Contemplating God

Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Evening Service November 29, 2015:

Scripture: Psalm 46:10

Contemplating God

1.Contemplating God begins with considering His Person – Who He is in all His attributes

“O God, who is like unto Thee!” -Psalm 71:19b

  • Triune – One true and living God existing in three distinct persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all of one essence with the same nature and attributes (Matthew 28:19)
  • Holy – Separate, set-apart, absolute purity (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16)
  • True – What is real or genuine (Titus 1:2; John 14:6)
  • Self-existent – Self-caused, no origin (Exodus 3:14)
  • Infinite – Limitless (Jeremiah 23:24; 1 Kings 8:27)
  • Eternal – Everlasting, always was, always is, always will be (Deuteronomy 33:27)
  • Spirit – A spiritual being (John 4:24)
  • Person – A personal being, has intellect, emotions, will (Ex. 3:14; Job 23:13; Gen. 6:6)
  • Good – Pleasant, agreeable. Beneficial (Psalm 34:8; 86:5; 107:8)
  • Righteous / Just – Always does what is just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4)
  • Incomprehensible – No one can remotely understand and comprehend God (Isaiah 55:8)
  • Wise – The ability to rightly apply knowledge (1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 25)
  • Faithful – Firm, certain, trustworthy, dependable (Deuteronomy 7:9)
  • Mercy – Compassion, pity, not getting what we deserve (Ephesians 2:4)
  • Grace – Unmerited favor, getting what we don’t deserve (Ephesians 2:7, 8)
  • Immutable – Unchanging (Malachi 3:6)
  • Omniscient – All knowing (Psalm 139:3)
  • Omnipresent – Everywhere present (Psalm 139:7)
  • Omnipotent – All powerful (Revelation 19:6)
  • Sovereign – Absolute control, supreme authority and sole ruler (Psalm 135:6)
  • Love – Seeks the highest good of the one loved, unconditional, sacrificial (1 John 4:8)
  • Wrath -Righteous indignation at all evil, execution of judgment on unrighteousness (Romans 1:18)
  • Jealous – Zeal to preserve something that is supremely precious (Exodus 20:5)
  • Glorious – Weighted down with brilliance, brightness, radiance, shining (Psalm 8:1)

2.Contemplating God needs to be intentional

3.Contemplating God is the trigger that leads to worship

4.Contemplating God helps us know Him

5.Contemplating God enables us to trust Him in difficult circumstances

6.Contemplating God reinforces in our mind how incredibly blessed we are to have the privilege of a relationship with Him

7.Contemplating God is enhanced by spending time in the Scriptures

Don’t Underestimate Sin!

Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Morning Worship Service November 29, 2015:

Scripture: Romans 7: 14-8:1

Many strong have fallen to it:

Adam & Eve – State of innocence
Genesis 3

Noah – Walked with God
Genesis 9

King David – Man after God’s own heart
2 Samuel 11

King Solomon – Wisest man
1 Kings 11

Samson – Strongest man
Judges 13-16

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”  -1 Corinthians 10:11, 12

All have been infected with it

Romans 5:12; Romans 3:23

Sin is underestimated when:

1.The sacrifice is ignored

2.Confession is not immediate

3.Repentance does not occur

  • Proverbs 28:13
  • Evidenced by fruit – Matthew 3:8

4.Refuse to be delivered from bondage

  • Romans 6:6-13, 16
  • Before sin can have power over a believer it must first pass through his will

5.Overconfident in our own strength

  • 1 Corinthians 10:11-13
    Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for
    our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
    Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
    There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
    but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it

6.When we go into dangerous territory

7.Reliance is not upon the Lord

  • Instruction of the Word of God
  • The Surrender to the Holy Spirit direction
  • What we feed

Quote of the Day – November 27, 2015

“We are profoundly grateful for the blessings bestowed upon us: the preservation of our freedom, so dearly bought and so highly prized; our opportunities for human welfare and happiness, so limitless in their scope; our material prosperity, so far surpassing that of earlier years; and our private spiritual blessings, so deeply cherished by all. For these we offer fervent thanks to God.”  –Harry Truman, Thanksgiving Day 1951

Quote of the Day – November 26, 2015

Commenting on the first national Thanksgiving in the United States in 1789, George Washington stated the following:

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor…Now, therefore, I do appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November 1789…that we may all unite to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Quote of the Day – November 25, 2015

“Perhaps no custom reveals our character as a Nation so clearly as our celebration of Thanksgiving Day. Rooted deeply in our Judeo-Christian heritage, the practice of offering thanksgiving underscores our unshakable belief in God as the foundation of our Nation and our firm reliance upon Him from Whom all blessings flow.”  –Ronald Reagan, Thanksgiving Day 1986

Joy and Thanksgiving

Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Morning Service November 22, 2015:

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Introduction:

A call to faith – If the Christian believes that his life and all its circumstances are in the hands of a sovereign, wise, loving god who is always working to accomplish good for him, then he can indeed rejoice always and be thankful!

Obvious Reasons for a Christian to be joyful and to have a thankful heart:

  • Salvation
  • Intimacy with God – the privilege of a love relationship with the creator of the universe
  • The Sovereignty of God – The assurance that God is in complete and absolute control
  • The Blessings of God

A. Joy

A feeling of happiness that is based on spiritual realities (based on truth).
A deep down sense of well being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and God.
Joy is that deep, abiding, inner rejoicing in the Lord.

In the Old and New Testament God Himself is the ground and object of the believer’s joy.

  • Psalm 35:9 – “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.”
  • Psalm 43:4 – The psalmist writes that God is his “exceeding joy”
  • Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice.”

Believers are commanded to rejoice (this is God’s will)
1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore”

  • This is not to try to manufacture joy or try to imitate it, but to gratefully accept this great blessing believers can already possess.
  • See James 1:2-4

The Spirit of God produces joy in the believer – Galatians 5:22

  • The Fruit of the Spirit is Joy

The Believer’s Joy is Lost in the Following Ways:

1.When we forget the meaning of our salvation

  • Forgiveness
  • Eternal life
  • Ability to experience true freedom – Freedom from the bondage and guilt of sin
    “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked” – Psalm 32:10a
  • See Psalm 73:1-19

2.When we lose intimacy with God because of sin

  • Psalm 51:12

3.When we fail to recall our blessings

  • Just think for a moment and you will realize how blessed you really are!

4.When our joy is based upon some point in the future

  • “When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive”…Josh Harris
  • “The reason we have to search for so many things to cheer us up is the fact that we are not really joyful and contentedly happy within.”…A.W. Tozer

5.When our joy is based upon another rather than the Lord

  • The condition of a relationship
  • The approval of another
  • “It is part of my belief that God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy if we had only him! We don’t need God and something else. God does give us Himself and lets us have other things, too, but there is that inner loneliness until we reach the place where it is only God that we desire.”…A.W. Tozer

6.When we focus upon our self and negative circumstances

  • The opposite of joy is self-pity
  • If we major on the problem, the problem grows. If we major on the ability of God to help us the problem diminishes.

7.When we fail to trust God

  • Giving thanks is the highest expression of trust

B. Thanksgiving – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

  • Thanksgiving is the will of God
  • Thanksgiving is the expression of joy God-ward
  • The more we have the more difficult it can be to ward off ingratitude
  • The best cure for pride is to truly be thankful

How to have and maintain a thankful heart:

1.Recognize that being unthankful is sin

  • Romans 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:2

2.Recognize the manifestation of unthankfulness and confess it to God

  • Complaining – Philippians 2:14
  • Not being satisfied with what God provides
  • It is hard to be satisfied with what we have when there is so much more to get!
  • “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.”  -Pastor/Author John Piper
  • Not appreciating what we have
  • Many times we don’t appreciate what we have until we lose it

3.View whatever you have as a gift from God and learn to be content

  • Philippians 4:11
  • We live in an age of discontentment

4.Verbally acknowledge that what you have is from God and practice being thankful to Him

  • What motivates you to thank God?
    • Do you thank Him for who He is?
    • Do you thank Him simply because you love Him?
    • Do you only remember to thank Him after you get what you want?

5.Share – give to others (Get your eyes off of yourself)

  • Be a blessing to someone else
  • Do not question why others in the world have so little – question why you have so much!

Quote of the Day – November 24, 2015

“It is part of my belief that God wants to get us to a place where we would still be happy if we had only Him!  We don’t need God and something else.  God does give us Himself and lets us have other things, too, but there is that inner loneliness until we reach the place where it is only God that we desire.”  –A.W. Tozer

Quote of the Day – November 23, 2015

“We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.”  –Albert Barnes

 

***Please Note – beginning in December, quotes will be posted weekly instead of daily.  We pray these posted quotes will give you encouragement and help you keep the Lord in the forefront of your thoughts each day!