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WELCOME: eMember Reflections Group Thursdays @ 7:30 pm
Reflections Church Service
February 20th, 2022
“I Gotta Friend”
“Fix This Ship” Series: Pt. 8
John 15:6
FRIENDSHIPS:
Proverbs 13:20
20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
1 Peter 4:8
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Proverbs 16:10
10 An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.
Proverbs 22:24-25
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
Proverbs 27:5
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Proverbs 18:4
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
Three Types of Friendships - Aristotle
Utility - useful to you in some way
Pleasure - Can have a good time with
Good - Based on mutual respect
Qualities of a Good friend:
Loving
Loyalty
Listen, can hear without words
Long-suffering
Logical
Lend (support, a hand)
Law abiding
Lit
Qualities of a Bad friend:
Losers (always down)
Lazy (they will drain you)
Lack luster
Lying
Lustful
Low (sneaky)
Loony
Opening Question: How did you learn the basics of the Christian faith?
Hebrews 5:12-14
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 6:1-3
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.
The Seven Principles of Doctrine:
Repentance from Dead Works
Faith towards God
Doctrine of Baptisms
Laying on of Hand
Eternal Judgment
Perfection/Maturity
We must first understand the need for sound doctrine, and that laying a firm foundation is essential for understanding the deeper things. Also, as a believer we are expected to teach these things to others (v. 12). In verse 13 we are told that the power of discernment will be trained by constant practice, then you will be able to distinguish good from evil.
[This goes to what pastor Straker is teaching on the Church as it relates to leadership. I would be derelict in my duty if I were to just gloss over the Bible says is the elementary teaching about Christ]
The Bible teaches that our natural thinking is carnal and thus flawed. To live a life pleasing to our King, we must abandon our old ways of thinking. However, to do so, leaves us completely reliant on the sincere milking of the Word of God, which, if we allow it, will not only establish our thoughts, but also grow us spiritually.
Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Galatians 5:17
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit, but repentance is our work. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinfulness our response should be to change our minds about our relationship towards God.
Types of Repentance:
Repentance of the Believer – Although the Bible calls the believer a saint (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 6:1-2), many times we do not act like one and must repent for specific sins. The scripture says in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This confession of sins is the believers’ confession, not the unbeliever.
Repentance of the Unbeliever – The Bible says that we are all born in sin (Psalms 51:5). The Greek word for sin (hamartia) essentially means to miss the mark, to be mis-focused. Sinners are focused on themselves as opposed to God’s will. A sinner’s repentance involves a change of focus that turns away from self-centeredness and turns to God. To do this, an unbeliever must change their mind about righteousness. The sinner repents for a lifestyle of sin; the saint repents for acts of sin.
Defining Dead Works:
Efforts to procure one's own salvation - Ephesians 2:8, 9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Because of our salvation we do the work God has for us - Ephesians 2:10
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Efforts to be righteous - Romans 10:1-3
Romans 10:1-3
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
Romans 5:8-11
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
This passage tells us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us, and that though we were enemies of God, He reconciled us. Thus being wrong has nothing to do with our righteousness (right standing with God)!
Now if we willfully sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth of God, there remains no sacrifice for sin for us, and we insult the Spirit of Grace (Hebrews 10:26). We can offend the Spirit of Grace by trying to live through other means of getting to God. We may try Buddha, Muhammad, and our own subjectivity, what we do, or don't do, wear, or don't wear; we try to live with God based on our own self-righteousness in order to try and merit His grace. These are all dead works!
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
CLOSING: The writer if Hebrews says, let’s leave kindergarten behind. Laying the proper spiritual foundation is certainly necessary: we must repent of dead works and put your faith in the finished work of Christ (6:1). But there comes a time to build on the foundation and press on. This is a reminder that God is the one who enables growth. He won’t make the decision for us, however. We decide to grow; God permits the growth.