July 4, 2021 - How to Walk Right so you can Know Right

Why am I an excellent? Excellent. Excellent, excellent.

So good to see all of you. It's been awhile. Sing people online while I can only see people online, but you can like stuff. And I do that all the time. It's all about personality, right? I'm one of those people that likes everything, my wife. If she likes something she shows it to me on her phone and then she wonders why she doesn't get the content. She don't wants

Yeah. So I'm back on the chair again today. Last week I was not able to sit down so I was standing up and I started preaching from a chair at my last church. We we were in a lot smaller space and all of the music stuff was altogether. And so when I'd walk around, I be tripping over her wires and speakers and stuff. That was number one, number two, I was the videographer. So, I had to press the button on the machine, get back on my thing and I found like, I'd be out of frame all the time if it wasn't sitting still. So last week. Was up doing the broadcast and she told me afterwards, she moved way too much. So I'm back on the chair, so she can just focus on those things. And it makes My life easier to cuz I don't have to edit it afterwards either.

Today, we're talking about we're still in the learn to discern series and we're talkin about the really tricky subject. To know, right? You have to walk, right? Why is It's Tricky? Well, since the beginning of the church, as soon as non-jewish people were allowed to come in. There has been extreme views on this. We've gone from cheap Grace to religious legalism. Anna. And the truth really is somewhere in the middle.

What do I mean by Cheap? Grace will cheap Grace? The best way for me to find cheap Grace is that there's there's two truthful statements that. If you put together, they leave the falsehood. What are those two truthful statements. Nobody's perfect. That is true. God will forgive. That's also true. You put them together. Nobody's perfect. And God will forgive and you use it right? At the point where you don't want to do the good, you know, you want to do or do something bad that you know, you shouldn't do and that leads to falsehood

Yes, it's true. Nobody is perfect. Yes, it's true. God will forgive. But when we live in that place, we make Grace cheap.

We can Ascend of commission, it were sin of omission, a sin of omission is not doing the good. We know we ought to do as soon as commission is doing something to harm somebody else. When we excuse that with that statement, nobody's perfect. And God will forgive all kinds of evil can come

Reese isn't cheap. It cost God his son. I came across this quote, this week that I think all of us need to consider Bill Johnson says this. If it's true that the value of something is measured by what someone will pay for it, then we need to rethink our work.

Jesus died for you to be in, right? Relationship with God.

It cost him. We can't keep in it. This is what part of the argument part of the discussion comes from Romans 6. We'll start at verse 1. Alright says he says, well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more, Wonderful Grace, of course, not since we have died this and how can you continue to live in it or forgotten? But while we were joined,

Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ in baptism we were joined with him in his death where we died and were buried with Christ by baptism and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the father, we now live new lives. We can't live our lives thinking, it doesn't matter what we do because nobody is for perfect. And God forgive And if we're honest with ourselves, I think all of us will admit, maybe not to ourselves, but hopefully they got that we have had to ask forgiveness for that.

But to avoid that extreme the same thing they did in the early church. The same thing we do today, we go to The Other Extreme. We try to end with of in the flash, what was started in the spirit. We choose rules over relationship and we make a list of things to do into the night. And we judge people by that list more harshly than we judge ourselves. We judge them on what they don't do and what they don't deny and we judge ourselves on how well we can get away with not showing that two people. Ouch.

Why is it important? Proverbs 1:7 says this the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true, knowledge and fools despise wisdom and discipline we need to know, right? We need to walk, right? So there is we need to walk a certain way. And in to have that foundation and it starts with the fear of the Lord. What does it mean to fear the lord 16 ways to fear the lord? I'm just going to run through these quickly. Yeah, I got blog posts on this dude. If you want to know more about 16 ways to fear the lord, you need to be open to the instruction of the Lord. You need to find the light. In this command. You need to trust the Lord. You need to hope is his unfailing, love. You need to serve him with reverential joy. You need to seek it with an undivided heart. You need to praise Him, honor him and show him reference. You need to experience his glory, you need to be in. Awe of him, you need to heat evil, you need to perfect your Holiness. You need to reckon work to reconcile others, to God. You need to work out your salvation, you need to search out wisdom. You need to obey his Commandments. If we want to learn to discern, we need to walk right before we know, right? That's the criteria, right? You can't do that in your own strength. You can do that with your own list of rules. The great news is God did not create us that way and God knows, we can't do it that way.

we have, it's not

We have not been given Freedom so that we can keep a list of rules. We've been given freedom to serve each other in love.

The two things were going to talk about today. That we're responsible for in order to learn to discern. And right now we are in

The reawaken your conscience and imbibe the word of God. Part of this actually have a pathway. I could show you some time to but

These are the next two steps in the learn to discern pathway. Can I pray before we get into this at school Eveleigh father, I thank you. And thank you for what you brought us through and I thank you. Lord! God, you're not done with us yet. I thank you. Lord. God you are going to finish the good work. You've started in us. I think you holy spirit that you are the one who teaches us all things. I thank you, Lord. That you have power us to do the good that you want us to do. And Lord, I pray that we can learn to rely more and more and more on that even today in your name, man. Revelation 2 verses 1 and 2. Where am I here?

The one in five, I think I'm going to go. Jesus is speaking to the church in Ephesus and he says write this letter to the angel of the Church of Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the Seven Stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven, golden lamp stands. I know the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don't tolerate evil people, you have plain, you have examined the claims of those who say they are Apostles, but are not and you discovered that they're Liars. You have patiently suffer for me without quitting, but I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other, is she did it first. You've lost your first love. Look how far you've Fallen turn back to me and do the work. She did it first. If you don't repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from among your churches from, among the churches.

The church in Ephesus had the right theology. They had the right works. They forgot the love. They forgot their first love.

Jesus was ready. This is the only church in this. The series. That he said, I'll remove the lamp stand.

It's so important that we get this, right? We can be so good at the sermon that we can tell good from Evil and we can get angry at those people when they speak evil. That's why they lost their first love because they were so intent on moral Purity. They were so intent on doing things, right?

The wing right isn't as important as loving, right?

We can have our conscience seared.

And if her conscience is seared, we can call good evil and evil, good. And we can excuse ourselves from loving, right?

We need to know how to reawaken our conscience. Good news. Is it ain't you? It's Holy Spirit.

How do you delete the other one? I'm going to give you today. There are tools not rules understand that they are tools, not rules, they're not something to check off a list. There, a pathway for you to follow. As Holy Spirit, empowers you and it ended instructions you to do that.

First, here is the how to reawaken your conscience tool and the acronym I chose is the Canadian spelling of plow. I got more letters that way.

Wow. The p is you got to plant good seeds Hosea? 10:12 says, I said plant, the good seeds of righteousness and you will harvest a crop of love the hard ground of your hearts for now, is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and shower righteousness upon you. Nova seed of righteousness, need to include confession and repentance. when Holy Spirit shows you anything in your life or in your thoughts or in your actions that he wants to start fixing, Confession is agreeing with him that it's in. it doesn't work for someone to sit up here and tell you you're saying, I can make you feel bad. It's the easiest job in the world. But it's Holy Spirit, jobs are convicted of sin, not me. It's holy spirit's got that job to teach you all truth. Not mine. It's holy spirit's job to lead you the way he wants to lead you. It's not that I can. It's not that I create a new list. It's not that you can follow someone else's list. Do you act like this is so revolutionary. Do a search online for how to discern, and you will get list after list after list of what shows, you can watch it. And what two books you can read and what books you need to burn. What shows you need to come down.

That's not what this book says.

the book says, Listen to him. Keep in step with him obey him. And the wonderful thing is, the more we are in this book, The more we get hungry for this book. The more we want to be in the book, The more we want to align with it. I'm getting ahead of myself but you need to plant good seats.

Allow Holy Spirit to show you the seeds that you're planting that you don't want to reap from. Because you will reap what you sow. You're just so you give you plants are. So from the spirit you reach spiritual things, you plant fight this over in the flash, you reach you, your fleshly things that lead to death.

You need to be planting good seeds. We're talking about personal Revival here. That's what I want to get at. It is how do you get personal Revival? You got a plow this heart, this part that might have got hard this heart that you might have been seared and gotten hard. And God says, I want to remove this heart of Flesh and stone and give you a heart of Flesh. So then you can follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will be my people and I will be your God. That's the promise.

Plow, the soil allow the soil. Make use of confession and repentance of what holy spirit is telling you. The question you can ask yourself is a my breaking up the hard ground Cuz most of us want to avoid it. What's the hard ground of our heart? That hard ground of the heart is is that seed when it gets scattered there is Sprouts up quickly and then the worries and Troubles of this life took it out.

I don't know if you know this, but in the ancient world before we invented the drill press, The plow follow the seed. What? This seed, it's all good seed gets scattered abroad. And then, the plow Falls up.

You respond to what holy spirit is telling you to do that seed that he plants in there. And then you let the plow come in and kill it. Deep into the soil. God, what he who? That's just the mission. That is lordship. That is God. You do what you want to do. You make me who you want me to make it become.

Make use of confession and repentance.

The L and plowed file is at the live love. And we've talked about this often. So we'll just go through this one quickly. Live love, Jesus reply, to Matthew, 2:37 to 39. You must love the Lord, your God with all your heart. All your soul is your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second one is equally important. Love your neighbor as yourself.

The church in Ephesus forgot. Their first loves they need to repent and do the things. I did it. First when Holy Spirit starts convicting, you, that's what he's convicting you of it's always. Will you receive his love and will you share his love? That's ultimately what it's doing. Oh God, I got to watch that TV show. Is that making you more like Jesus?

Oh, come on. Don't go there. Yeah. Not all of you were married to my wife, she's the Holy Spirit. Sometimes Do I live on a phone? Okay. That's a good question. How am I going to get there?

Often wondered where conscience is seared. It's because of unforgiveness. We need to edit we had we don't want to forgive somebody and so we hold on to that hate at that pain. It's also true that we can hold onto offense against God and we can be offended if him and if Holy Spirit convicts you of that. It's confession and repentance. It's a green God. Okay. Yes I've been offended that you helped me to be knocked you offended. Because remember, Familiar arity Nazareth familiar familiar with Jesus that lead to unbelief and that led to lack of Miracles. Right.

You need to live on a fender that God unbelief led the offense, they were offended at him and then that love, don't believe I forgot that part. Totally, you can't you can't be offended at God. Confession and repentance. Do I live on? How do I live on a fender that God, and forgive others? As Christ forgave me? That's the question.

Do you plant good seeds? You live love and we've already touched on it will be holy spirit. Romans 8, 14 to 16 says this. For all who are led by the spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received the spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you receive God's spirit. When he adopted you as his own child. Now we call him and have a father for the spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Since you live by the spirit, keep in step with the spirit. This is not a one-time event. This is not an Ulster call that just that is what it is. It is a daily. Sometimes it's an hourly. Sometimes it's a constant. It's just God is going to finish the work. He started in. You agree with him and get out of his way with it, okay?

The Reawakening your conscience. Ask yourself. Do I live by the spirit, keep in step with the spirit. It's not a matter of just going with your feelings. I'm being led by the spirit. I'm good just going to do what feels good. That's not being led by the spirit. Being led by the spirit is, what is God telling me to do and it's got to be loved. So how am I how does he want me to love you? How do we know that it's in here? We'll get to that just a second.

So the do I live by the spirit. Okay, so the you in plow because we're Canadian Otherwise, rbw. You need to understand and respond to God's grace. Okay, this is a good one Revell of Romans 5:17 for the sin of his one-man, Adam cause death to rule over many. But even greater is God's Wonderful Grace and his gifts of righteousness for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Grace is God's power, to save you. Sustain. You bless you and Empower you to accomplish every good work. He prompts you to do. That's the part of Greece, we don't understand grace. Empowers us to do the impossible because God has told us to do the impossible Grace is that it is encapsulated with the went in the command when God commands you to do something, he gives you the ability to do it. That is the seed of doing it is in that that's command itself in that word itself when he speaks to your heart It's accomplished, it's accomplishable anyway. You're able to do it because he's told you to do it.

Yeah.

Grace is not just to get out of hell, free card.

Reese is is to sustain and save you sustain. You bless you, and Empower you to accomplish every good work. Run to buy your face.

Question, you can ask yourself, is it my following rules or treating Grace, like it's cheap?

You know what to do if you answer that, right? If holy spirit is confession and repentance. It's that easy, there's nothing complicated here.

The G in plow. You got to get back to God's word and I'm not there yet. We'll get there shortly, like I'm there but Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. The Reawakening your conscience, ask yourself. Am I letting the word of God while? I me richly. Am I doing that? Will get to a more robust tool in a second? and the final age, And plow is that is only one agent plow. But anyway, the final letter and plow is H and it I want you to help others. There is something that breaks the fallow heart in serving others. when you stop, Caring so much about your own problems that you can get off your butt and serve God does some serious breaking. He gets that seed, he's planted deep into your soul.

Ephesians 2:10 says for, we are God's Masterpiece. Use created us Anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Before you took your first breath God had things for you to do. Good works for you to do. That's amazing. Before the world was spoken into existence. He knew who your role to play in his creation.

That blows me away that is just wow. Wow.

So do you want to reawaken your conscience? Remember plow okay. Plant. Good seeds and live love obey. Holy Spirit. Understand and respond to God's grace. It back to God's word and help others. I'm not again. Like if this is not a checklist, right? This is Holy Spirit. What do I need to do? Am I not planting good seeds? Am I not living, love. Am I not understanding and responding the God's grace? Am I not in the word of God? Am I not helping others? What is Holy Spirit telling you?

The solution again, confession and repentance.

Now. We need holy spirit. That in order to learn to discern, we need Holy Spirit to reawaken our conscience. We can't have a seared conscience and get the thoughts of God. Get the wisdom of God, get the knowledge of God, get the discernment of God. We we can't, we can't expect it when God promises wisdom whenever we ask. So his grace is sufficient even when I'm not

But we need to know, right? We need to walk, right?

We don't follow rules laid out by people in the Holy Spirit convicts, you confess and repent.

What are you? Your role is your role in all of this is don't let your conscience be seared. Don't Harden your heart. Don't make excuses for obedience.

And what we do is, we use this book. This book is called the Canon. Why is it called the cannon? It's not like Cannon. Cannonball thing, Cannon means rule. It means we can slide it. We line up our life with this book. and this book, Again, we want imbibe this book that's a fancy word. Remember what it means imbibe, it means to drink to get drunk. We want to be so in love with this book and the thing is the less you read this book, the harder it is to get in the book. The more you read the book, the easier it is to get in the Bach. It's it's it's as simple as that was hard for me to read while we got apps to listen to it. There are all kinds of audio books on the Bible. You can download or buy the it we really don't have an excuse. It's hard for me to understand what, that's what Holy Spirit does for you.

He teaches us all things. You don't understand ask questions. That's how you get in there. There are study Bibles that you can do. Aliens have crossed reference is very for the verses and if you need to learn how to use it as a study Bible, I will be happy to show you. They have the study Bible on the bottom. They've got all these commentaries down there. They got cross references in the middle of those pages. You can learn. You can learn to study the book just by getting a study Bible.

We can do it.

Hebrews 4. 12 says this, for the word of God is alive and Powerful. It's sharper than the sharpest. Two, edged sword cutting between Soul and Spirit between joint and Mary. It exposes our inmost thoughts and desires, this is why we need to get in the book. This is why we need to imbibe the book. Why am I saying goodbye? Because it works for a great tool here. We're going to use that word for our tool. How do we mean by the word? The first I is to ingest the word 2nd. Timothy 3:16 and 17 says, all scripture is inspired by God and useful. The teachers, what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do the right God, uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. We need to be in the book. We need to let the book read us. When do you adjust the word of God? Make it part of your regular rhythm. If it's not part of your regular rhythm, that's your challenge today. When in your regular rhythm, are you going to do it? You don't have to read six chapters a day for it to do your good. I finds, if you do read six chapters a day, you kind of start thinking about got a whole lot more, but that's just me. I'm not even well, sometimes I do anyway.

When are you, when do you read the word of God?

It's not when I have time, if you got to make the time, it's got to be part of your regular rhythm.

The m. We'll just don't ingest the word. We need to meditate on the word. Joshua 1:8 says, this study, the book of instruction continually meditate on it day and night. So you will be sure to obey everything written in it only, then, will you be prosperous and succeed in all you do?

If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate.

Christian meditation. Is built into our souls. Christian meditation, Eastern meditation, you empty yourself. That's not Christian meditation. Christian meditation is you feel yourself?

when you worry, you fill yourself with fear,

You didn't get in the book and fill yourself with face.

Often, when we don't. When we don't fill ourselves up with the word of God, we fill ourselves up with the worries of the world.

Question you can ask yourself. Do I worry or do I meditate on the word of God? Next time you find yourself worrying. Think about that. Okay? Allow Holy Spirit to work. In the book.

The first be this is important. Believe the word of God 1st Thessalonians. 2:13 therefore we never stop thanking God when you when you received his message from us you didn't think it was our words or more humid ideas, you accepted what we said is the very word of God, which of course it is and they wore his word continues to work and you believe

When I was a young. Pasteurize the first time this happened. Someone came up to me. And was disagreeing with me. And said well that's your opinion on what? I just preached It was probably when I was young. I was really I wanted to preach Doctrine and I was in the doctrines and teaching doctrines and doctrines are debatable. And so I get what he was saying. But that's started something in me because as I've aged, I've learned I could care less about my opinion. I want to know God's opinion. His opinion is the opinion that matters, as it's not my opinion. It means very little

So, I want to be in the book. I want to know what God thinks about these things.

And when you read this book is God's love letter to us. And you realize when he says not doing anything when he tells you, don't worry. It's never to condemn you, by the way, Never take a dab.

Do I care more about God's opinion than proving my opinion?

too often we get to this book and we use it as something to bashed over someone's head because you look at that,

It says.

Exwire Zedd.

Let nothing come out of your mouth that isn't for the betterment of others, for the building up of others.

That can be the most condemning thing. Someone hears.

When we, when we share it with the spirit of Love without God's prompting to share that, it becomes a whipping tool.

You just didn't come into this world to condemn the world. Why do we think we can condemn each other are using his word.

Do I care more about God's opinion than proving my opinion? The second guy is to not only in just aware, but we investigate the word. What do I mean by this acts? 17:11 says this. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in thessalonica. And they listened angrily to Paul's message, they search the scriptures day after day, to see, if Paul, What if Paul and Silas were teaching them the truth?

Do you know how to investigate the word? Study bibles are an excellent tool to do that. If you got to study Bible, open it up and start learning how to use it.

Commentaries are people's opinion about scripture, so take those with a grain of salt. The commentaries I really want to get some time. I wanted him for 30 years. They are at there's a commentary on the early church fathers and what they say about. All the different scripture verses and it only want it cuz man it blows me away with how they thought about the scripture is compared to how I've been taught about the scripture anyway, not a big deal but it's it's the study to show yourself approved, right, call Timothy study to show yourself approved. The handle, the word of Truth.

The easiest thing to do, you don't have a study Bible, that's okay. Just start reading the Bible and start asking questions. You come across this question, write it down in the margin. When you come across the answer right back down, next to your question cuz the answers in here too.

if you want to talk to somebody who who might have the answer cuz this question is really bothering you we're here to help and I don't not saying I got all the answers but I know how to study

We're here for each other. Investigate the word. Do I prove study to prove myself that I'm approved prove to myself and I'm approved. The second be, this is really important, is to behave according to the word. James 1:22 225 just don't listen to God's word, you must do what it says. Otherwise you're only fooling yourself if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror and you see yourself and walk away and forget what you look like?

Do you obey God's word or are you excusing? Your action or inaction?

Is word is always to show you how to love.

What does that look like in the day-to-day of your everyday in that situation that you're in, in that, that work situation that you're in, in that family situation that you're in, in that financial situation that you're in, in that that relationship is situation that you're in, in that Health, situation that you're in? What is God saying about that? You know, we need times to come together and worship. I don't know how you were encouraged today and worship, I was encouraged. The gods going to see us through God's going to see me through.

We need that in the book. I am absolutely enjoy it. When someone comes up to me and says, what you preach is, exactly what I was studying this week or what's Owens was at this week that does my heart good. Don't come up to me and say I've never heard that before, unless you're a brand new baby Christian then that's okay. But if they've you've been here for a while, you should there should be nothing that set up here that you got hasn't been speaking to you already. That you haven't heard before.

We have a word for new things. New thoughts in the book, it's called heresy.

I never heard that before, I probably cuz it's wrong.

B, e, n n Vibe. You need to educate others on what you've learned in the word. 2nd Timothy 2:22 to verse 2. As you have heard me Teach that you've heard me. Teach these things that have been confirmed by many reliable Witnesses. Now, teach these truths to other trustworthy, people will be able to pass them on to others. When God shows you something in the book, when he teaches you a new truth or new revelation or confirm something in you, think about who you can pass that on to who you can teach that to. When you can teach what you've learned, it. Solidifies it in here. God doesn't let me teach anything that I haven't learned personally in that sucks. Sometimes, but it just needs. I'm not quite where he wants me to be yet. I'm getting there. I'm not there yet.

When? What it you can't say. I'm not a teacher. Well, guess what, the command is, to teach your children and your grandchildren, the word of God, to tie them around, the wrists in the forehead. To teach them, the things that I've taught you. If you got kids, if you got grandkids, if you got nieces, if you got nephews, if you teach Sunday school, you need to pass on, what you've learned.

We're all told to make disciples.

The easiest way to get someone excited about. What's in the book is to get excited about what's in the box and have it just kind of Bubble Up all out of you.

When that happened, suddenly people get interested. Because I see something that God is changing in you.

How do I teach? What? I know. How do you mean by the word? You adjust the word Humanity on the word, you believe the word, you investigate the word you behave, according to the word and you educate others in the word. Do you want to learn how to discern? You need to allow Holy Spirit to awaken. We awaken your conscience and the best way to do that is by getting in the book and letting him speak through the book to you and to your heart.

Will you let Holy Spirit revive your heart? Take time. Make space to let him speak to you. What is he saying? What is she showing you? What do you need to do? If it's confession and repentance, do it. If it's obedience do it.

Will you make space to let the word read you? This is a big but it's a little intimidating if you've never gone through it.

The, what did I call it? Learn to discern workbook has four weeks of bible verses to start you out in all the Bible verses are on discernment. You can read them, read the contacts at the rain. Understand what they're actually saying. And if you do that for four weeks, hopefully you'll learn more about discernment and learn to discern even more, you can download that at my kawc. CA Can we pray?

Oh, heavenly father, I do pray. That we would be encouraged that you are going to finish the good work that you've started in US.

I pray. Lord, God that you would

I have complete confidence.

That you are going to empower us to accomplish every good work that you prompt us to do by faith.

I pray, Lord God for those impossible situations that were facing those, those relationships that need healing for that Health situation, that needs Miracles, Lord God, for that, that financial situation that needs to shift and Lord I pray for miracles to take place in there. But I also pray for Faith to Arise at those Miracles will take place. I pray. Lord God that yes Faith would arise that we would see that. Yeah I don't have to struggle through this because God is with me. and if God is with me, who can be against me,

I pray, Lord God today for peace before the excitement and joy throughout the journey. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.