.” IF WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN, IF WE ARE GOING TO BE THOSE WHO ARE HIS PEOPLE AS WE JUST READ, WHAT MUST WE DO? IN HOLINESS, IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE HIM, ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES DO WHAT IT IS THAT GOD COMMANDS. IMITATE HIM, AS MY GOD IS HOLY, I DESIRE TO BE HOLY. AS MY GOD IS RIGHTEOUS, I DESIRE TO BE RIGHTEOUS AND FILL IN THE BLANKS - BLANK...BLANK...BLANK. WHATEVER GOD IS. WHATEVER GOD HAS STRIVEN FOR. WHATEVER PATTERN HE HAS LEFT US AND SHOWN US, WE STRIVE TO BE LIKE HIM FOR HE IS A PERFECT FATHER.
BUT THEN I WANT YOU TO NOTICE IN THIS TEXT WHAT HE GOES ON TO SAY THAT WE MUST DO IN IMITATING GOD. AND REALLY THAT'S THE APPLICATION I THINK YOU COULD MAKE, NOT ONLY AS WE LOOK AT THIS IN THE REMAINING MOMENTS OF OUR LESSON, BUT ALSO AS YOU MIGHT CONSIDER OTHER PASSAGES IN SCRIPTURE. ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE LIVING IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS BEING AS GOD WAS AS HE WAS ON THIS EARTH AND AS HE COMMANDS THROUGH HIS WORD, THE BIBLE, IMITATING HIM ENCOMPASSES A DAILY WALK AS HE WALKED. A DAILY COMMITMENT TO THE THINGS OF THE FATHER AS JESUS HAD A DAILY WALK AND COMMITMENT TO THE THINGS OF HIS FATHER. JESUS SAID, I DON'T SPEAK OF MY OWN AUTHORITY. I DON'T ACT OR WORK OR DO BY MY OWN AUTHORITY. THE THINGS THAT I DO, THE THINGS THAT I SAY, ARE FROM THE FATHER. IS THAT THE SPIRIT WE HAVE IN HOLINESS? IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AS WE TRY TO IMITATE GOD FOR HE ALONE IS THAT PERFECT - ALL-KNOWING, ALL REVEALING GOD WHO HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD.
SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE CONTINUE WALKING IN AS GOD? HE MENTIONS LOVE THERE IN VERSE 2. THE LOVE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, NOT ONLY FOR GOD, BUT THE LOVE THAT WE KNOW GOD HAS HAD FOR US SHOULD MOTIVATE US TO GUESS WHAT? TO DO WHAT GOD HAS SAID. TO BE THOSE WHO PRACTICE, PARTAKE WITH GOD - VERSE SEVEN. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE SAYS THAT WE WALK IN LIGHT. GUESS WHAT? GOD IS LIGHT - AGAIN OVER IN FIRST JOHN. GUESS WHAT? GOD IS LOVE, OVER IN FIRST JOHN. YOU SEE, GOD IS LOVE. GOD IS LIGHT. GOD IS ALL THESE THINGS. BE WHAT? BE IMITATORS. HOLINESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOVE, LIGHT. DOING THOSE THINGS THAT HE IS ASKED. VERSE 10, I LOVE THERE BECAUSE IT SAYS DOING THAT WHICH IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD. WALKING AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT AS GOD IS LIGHT WE STRIVE TO BE WHERE HE IS, NOT BRINGING HIM DOWN TO WHERE WE ARE. WE KNOW GOD AS THE STANDARD AS THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AS CHILDREN OF GOD. HE'S THE ONLY PERFECT STANDARD. NOT OURSELVES AND CERTAINLY NO MAN AND CERTAINLY NO RELIGION OR CHURCH THAT IS OF A PHYSICAL STRUCTURE ON THIS EARTH. IT IS GOD AND GOD ALONE. BUT HE NOT ONLY SAYS THAT GOD IS THE GOD OF LOVE AND THEREFORE, WE WALK IN LOVE IN OUR DAILY LIFE. AND HE NOT ONLY SAYS THAT GOD IS THE GOD OF LIGHT AND THEREFORE WE WALK AS GOD AND THE LIKE IN OUR DAILY LIVES AND WE SHOW FORTH HIS GLORY, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS HOLINESS.
BUT THEN HE SAYS THAT WE MUST BE THOSE WHO WALK IN A WISE WAY. DOWN IN VERSE 15, “SEE THAT YOU WALK CIRCUMSPECTLY,” WHICH MEANS WISELY OR UPRIGHT. THAT YOU STRIVE IT EVERYTHING WITHIN THAT WALK TO MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY ARE YOU AN IMITATOR OF GOD IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AS WE SEE HERE IN LOVE AND ALL THOSE THINGS LIKE LIGHT WHICH GOD IS BUT WE ALSO STRIVE TO WALK IN A WISE WAY. BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? EVERYTHING WE DO MY BRETHREN AND FRIENDS, EVERYTHING WE SAY REFLECTS ON GOD IF WE CLAIM TO BE HIS CHILDREN. AND THEREFORE WE EITHER GIVE GLORY TO THE FATHER IN HEAVEN - GLORIFY MY FATHER IN HEAVEN, MATTHEW CHAPTER 5 - OR WE GIVE GLORY TO THE THINGS OF THIS EARTH OR OURSELVES. OR MAYBE WE GIVE DISHONOR TO GOD OR SELF.
AND SO THAT'S THE CHALLENGE THAT I WOULD GIVE US TODAY AS WE CONSIDER THE FACT OF THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES - THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT EACH AND EVERY DAY IS A SPECIAL AND PERFECT DAY OF HOLINESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOVE, AND AS WE'VE SEEN THE PERFECTION OF GOD'S LIGHT AS WE ARE THE LIGHT, WALKING WISELY TO GIVE GOD ALWAYS GLORY AND HONOR, THAT NOT ONLY WE BUT OUR FELLOW MAN, MIGHT SEE AND KNOW GOD IN AND THROUGH US. SO THAT IN THE END NOT ONLY WILL WE BE RECIPIENTS OF HIS WONDROUS PROMISES AND REWARDS - BUT ALL THOSE WHO WILL HEAR AND OBEY AND IMITATE HIM AS WELL. SO ARE YOU A TRUE IMITATOR TODAY? ARE YOU LIVING ACCORDING TO THE PLAN OF GOD? DO YOU LOVE HIM MORE THAN YOURSELF AND THEREFORE ARE YOU WILLING TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS? IF SO, PRAISE BE TO GOD. AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE RIGHT WITH HIM TODAY FOR THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL BE IN HEAVEN IS WHEN YOU DO IT GOD'S WAY.
CLOSING COMMENTS
LET ME THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHOOSING TO BE WITH US TODAY, IN THIS OFFERING TO GOD. I KNOW OUR TIME TOGETHER HAS BEEN AN ENCOURAGEMENT AND BLESSING TO ALL OF US. WE INVITE YOU BACK EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AT 7:30, AS WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO THIS SERVICE OF GOD!
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ARE YOU LIVING YOUR LIFE FOR GOD EACH AND EVERY DAY THAT HE HAS BLESSED YOU WITH? IF NOT, WHY NOT BEGIN TODAY MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO, EACH DAY OF YOUR LIFE, THAT YOU WILL GIVE TRUE HONOR AND GLORY TO YOUR LORD GOD IN HEAVEN.