Sunday 01/22/17
Series: Doers of the Word
Message – Deep and Honest Reverence II
Deep and Honest Reverence
Our take always so far are….
1. Being a DOER is Christ IN you.
a) As you obey through faith and reverence, Christ’s image is brought to greater maturity in you.
2. Grace (God’ influence) takes many forms –
a) a voice (revelation)
b) an inner direction or knowing (It seemed good to us)
c) a bias upon the emotions (Love shed abroad)
d) a power upon or acting through our flesh…etc. (Strength)
BUT ALL grace is God’s Word TO US and THAT is what we are to be doers of!
3. When we read the word or Hear God’s voice it reveals the glory of Christ in us (which is huios) – 2 Cor. 3; James 1:23-25.
19-27 – LISTEN, BELIEVE, Renouce, Receive, LIVE
James 1:21-25,
“(21) Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness (gentle strength) the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.(22) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; (24) for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
(25) But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
- Continues = abide (If you abide in Me and My words in you…)
- Not forgetful = Fears the Lord, counts His word precious. Meditate “Day and night” (bears fruit in season)
- Not forgetful…
- Fear the Lord
- Count His word precious
- Ponder it continually
Then we spent some time on the reverence and fear of the Lord, beginning with a well known example of it in Psalm 1…
“(1) How blessed is the man who does not pattern his life after the advice of the transgressors – those guilty of sin, or stand with sinners in support of their ways, or live the life of one who holds righteousness with deriding disdain and contempt! (2) Instead, his pleasure is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. (3) He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (4) The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
(5) Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.
(6) For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to utter ruin.”
So this week we are finishing the last two verses in chapter 1…
“26) If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”
“(27) Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Here we are given a ‘Christ in you’ Lithmus test
- If you cannot keep your tongue from evil, your devotion to Christ is an illusion.
- Pure and clean devotion to God expresses itself in doing…
- Caring for and reaching out to the helpless (orphans, widows…etc.)
- Keeping yourself untarnished by the world and it’s influence.
At this point we began to look at the defiling influence the world can have and how the scriptures tell us to deal with it while still being IN but not OF the world. Our reverence towards God can be allowed no rival and still claim to be devoted to Him.
This branched into a very practical discussion about how this effects those who are married to unbelievers and what the scriptures say about marriage, divorce and remarriage. If you have questions about these issues I’d strongly encourage you to listen to this recording.
…Blessings!
I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
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Blessings!