Part 6 - 08/11/2024 -12 Rules for Decisive and Delightful Living

Grace Place Atlanta COGBF 4700 Mitchell Street Forest Park, GA 30297 Website: atlantacogbf.org Email: info@atlantacogbf.org Phone: (404) 241-6781 Wayne D. Mack, Pastor Pastor Wayne D. Mack Sermon Notes August 11, 2024 A Dozen Dos [Rules] for Decisive and Delightful Living James 1:26-27 New King James Version 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. GMGP This morning, we’re continuing a message series entitled: A Dozen Do Rules for Decisive and Delightful Living! 1 It is about 12 Doable Rules for Everyday Living based on principles from the Bible. Each one is a reminder of how to find greater delight and joy in our lives upon choosing to live free from the negativism and age-old deceptions of life. All of the principles are driven by choice. Each one of us has to make the clear uncluttered choice to experience the supernatural liberty they bring to our lives. Keeping in mind that “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” So far, we have covered 5 Do Rules . . . 1. Make peace with your past so it won’t disturb your present. 2. What other people think of you is none of your business. 3. Time heals most everything, give it time! God heals everything through time. 4. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you. 5. Pray and Live Like God Already Knows What You Need! Today, let’s move on to the 6th DO RULE – maybe numbers 7 and 8. 2 1. Our SIXTH DO Rule is . . . 6. Be Mindful: “You cannot act your way out of what you behaved yourself into. This “Do Rule” reminds me of the stuff of my childhood. I was always doing mischievous things that led to trouble and disobedience which invariably led to me having to drum up some kind of story or explanation to get me out of a fix. Can anybody relate? Without a show of hands, “How many of you have tried to act your way out of something you behaved yourself into? Like: Debt, a Relationship gone sour, a Business deal gone bad, a Marital affair, a regretted purchase (with long payments / more payments than car), Poor job performance or behavior; Unrestrained talking – mouthing off – especially to parents and those in authority – and on and on? Today’s Do Rule speaks to grown folks – especially maturing Believers. It’s a challenge to hear, apply, and be about what 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT) declares: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 3 In other words, I put away having to act me out of everything and, instead, just be honest and responsible for my actions. This DO RULE is a “grow up” rule for your life. It’s a challenge to God’s children grow up and to own their behavior [right or wrong] and to stop looking for escapes, excuses, and loopholes. [You know what we say: Well, you see, what had happened was . . . . ] In the mindset of “You can’t act your way out of what you behaved yourself into,” this DO RULE is a call to HONESTY -- self-honesty – that is, being completely honest with yourself in every aspect of life. Facing the music! In today’s vernacular it’s known as INTEGRITY. Integrity is the quality of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising commitment to strong moral, ethical, and biblical principles. It’s the state of being whole and undivided in one's actions. It stands in opposition to hypocrisy. In the interest of this DO RULE -- It’s a call to owning your behavior at all costs -- whether you get caught or not. BUT, if you get caught, you shouldn’t make light of the situation – OWN IT! The Bible admonishes us to REPENT – turn from sin and wrong and unto righteousness. Keep in mind . . . that . . . The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV) 4 With that promise comes some pain medicine and encouragement from Hebrews 4:16 and Eph. 3:12. Listen to what is said: Hebrews 4:16 (NLT) So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Ephesians 3:12 (NLT) Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Now, follow with me through four examples of how people from the Bible dealt with the saying: “You cannot act your way out of what you behaved yourself into. 1. Ananias and Sapphira a husband and wife team in Acts Chapter 5. Their behavior was that they conspired to lie, not to Peter, but to God the Holy Spirit about the price they sold some land for. They said they sold the land for such and such a price. That wasn’t true. Sadly, it was all a lie that neither of them had time to act their way out of. The Verdict for both of them was the same: Acts 5: 5, 6 & 10 Paraphrase: 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, [that you have not lied to men, but to God] fell down and breathed his last. So great fear 5 came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. The exact same drama happened to his wife, Sapphira. They both tried to act their way out of something they behaved themselves into. 2. Peter and Paul in Galatians Chapter 2. This is a case where Peter was called out for being a hypocrite by Paul for behaving one way when with the Jews and another way when with the Gentiles. When Paul called him on it, Peter had egg on his face. He had to stop acting and face his behavior. Galatians 2:11-13 11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 3. In Matthew 7: 21-23 Jesus Himself called out the behavior of a group of unsaved religious, church-going followers – who at the moment of truth tried to act their way into Jesus’ heart and His kingdom based on some very spiritual behavior. The problem was these religious people were actors who tried to use their behavior to get into heaven but never accepted Jesus into the hearts. Listen to Jesus’ warning to : 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have 6 we not [behaved] prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 4. The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Most of you are familiar with the story. Joseph, an extremely handsome young man was made executor of his master’s wealth and possessions. His master’s name was Potiphar. Being the good looking man he was, Joseph, was over the top craved by Potiphar’s wife. [She was singing in Joseph’s ear . . . If I were your woman And you were my man You'd have no other woman You'd be weak as a lamb If you had the strength To walk out that door My love would overrule my sense And I'd call you back for more. That’s when Joseph broke free of her grip, but in his desperate attempt to get free of this evil woman, he left his coat behind. Potiphar’s wife in a fit of feeling rejected used the coat to frame Joseph with her husband – saying he tried to rape me. Joseph was thrown into prison, but the Bible said in Genesis Chapter 39 that God was with him, and even while in prison -- whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. 7 Long story short, after many years, Joseph got out of prison and ultimately became Prime Minister (second in command to the king) in Egypt. Equivalent to VP in the U.S. But the moral of this story as related to today’s theme is: If your behavior is above reproach, you’ll never have to act your way out of anything. Just behave righteously and God will be with you! As you know, we’re living in a time that people are refusing to own their behavior more and more. If caught they make light of important things and try to act their way out of facing responsibilities or consequences by pleading insanity, or dismissing the situation as if it were somebody else’s fault or make completely light of it or say it didn’t happen at all. Proverbs 21:1-3 explains why this is so (NKJV) . . . 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. 3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. [than trying to act your way out of it!] Don’t pretend a situation didn’t happen and/or you didn’t mean it or that the situation wasn’t as serious as it seems. Don’t play it down. 8 Rather own it and. . . Be Mindful: “You cannot act your way out of what you behaved yourself into. Taking responsibility for your behavior and conduct is serious business especially amongst the people of God. Therefore, Be Mindful: “You cannot act your way out of what you behaved yourself into. END 9