James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. KJV
Biblical Accountability = Discipleship
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
9:37 AM
- 1. Cover Up
- a. Throughout the entire Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, we sin the struggle with mankind against his sinful nature. We see also, in story after story, Scripture after Scripture, that man usually wants to hide and cover up his sin and mistakes.
- i. Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid , because I was naked; and I hid myself. KJV
- ii. Josh 7:20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. KJV
- iii. 2 Samuel 11:6-17 . . .this is the story of the murder of Uriah after David had gone in to Bathsheba.
- iv. Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias , with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias , why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? KJV
- 1. Why do you think that the first thing we tend to do when we sin is to cover up what we have done?
- 2. What does this "reaction" say about the Holy Spirit's work in our lives to help us to know right from wrong?
- 3. What are some of the "feelings" we experience when we have sinned?
- a. Guilt, fear shame, condemnation, separation
- 4. Please read Proverbs 15:11. Based on this Scripture, what "good" does it do to try to hide our sin?
- 2. Why Clean Under The Rug?
- a. Prov 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. KJV
- b. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. KJV
- i. We are taught in both the Old Testament and the New that confessing our sin is not just a small step but a great leap towards freedom!
- ii. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. KJV
- 1. If we are not willing to identify our sin, and "own" it, then we cannot receive forgiveness from God.
- 2. If we do not have forgiveness from God, then we are not cleansed from the impurities in our lives as a result of our sin. We remain separated from God (Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you KJV)
- a. Can you relate a time in your life when you "walked in sin" and chose to not "own" that the way you were living or the things you were doing were against the Will of God?
- b. What brought about a change of heart in order for you to ask for forgiveness?
- c. In what ways can we help those around us, both Christians and non, to "own" the mistakes in their lives?
- i. See again James 5:16, prayer!
- ii. Hebrews 10:24.
- iii. Hebrews 10:25.
- 3. Walking It Out
- a. There is power when two agree (walk) together in this life. Christ recognized that and even dispersing His disciples to go and radically change the world with the Gospel, He sent them two by two.
- i. Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two KJV
- ii. Eccl 4:9 Two are better than one ; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. KJV
- iii. Matt 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. KJV
- iv. Gen 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; KJV
- 1. We are not told where Adam was when Eve had her conversation with the serpent, but we can pretty much bank on if he had been there, things would have gone differently.
- a. Think about the ways the enemy tempts you. How often are you alone when you are tempted and how often are you with others?
- b. What are the benefits of having a person in whom you can confide?
- c. Are you a loner or a people person? How might that affect the way satan tempts you?
- 4. Consider This
- a. Samson and David were similar in may ways. Both from a young age were set apart by God for His work. Both had a great anointing on their lives to lead. Both had lust issues with women. It is the differences though that are marked. Samson had no one in his life that he was close to, no close friend from which he could glean advise or be accountable to. There was no one to say, "hey buddy, stay away from Delilah, she is bad news." David however after the mishap with Bathsheba and Uriah had the prophet to get in his face and turn him in the right direction. Samson's life ended in misery, he died in the land of his enemies, he died alone. I'm not sure that we could call his life story a great victory for God, though it did have it's high points. Of David it was said, even with his life's low points, that he was a man after God's own heart. He died with those who were familiar to him, those that respected him. He did not die alone.
- b. Being a "lone ranger" comes at great cost. Having those around you whom you trust and confide in comes with great comfort!
By God's Design
Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good . KJV
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
1:51 PM
- 1. In The Beginnging . . .
- a. . . .God!
- i. In the beginning God . . .anything that starts with God and ends with God, simply put is good! Anything that God created, was His idea, that He endorses, and everything about Him is good.
- ii. God looked at all that He had done and it was good. So what happened? Man. Temptation. Sin. The Fall. The mistake was not with God, it was with man.
- 1. How did things change after sin entered into the world by Adam?
- a. How was Adam's walk affected?
- b. How was the animal kingdom affected by the sin of mankind?
- c. How was mankind's relationships with each other affected?
- 2. It Was Very Good
- a. God makes good things.
- i. 1 Tim 4:4 For everything God created is good NIV
- ii. Deut 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect KJV
- b. Mankind corrupts the good things that God has created in sin. In the beginning we can see that all that God created was good. It was not that anything that God created was bad, but that God was not obeyed and the things He had created were not used properly. The Tree of Life was not to be eaten of by man, but man ate of it. Words were not created to be used to deceive and lie, but they were.
- i. What are some things that God created for good, but that has been corrupted by sin?
- 1. Marriage - God created marriage for a man and a woman. The World has corrupted marriage to mean things that God never intended. Same sex marriage, plural marriages, open marriages etc.
- 2. Sex - God created sex. (believe it or not!!) and meant for sex to be a good thing. The world has corrupted sex to mean a slang bad interpretation for love. Sex in this generation has become little more than a bodily function and that was never God's design
- 3. Church - God created the Church to be a living thing to spread His Gospel. Some churches have become little more than social gatherings and country clubs to hang out.
- 3. Good From Bad
- a. Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. KJV
- b. The Body of Christ sometimes allows bad things to reign when we fail to adequately address the relevant issues that our members and the world as a whole are facing. Sometimes we fail in because we choose only certain issues to address both publicly and privately. It is difficult to face someone who is having marriage issues and in love speak biblical truth. Sex has been so marred by the media and our secular society that many, even within the Church, don't know what their Bible has to say about the wonderful gift that God Himself gave us. And no one wants to touch the issue of stale, dead churches that simply transfer members in from across town instead of birthing and raising up disciples of Christ. And so Truth goes unsaid. Sin goes on unchecked and the spiritual barometer of the saints goes from good to bad.
- c. But it can be turned around - one Truth at a time. Choose to say what is right. Choose to address and discuss, in love, those issues around us and honor what is Biblically correct more than what is politically correct.
- i. Jer 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out , and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. KJV
- 1. . . .to plant. All of the other things we are to do, but to plant is the most important. To plant the Truth. To share the Good News.
- a. What are some areas that you might find uncomfortable if confronted about? (questions that you might be asked from someone who does not, or does, go to Church.)
- b. Have you ever had a question that you were embarrassed to ask a person from the Church for fear of what they might say or because of subject matter? Did you ever get your answer?
- c. Are there "sensitive" subjects that you would like to know what the Bible has to say about?
Lev 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy : for I am the Lord your God. KJV
Holiness From The Inside Out
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
8:22 AM
- 1. What Does It Mean To Be Holy?
- a. What is your definition of holiness?
- i. In the KJV, the word defined means to be ceremonially clean, to be consecrated, it is used in the sense of a sanctuary.
- ii. Webster's dictionary defines holiness/holy as - devoted completely,
- 1. How does our definition of holiness match to the Biblical definition?
- b. Many times holiness is a word used to describe a method of dress, or a classification of a worship style. Those raised within the a full gospel church may sometimes look at someone's dress and come to the conclusion that they are "holiness folk."
- c. While dress code, worship style and church attendance may be related to holiness, those things do not in any way make one holy.
- i. People may dress a certain way and appear on the outside to really be walking with the Lord, but on the inside could be unforgiveness, hatred, pride or any number of issues that are not holy in the eyes of God.
- ii. Remember that John the Baptist was dressed in leather and ate bugs, but was inside very holy man and lived a very holy life, but the Pharisees and Sadducees dressed in a manner that all would look upon them and think that they were holy, but inwardly there were many issues that were not holy.
- 1. The following questions are meant to assess attributes only, and not people. Be careful that as we are looking at these questions we are looking inwardly to ourselves and not outwardly at other people.
- 1. Given the Biblical definition of holiness, what are some aspects of a persons' life that might lead you to believe they are in fact living a holy life?
- 2. What might be aspects of a person's life that would lead you to believe they would not be living a holy life?
- 2. The Furnishings
- a. We earlier saw that one of the KJV definitions noted that holiness corresponded with a sanctuary. The New Testament teaches us that we are literally sanctuaries for Him.
- i. 1 Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? KJV
- ii. When you consider that the Holy Ghost desires to live inside of you, how does that make you feel about choices we may make on a daily basis?
- 1. Such as what we watch on television, what we listen to on the radio and what we might read.
- b. Recently my daughter came home to tell me that her friend from school made a comment to her something like this" Catherine, you smell like you house and I like it!" While I'm not entirely sure what she meant by that, I would like to think that our home smells good. The point here is that what is on the inside of our home can be sensed by those that are around us. What is on the inside of our lives can also be sensed by those around us. Holiness cannot be faked to someone who really has Christ working in their lives. A home with a fireplace that is used in the winter to warm a house will likely still smell faintly of smoke even in the hot summer months. If "fires" are allowed to burn in our hearts, fires of unholiness, fires of passion, lust, greed and self will, then even in times when those fires are only smoldering others can "smell the smoke."
- c. The things that we put into our "temple" are just as important as the things we put on it.
- i. What are some "furnishings" one might put inside their temple that are holy?
- ii. What are some things that one might put inside that are unholy?
- 3. Holiness Is Not Perfection
- a. Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous , no, not one: KJV
- b. Somewhere some of us have given in to the idea that because we are imperfect and sometimes falter we are not holy. That is not true. White it is certain that we cannot maintain holiness with rampant sin in control of our lives, just because we are not perfect does not mean we are not holy.
- c. Looking back at the original definition, complete devotion is not perfection. You may have a puppy that is completely devoted to you and loves you unconditionally, but when you leave the room may chew on your shoes. We are to be completely wholly devoted to our God, we are to love Him with all of our hearts and all that we are, but if we walk long enough, sooner or later we may step in a hole and stumble a bit, that does not mean we have lost our devotion to God, nor does it mean we have lost our holiness!
- i. When we stumble in our walk with the Lord, how does it usually make us feel about being holy?
- ii. Is holiness a feeling or a fact?
- iii. If holiness if a fact (and it is, more a description of one's life) then what degree does our "feelings" affect it?
