| Let God Be God (969-997) (Series) | |
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| 969a | Satan's Slingshot |
| Spiritual pride. It is so subtle, so disguised in spiritual robes that we miss it. Satan has taken that old rascal "self" yanked him out of his coffin, dusted him off, and set him on the front pew. In Satan's slingshot, in this generation, is the most dangerous form of pride of all: spiritual pride. It masquerades itself as righteousness, when in reality it is the most subtle form of self-righteousness known to man. We must never forget how God feels about pride. | |
| 969b | What is Humility |
| Humility is the life of Christ giving Himself away with no regard to recognition: its only reward the joy of having pleased the Father. Humility has no rights to claim; no recognition to demand; no results to be guaranteed. It only has one purpose... to reveal the incredible, supernatural life of Jesus Christ in the midst of a world that is struggling to prove itself by declaring itself to be important. How do we go about gaining that humility that was so evident in the life of Christ? That is the subject of our lesson. | |
| 970a | The Bus is Leaving |
| Jesus laid it all on the line. To Him, discipleship was nothing more and nothing less than dying to yourself and letting God be God in you. You can't live the Christian life; God has to live it; therefore, all He's asking you to do is let Him. Did you, like the disciples, begin your walk with God, not knowing just what it was that God was calling you to do? Did you assume the world's posture that God in you would now rescue you from what the world calls trouble? What is He calling you to do? How does this definition of discipleship apply to your life today? What choice will you make? | |
| 970b | "Be Still" |
| Be still! The very words seem out of place in our society. We have become so busy, we have forgotten our true priority of sitting at the feet of Jesus and realizing who He is. Until we can learn to be still, we cannot win life's battles or learn life's lessons. There are two ways to be still. We can choose to be still setting aside time to wait on God, or we can be stilled by the circumstances of life until we have no choice. In either case, God wants us to stand still and be still, so that we might see the salvation of the Lord. He wants to fight for us, but He can't if we won't stop long enough to let Him. | |
| 971a | Let God Be God |
| What does it mean to make Jesus Lord of your life? How does God live in you as He lived in His own Son? Does this mean a life free from suffering? It didn't for Jesus. Does that mean a life of prosperity? It didn't for Jesus. Does that mean a life free of persecution? It didn't for Jesus. It means a life of Spirit-controlled joy in the midst of persecution; a life of Spirit -controlled peace in the midst of suffering. Have you ever surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ? You cannot live the Christian life, but God can. Just let God be God. | |
| 971b | When the Warfare Gets Tough; Let God Be God |
| When the warfare gets tough, God wants to fight for us. Our lesson takes a look at Jesus as He was led into the wilderness and tempted by Satan. His life demonstrates in the testings of life, in the battlefields we face daily, how God behaves when He is allowed to be God in us. How does Satan attack us, and how does God respond? As we look at the life of Jesus, we will see the power of God at work just as that same power can be demonstrated through us who believe. | |
| 972a | And The Angels Came |
| As we look again at the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, this lesson will center around three statements made in that passage; statements that seem to be central in the unfolding of the layers of truth that are lovingly wrapped around this conflict of the ages. The first of the three statements holds the key to how Satan attacks the child of God. The second holds the key to how God in man responds to those attacks. The third holds they key to how a loving Father always ends a successful battle. | |
| 972b | All These Things I Will Give You... If |
| This lesson takes a close look at the third, perhaps the deadliest, temptation. It is a subtle affront to God What were "all these things" that Satan had vowed to give Jesus? And what was the catch? See how Satan uses the "Two Kingdom Lie" to try to lure us into his camp. | |
| 973a | Who Are You? |
| In this lesson we will take a look at the life of John the Baptist who knew exactly who He was and who His Lord was. As people came to John the Baptist, they began looking to him as the Messiah, instead of merely a channel God was using. They saw him as the power source and not just the vessel. Men seek to glory in men; men seek to glory in churches; men seek to glory in systems. Our belief needs to be in the Creator God. Do you acknowledge God's greatness, but inwardly wonder how God ever managed before He had you to use? Do you let others brag on your ministry? Do you promote yourself, your ministry, or you church as though by promoting it you were proclaiming Christ? If so, you need to look at Who Are You. | |
| 973b | Follow Me! |
| As Jesus called out his disciples, he said two simple words-follow me. Following means total abandonment of what you intended to become; total abandonment of what you intended to own; total abandonment of what you intended to accomplish. It means death to self. Is Jesus asking you to follow Him today in some area of your life? | |
| 974a | Overturned Tables |
| The message of the overturned tables is, in reality, a singular message. It is that religion is not a business; it is a relationship with the Living God. Whatever business is necessary to define and develop that relationship, God honors. Whatever goes beyond that and becomes self-serving and self-perpetuating God loathes. Thus we see Jesus in the temple demonstrate more righteous indignation than at any other time as he drives the money changers from the temple. | |
| 974b | Ye Must Be Born Again |
| The story of Nicodemus reveals to us just why Jesus came. Nicodemus came to Jesus wanting to know who He was. But he couldn't. He did not possess the capability to understand spiritual truth, because he was spiritually dead. So Jesus, rather than tell Nicodemus who he was, told him what he needed to do to find out. He had to be born again. Find out what it means to be born again and know not only about God, but really know God. | |
| 975a | How Can These Things Be? |
| As we look again at the story of Nicodemus, we take a closer look at what it means to be "born again". Jesus explains that there are clearly two worlds, the world of the flesh and the world of the spirit. We have all been born of the flesh, but not until we are born of the spirit can we see God's kingdom. For a second time Jesus reveals the miracle of the second birth. Listen as Jesus explains. | |
| 975b | Yes, Jesus Loves Me |
| As we look once again at the subject of being born again, we see that not only must man be born again, but there must be a perfect sacrifice for this to take place. As we take a look at the most memorized passage in Scripture, John 3:16, we see the awesome love of God. He sent His only Son in our place to take away our sins. Satan says that salvation is a mirage. God just came to earth to condemn us. The Eternal, Living, Creator God came to earth for only one reason: to rescue those who were perishing and give them life. | |
| 976a | Living Water |
| Our Scripture for this lesson is Matthew chapter 4, which is the story of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. Our primary reason for this series of lessons was to seek to discern how Jesus behaves in the marketplace of life. Therefore, we must cautiously observe why Jesus went through Samaria, and why Jesus spoke to this woman. See how Jesus used such a common thing as water to begin a conversation of spiritual things. How patient He was and how quietly He moved with the Truth. What is the message of the Living Water that He brought to this woman? | |
| 976b | Now I Know! |
| There are two absolutes that we find all throughout Scripture. They are the universality of sin and the love of God. One requires the other. Without a knowledge of sin, we will never appreciate God's love. As we look again at the story of the Samaritan woman there are four truths that become evident concerning our relationship to God. As we examine these truths we will see that to know about God is not the same as knowing God. | |
| 977a | They Left Everything! |
| How did Jesus draw men who would leave everything they had to follow him? In this lesson we will look at how Jesus drew a crowd, how he designed his facilities, how he developed a ministry and how he defined discipleship. The church of today needs to look at the example of Jesus instead of man's techniques and man's technology as the basis for growth. If we lift up the Word of God and teach it without apology, without compromise, without retreating, but with compassion and love, the crowds God wants us to teach will come. | |
| 977b | They Left Everything (Part Two) |
| In part two of this lesson, we will look further at what it means to develop a ministry, and what it means to be a disciple. Jesus teaches us that a successful ministry is one in which the one doing the ministering has no expectations based on his own natural talents or abilities. He has no expectations based on prior performance or the world's plans. He is simply available to the Master. As he becomes available he leaves everything to follow Him. His goal is no longer self-motivated, but self-abandonment. Jesus is calling us to everything to have nothing. He is calling us to leave the unimportant to find the important. He is asking us to turn our backs on the temporary to experience the eternal. Follow Him. | |
| 978a | In Solitary Places |
| It is in solitary places that God and man most often conduct business which is eternal. God still does His greatest work when we retire for a time to solitary places. Jesus kept withdrawing to be alone with The Father and once alone, He prayed. Man in our age has no time for the solitary place; no time to recharge the batteries of his spirit apart from the drain of daily activities. Jesus had to have it, and now Jesus lives in us. Therefore, He in us demands it, if we are to maintain that level of fellowship with the Son that the Son had to have with the Father. | |
| 978b | Who Can Forgive Sins |
| A paralytic man is lowered from the roof of a house right in front of Jesus. What will Jesus do? He said to the paralytic, "Take courage young man, your sins are forgiven you." The scribes and Pharisees among them began to murmur, "Who can forgive sins but God?' Had Jesus simply said "Rise up and walk", they would have been satisfied, but only God can forgive sins. Which is more important? The miracle of forgiveness is much more powerful than the miracle of healing. Only God can forgive sin. | |
| 979a | My Time Has Not Yet Come |
| The Jews began accusing Jesus of not complying with the law, although it was really their tradition. The issue of the Sabbath was in question. Was it right to work on the Sabbath, and what constituted work? What is right to heal on the Sabbath? The Jews had taken the principles of God and turned them into a religious system. Today we might call it legalism. There are several major issues about which we must never compromise, but as a church we are not to get at odds with our brothers over the traditions of men or the interpretations of men that our church or group has elevated to the place of infallibility. Give God room to work. Look beyond the pettiness to the principle. | |
| 979b | Chasing After Shadows |
| Salt from the steeple; light from the hill. Two amazing commodities, so simple, so available, so seemingly insignificant that they would be overlooked in man's scramble for a more complicated formula with which to impress a searching world. Salt from the steeple; light from the hill. Could it really be that simple? If so, then why wasn't the world transformed in a generation? Jesus clearly explained that as well. | |
| 980a | Let Your Light So Shine |
| Light is not a quality, or a creation or a force, it is a person. Jesus Christ is The Light. If we are to be lights, we are to be inhabited by that person. The character of light, then, is a reflection of a Person. What will this light do when properly allowed to shine? What happens when we succumb to the curse of becoming hidden light? This is the subject of Jesus' lesson to his disciples. | |
| 980b | Sound No Trumpet |
| In Matthew chapter six, Jesus began teaching on the evidences of deeper spirituality. To the Jew, there were three great religious activities which set a man apart as spiritually successful: almsgiving, praying, and fasting. These were the hallmarks of a religious man. It was here that Jesus chose to pull back the layers of artificial godliness and expose man for what he really is apart from the grace of God. What we do will be rewarded either in this life or in eternity, not in both. If our motivation is to do things for men, we have received our reward; but if our motivation is to please God, we are to sound no trumpets, for God sees us and our reward will be eternal. | |
| 981a | Pray Like This |
| The Lord's Prayer- many of us have read it, memorized it ,andit, and recited it many times. But, do we use it as the pattern God intended it to be? In Matthew chapter six, Jesus shows us a pattern of how to come before God in prayer. This study is about that model. It is the beginning of a look at that portion of the Sermon on the Mount that teaches us how to pray. | |
| 981b | One Day at a Time |
| Give us this day our daily bread. Our God wants us to ask Him to meet our needs, not because He does not know what they are; He knows long before we ask. He knows, but in all likelihood, we don't. Therefore, He insists that we ask. It will exercise our faith; it will make us dependent; and it will multiply His glory. Every day we must come before Him and ask. | |
| 982a | Free at Last |
| We need to learn to pray as Jesus prayed and forgive as He forgave. We have been loosed from the prison house of sin by a gracious God. We have been forgiven. We can make a mockery of that forgiveness by refusing to forgive others, and thus willingly enter again into bondage, or we can walk into the sunlight of a new life. Because of the great forgiveness we have received, we are to pour that forgiveness liberally into the lives of all who might offend us. | |
| 982b | Lead Us Not into Temptation |
| Every day we are tempted and every day we must pray that God will deliver us from falling into the hands of Satan. The battle goes on and the enemy will attack. God can remove the conflict; and God can remove us from the conflict. Usually, He does neither. He wants us to be tested that we might come forth as gold. In that flaming furnace of old, God desires that the world around us see us go through the fire. God is there to deliver us... not from it; but through it. | |
| 983a | Thine is the Kingdom |
| When we pray "Thine is the Kingdom", we are bowing before the one who owns us and acknowledging His ownership. This world is His; He owns it. Our life is His; He purchased it. Eternity is His; He will reign over it. Is He our King at the altar of worship? Is He our King when the bullets begin to fly, and the bombs begin to fall? Our will needs to surrender to God's for His is the Kingdom. | |
| 983b | Thine Is the Power! |
| All power belongs to God. He is the omnipotent, all-powerful God of creation. There is nothing He cannot do. Therefore, there is nothing we cannot trust Him to do. We can trust His Word, because He has the power to keep His Word... We can trust His love, because He has the power to demonstrate His love. We can trust His righteousness, because He has the power to defend His righteousness. His is the power. We can trust in Him. | |
| 984a | Thine Is the Glory |
| Just what do we know of God's glory? Do we know what it is? We can hardly ask for it unless we do. Is glory something we give to God? If so, why does He need it? Isn't He all-sufficient? Or is glory something God reveals to us? If so, can we handle it? Or is glory a place we will someday enjoy. If so, then how can we experience it now? Just what is God's glory? And if "the glory belongs to God", then how can we "Give God the Glory." That is the subject of our lesson. | |
| 984b | Forever, Amen |
| As we conclude this series of lessons on the Lord's Prayer, we will look at our concept of eternity. Are we living for the here and now ,now, or are we living for eternity? As we seek to answer that question, we will see how our perspective will change, our pursuits will change and our concept of praise will change. | |
| 985a | Where Your Treasure Is |
| For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Is our treasure in heaven or on earth? What do we treasure? In this lesson we are asked three questions concerning our treasure. The answers to these questions may well help determine where our treasures are. We need to examine ourselves to see where our hearts really lie. | |
| 985b | Consider the Lilies |
| How anxious are you? How fretful? How much of your idle time is spent in answering "what if" questions in your mind to a make-believe stranger? How tense do you get when life empties its clouds of doom over your house and the world has no answers? Beloved, consider the lilies. They toil not; neither do they spin. If our precious God, who so clothes the grass of the field, which is present today and gone tomorrow, how much more concerned will He be for your welfare. | |
| 986a | Where Has All the Love Gone? |
| Jesus did not come to teach us how to take what was ours... Satan had already taught us that! Jesus came to teach us how to give away, how to turn loose of everything we have. He came to teach us how to give in order to teach us how to live. He came to demonstrate how to give a life away! That is where we will take up in this lesson. | |
| 986b | Seeking 1st the Kingdom |
| To seek first the Kingdom is to place as our only priority in life the Mind of Christ. We should have as our only goal in life, to see life from God's perspective. What are the characteristics of a church which is seeking first the kingdom? What has happened to the church today? Where has all of the power gone? Maybe we have confused the kingdoms. Which kingdom are we really seeking? We will take a closer look at that question in this lesson. | |
| 987a | God's Boomerang Laws |
| The Word of God has a lot to say about cause and effect. At the outset of Matthew 7 and the corresponding passage in Luke 6, we find our Lord explaining some spiritual laws that appear to have even more direct cause and effect results; results that would always come back to the Christian in exact measure and in exactly the same area of the Christian's life. Jesus took four of the most crucial areas of Christian behavior and tied a boomerang to them, so they would return in the exact measure and to the exact place we let them go. They are the law of judging, the law of condemning, the law of forgiving and the law of giving. Which do we want coming back to us? | |
| 987b | "I Am Not Worthy!" |
| How aware are we of the greatness of God? The centurion with the sick child understood. His faith touched the heart of God as he cried out, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you even come under my roof. " It is only as we adopt the mindset of this centurion that we will ever truly adopt the mind of Christ? Is it because, when we look in the mirror, we do not like ourselves? No, it is because when we look at Jesus, we do not so much as think of ourselves. Our minds are totally absorbed with the honor of being His. | |
| 988a | Arise! |
| God can deliver us from life's unpleasantries, and He will, if that is all we have the faith to believe He can do. But, quarantined Christians don't win many battles. Quarantined Christians don't claim many victories. That is why mature Christians will constantly be passing through the fires of life. The men and women in the Word, who were men and women after God's own heart, spent their lives doing battle with enemies and winning. | |
| 988b | The Seed Is the Word |
| This lesson centers around an important parable that Jesus taught concerning the seed bearing fruit in certain types of soils. Many refer to this parable as the parable of the soils. It should rather be considered the parable of the seed. The seed is the Word of God. . Only one thing will bring others to Christ and that is the Word of God. That is why we must stay in the Scriptures day and night if we are to stay in God's will. Do we dare give the Word anything less than it's rightful place in our lives? Dare we treat it as anything less than our necessary food? | |
| 989a | The Sower Sows the Word |
| The godly sower knows the seed. He knows it is precious. He knows it is pure. He knows it is powerful. He knows it is permanent. The godly sower sows the seed without wavering, without compromising, without complaining without doubting and without glorying. But above all, He sows the seed. He knows that it was not entrusted to him for him to start a seed museum, but to sow the seed. Perhaps it is time that some of us stopped clutching the seed, or storing the seed, and simply began to sow the seed. | |
| 989b | Then Came the Seed-Snatcher |
| The Scriptures give us a very balanced picture of Satan. He is described in great detail, but always to give us an understanding of his tactics, not a fear of his actions. We are admonished to be aware of his authority, but to be even more aware of the far greater authority of the indwelling Christ. Nearly every time we see the power of Satan mentioned in the New Testament, it is mentioned to draw attention to the power of God. Our purpose in this lesson is to draw attention to the remarks Jesus made about the evil one, and the resulting glory that will accrue to God as we are made aware of how he works. | |