Eddie and Martha Marie Smith

Revelation 21:7 – He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

1.       We must overcome sin and the flesh

o        Romans 3:23 (New International Version) – ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

o        Romans 6:23 (New International Version) – ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus our Lord.

o        How to overcome and avoid sin:

§         Forgiveness

·         Repent

o        Acts 3:19 – Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

·         Believe

o        Acts 16:31 – They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

o        John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

·         Confess

o        1 John 1:9 (New International Version) – ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

·         Receive

§         Resist temptation

·         1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

§         Scripture

·         Psalm 119:11  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

§         Discipleship

·         John 13:35 – By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

·         We don’t wait on a ‘call from God’ to watch t.v. but many think they must ‘wait on a call’ to care for the poor, etc (Francis Chan)

§         Starve the flesh and feed the Spirit

·         John 3:6 – Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

§         Accountability

·         Proverbs 27:17 – As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

§         Solitude

·         Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

2.       We must overcome Satan

§         1 Peter 5:8 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

§         How we can overcome Satan

§         Resisting Satan

·         James 4:7 – Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

§         Allow no footholds

·         Ephesians 4:26-28 (New International Version) – ²⁶“In your anger do not sin”^[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.

§         Identify him and his work

·         2 Corinthians 11:14 – And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

·         2 Corinthians 2:11 – in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

§         Prayer

·         Ephesians 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

3.       We must overcome the world

§         1 Peter 2:11 – Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

§         Romans 12:2 (New International Version) – ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

• The Holy Spirit can debate and shut down the wisest and most mature, because He is the wisest of the wise and most mature of the mature.
• The Holy Spirit will still exist even when kings, kingdoms, presidents, prime ministers, countries, continents, and globes may no longer.
• The revelation of the Holy Spirit is the absolute most relevant, up to date, real time word and news.
• This power can reign in us when we allow Him to do so!

7No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

• This best kept secret is only understood by us when we empty ourselves of self and allow the Holy Spirit to “possess” us.

 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

• Those that crucified Jesus missed it!
• The Holy Spirit and self-sacrifice makes absolutely no since to those that do not have the Holy Spirit.
• Receiving the Holy Spirit may be seen as quacko to those that have not tapped into the Holy Spirit, even some Christians.

 9However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”—

• Only God knows the blessings and opportunities we will have in our lifetime and in eternity.
• We know that heaven is going to be astonishing, but we do not even have a clue how amazing it will be!
• Humanity cannot reveal or predict the outcomes of how God wants to bless those who love the One and Only God Almighty.

10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

• God is dying to reveal things to us through His Spirit when we prepare ourselves to hear it and are willing to give glory back to Him with His revelation.

11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

• The Holy Spirit goes on our behalf to search the heart of God and communicate back to us what His desires are!

12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

• The spirit of the world will one day diminish.
• God’s Spirit always has been and always will be.
• We take on the spirit of the world when we concentrate on our own agenda and not God’s.
• We do not understand what God has given us if we concentrate on our own agenda.
• If we concentrate on our own agenda, we cannot move forward in receiving God’s blessings, revelation, and plans to move the Kingdom of God forward in the department in which He has entrusted us.

13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

• The Holy Spirit allows us to speak the words of God!
• Although we can speak the words of God, Satan can twist the tongue of those who appear to be in the Holy Spirit and twist the minds of those to believe the twisted words who are not in the Spirit.

14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

• The Holy Spirit is foreign to those that do not know Him.
• The Holy Spirit is more confusing than another culture or language to the person that has not met, gotten to know, and been forgiven by Jesus.
• Some Christians go all of their “Christian” life without tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit.

15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 16a“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”

• There is none more powerful or all knowing than God.
• God does not need accountability, He is the ultimate standard of everything (morality, knowledge, wisdom, maturity, experience etc)

16b But we have the mind of Christ.

• We can tap into this power! 
• We have to give up our own agenda to follow the real-time revelation of God.
• It is easier said than done, but it is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit!
• We can’t even accept Him without His power!

We allowed the 3rd-6th graders in our Awana class to ask questions about the Bible last week.  We will take the next few months to answer these questions in our Bible lesson time.  Some of the topics may show up on this blog as well.  I thought you would like to see what our 3rd-6th graders are thinking about. 

·         Did God create aliens?

·         Did God create all planets?

·         Did God create other planets before earth?

·         If God created aliens, did He create aliens or humans first?

·         Was there a woman before Eve?

·         Were Adam and Eve the first two people?

·         Were there other people before Adam and Eve?

·         Were there people and things on earth before Jesus was born?

·         What did God create first?

·         What was the first animal?

·         What was the first insect God created?

·         What was the first plant God created?

·         What was the first star created?

·         When did God create dogs and cats?

·         When did God create the earth, colors, and insects?

·         Who was the third person that God created?

·         Why are there no humans on other planets?

·         Why did God create earth?

·         Why other plants?

·         Can anyone reach the goal of God’s goodness?

·         Could people write in the beginning?

·         Did Jesus’ mother have other children?

·         Is it true God had help from someone else to create rain?

·         Was God ever flesh and bones on earth other than Jesus?

·         Was Mary really the mother of Jesus?

·         Was the Devil (Satan) once an angel?

·         What does John 3:36 mean?

·         What does Psalm 130:3 mean?

·         What was the first color that God created?

·         Who is Jehovah?

·         Why did God create the Bible?

·         Why did God put humans on earth?

·         Why do some of the books of the Bible have names other than people (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts)?

Bill Gaither wrote the famous song we usually sing on Easter Sunday morning in our churches called Because He lives (lyrics below).

I am not normally a southern gospel fan, nor a big fan of hymns played to piano and organ (love them with the guitar), but ole Billy G tore it up this morning.

I know that Because He Lives I can…

• be the man God wants me to be as a husband, father, son, employee, leader, etc.
• overcome many obstacles
• live in victory
• pursue His dreams for me
• make a difference in this world

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” – 1 Corinthians 15:55

Christ overcame the grave! 

Because He Lives Lyrics 

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict’ry,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives!

Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Love is a very abstract concept to me unless I can engage my senses with it or attach some kind of tangible analogy to it.  I can understand the feeling of love and the labor of love.  I can even understand what things I can do to show love to others.  But it’s hard for me to sometimes grasp the concept of love…especially if I am seeking the standard for perfect love.

I have no trouble understanding fear, because I know how I feel when I have fear; I feel afraid.  I may shake.  I may bring about worry if I am afraid.  I have full awareness of fear.

For years I have struggled with this verse in the Bible because I have been unable to connect perfect love driving out fear:

1 John 4:18
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.

I have recently however had an epiphany about this verse. 

When we substitute the name “Jesus” for the word “love” here, we can see that Jesus is the standard for perfect love.

I have recently learned and understood that the antonym for fear is peace.  When Jesus came to earth to live among us, He came as the Prince of Peace.  If we have peace, fear cannot hang out there.

If we are seeking peace, which casts out all fear, we are really seeking Jesus.  If we want to seek Jesus and love in a tangible way, then we have to get in His presence.  If we experience His presence then the feeling of fear cannot camp out there.