Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Thank you all for coming out tonight
Last week we discussed the Holy Spirit and saw how important He is in our lives.
We saw how we should be obedient to Him, even for the littlest nudges.
Tonight we will be exploring what it is to be a disciple of Christ.
Not just a Christian in name only, but a disciple.
True discipleship is so much more than a course.
It’s a commitment to follow Christ unconditionally.
While Christ was on earth things were just as they are now.
Many people wanted to follow him but few would follow Him unconditionally.
Turn over to
,
Tonight we will see that being a true disciple of Christ is about surrendering daily, battling sin, and living a lifestyle pleasing to God.
It’s been said “Salvation is the miracle of a moment; discipleship is the process of a lifetime.”
What does this lifestyle look like?
A Disciple is fully surrendered to God
This is the beginning of true discipleship
There are three things we need to notice about surrender in
It is motivated by God’s mercy to us
“I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God...”
It’s when we realize the great mercy God has shown to us that compels us to surrender our lives back to Him.
It is complete
“...The ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God....”
The first century understanding of this verse would have been different than ours.
They would have immediately connected the word sacrifice back to the Old Testament animal sacrifices.
Those sacrifices were a complete transaction.
Once the animal was given over to God there was no taking it back.
It was sacrificed.
That animals goals, dreams, possessions, time, and everything were not in the hands of God.
The life was given to the glory of God.
Now this doesn’t mean we are going to build a funeral pyre outside and have human sacrifices…It means we need to see that when giving our lives to God it should not be for personal gain, status, or position.
It should be to his glory and we should hold nothing back.
Why?
It is Reasonable:
“…Which is your reasonable service.”
That word reasonable there comes from a Greek word for rational, logical.
It just makes sense.
Jesus gave His life for ours.
Giving ours back for Him is the least we can do.
He doesn’t even ask for it in the same way.
He doesn’t say “you must die for me”…Jesus says you should LIVE for me.
He made full surrender a condition for discipleship.
He is to have first place in our lives…He is to have preeminence
A Disciple Battles Sin and the Flesh
I think this may be one of the most discouraging things for new Christians to realize…Even though we are saved…we still sin
Sin is the opposite of what God would have us to do but it doesn’t start out as sin.
Sin starts out as temptation
There are three main sources of temptation
These are always working against us
The World
The World’s systems, philosophies, and practices are almost always completely against God
The Flesh
Prior to salvation our mind will and emotions were trained to live apart from God.
When we get saved there are old patterns of our mind, will, and emotions that will be at odds with the new patterns of life that God wants to instill in us.
The Devil
Satan is not in hell.
He is actively and persistently targeting you with temptation.
One of His names is the tempter
God has given us the power to overcome temptation
Thankfully, although we are often tempted to sin, God has given us the power to overcome temptation.
Jesus’ death on the cross broke the power that has a hold on us.
He set us free to respond to His power in us.
Remember this though…Temptation is not sin.
When tempted we have a choice to make…give in or resit through the power that is in us through Christ.
What are the ways to escape God has given us?
Use the Word of God
This is exactly what Jesus did in the desert when He was tempted of the devil.
If the Word of God was good enough for Him it must be good enough for us as well.
This requires us to know the Word of God though.
This requires us to read, study, and memorize the Bible so that we can apply it in the moment to what we have going on in our lives.
Remember we don’t have to sin
God’s grace gives us the power to say “no” to sin
Avoid temptation when possible
Sometimes we make it easy for ourselves to sin.
We get around temptation without any guards up.
This is why I preach and teach separation.
Avoid ungodly friends
If there are particular people that hurt your walk with the Lord or cause you to fall into sin, then I suggest you remove them from your lives.
This doesn’t mean you have to be mean to them.
Ask for help
If you feel you are in bondage to a particular sin, get help.
As your pastor I want to be here fro you.
If you don’t think I can be, then please reach out to someone.
A mature godly Christian that can pray with and for you and hold you accountable.
Keep short accounts with God
The moment the spirit convicts us of sin we should turn to God, confess it, and move on.
Yield to the Holy Spirit
Begin each day in prayer, yielding yourself to the Holy Spirit.
We talked about this last week.
We
Satan will try so hard to wear you down and remind you of your past.
He will work at telling you that you can’t do anything with your life.
You can’t do anything for God.
Your life is meaningless and pointless.
How could God use you?
This happened/happens to me.
I’m reminded of a decade of my life I’m ashamed of.
I begin thinking of the mistakes I made and can begin to wonder can I really be used of God…Then I’m reminded of God’s grace, mercy, and faithfulness.
I’m reminded of the men God used in scripture to serve Him.
I’m reminded of the lives that where changed all because those men said “It’s not about what I’ve done…It’s about what He’s done and will do as I yield to Him.”
What could God use you to do if you would yield to him?
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