Applying God's Truth

TEXT: 2 Corinthians 13:5

TOPIC: Applying God’s Truth

Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC

January 9, 2022

(Developed from the Series “Re-Energize Your Life” by Pastor Rick Warren)

HAVE YOU DONE THE THINGS GOD HAS TOLD YOU TO DO?

Is there something in your life you know you ought to be doing but you’re not doing it?

Rick Warren says, “An unapplied truth will cause you to lose your passion.”

What has God told you to do from the Scriptures or in prayer that you keep putting off? God holds us responsible for applying his truth in our lives.

1. Examine Your Lifestyle.

“Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups.” 2 CORINTHIANS 13:5 (THE MESSAGE)

“Let us examine our lifestyles, putting them to the test, and turn back to the Lord.” LAMENTATIONS 3:40 (ISV)

“My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. I am bowed down and brought very low.” PSALM 38:4, 6A (NIV)

“If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.” 1 JOHN 1:9 (GNT)

“Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning.” JAMES 4:17 (NCV)

“If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. Then your face will brighten with innocence. You’ll be strong and free of fear. You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away.” JOB 11:13-16 (NLT)

Remember a few minutes ago I asked you, “What has God told you to do through Scripture or prayer that you keep putting off?” And I told you, “God holds us responsible for applying his truth in our lives.” And Rick Warren says, “An unapplied truth will cause you to lose your passion.”

Now I am going to tell you something that might shock some of you as I apply these truths to our church.

For several years now, God has convicted me that as a church we need to reverse what I consider to be a very sad and very wrong, even a sinful action that was carried out by one of our members. He acted solely alone in his decision and the church, as far as I know, had no knowledge of his bitter and judgmental action.

You see many years ago our church chose to purchase new Baptist Hymnals to use to worship God each time we gather together. And one individual and family chose to donate the funding needed to purchase all the hymnals for the church. The hymnals were placed in the church in memory of and/or in honor of many past members.

But one individual, again acting on his own, out of deep bitterness and judgment took a black permanent marker and marked through the names of the individual and his family who donated the hymnals on behalf of the church.

Now, I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. I BELIEVE THIS ACT DEELPLY GRIEVED GOD AND IN PART CAUSED HIM TO REMOVE HIS HAND OF BLESSING FROM OUR CHURCH.

Now I want you to understand that none of these members attend our church any longer. Both the ones who donated the hymnals and the one who egregiously marked out their names, no longer are a part of our church today.

HOWEVER, I believe God is still displeased with this past action and is waiting for us to “Examine ourselves” and apply His truth to our church by reversing or undoing this past member’s sinful action.

So, today I call upon our church to confess this terrible sin, seek God’s forgiveness and return or restore each of our hymn books by recognizing the individual and his family. I propose that we replace or cover over all the labels in our hymn books with new labels properly recognizing the member who made the hymn books available to our church initially.

I would ask for volunteers who would be willing to join me for one or two afternoons this week as we replace the old, vandalized hymn book labels with new labels. If you would like to play a role in rectifying this terrible past action in an effort to restore God’s blessing on our church, then speak with me following our services this morning.

2. Seek God’s Kingdom First.

“Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.” MATTHEW 6:33 (NCV)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind . . . Love your neighbor as yourself.” MATTHEW 22:37, 39 (NIV)

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” JAMES 4:8A (NLT)

“Be still, and know that I am God.” PSALM 46:10 (NIV)

“Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. And the focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” MATTHEW 6:6 (THE MESSAGE)

“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” PROVERBS 3:6 (TLB)

“But I have hope when I think of this: The Lord’s love never ends; his mercies never stop. Those who hope in [God] will not be disappointed.” LAMENTATIONS 3:21-22 (NCV)

ISAIAH 49:23 (NIV)

3. Live by Faith.

“God . . . does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is doing.” ECCLESIASTES 3:11 (NCV)

“This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” HABAKKUK 2:3 (NLT)

“Those who trust in the Lord are steady as Mount Zion, unmoved by any circumstance.” PSALM 125:1 (TLB)

“If we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.” ROMANS 8:25B (TLB)

4. Faith Comes from Hearing God’s Word.

“Faith comes from hearing . . . the word of God.” ROMANS 10:17 (WEB)

“Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence . . . For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do.” 2 PETER 1:5 (NLT/TLB)

“People do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” DEUTERONOMY 8:3 (NLT)

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like ignorant people, but like wise people. Make good use of every opportunity you have . . . Don’t be fools, then, but try to find out what the Lord wants you to do.” EPHESIANS 5:15-17 (GNT)

5. Let God Refresh Your Soul.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.” MATTHEW 11:28-29 (THE MESSAGE)

“[God’s principles] will refresh your soul.” PROVERBS 3:22 (NLT)

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” PSALM 62:1 (NIV)

“Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way?” PROVERBS 20:24 (TLB)

“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.” ROMANS 8:28 (AMP)

“You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me.” EXODUS 20:9-10A (GNT)

6. Avoiding Burn Out.

“Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.” ROMANS 12:11 (THE MESSAGE)

“Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.” ECCLESIASTES 10:15 (GNT)

“I have used up my strength but accomplished nothing.” ISAIAH 49:4 (GNT)

“I had no time to care for myself.” SONG OF SOLOMON 1:6 (GNT)

“Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.” PROVERBS 21:5 (THE MESSAGE)

“It is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time.” ECCLESIASTES 4:6 (GNT)

7. Re-Energize Endless Energy, Boundless Strength.

“Oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him— endless energy, boundless strength! All this energy issues from Christ.” EPHESIANS 1:19-20 (THE MESSAGE)

“[God] energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts . . . Those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.” ISAIAH 40:29-31 (THE MESSAGE)

“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead!” 2 CORINTHIANS 1:8-9 (NIV/THE MESSAGE)

“Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit.” 1 TIMOTHY 4:7 (TLB)

8. Re-Energize by Becoming Like Jesus.

“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.” PHILIPPIANS 2:5 (NCV)

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” ROMANS 12:2 (NLT)

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” EPHESIANS 2:10 (NIV)

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” ROMANS 5:3-5 (NLT)

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” GALATIANS 5:22-23 (NLT)

“It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.”EPHESIANS 2:10 (TLB)

“Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.” ACTS 20:24 (TLB)

“Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them. Let your conversation be gracious as well as sensible, for then you will have the right answer for everyone.” COLOSSIANS 4:5-7 (TLB)

“You are . . . God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you.” 1 PETER 2:9 (THE MESSAGE)

In closing, what does the Bible say about Applying God’s Truth to our lives?

1. Examine Your Lives, or your lifestyle.

2. Seek God’s Kingdom first.

3. Live by Faith.

4. Faith Comes from Hearing God’s word.

5. Let God refresh your soul.

6. Avoid Burn out.

7. Re-Energize Endless Energy and Boundless Strength

8. Re-Energize by becoming like Jesus.