INSIGHT
 

   Do you know the story about the frog who was in a pan of water above the stove? The temperature in the pan of water was increased ever so slightly that the poor frog was cooked without ever trying to escape! The frog was insensitive to the slight increase of temperature. As Christians, we are in a similar situation. The devil is continuously trying to cause you to stumble and fall.  He knows you probably won’t walk into an obvious trap so he always tries to trick you with subtleties. “The incremental acceptance of obscenity and violence has elevated our tolerance for evil”¾Dr. Rubel Shelly.  If we continue to ignore the warning signs of our conscience and guilt, we will quickly find ourselves deeply involved in moral impurity.  The deeper you sink into the mud, the harder it will be for you to come out clean without any major battle-scars.

            This series we will be getting into, “The Heart of God”, will take us through the core of  what makes God  the Holy Being that He is: LOVE. 

 

I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

(Lev 11:45 NIV)

 

   Morality begins with the person and nature of God. In order to follow and obey Jesus, we must worship Him as the Creator and be aware of His presence and magnificence. Learning about Him through the Word should be an event fulfilled by your desire to know your husband, not a ritualistic exercise.

 

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

(Rom 15:4 NIV)

 

   As we look into the moral code given by  God at Mt. Sinai, we look into an eternal moral code that reveals the will of God for His people. This Law remain the basic moral framework for the church of God. We are expected to rise above it (Matthew 5, 6, 7).  Rather than being people who do or do not, Jesus calls us to have the be-attitudes.  He calls us to be like Him. To be  transformed. To be holy, as He is holy. Not just to do holy things.
The Heart of God
Deliverance Precedes Obedience

Key Text:                             Romans 5:8-9

 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

 

Theme:

Before God calls us to follow and obey Him, He paves our way to Him by delivering us from the slavery of our sins. Obedience to God is not the basis for our deliverance. Rather, it is always the reverse. Gospel before demand, grace before law, God’s sacrifice before people’s sacrifice. Nonetheless, in the freedom granted to us by God He calls us to be holy, obedient and righteous. Justification precludes obligation and commitment to God.  As a matter of fact, justification demands it! Our obedience and commitment to God must be expressed out of the gratitude and thankfulness of our heart, accompanied by reverence.

 

Application:

 

Here are some practical suggestions:

1. Pray daily to God! Be open about the areas in your life that need to change. Ask for wisdom and willingness on your part to allow God to change you.

2. Let God communicate with you! Read the Word often, as if God is speaking directly with you because He is! Take what you read as His advice, personally applicable to your life!

3. Seek and Take Advice! When your brothers/sisters advise you take it as a godly thing. The Lord is answering your sincere prayers! Don’t treat with contempt their advice!

4. Develop a godly fear! Be aware that God is really with you and that He has saved you!

 

 May the Lord richly bless you!

 

Sermon Outline

The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

 

A CASE HISTORY OF ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE

 

I. Before Knowledge there must be respect

 

   1. Israel was in sin because they didn’t recognize

       God.

   2.Their lack of morality eventually enslaved them

 

II. Before Gratitude there must be Recognition

 

   1. They had to recognize that God  chose them

   2. They had to see the might of God in action

   3. They had to witness the love of God for them

       in  the fact that they were exempt from His fury

 

III. Before Obedience there must be Deliverance

 

  1. They were saved without anything asked of them

       in return.

  2. They were given the choice to follow God

  3.They were expected to obey in order to enter into

       a covenant relationship with their Savior

  4. Those who were fearful were grateful in their

       obedience.

 

IV. The New Testament Analogy

 

  1. We are the new Israel

  2. We were enslaved by our passions and desires

  3. We failed to recognize God

  4. We have been delivered from our sins

  5. If we want to continue in our covenant

       relationship we must obey out of gratitude in our

       heart.
Small Group Study

Warm-up:

How did the movie “The Ten Commandments” change your view of God? If you haven’t seen the movie I suggest you rent it and watch it.

 

See To It                                         Matthew 5:17-48            

 

1. What did Jesus come to do with the Law?

 

2. What does Jesus say about the permanence of the commands of God?

 

3. From verse 20, what is the focus or attitude Jesus wants us to have toward the Law or commands of God?

 

4. How are we to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees?

 

5. Does Jesus quote all of the Ten Commandments? Why not?

 

6. Why is He expanding on each of the commands He quotes? What kind of change is He looking for? A change of action or a change of mind and heart?

 

Seeing It Closer:

 

1. How is expanding upon each of the commands help us learn more about God’s heart and His will for us?

 

2. How does looking at each of the commands help us learn about our sin and our need for deliverance? 

 

3. How does looking at each command make us aware of God’s holiness and our need to be holy and revere Him?

 

Getting To It:

 

Reflect the commands and on the way Jesus used them to make us aware of God’s holy nature and His expectations for us, His covenant people. Pray that we may, as a church, be holy and blameless before the Lord.

 

This week's Quiet Times:

Deliverance Precedes Obedience

 

MONDAY

From last week’s Quiet Times you learned how God yearns for His Church; how He regards the Church as His bride. As a member of the Church, the Body of Christ, it is our duty to submit to, and obey our husband. Read Ephesians 5:22-27. Now look at verse 32. What is the apostle Paul using as a frame of reference when he addresses husband’s and wife’s attitudes toward each other? From verse 25, how is the husband going to learn to love his wife? How can wives learn to submit to their husbands? As a church, we learn submission to the Lord by recognizing what He does for us. Likewise the husbands have the task of learning the amazing love Jesus has for His church so they can reciprocate this love to their wives. Read verses 25-27 again. Who was the initiator in our relationship with God? Holiness is mentioned at the beginning and at the end. His desire is to make us holy. How? Washing & regeneration (Titus 3:5-7). By His Word and His Holy Spirit in us.  Gee! God has done it all! Write 1 Samuel 12:24 on an index card and memorize it.

 

TUESDAY

In order for us to learn holiness as the church of God, we need to know the will of the Lord. Read  Matthew 7:21-23. In these verses Jesus seems to be pointing out two extremes. There are two groups of people He speaks of. He addresses the first group in verse 21. How will these people approach Him? Do they approach Jesus with actions of faith, or just words: “Lord, Lord!”? How about the second group (verse 22)? How do they come to Jesus? How do they want to be justified? Are they trying to be justified by what they did or by what God did to them? What is the right attitude to have then? What do you have to know? Romans 12:1-2 is the continuous exercise for our minds, that we may become familiar with God’s will, as our husband. His good, pleasing and perfect will! Here in Romans, Paul echoes the “Spirit aspect” of holiness in our lives, like you read in Ephesians yesterday.  What about the “Word aspect”? Write Psalm 19:9-10 on an index card and memorize it.

 

WEDNESDAY

The apostle Peter was very straightforward about where and how the Word of God comes into play in making us holy before the Lord. Read 1 Peter 1:22-23. How are we purified (made holy)? How can we learn to have sincere love for our brethren? Notice that loving one another deeply, from the heart includes overlooking fault, sins, and offense. This can only happen when we’re imitating God’s holiness; when we’re obeying the truth! Peter reminds us that this obedience must be the result of our deliverance (verse 23). We have been born again of imperishable seed! HOW?? Through the Living and Enduring Word of God!!!  How can His Word be Living and Enduring in YOU? Write Proverbs 1:7 on an index card and memorize it. Has your relationship with your spouse been affected yet by what you’ve learned?

 

THURSDAY

The apostle Peter has much more to say in respect to fearing God and obeying His commands.  Read 1 Peter 1:14-25 and 1 Peter 2:12-25. Think about the following: 1) Deliverance precedes obedience 2) Being holy 3)Fearing God. These are the three themes touched on by Peter throughout these chapters. Being delivered causes us to fear (revere, respect) God which promotes obedience and produces holiness. Read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. This is the whole point of the book of Ecclesiastes (the name of the book comes from the same word in Greek that is translated as “church” in the NT). Spend some time reading portions of this book throughout the next couple of weeks. Write Ecc 12:13 on an index card and memorize it.

 

FRIDAY

As a result of being delivered and desiring obedience, we will be looking at the commandments God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai during the following weeks. These commandments, known as the Ten Commandments, represent the basic moral framework for the church of God. As we look into each commandment we will learn about God’s will for His people and about God’s holiness. We also will learn much about how our sins get in the way of our relationship with God. Much of the material for this lesson and the ones to follow will come from Rubel Shelly’s “Written in Stone: Ethics for the Heart” Although Rubel has taken a liberal stance on the Scriptures today, this book is firmly grounded in Scripture. I urge you to purchase it and use it as a tool for the renewal of your heart.