Friday, August 31, 2012

Time to Grow Up! - 1 Cor. 3:1-9

Introduction

The medical diagnosis Failure to Thrive describes a child that it is not growing according to the pace that it expected of him/her. There are at least two causes for failure to thrive. One is insufficient caloric intake for the child to develop. The other is inability of the child's body to process the caloric intake in a way that will cause him/her to grow.

This medical diagnosis could be applied to the spiritual condition of several in the church at Corinth. They were failing to thrive as Christians. They were stuck in childhood when it was no longer appropriate for them to believe, think, and act as a child. In other words, they were being childish in their faith.

I. The Fruits of Childishness, 1-4.

A. There are two pieces of evidence in the life of the Corinthian Christians.

1. They refused to move deeper into the knowledge of the Gospel, 2.

2. They behave childishly, specifically, they were envious of one another and were fighting with each other, 3-4.

3. To all these behaviors, Paul says, " It is time to grow up!"

B. Those who do not grow in Jesus Christ are spiritual babies, 1.

C. Paul exhorts them that they need to move from milk to meat, 1-2a.

II. Maturity Looks to Christ, not His Instruments, 5-9.

A. Paul points out the absurdity of their position, 5.

B. They are simply servants through whom they believed.

C. So maturity in Christ looks through and past all the good things God has done, and sees the Savior himself in those things.

D. When we see the Savior in all things, jealousy and strife will be gone and they will be replaced with joy and thankfulness.

Conclusion & Application

We called to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are called to work out our salvation for God is at work in us. We cannot refuse to grow or else we will fail to thrive and will end up missing the grace of God so powerfully displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Action points:

· Hebrews 4:12-13 says that the Word of God reveals what is in our hearts better than any other thing, so with your Bible open, search you heart and life and see where you have grown in Jesus Christ;

· In the same posture (before God, in the light of his Word), figure out where you have been a baby and resolve, by God's grace, to no longer be a baby in that area;

· If envy and strife are present in your life, ask yourself in light of what Paul says here if that envy, that strife is due to your not walking in the Spirit.

· Think about all the godly leadership that has been present in your life, thank God for them, but above all see God through them.




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Sunday, August 26, 2012

When Mercy Cleans the Soul - Psalm 51 - Pastor Tito Lyro



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Friday, August 24, 2012

Scrubbed Clean - Ps. 51 (Based on Essay by Sam Storms)

Introduction 

This psalm has a special message for several groups of people. 

· First, Psalm 51 is for those who have never come to grips with the horror of human sin and the magnitude of divine grace. 

· Second, this psalm is for those who think some people are too high or too holy to fall. 

· Third, this psalm is also for those who think that once you have fallen, you can never get back up again. 

· Fourth, Psalm 51 is for those who think that if you have fallen and have actually gotten back up, perhaps even forgiven, you are still useless from that point on both to God and the church. 

I. The historical setting for this psalm is stated in the title. 

None of us likes to have our struggles and problems broadcast publicly, much less our sins of the flesh.  Yet here we are told that this psalm was written "To the Chief Musician"! How would you like for your worst sins to be projected on the screen at church and set to music for the corporate worship of God's people? 

II. On what basis does David ask for acquittal, 1-2? 

Does he appeal to his track record as King over Israel? Does he remind God of how many psalms he has written and how much of a blessing they've been to God's children? Does he cite his faithful service or marshal forth a long list of character witnesses? Not in the least. He doesn't expect to be forgiven based on his sincerity or spiritual intensity or deep pain for having sinned or fervor of heart or promise not to sin again or his depth of determination to somehow "make it up" to God. Note the three words David uses in vv. 1-2 to describe his sin. Equally vivid are the three words he uses in his plea for forgiveness 

III. When David turns, in vv. 3-4, to confess the magnitude of his sin, his language is no less graphic. 

David makes no excuses, offers no rationalizations, and refuses to shift blame. There's no insanity plea or appeal to diminished capacity. My sin, he says, "is always before me" (v. 3b). David's confession is not simply to "get things off his chest", as if confession were merely a therapeutic release of sorts. His confession is designed to tell everyone that God was in the right all along, that God's judgment was true, just, and that the Almighty is blameless (v. 4b). 

IV. How long has David had this problem with sin? 

Did it start with puberty? Was he turned to the "dark side" by some childhood or teen-aged trauma? "The problem," says David, "isn't so much that I sin. The problem is that I'm sinful, and always have been. These deeds of the flesh are symptomatic of a much deeper problem. The fact is, 'I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.' (v. 5). My transgressions are not of recent vintage. This was no freak, one-off event. I've been a sinner from my mother's womb!" So, David confesses his sin nature (v. 5) as the root cause of his actual sin (v. 4), but makes no effort to excuse himself on that basis. Psalm 51 is a refreshing and heart-warming reminder of the hope of forgiveness. 

V. David not only prays for pardon from past sin but also for the power to walk in future purity. 

He makes an impassioned plea for ceremonial cleansing, 7. But David longs for more. Sin can be as spiritually devastating and painful to the soul as broken bones are to the body, thus his cry: "That the bones You have broken may rejoice," 8b. David's desire is that his entire being, body, soul, and spirit might once again revel and rejoice in the blessedness of communion with God. Once more he prays: "Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities," 9. 

VI. With verses 10-12 David's prayer gets even more specific. He petitions the Lord for spiritual power (v. 10), spiritual presence (v. 11), and spiritual pleasure (v. 12). 

Simply asking for pardon isn't enough. One must also have the power by which not to commit the same sin again. No mere "makeover" will do, no matter how "extreme"! David can't bear the thought of the loss of intimacy of fellowship and its accompanying joys, and thus prays that he not be cast from God's "presence" or suffer the loss of God's Spirit, 11. God's power, God's presence, and yes, even God's pleasure is at the heart of David's prayer: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation," 12a! 

VII. David concludes with a vow of commitment in vv. 13-19. 

It is possible for the fallen to be forgiven and used of God in ministry to others. Note also the relationship between testimony and praise in 13-15. People have often misunderstood the concluding verses of Psalm 51 (particularly vv. 16-17), thinking that God has rejected his own appointed sacrifices. 

Conclusion

God is in the business of rebuilding cracked lives and shattered dreams. His "lovingkindness" (v. 1a) is a soul-cleansing power, his "multitude of tender mercies" (v. 1b) a force for restoring long lost hope. All he asks of you is a "broken spirit" and a "contrite heart" (v. 17a). These, says David, he will "not despise" (v. 17b).





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Sunday, August 19, 2012

Oh, Give Thanks to the Lord - Psalm 107 - Pastor Tito Lyro



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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Oh, Give Thanks to the Lord - Psalm 107

Introduction

Thankfulness in our hearts is a key component of godly living and of joy. Yet, it is contrary to the lusts of our flesh. Psalm 107 helps us re-focus our hearts on the God to whom we are to be thankful and on the things we are to be thankful for.

I. Giving Thanks to the Lord Is a Responsibility of His Redeemed People, 1-3.

A. In this psalm, the redeemed are the ones giving thanks to the Lord, 2-3.

B. There are two core reasons in this psalm why we, as the redeemed of the Lord, should thank the Lord.

1. He is good.

2. His mercy endures forever.

C. The several cycles of troubles that culminate with the Lord's deliverance and an exhortation to thanksgiving (5 stanzas) challenge our natural tendency to forget the goodness of the Lord and to thank him.

II. The Redeemed People of the Lord Have Abundant Reason to Give Thanks to Him, 4-32.

A. The proof of God's covenant faithfulness to us and his goodness to us is in the pudding of his wonderful works to the children of men, 8, 15, 21, 31.

B. God brings satisfaction to the soul, 4-9.

C. God brings freedom to the captive, 10-16.

D. God brings life to the dying, 17-22.

E. God brings peace to the troubled, 23-32.

III. If These Weren't enough Reasons, Here Is more, 33-42.

A. The psalmist breaks the pattern here because he can't contain himself any longer.

B. He needs to declare the goodness of the Lord!

C. There is so much for him to be thankful for; there is so much for us to be thankful for.

D. Even the judgments of the Lord are a reason to praise him.

E. The great Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon said, "I have learned to kiss the wave that strikes me against the Rock of Ages."

Conclusion & Applications, 43.

The more we give thanks for whom God is and what he has done, the more we will understand his lovingkindness, his goodness, his covenant faithfulness, his steadfast love, his mercy toward us. That's wise thing to do.

So let me give you some action points for this week that flow from this psalm:

· Mediate on Psalm 107 – spend time reading and thinking about it;

· Make a list of the deliverances God has brought to your life – it can be as little as giving you air to breathe;

· Mediate on what God has done for you in Jesus Christ;

· Take time to praise him because of what he has done for you;

· Tell somebody of the goodness of the Lord in your life – it can be in your family devotions.

May our great God teach us to praise him for all he has done for us!




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Sunday, August 12, 2012

God Sanctioned Boasting - Galatians 6.11-15 - Mr. Kris Kord



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Sunday, August 5, 2012

The Power of the Gospel - Romans 1:16-17 - Pastor Tito Lyro


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Friday, August 3, 2012

The Power of the Gospel - Rom. 1:16-17

Introduction

We like powerful things. We like the best things. That's one of the things that attracts us to the Olympics. There, we see the most powerful, the fastest, the most skilled competing against each other. In this passage today, we have the most powerful thing at work in our lives: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul is ready to preach the Gospel in Rome (15) because he is not ashamed of it. And Paul is not ashamed of it because it is the power of God unto salvation. He is confident that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation because in it the righteousness of God is revealed. Since this last truth is really the foundation of Paul's argument, we are going to start with it and work our way back up the passage.

I. In the Gospel, the righteousness that comes by faith is revealed.

A. Literally, "The righteousness of God is being revealed."

B. The question that comes to our minds now is, "What is the righteousness of God?"

C. It is in the Gospel that we discover this alien righteousness, this foreign righteousness to us.

D. That is what we call the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ.

E. Paul says that this is not a new doctrine that is now coming to light.

F. No one has ever been justified or will ever be justified apart from faith alone in Jesus Christ.

II. Because it is in the Gospel that God's righteousness is found, it is powerful to save.

A. Salvation refers to the entirety of redemption – from effectual calling to glorification.

B. The Gospel is powerful to save everyone who believes.

III. Therefore, Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel

A. Why does Paul even bring this up?

B. Why start the thesis statement of the greatest theological book ever written with this negative statement?

C. Because we have a tendency to be ashamed of the Gospel!

D. How are we ashamed of the Gospel? Peter's denial of the Lord really illustrates well how we can

Conclusion

May God convince us of the power of the Gospel.




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