As promised, here is the excerpt from today's Sunday School lesson on Matthew 5:8. Last night as I was preparing notes for this morning's lesson, I had been reading scripture, along with sermons by John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon referencing the 6th beatitude. As I began to type a short comment, for some reaason I just kept typing, without really thinking about what I was typing. I believe God was speaking to me. Perhpaps you can learn from my ramblings. I would appreciate your thoughts and comments. Thanks! JC
************************************************************
How profound is this recognition beyond the scope of initial belief in God? This purity of heart hearkens back to the 10th commandment - you can’t even want to. It goes beyond the abstention from outwardly visible sins and moves inward to the place where the soul resides. If our hearts are pure, we no longer have the desire to sin. But who can attain this - for the Apostle John teaches that if we profess to be without sin, we are liars and the truth is not in us. I don’t understand how this all fits together. God, please give me the wisdom to understand and be freed from the grasp of sin. Maybe this is why the Bible says we can not see God and live - because He is holy and we are not. Yet we are called to be holy - to be set apart - for the purpose for which God has created us . . . and that purpose is to bring praise, honor, and glory to Him. Why do I remain stuck in the paradox of Romans 7 - unable to free myself from the mire of sin? Could it be that I repress the holy Spirit that is within me while following the sinful nature that seems so omnipresent? I must RELINQUISH control to Him [the Holy Spirit] without any intention or will or desire or capability of regaining it for myself at some arbitrary time. How do I do that when I know that God does not intend to take away my free will? Somehow, I have no choice but to retain that capability - even if I do get rid of the intention, will, and desire - of regaining control through the sinful nature. This is God’s way of doing business with His creation. We saw that in Adam and it continues to this day. Perhaps I must reconcile myself to the reality that I have a role to play in this cosmic drama. Perhaps this role requires continual, constant, moment by moment restraint of the sinful nature in order to allow the Holy Spirit the full control He needs in order to effect God’s plan in my life. It is not good enough to give the Spirit control for 99% of the time, or even 99.99% of the time. He must be given continuous, conscious control. Only then can I be granted the purity of heart referenced here. Should I receive comfort in the failure of others to live in complete submission to the Holy Spirit? Certainly not! If I were to allow myself this luxury, I would not only be admitting defeat, I would also be denouncing the power of God to be victorious in my life. ------ I need Thy presence every passing hour [or better yet, moment]. What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power? Who like Thyself my Guide and Stay can be? Through clouds and sunshine [Lord] abide with me. Amen.
August 29 - SS Study Guide
Focal Verses: Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
If you haven't done so - or done so recently- (re)read the Sermon on the Mount, located in Matthew, chapters 5 - 7, to get the context of theses verses. The sermon can roughly be divided into two parts. The first part presents information and regulations regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. The second, which begins with these verses, presents choices regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. Here, Jesus presents two gates and two ways to live.
THE way
Isaiah prophesied about one who would prepare THE way (Is. 40:3. John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy (Mark 1:2-4) and ultimately Jesus declared, "I am THE way" (John 14:6). Note that Jesus did not say "I am A way" or I am ONE way". Unlike our study last Sunday where we considered versions of the Golden Rule by Confucius, Buddha, et al (See August 22 Review/Follow-UP below), Jesus declares that He is THE way. Perhaps this is why THE way that leads to life (v.14) is difficult. His teaching is often hard - who can accept it? (John 6:60)
Search a concordance for additional references on the way. See the Bible link to your right and type "way" in the quick search box. The very first hit, from Genesis 3:24, should get you to thinking about how strait - or difficult - THE way can be. By contrast, the way that leads to destruction is broad . . .
If you would like to do further reading, I would suggest this article by Brian Schwertly.
I hope to see you in class this Sunday @ 9:30 a.m.
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
If you haven't done so - or done so recently- (re)read the Sermon on the Mount, located in Matthew, chapters 5 - 7, to get the context of theses verses. The sermon can roughly be divided into two parts. The first part presents information and regulations regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. The second, which begins with these verses, presents choices regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. Here, Jesus presents two gates and two ways to live.
THE way
Isaiah prophesied about one who would prepare THE way (Is. 40:3. John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy (Mark 1:2-4) and ultimately Jesus declared, "I am THE way" (John 14:6). Note that Jesus did not say "I am A way" or I am ONE way". Unlike our study last Sunday where we considered versions of the Golden Rule by Confucius, Buddha, et al (See August 22 Review/Follow-UP below), Jesus declares that He is THE way. Perhaps this is why THE way that leads to life (v.14) is difficult. His teaching is often hard - who can accept it? (John 6:60)
Search a concordance for additional references on the way. See the Bible link to your right and type "way" in the quick search box. The very first hit, from Genesis 3:24, should get you to thinking about how strait - or difficult - THE way can be. By contrast, the way that leads to destruction is broad . . .
If you would like to do further reading, I would suggest this article by Brian Schwertly.
I hope to see you in class this Sunday @ 9:30 a.m.
August 22 - Sunday School Follow-Up/Review
Focal Verse -Therefore,whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 NKJV
To all the visitors who attended Sunday School today - thanks for joining us and please consider yourself welcome @ Northlake any time. For those who are on the North Georgia campus, please feel free to come by my office (Nix 317) to visit any time. I love to talk with young adults!
As we discussed today, Jesus' teaching about The Golden Rule was not a new idea. It had been around for at least several hundred years. What was new was the authority with which he taught the concept and the fundamental truth that FIRST the relationship between man and God had to be appropriately established, THEN the appropriate relationship with fellow man would naturally follow. To understand the fullness of Christ's teaching, take 15 minutes now to read The Golden Rule in the context of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).
BE BEREAN (see Acts 17:10-11): Here are some of the scripture passages referenced in today's lesson on The Golden Rule plus a few that never made it into the lesson before time ran out. Check them out to verify my teaching. NOTE: Here's a good Bible link in case you don't have a paper copy handy.
Luke's version of the Golden Rule - Luke 6:27-31
Universality of the Golden Rule - Romans 2:15
Application of the Golden Rule - James 2:1-10
Paul's comment on the Golden Rule - Romans 13:8-10
References Linking the Law & the Prophets
Matthew 5:17-18
Matthew 22:34-40 (see Deut. 6:5 & Lev. 19:18 for sources)
John 1:45
Still want more? Check out this essay by Brian Schwertly on Matthew 7:12. I found it to be particularly enlightening and used some of the information as a basis for the lesson.
See you next Sunday @ 9:30 - Joe Chapman
To all the visitors who attended Sunday School today - thanks for joining us and please consider yourself welcome @ Northlake any time. For those who are on the North Georgia campus, please feel free to come by my office (Nix 317) to visit any time. I love to talk with young adults!
As we discussed today, Jesus' teaching about The Golden Rule was not a new idea. It had been around for at least several hundred years. What was new was the authority with which he taught the concept and the fundamental truth that FIRST the relationship between man and God had to be appropriately established, THEN the appropriate relationship with fellow man would naturally follow. To understand the fullness of Christ's teaching, take 15 minutes now to read The Golden Rule in the context of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).
BE BEREAN (see Acts 17:10-11): Here are some of the scripture passages referenced in today's lesson on The Golden Rule plus a few that never made it into the lesson before time ran out. Check them out to verify my teaching. NOTE: Here's a good Bible link in case you don't have a paper copy handy.
Luke's version of the Golden Rule - Luke 6:27-31
Universality of the Golden Rule - Romans 2:15
Application of the Golden Rule - James 2:1-10
Paul's comment on the Golden Rule - Romans 13:8-10
References Linking the Law & the Prophets
Matthew 5:17-18
Matthew 22:34-40 (see Deut. 6:5 & Lev. 19:18 for sources)
John 1:45
Still want more? Check out this essay by Brian Schwertly on Matthew 7:12. I found it to be particularly enlightening and used some of the information as a basis for the lesson.
See you next Sunday @ 9:30 - Joe Chapman
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.