Keeping It Simple

Intro: Have you ever noticed, that in life we complicate things by over thinking?

Colossians 3:1–2 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

PRAY!!!!

Walk With Jesus

We absolutely MUST WALK THE TALK!

The word sanctification is built on the Latin sanctus, meaning “holy.” Sanctification is the theological term we Christians often use for the process of being made holy. Sanctification is essentially becoming more like Jesus — being “conformed to the image of his Son,” as Romans 8:29 puts it.

9843 Sanctification is not something our Lord does in me; sanctification is himself in me.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Christian growth, or maturation, is another way to define sanctification.

1 John 1:5–7 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Every single day we are to become more and more like Jesus.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

2. Have A Big Faith

Not Having Faith = Sin

Faith is the refusal to panic.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

Romans 14:23 “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

3. Pursue Righteousness

Righteousness=Living the right way

and we all know whats right and whats wrong. Because we have The Holy Spirit inside of us, He is our moral compass

Proverbs 16:8 “Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.”

Proverbs 21:21 “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.”

Psalm 106:3 “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!”

1 John 2:29 “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”

4. Show Your Love For Jesus By Loving Others

= Your Joy Will Be Full

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

1 John 1:4 “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

3 Joy Killers:

Living In The Past

Beware of “Shoulda’s”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Isaiah 43:18–19 ““Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Fear Of The Future

Beware of the “What if’s”

“WORRY”

It is anxiety that robs us of our joy. And what is anxiety but fear? Fear is the enemy of joy. It is hard to be joyful when we are afraid.

R. C. Sproul

Do Not Be Anxious

Matt 6:25-34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Philippians 4:6–7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Being Negative

Anxiety is a treadmill that tends to keep a person in a state of fear and negativity, and without peace.

bio.charlesstanley

Proverbs 10:11 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”

Proverbs 15:4 “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

3 Joy Builders:

Be Thankful

Psalm 136:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Trust The Lord

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Psalm 37:4–6 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”

Psalm 9:10 “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”

Be Kind And Compassionate

Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness.

Isaac of Nineveh

Colossians 3:12–14 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

1 Peter 3:3–4 “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

CALL UP WORSHIP!!!

IN CLOSING!!!

PRAY!!