June 2003 Sermon Notes
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June 1, 2003 Under The Fig Tree: Discovering Spiritual Truth
June 8, 2003 Why the Spirit Came
June 15, 2003 How to Be the Best Fathe
June 22, 2003 Handling Opposition
June 1, 2003
Under The Fig Tree: Discovering Spiritual Truth
John 1:43 – 51
Your call to friendship with God v. 43 – 45I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
· Your spiritual journey will lead you to Jesus
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD
Jeremiah 29:13 –1 4· It helps to hang around people who seek God too
· A personal witness will draw people to the Lord
The Bible will lead you to spiritual truth v. 45, 48, 50
Take the … sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17Improve your grasp of biblical knowledge
· Listen
So then faith comes by hearing … the word of God.
Romans 10:17 NKJV· Read
· Study
Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
II Timothy 2:15 NAV
· Memorize
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11· Meditate
Bring your hard questions to Jesus v. 46 – 47· He understands the condition of your inner life
· He recognizes your spiritual searching
Recognize Jesus as … v. 49, 51· Teacher
· God
· Your leader
· Your Savior
God has great things in store for you!
June 8, 2003
Why the Spirit Came
Acts 1:1 - 8
The Holy Spirit came to enable us to …
… think God’s thoughts
“ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
In Acts 1:5 - 6 The disciples were thinking of themselves.
Jesus was thinking of witnessing, work and suffering.
However, 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” ? — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For 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. We 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. This 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 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 I Corinthians 2:9 – 14
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
John 16:12 – 15
… share God’s emotions
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:35 - 36
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
II Corinthians 3:18
I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Romans 9:1-4
… pray God’s prayers
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
Romans 8:26-27
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Jude 20
… do God’s work
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:28-29
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June 15, 2003
How To Be the Best Father
Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9
Be a servant leader…so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Deuteronomy 6:2
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. But in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Philippians 2:3-7
Children with involved fathers are…· More confident and less anxious in unfamiliar settings
· Better able to deal with frustration and gain a sense of independence
· More likely to become compassionate adults, have higher self esteem and have higher grade-point averages
· More sociable
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:7Make spiritual relationships a priority
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Deuteronomy 6:5, 6
· Friendship with Jesus creates spiritual passion
· Experience with the Spirit provides powerProvide an example of integrity
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:8 - 9
· The integrity of your words· The integrity of your actions
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I Corinthians 11:1June 22, 2003
Handling Opposition
Acts 13 - 15
We overcome opposition from …
· Satan inspired people with supernatural intervention
Acts 13:6 – 12
"6Afterward they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Saul and Barnabas said. He was trying to turn the governor away from the Christian faith. 9Then Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked the sorcerer in the eye and said, 10“You son of the Devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness.” Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. 12When the governor saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at what he learned about the Lord."
· Mockers with truth, warning and invitation
Acts 13:38 – 43 38
“ Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God—something the Jewish law could never do. 40Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, 41‘Look you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’” 42As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people asked them to return again and speak about these things the next week. 43Many Jews and godly converts to Judaism who worshiped at the synagogue followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them, “By God’s grace, remain faithful.”
· Rival groups by pursuing those open to God’s work
Acts 13:44 – 51 44
"The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. 45But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said. 46Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that this Good News from God be given first to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life—well, we will offer it to Gentiles. 47For this is as the Lord commanded us when he said, ‘ I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’” 48When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were appointed to eternal life became believers. 49So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region. 50Then the Jewish leaders stirred up both the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51But they shook off the dust of their feet against them and went to the city of Iconium. 52And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."
· Close minded people with the power of the Spirit
Acts 14:1 – 3
"1In Iconium,£ Paul and Barnabas went together to the synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles believed. 2But the Jews who spurned God’s message stirred up distrust among the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas, saying all sorts of evil things about them. 3The apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. The Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4But the people of the city were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles."
· False religions by a living God who meets their needs
Acts 14:11 – 18
11 "When the listening crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human bodies!” 12They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul, because he was the chief speaker, was Hermes. 13The temple of Zeus was located on the outskirts of the city. The priest of the temple and the crowd brought oxen and wreaths of flowers, and they prepared to sacrifice to the apostles at the city gates. 14But when Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, 15“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings like yourselves! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16In earlier days he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, 17but he never left himself without a witness. There were always his reminders, such as sending you rain and good crops and giving you food and joyful hearts.” 18But even so, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them."
· Hardships with faith, encouragement and perseverance
Acts 14:19,22
19Now some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the crowds into a murderous mob. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, apparently dead. 20But as the believers£ stood around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 21After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned again to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, 22where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.
· Misguided believers through leadership and scriptures
Acts 15:1 –5
1While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the Christians£: “Unless you keep the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2Paul and Barnabas, disagreeing with them, argued forcefully and at length. Finally, Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. 3The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers.£ They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted. 4When they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported on what God had been doing through their ministry. 5But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood up and declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and be required to follow the law of Moses. "
· Fellow workers by grace and organization
Acts 15:36 -41
36After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return to each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are getting along.” 37Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not shared in their work. 39Their disagreement over this was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40Paul chose Silas, and the believers sent them off, entrusting them to the Lord’s grace. 41So they traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia to strengthen the churches there.