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It has been said, “As the father goes so goes the family and as the family goes so goes the nation.” What the family really needs are fathers who model their lives around God’s Word – men of God who display Christ-like fatherhood.
In the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he described his approach with them and how it was like a father with his own children. We can understand the importance of this approach of being Christ-like fathers to our children.
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So many of us struggle with forms of addiction that we begin to believe the lies we’ve heard or formulated ourselves. Lies like “I don’t really have a problem, its just not that big of a deal, I can’t stop, or I can quit anytime I want, its not hurt anybody else, look … its just the way I am, or God made me this way, or I deserve this (I’m entitled to this).” We make excuses or believe lies, but don’t we truly know that we are in bondage to something, that we have become slaves to this substance or behavior.
If we can see it for what it is then we can begin to address the issue God’s way. You see, we are helpless to overcome our addictions but in Christ we are not hopeless. Where we are weak, God is strong.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he reminded believers that as members of the body of Christ they no longer had to be overwhelmed by addictions. In Christ, we no longer have to be overwhelmed by addictions.
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Doubt is something we wrestle with often. We have doubts about all kinds of things, we doubt other people and whether they will do as they say. We say things like, “I doubt that” or “I’ll believe it when I see it” all the time. We suffer from self-doubt, second guessing everything we do, and failing to trust any future action. When circumstances and suffering come, our doubts come in greater number.
We have doubts about God’s character, but we don’t have to remain there. God desires to not only grant us His wisdom but also the faith that overcomes doubt. In James chapter 1, the apostle James wrote to the scattered Jewish Christians that they could face their trials with a tested faith in God, a faith that overcomes doubt. We can overcome doubt by this tested faith in God.
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The feeling of being unable to handle life’s obstacles results in many emotions that are certainly all connected. One that many of us are feeling today is a state of fear. Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. We often feel fear but perhaps increasingly so in this season in our world.
But our God has not left us in our fear, but has given us His Holy Spirit to overcome fear. In the book of 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul reminded his disciple Timothy that God had given him His Spirit and not a spirit of fear. God has given us His Holy Spirit which overcomes fear in us.
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What is hope? For many of us, hope is made of flimsy, fragile stuff. Kind of like a thread. For many, their hopes are like wishes, and their hopes are often broken. Their “thread” of hope is easily broken.
But when the Bible speaks of hope, it speaks of much stronger stuff! For biblical hope is more like a rope! It’s a living hope anchored in Christ’s resurrection and extending through our present and into Christ’s future return.
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Now, when Jesus made his entrance, it was the first day of Passover Week and great numbers of Jews had traveled from all over the Roman Empire to celebrate this annual Jewish festival. A great crowd greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna, God save us” and the waving of palm branches. The crowds are no different today. At this incredibly difficult time in our country, people are shouting save us from sickness, save us from unemployment, save us from loneliness, please save us from our children who are now stuck at home with us. We still look to “kings” to governments to save us, but so few are shouting, “Save us, O God, from ourselves!”
In Matthew’s Gospel, the crowds shouted “Hosanna,” God save us, as Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the first day of Passion week. We too can call upon Jesus as the only One who can truly save us.
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You may not yet understand how you have rejected God as your True King, but I’m sure you know how rejection feels. You love someone and they betray you or leave you. They act one way to your face, but another behind your back. They say they love you back, but they don’t mean it. Or someone has rejected you for a place on a team, a part in a play, or a position of employment. Rejection hurts! And that’s how God feels toward us.
As we conclude our 1 Samuel study, we’ll see that our rejection grieves the Lord. nclude our 1 Samuel study, we’ll see that our rejection grieves the Lord.
BODY: In 1 Samuel 15, the LORD rejected Saul from being king of Israel because he had rejected the Word of the LORD God who is the true King over all. Saul represents all of us. For all humanity since the time of Adam has been in rebellion against God as its true King. We can recognize that we have rejected God as our True King, so that we may repent and follow Him as our True King.
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Pastor Jonathan Combs teaches from Philippians 4:1-9 on the true joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. This joy is not based on our circumstances, but is found only in the Lord, can be nurtured only in prayer, and changes our thought processes based on the gospel.
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Pastor Jonathan Combs preaching on how to hit the “reset button” in your spiritual life.
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In this conclusion to our 7 Habits of Growing Christians sermon series, Pastor Jonathan Combs helps us understand why and how to build the habit of selfless service in our lives. Christ gave us the perfect example of selfless service, and it is through his power that we can serve others in this way.