Today’s message summary of July 1, 2018 from Pastor Gus Brown:
There were three topics that we covered during the adult sessions of Vacation Bible School: Who am I, giving life your very best, and the power that you have as a believer.
You are not weak. You are not a victim unless you allow it to happen. God wants to be a part of your life. You will need to allow the Spirit to be an important part of your life.
The Christian life is one of the most challenging this that you will ever experience. It will require a life of focus on what Christ will have you to do and to see how He enriches you in the process.
For the first topic: Who are you? Have you sought God as to the answer to this question?
If you take time to examine yourself, you will find areas to allow God to work with you in those areas where you need help. He can’t work in your life unless you seek Him. Without us confessing those things to Him, we just move along thinking that life is OK.
If you are honest with yourself, God never holds back on allowing you to see yourself for who you really are. He doesn’t want you to believe a lie about you (Satan will give you lies about who you are.).
He wants you to be in agreement with Him on the areas of life that need to be worked on together. Not all of these things may be resolved on this side.
Romans 3:22-23
The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Proverbs 6:16-19
The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet eager to run to evil,
a lying witness who gives false testimony,
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.
God shows that there are many different things in your behavior that need to be worked on.
When it comes to worldly pleasures, when is enough really enough? In the flesh, there is no limit to our high opinion of ourselves.
2 Corinthians 10:12
For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding.
In your journey with Jesus Christ, you haven’t arrived yet. You are challenged to examine yourself on your journey, and if you seek after Him, He will continue to work in your life.
Why should you examine yourself?
You are going to give an account of yourself.
Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
If your own conscience or heart says you are wrong, God is reminding you of what you need to do.
1 John 3:19-20
This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.
The Lord already knows. He wants you to stop lying to yourself.
Jeremiah 16:9-13
For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.
“When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you, ‘Why has the Lord declared all this terrible disaster against us? What is our iniquity? What is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ Then you will answer them, ‘Because your fathers abandoned me—this is the Lord’s declaration—and followed other gods, served them, and bowed in worship to them. Indeed, they abandoned me and did not keep my instruction. You did more evil than your fathers. Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying me. So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your fathers are not familiar with. There you will worship other gods both day and night, for I will not grant you grace.’
Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart is more deceitful than anything else,
and incurable—who can understand it?
I, the Lord, examine the mind,
I test the heart
to give to each according to his way,
according to what his actions deserve.
The flesh makes you stubborn and unwilling to change for the better. It is a reminder that the flesh wants nothing to do with God, and vice versa. Are you truly obedient to the Father? If you go by standards according to the flesh, you’re not. Be honest with where you are and seek Jesus in your efforts to change. Seek Him earnestly in prayer and talk to Him about everything in your life.
Lamentations 3:40
Let us examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the Lord.
If what you are doing is not part of God’s plan for you, put your pride to the side and look to Him for the solutions. He does want you to take pride in you being a child of God who is saved by His grace.
Proverbs 27:19
As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the person.
Jesus wants you to see who you really are, and seek after Him.
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