Sunday VT – 07/19/2015

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Speakers:

Steven Atherton
Charles Hocker

Scriptures used:

1 John 1-2:2
Colossians 3:12
1 John 4:7-11

Subject:

It is important to have fellowship with others in the body because that light that shines from others in the body brings out the darkness in your heart.
It exposes issues that need addressing.
When Jesus came He brought the light to the children of Israel.
It’s not pleasant to be shown for who you are. Then you have two options.
We have to let go of these things that we struggle with when that light is exposed. Then we can help others.
It’s not easy because it involves dying to ourselves.
Love the Lord thy God with all your strength involves your will – putting on and putting off. The Lord does not do this for you.
Many of the things that anger you about others, they are blissfully ignorant to. Kindness overcomes that, by putting yourself in their shoes, and putting off wrath. How many moments does the Lord have longsuffering towards us?
You generally hate putting off wrath and putting on bowels of mercies because it doesn’t justify yourself. But these anger issues for us to overcome are for our growth in Christ.
Put on humbleness of mind. It is unnatural at every level, because it is to not justify yourself ever. That is hard because people do wrong things all the time.
Meekness: it develops in you when you recognize your total dependence on Christ. You can do no good thing but by Him.
Moses said he was a man of slow speech, in no way qualified. But he was exactly what the Lord was looking for. The opposite of believing in yourself! When you are a Christian you are not your own!
Do you believe that God as a loving Father knows you better than yourself? If you do, he will give you all things and you can give your life to Him in all things.
Putting off and putting on is a process that your flesh will constantly scream at!
If you want to lift Jesus higher, you need to walk in love. The world rubs out all the lines of God’s love. We have been shown the love of God, we should show it to others.
We see sin everywhere and everyone justifying each other on their sinfulness.
Everyone wants to be accepted. Jesus didn’t die on the cross because He was accepted!
He told people the truth and showed people the love of God and they wanted to kill Him.
If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Putting on and putting off is loving God with all our strength. When we don’t have that strength, you can ask the Lord to strengthen you in the will to do His will.
The choice to walk in love has great rewards. But you don’t ever feel good in the process.