Fitting

The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse....... 

- Proverbs 10:32 -

Thoughts on This Verse... How many times have you said just the''wrong'' thing? For me, it is more often than I would like to recall. Jesus' words on this topic are indeed convicting to me:''Out of the abundance of the heart does the mouth speak.'' In other words, poor words and bad timing in our speech are more issues of our heart than issues of social skills and decorum. Let's ask God to purify, mend, and re-focus our heart on his will and passions.

 
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Imitating Footsteps

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me....... 

- Psalm 119:133 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God's word is a light to our dark path in a morally uncertain world. It must be our standard for right and wrong, righteousness and evil. As God's will and Word have sway in our life, we are delivered from all sorts of destructive practices that can ruin our lives. 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Become

Ephesians 4:1, 11-13:

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  

 

Ephesians 4:14-16 (v15):
¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.


*full grown/mature Christians = Jesus
*Truth- no one can become Jesus
*What its trying to say is to grow up in salvation
*We are given out identity by Christ, and no one can take that away from you

Why do we have to grow up in our salvation if we already have a secured identity?

1. Our experience with Jesus grows (more intimate)

As we grow, our status with the Lord increases

2. We experience, feel, taste him in new ways

3. It helps us to serve others

We have a role in our kingdom

When we grow, we can grow other people, having them see Christ in a whole new way

What do we have to do to make us grow?

*We must hear and develop our growth

*Provide the right environment

*Our intentions do not really matter but the actions we take

*The bible tells us how
*When we become Christians we have to accept God's grace
*His plan for our lives to serve Him

1. Acceptance 

- Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers
-Accept his commands (We do have free will but we need commands to grow us)

- Be influenced by people who will grow us

- We need that maturity to understand and accept the orders God gives us to give us a good outcome

*Engaging in the Bible

2. Nourishment

-but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night
-Just like the word, we need to cut it up and digest it slowly
-It is a gradual process

3. Exchange

-That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its Fruit (of the spirit) in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prosper
-live in community with others

*We grow into Jesus

John Newton
1 John 2:

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
⁷ Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Breaks stages of life in stages of growth

1. Infants

1 John 2:12:

-I am writing to you dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account on his name

*Like infants, we have short attention span and are unstable
*Most are psychologically self-centered as well
*We are all like that as young Christians
*We sin, we feel guilty, re repent and rededicate and repeat the whole cycle
*We need to know that we are forgiven
*We question whether we are even the Christian we are suppose to be
*We need parenting

*We can't leave young Christians on their own- need to shepherd them

*Older Christians know the principle

2. Young people

 *Does not mean we do not need God

*I am writing to you young men, because you have overcome the evil one
*We have to acknowledge our sin- not what we do, but what we are
*He loves me because of that
*We may be angry or bitter- we need to realize and become aware of our emotions

*We are more depended on him than our feelings towards him

3. Fathers and mothers

1 John 2:13: ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one. 


*I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning
*They grow deeper in the word and growth of the Lord

*they trust and have faith in the Lord

*Peace that surpasses understanding

*Deep yearning and passion for the Lord

*We need to accept, nourish things for ourself

*We can do that by listening to sermon
*Purpose to grab whole of it
*Status of God has not changed- he still loves us no matter what
*Even if were feeling mocked or guilty, we repent but always remember that He still loves us


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Don't take no for an answer

*Things might break down although you make the effort to work hard

*We might give up

*That includes giving up on spirituality

*Some people do not want to let Him in because we see others give up
*Interesting thing in faith, prayer is the biggest discouragement
*We might be praying and fasted for so long but things might not be how you want it to be
*Prayer can be the biggest faith builder in your life

*The best praying is never giving up until God says yes

Matthew 15:21-28:

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

*Not my faithfulness but your mercy
*God is silent when you have presented your case
*Jesus did not budge in
*Jesus says to the women that He came for the Israelites, not for her
*When we meet God and He says no, she begs, kneels at His feet and ask Him to help her
*She did not leave, persisted and got her prayers answered God

promise- pray harder
neutral- pray
No- stop praying (but we SHOULD persist to pray)

1. So much of the bible indicate that God will always say yes. Is this true?

Matthew 7:7-8:

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Mark 11:23-24: ²³ “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 

John 14:13-14:
¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

1 John 5:14-15: ¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Jesus clearly says no
Luke 9:53-55:
⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

*Base on theology on experience rather than Bible which says more yes than no

2. What if it is outside God's will? Should I keep praying?

God's will- yes
Not God's will- no ..(Not exactly)
*Everyone wants everyone to be saved by God
*Not within God's will for Israelites to be saves- He said yes in saving them after Moses prayed
*It is God's will for everyone to be saved- God says no and die without being saves
*God is a man, not a textbook. 

*If Moses can change God's mind and will, we can change God's mind and will

*Jesus pleaded to change God's will (Your will be done - prayer of submission at the end)
*Jesus would not pray (take my cup of suffering if He knew God can change His will- dynamic not static)

3. How do I know when to stop praying? Do I keep praying forever?

*We may sometimes feel things are going forever so we pray forever
*Jesus prays 3 times "take this cup from me" "remove the thorn from my flesh"

Implication: We should pray 3 times (or more)

Luke 18:1:

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 

*Pray untill we get a good reason God says no

*God will answer your prayer when you earnestly seek and plead

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Constructing your argument

#1 Claim a promise

Daniel 9:1- In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—
appeal to God's promises

Jeremiah 29:10-11: ¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

*Claim promises God has made
*Revelation- said it is going to happen- focus on our prayers
*God gives us a cheque- we cash our cheque
*God gives us a promise- pray into the promise (to deliver)

#2 Appeals to God's mercy

Daniel 9:4-6, 18:
⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy
 

*"We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 

#3 Appeal to God's Record

*We want all the praise before we even get to ourselves
*We might back away because we don't want to prove ourselves
*He has prove himself time and time again

Daniel 9:15-16:

¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

#4 Appeal to God's reputation

*God himself cares about his own reputation, how is he being seen by others
Daniel 9:17-19:

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

*If you will receive when you ask, could you seek him First in your finance
*Desperately need God to breakthrough
*Not only we can appeal to his promises, mercy, record and reputation but that we can 

appeal his son- JESUS CHRIST!

Hebrews 4:16: ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

*Approach the throne of grace with confidence
*We have one who speaks up and present out case for God

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Encamps like a bubble!

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them....... 

- Psalm 34:7 -

Thoughts on This Verse... I don't see him, but I know he's there! The same angel of the Lord who destroyed Israel's enemies is now fighting to win the spiritual battle that rages around you and me. 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Sun Shield

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless....... 

- Psalm 84:11 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God doesn't hold back on his goodness! In fact, the Father loves to give his children gifts. These gifts are all encompassing. These gifts are gladly given. How do I know? Three ways: 1) I've been repeatedly blessed; 2) I've seen what God has done to bless his people through the centuries; and 3) his Word promises this to be so. 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**