Ever since I was a young child, my mother would read me Bible stories from a large red illustrated Bible called “The Picture Bible.” One of my favorite stories depicted in it was the story of Samson. I thought it was awesome that Samson had supernatural strength because he never cut his hair, and I wished that I could have a similar covenant with God.
Now as I have mentioned many times before, ultimately the entire Bible is about Jesus, and this story has some amazing truths and an amazing lesson that will bless you greatly, and so we conclude our series on the glory of God with one of my favorite stories, and see an incredible picture of Jesus.
Do you want glory and honor? Most people are constantly looking to increase their glory and honor through all kinds of things. Some think that more money gives them honor. Some believe that becoming famous will add to their own glory and honor. Still others think that achieving a certain social status or level will also increase their honor and glory. The truth however is that we have a source of honor and glory that we have never known; and it's been right there in the Bible all along.
So our topic today is going to be this honor and glory, how to receive it, how to use it and also how to forfeit it. With this information, we can be assured of our divine glory given to us by Christ Jesus.
What is worship? A lot of people have an idea of worship being a group of like-minded believers getting together and singing songs on Sunday, but is that all worship is? Could there be more to it than that? The Bible has a very interesting definition of worship, which we have previously studied last year, however it also defines the proper attitude of worship. This is important because many people utter proper worshipful words but there is no real attitude or intent of worship. They view it more as a job to be completed, rather than a privilege and honor to worship the LORD and Savior.
Today we will be studying the Bible definition of worship, as well as how this attitude can become the reality in our lives, so that we can have a life filled with rich and honest worship, and not have it simply be a task that we perform on Sunday any longer.
The Christian culture has developed many canned-responses as answers for problems in life. One of the most common ones is “look to Jesus” . Whenever there's a problem, some well-intentioned believer will smile and say “Oh, you just need to look to Jesus!”
Technically, this advice is correct, but there is a huge gaping problem with it... What exactly does it mean to look to Jesus? While the advice may be right, it does little good if the person on the receiving end does not know how to put it into practice. So today, we will be studying what it actually means to look to Jesus, and the answer may surprise you.
Almost everyone now has a GPS device of some sort in their vehicles. If it isn't built-in, then it is included with most cell phones or tablets. Or, it can even be bought as stand-alone unit. Most everyone would agree that having clear and concise directions to get where we are going is a big help and an invaluable tool when navigating unknown areas.
Likewise, we have an amazing resource available to us... a GPS for us to navigate every single turn in life and to guide us safely to our destination. Yet many believers do not know how to properly make use of this amazing benefit, or worse, they think they know how to discern the leading of God but are operating in error and being led astray without realizing it. So today we will be studying how to properly understand the leading of God so that we will never be led off-course again.
Imagine being stranded in a desert, the sun beating down on you relentlessly and your tongue so dry that it's nearly glued to the roof of your mouth. You're desperate for even the smallest drop of water, and just as you think all hope is lost, you glance into the distance and you spot a flowing stream. You rush to it in joyful anticipation, and as you lower your hands in to scoop out some cool fresh water, you find out that it was merely an illusion, and you almost drank a handful of hot sand instead.
Would it surprise you to learn that this scenario is playing-out every single day for people all across the world? Today we will be studying the encounter that a certain woman had at a well, when she encountered a man that she wasn't expecting, and found a treasure she never even knew existed.
Grace... you may hear a lot about it, and many people think that they know what it means, but the truth is that there are still many misconceptions about it. There are some who believe that grace gives them a license to live in sin or however they want to. There are others who think that grace allows them to live selfish lives chasing after their own pleasures. Then there are others still who honestly think that grace is a false doctrine.
Well, God does not want us to be in confusion, and so today we are going to address all of these various ideas about grace, and as we see the truth regarding this topic in the scriptures, we will not be in confusion any longer, but we will be secure on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.
The topic today is one that is often thought of and usually taught in a negative way. The very idea of glorying in our own weakness is counter-intuitive to our own nature. Yet it is a concept described in several places throughout the Bible and in one particular well-known group of verses which we will be taking a look at today.
This is an important principle that every believer should understand, and unfortunately through wrong beliefs, the idea has been twisted to mean something other than what the Bible actually says. If you have been struggling with the concept of glorying in your weakness, this study will set you free.
Over the past months, we have studied about various promises of God. Financial, Physical and Spiritual promises all made by God to us, to demonstrate the riches of His grace towards us. We have studied how to receive them, and how they can be stolen from us by the enemy. Today we will be studying how to remain in the land... specifically the land of promise. Once you have received the blessings of God in your life, obviously you want to remain there, and the Bible tells you how to do it.
Now you may say “James! I'm not there yet!” Don't worry, God has you covered today as well. We will also be studying how to get there. So this is going to be a rather detailed message, but be attentive to hear, and you you will catch what God has to say today.
All across the world, ministers of the Gospel are struggling daily to tend to the flock and feed the sheep of God. Many think that the job of a pastor is a one-day-a-week job – only on Sundays and maybe a Wednesday or Thursday night service thrown-in as a bonus. However as every minister knows, the demands of not only time but also patience, and faith are extreme.
I read a book some time ago, which told the story of several different church leaders, all of whom became burnt-out and ultimately quit their ministerial positions because of frustrations, stress and an inability to deal with problems effectively. One leader even became so stressed that he manifested physical sickness. Now God never designed this to be, and while the book cited the problem-people to be the cause of the turmoil, I am inclined to point-out that none of the leaders were taking advantage of the provision that God has given to deal with such situations. And this provision is what we will be studying today. If you are a minister or even a layperson who is dealing with stressful people or situations, this study will benefit you today.