Sermon Tone Analysis

We’ve been *teaching on* a series entitled *“Walking with God.”*

For the *last few weeks* we’ve been *teaching on* *“Walking in the Mercies of God.”*

And in those last few weeks we’ve *looked at scriptures* that *reveal* to us that *the mercies of God will bring about all that we need*.

We can *find* the *answers* to what we need *in the mercies of God*.

*I) **It’s great to know* that *everything* *we have need of* *is found in the mercy of God*.

*But we need to go one step further*.

*We need to know how to walk in the mercy of God* *and* we also *need to understand how the mercy of God will operate in your life on a practical day to day basis*.

*A) **In* *Ephesians, chapter 2,* we find it interesting portion of scripture that will *shed some light* *on this issue*.

*1) *The *first few Vs*.

*paint a dark picture* of where we were before Jesus came into our lives.

*2) *Turn with me to *Ephesians 2:1-3* (“*fulfilling* the desires of the flesh” or as the *NAS* puts it, “*indulging* the desires of the flesh.”)

*B) **Then* the Apostle *Paul* *brings* us the *good news* *of* *how and why* *we are no longer in that state*.

*1) *Look at *Ephesians 2:4-5*

*a) **Why did God* *make us alive together with Christ*? *Because He is rich in mercy*.

*b) *In fact, *God’s entire plan* of salvation is a direct *result* of the *love and mercy* of God.

*2) *It was the *love of God* that *brought* about the *virgin birth*.

It was *God’s love* that *produced* the plan for *man’s redemption* from sin. *God’s love* *produced* the *baptism of the Holy Spirit*.

And it was *God’s love* that g*ave us* our *access to Him* through prayer.

*a) **Everything that belongs to us* as a believer (and that’s more than we can imagine) is a direct *result* of *God’s love and mercy* toward us.

*b) *These things did *not* come *from* someone that had their *mind set on vengeance*.

They did *not* come *from* a *God who takes pleasure in destruction*.

*C) *In all fairness we *have to ask the question*, “*Isn’t God a judge who rewards or punishes based on our actions?*”

*1) *The *answer* to that question is *yes and no*.

The truth is, *God does not want to be put in the place of judging our lives*; *He wants us to do that*.

*2) *Look at *1st Corinthians 11:31*.

*a) *This verse means that *it is God’s best for each believer* *to judge himself*.

*(i) **If you’ll compare your behavior* *to the* standard of the *Word* *and* *make corrections* in your life *when necessary*, *you’ll never having need for God to judge you*.

*3) **Now* of course, *there is the other side to this coin*.

*If you refuse to judge yourself*, *then* *you will be judge by God*, *and* a *failure to judge yourself* *will also hinder God’s ability* *to bless* you the way He wants.

*a) **When you refuse to examine your life* *and eliminate those things that don’t please Him*, *you put God in the position of having to point those things out to you*.

*(i) **But the good news is that God judge is in mercy*.

*(ii) **As far as* *believers are concerned*, *the judgment of God is always a judgment motivated by love* *and designed to bring about restoration*, *healing*, and *blessing*.

*4) **Quite often when a believer sins* they will *mistake* *conviction* *for* *condemnation*.

*a) **When you blow it*, *2 things* *actually* *happen*.

*(i) **First* the *Spirit of God* moves in to *convict* you of that *sin*.

*(ii) **2nd* the *Devil* *moves in* *to condemn you for it*.

*b) *The *conviction* of *God* is *designed* *to bring you back into fellowship* with Him *through* *repentance and forgiveness*.

*c) *The *condemnation* of the *Devil* is *designed to shame you into pulling away from God.* It’s Satan’s desire to pull you away from God.

*(i) *The *next time* *you mess up* and sin, *respond to the conviction* and *reject* *the condemnation*.

*(ii) *You see the *Word says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”*

*II) **When the Devil*, *tries to hit you with condemnation*, you need to *hit him with Romans 8:1*.

*A) *That’s turn there *Romans 8:1*.

*1) *The Word “*CONDEMNATION*” literally *means* “*DAMNATORY SENTENCE*.”

*2) **Sometimes people stop after* the *1st* *part* of that verse, but if you *read the whole verse* you’ll *find* there is a *prerequisite*, *“For those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”*

*B) *Lets read the whole thing in context starting with *Romans 8:1-13*.

*1) *Now *what does it mean* to be *walking after the flesh* *or* *walking after the Spirit?*

*a) *Of course that means *following after God* a*n*d *following after the Spirit of God* *and* *not* *walking after the flesh* *or* you could say *indulging in sin*.

*2) **But if you do sin*, *you have a right to* the *forgiveness* of sin.

*Again* we can *confess* our *sins* to God *and* *he will cleanse us*.

*C) **When you respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit* *you’re still walking after the Spirit*.

*1) **Now the question is* *what about the person that continually practices the same sin?*

*2) **I don’t know where their heart is*, *but if there truly confessing their sins to God* *and* *coming before Him with a repentant heart* *their sins will be forgiven*.

*a) **In* (*Matthew 18*) *Jesus was asked, “How many times should I forgive my brother that sin against me, seven times?”* *Jesus answered*, *“Seventy times seven.”*

*b) **I don’t think Jesus was telling us that we should forgive only 490 time*s.

*I think he was telling us that we should forgive no matter how many times someone sins against us*.

*3) **If Jesus is telling us to forgive that many times* *you think that He would be any different*.

*If Jesus tells us to keep on forgiving*, *then He will do the same to a person that asked for forgiveness*.

*4) **Does that give a person a license to keep on sinning as long as they come back to God and asked for forgiveness?*

*a) **No absolutely not*, *1st* of all *I can’t judge a person’s heart*, *only God can do that*.

*b) **But according to* what *Paul* said in these Vs. that we just read; *if you have the Spirit of God you’re going to walk in the Spirit.*

*c) **That means* *even if we do sin* *we’re going to get mad at ourselves for doing it* *and we’ll come to God and asked for forgiveness*.

*5) **Whenever we blow it*, *immediately run to God*.

*He will meet you with his arms open because His mercy endures forever*.

*D) **All of us need the mercy of God*.

*Without God’s mercy we would all be lost*.

*1) **Every moment of every day*, *you when I need to be able to access the provision and power that comes from the mercy of God*.

*2) **Now the big question is*, *How do we lay hold of the mercy that we all need?*

*a) *Our answer is found in *Hebrews 4:15-16* so let’s turn there.

*b) **This is the key to getting all of the* *mercy*, *grace*, *and help* that *we need* *simply come boldly to the throne of grace*.

*c) **This verse is telling us that we have a High Priest* in heaven *who knows what it feels like to be clothed in the weakness of human flesh*.

*He has experienced every temptation we have ever fallen into*, yet He *never sinned*.

*(i) **Even if we have a problem of a continuous sin* in our lives *we need to run to the throne of grace* *and* *find the mercy and grace* *to help us get out of this problem* *in our time of need*.

*3) **Even if there’s other things* that *we need* in our lives: *like money* to pay the bills, *healing for our bodies*, *or* *deliverance from the enemy* *or* *from different situations we’re going through*; *we need to be going to the throne of grace* *so that we can have attained that mercy* *and find the grace of God to help us out of that time of need*.

*III) **Many times we’ve heard messages* *that* *teach us the KEYS to success*, the *KEYS to prosperity*, the *KEYS to faith*, the *KEY to healing* *and* *many others*.

*A) **But* *there is ONE KEY to unlock all of these things*.

You could call it the *MASTER KEY*.

*1) **This* *MASTER KEY* *will unlock* *all of God’s promises* *and* will *provide all that we need*.

*2) **This* *Master key is* *“THE PRESENCE OF GOD.”*

*B) **When you’re walking* *and* *living in the presence of* Almighty *God*, *sickness has to go*.

*Disease can not stand* in the presence of God.

*1) **When you live in God’s presence* *poverty and lack* *has to go*.

There is *no lack* *in the presence of God*.

*2) **Every promise that is found in the Word* of God *is found in the presence of* Almighty *God* *and* *that is the MASTER KEY*.

*C) **One thing* that we *need to realize* *about* the *presence of God* is that *it isn’t just a place for you to come in visit*, *but it is a place for you to dwell in*, *walk in*, *and* *God’s presence will go with you* wherever you go.

*1) *Turn with me to *Exodus 33:14* (and listen to what the Lord told Moses)

*a) **Did you catch that?* *God said* to Him, *“My presence shall go with thee.*”

*b) **The presence of God*, *with* *all* the *power and peace it brings* *can go with you *wherever you go.

*(i) **You can carry it to work* with you, to *school* with you and *home* with you.

*(ii) **The presence of God* *should b*e such *a part of you* that *people* will *notice* there is *something powerful about you*.

*2) **In this verse in Exodus* that *we just read* *reveals* to us *something else* *that can be found in the presence of God*, and *that is* *“REST.”*

*a) *So *many times* *people talk about* “*BURNOUT*.”

*They're “BURNED OUT”* *because* they’re *doing so many* different *things*.

*b) **There’s not very many people* *that are doing as much as I am*.

*(i) **Between secular work*, and the *work of the ministr*y, and *trying to work out* a few hours a week to stay in shape *totals about 80 hours a week*, but *I don’t know what* *“BURNOUT” is*.

*(ii) **The only place you’re going to find true rest and strengthen is in the presence of God*.

*D) **When you live in the presence of God*, *you don’t have to be racked with worry* *about* how you are going to pay your *bills*.

*You don’t have to be tormented* *by depression*, *guilt* or *fear*.

*1) *Look at *Matthew 11:28-29*.

*a) **When you get into the presence of the Lord*, *you’ll find rest* *and* *will discover* that *the struggle is over.*

*IV) *But *there’s even more* that *you’ll find in the presence of the Lord*.