"That in ALL things he might have preeminence"
Sunday School Notes from April 27, 2008 (outline was provided)
Proverbs 24:1-4
1Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
There are three tools available to help our families. How can we have strong families? Everything we need is found in the Word of God. He has offered to provide us with the wisdom we need:
James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Here are three powerful tools that God gives to build and strengthen our families:
1) The guiding presence of the Holy Spirit:
a) Because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can have unity. God brings believers together, moving towards their commonality- GOD. If two believers are even opposite natures or personalities, if they are yielded to God, they will still always be going in the same (and right) direction- towards God and living a life that glorifies Him.
b) The purposes of the Holy Spirit:
1) He is our Comforter - John 14:16
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
2) He is our teacher: John 16:13-14
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
3) He glorifies Jesus Christ - our lives should life up and exalt Christ; and they will if we will allow the spirit to guide us and we determine to be yielded to the spirit.
2) We must have a biblical perspective of self:
Galatians 5:17
17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Whatever we feed the most will win: be it flesh or spirit. If we continue to fight the spirit to hold onto our worldly things, then the flesh will win. Likewise, if we concentrate on God and His will for us, and what he wants, and what is holy, good, and true, then the spirit will win and we will grow closer to God as a result of that. But if we continue to allow our flesh to win, then we will continue to grow further away from God and lack that fellowship we so desperately need.
a) Pride is a destroyer of relationships:
If God is in the right place with both people in the relationship, the people will be in their right places within the relationship. If their sights are set on God, then they will not be set on each other's faults and worldly desires.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
b) Pride is defeated by appropriating scripture:
Romans 6:6-7
6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Whenever we give into the power of our flesh, then we resurrect our prideful attitudes. Do we really want that? Or do we want to break our prideful spirits and be contrite before the Lord?
Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
contrite:
"feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming " *
3) A daily practice of serving:
a) Submitting to one another
Ephesians 5:21
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
b) Love one another:
John 15:12
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
c) Serve one another:
Galatians 5:13
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
d) Praying daily in humility, as our examples in scripture:
Acts 10:
1There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
In Conclusion:
Our three tools to help us have stronger families:
1) Recognizing the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit
2) Having a biblical perspective of our selves
3) Forming a daily practice of serving God, and one another.
"An exhaustive study shows that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes" ;o)
Sunday School Notes from April 27, 2008 (outline was provided)
Proverbs 24:1-4
1Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
There are three tools available to help our families. How can we have strong families? Everything we need is found in the Word of God. He has offered to provide us with the wisdom we need:
James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Here are three powerful tools that God gives to build and strengthen our families:
1) The guiding presence of the Holy Spirit:
a) Because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can have unity. God brings believers together, moving towards their commonality- GOD. If two believers are even opposite natures or personalities, if they are yielded to God, they will still always be going in the same (and right) direction- towards God and living a life that glorifies Him.
b) The purposes of the Holy Spirit:
1) He is our Comforter - John 14:16
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
2) He is our teacher: John 16:13-14
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
3) He glorifies Jesus Christ - our lives should life up and exalt Christ; and they will if we will allow the spirit to guide us and we determine to be yielded to the spirit.
2) We must have a biblical perspective of self:
Galatians 5:17
17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Whatever we feed the most will win: be it flesh or spirit. If we continue to fight the spirit to hold onto our worldly things, then the flesh will win. Likewise, if we concentrate on God and His will for us, and what he wants, and what is holy, good, and true, then the spirit will win and we will grow closer to God as a result of that. But if we continue to allow our flesh to win, then we will continue to grow further away from God and lack that fellowship we so desperately need.
a) Pride is a destroyer of relationships:
If God is in the right place with both people in the relationship, the people will be in their right places within the relationship. If their sights are set on God, then they will not be set on each other's faults and worldly desires.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
b) Pride is defeated by appropriating scripture:
Romans 6:6-7
6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Whenever we give into the power of our flesh, then we resurrect our prideful attitudes. Do we really want that? Or do we want to break our prideful spirits and be contrite before the Lord?
Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
contrite:
"feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming " *
3) A daily practice of serving:
a) Submitting to one another
Ephesians 5:21
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
b) Love one another:
John 15:12
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
c) Serve one another:
Galatians 5:13
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
d) Praying daily in humility, as our examples in scripture:
Acts 10:
1There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
In Conclusion:
Our three tools to help us have stronger families:
1) Recognizing the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit
2) Having a biblical perspective of our selves
3) Forming a daily practice of serving God, and one another.
"An exhaustive study shows that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes" ;o)
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