Chapel At Lecompton Sunday School

There is no substitute for life experience when it comes to our faith taking hold of God's provision and faithfulness. Ps. 71

there's a lot of wisdom that we can pick up through listening, paying attention, and learning that way. Sometimes though, we have to learn it the hard way, through experience. The Bible tells us not to be discouraged with God's correction, because it is instruction. Prov. 3

Fasting pushes our flesh back, and it makes us more able to receive from God. It isn't badgering Him to do what we want, or to fight with other people in the body. God says that the fast He has chosen is about obeying His word, doing what's right, and denying the flesh. Is. 58

God's estimation of the sheep and the goats comes down to what we do, especially if it's something we don't want to do. He already knows what we'll do in a given situation, but it can be eye opening for us, which gives us a chance to deal with what's in our hearts. When we truly hear what God is saying to us, we can internalize it, and the change in our hearts translates into a change in our behavior. Mt. 25, Jas. 3

God tells us to prioritize Him above all else. Got narrows down His expectations, making the requirement more stringent, because He wants us to want to be there and to really value the relationship. God wants us to look to Him for the ability to follow through with what He wants out of our lives, and He'll do the rest. Lk. 14, Mt. 12

Patience is the ability to tolerate trouble, delays, or suffering without getting angry or upset. We go through places in life where things are difficult or confusing, and we wish that we can just see God face to face and have an answer, but we learn faith as He tries our patientce. Jas. 5

God wants to reign as king in our lives,but He will only do that if we let him. God is God whether we acknowledge Him as such or not, but His lordship and the obligation of obedience and surrender it puts on us is the only reasonable conclusion we can come to. Prov. 21

God knows how to work with us to get us to bear the right kind of fruit; the fruit that He's looking for. Lk. 13

The Bible teaches us that while God has an expectation for us, we mustn't focus down on our "performance" but on His merit and our faith taking hold of it for ourselves. Our righteousness comes from Him alone. When God points out something that needs changed, it's not a judgment of us as a human being, but simply a judgment of an issue that needs to be addressed. God does that because He wants to fix it. Gal . 5

God wants to do away with our flesh nature entirely, not just the stuff that we don't mind getting rid of. God places much more value on obedience than doing what we think is right. When God brings us to a point where we need to repent, we want to learn to follow David's example of of humility rather than Saul's example of half-hearted qualified repentance. 1 Sam. 15, 2 Sam 12

We must learn to avoid the equal and opposite errors of believing that God expects us to do everything or that He expects nothing from us. There are things He empowers us to do, and expects us to do them. He also brings us through places where we can't possibly change the situation in our own abilities; in those places, we should pray and bring His power to bear. Lk. 18

it's important not only to listen to what God is saying, but to actually pay attention and take heed to it so that we can make application. It's also crucial to listen without a preconceived rebuttal the things that we may not want to hear. Ecc. 5

We need the truth from the word of God to inform our thought process. It takes practice to gain the experience to use the word skillfully, but it helps us to sort through the input we get from our senses. Heb. 5, Mt. 4

The word of God is perfect and complete. His word in us restores us to right fellowship with Him. It's not just a one and done type of thing, but something that He works with us on throughout our lives. The word puts a firm foundation beneath our feet and a straight path before us. Ps. 19

Propitiation is an appeasement, a deferring of wrath The appeasement and forgiveness of God doesn't change His expectations for us, but through the sacrifice of Christ, we are able to receive His justice in exchange for ours. God works with us to bring us into line with His expectations. Ex. 25, Rom. 3, Ps. 99

Change is an essential part of our lives. It is typically uncomfortable, and we often resist change while it's happening. Having come through a period of transition, we have a testimony, and a new set of circumstances that we are happier having than what we had before. Josh. 3, Jn. 14

The word of God is like a mirror that shows us ourselves, letting us see both the good and the bad. It allows us to see where our life needs to come into line with the word of God so that the reflections match. Pro. 27, Ex. 30, Jas. 1

When we have no idea how to solve an issue, it forces us to rely on God. It can be uncomfortable for the flesh, but trusting Him is the best place we can be. We often find ourselves hoping God will simply "fairy dust" our problems away; but if He gives us some little thing to do, or a direction to go, we want to be grateful for the solution and follow through. Faith and obedience brings us to humility and surrender, which opens the door for God to work; it creates a cycle that gains momentum the more we practice it. 2 Kin. 5

Grace is more than just the forgiveness of sins; it's a gift from God. Grace gives us strength to go through life just as much as it has to do with forgiveness. 2 Cor. 12

God needs our consent in order to work in our lives, because He won't force his will on us. When we show reverence to God and cooperate with His will in our lives, we are "working out our own salvation with fear and trembling." The Bible encourages us to allow God's word to inform and replace our thinking, and when we do, He even gives us the the willingness to cooperate with Him. Phil. 2, Ps. 110, Rom. 12, Heb. 13

God's grace does not change His expectations, rather His instructions and correction are intended to bring our behavior into line with them. When we have a healthy fear of God and His consequences, it helps us to understand His word and make application to our lives. Deut. 4, Josh. 7

The book of Proverbs begins by telling us the purpose of the book. God intends to teach us wisdom by instructions and by experience. He also starts out telling us that we want to listen and understand so that we can make application instead of listening but not actually perceiving what we're being told. Prov. 1

We are dead to sin in christ, so it has no dominion over us. Because we are alive toward God, His claims on us do have an effect on us. We have a choice on whether we allow ourselves to be led by the flesh and the carnal mind unto death, or by God unto life. Rom. 6

It can seem easier to just give up than to stand on God's word and believe that He'll bring it to pass in your life. The difference is looking at our own abilities versus God's ability. Oftentimes, we don't believe God is going to come through because we can't anticipate how He would do it. Num. 14, Josh. 14, Heb. 3,4.

Coming under dominion begins with accepting a thought. We must be careful what thoughts we accept and what we come into unity with. We can be under the dominion of God by accepting His voice, or the dominion of an unclean spirit by accepting that voice. Mt. 12, Acts 19

When God gives us a word about something, we understand that the matter is settled, but we don't always remember that we should expect a struggle before the word comes to pass. Those struggles bring us to a place of finding comfort in God rather than from anywhere else. When we find that comfort and find our answers from Him, we are able to sympathize with others, and pass those things on to them. Going through those tough times also brings out of us the things that God wants to take out of us. 2 Cor. 1

When we make God what we want Him to be, we completely miss real God. It's all too easy to cast off restraint and override or ignore the word of God and His ministry. We must decide to stay on the Lord's side and choose to see Him as He is. Ex. 32, Col. 1

God tells us to do things; sometimes it's something we can do, and therefore He expects us to do it. Sometimes though, it's something He's going to do because His word has creative power. In either case, our part begins with making up our mind to go God's way., then His spirit makes the difference. Is. 50, Rom. 4

We think of oil as a resource of light for a difficult time. It is that, but we don't often make the connection that we get the oil of joy from having oil pressed out of us. Joy is, in fact, the very thing that carries is through our days, both good and bad. Is. 61, 2 Kin. 4

The things we say are very important, because they come from what's inside of us. Enough stimulus can strip away our veneer and cause us to say what we really think, which is a good indicator of what's in our heart that God wants to deal with. Mt. 12, Prov. 18

Sometimes, God keeps us waiting longer than we expect on fulfilling His promises. Sometimes, we even get anxious about it enough to think that we need to do something about it ourselves. God is not slack as some men count slackness, though, and we need to be patient with Him as He gets done what He's doing in us through the waiting. God is the one who fulfills His own promises, not us. Gen. 15, Gen. 16, Gen. 17, Gal. 4

Going through hard things gives us experience, and trains us to rest in God's faithfulness, and builds strength of character. 2 Cor. 1, 2 Tim. 2

The life of faith is a lot like a roller coaster. It can feel frightening and out of control, but it's perfectly safe. God has a great adventure for all of us, and He wants us to trust Him to keep us safe through the ups and downs and maybe even the corkscrews of life. Heb. 10, Mt. 14

God graciously brings us through suffering because it brings us into fellowship with Him, and He uses it in our lives to touch others. He knows that difficulties are good for us, as opposed to everything going smooth. It also helps us to put aside the petty and the parochial, and strive together for the cause of the gospel. Phil. 1

God is faithful to answer our prayers. Sometimes, the things we ask for come with things we don't expect or even like at first, but God in His wisdom knows we need them. The things that come out of our mouth are a good indicator of how we are doing, whether we are rejoicing in Christ Jesus or whether we are dissatisfied and unhappy. Phil. 4

Much of the Christian church deals with communion on a purely physical level. Paul teaches us that true communion with God is fellowship with him in the word of God and hearing what it is He has to say. We can examine ourselves by a cracker and live however we wish, or we can examine ourselves by the word of God and realize that our life must come into line with His expectation. If we'll examine ourselves, and judge ourselves, then God doesn't have to. When He does deal with an issue, it's for our good only. 1 Cor. 11, 2 Cor. 7

God proves to us as we walk with Him that we can't serve Him in our own flesh or abilities. His grace is a process that holds us into what He wants us to be so that we might walk with Him in the way that he has ordained. When we go through difficult things, we can look back at the things God has already brought us through, and be confident that He is going to bring us through the current issue as well, and we can have an answer for others who are going through the same difficulties that we have come through. 2 Cor. 4

it's important for us to receive the things that God says to us in the context of who He is and what we know His expectations are. Our attitude about serving God has a great deal to do with determining how we receive what He says. Jn. 2

We see all around us what happens to a society that grows up generation after generation without input from the church or the Word of God. It's important for us as Christian parents to teach our kids in the Word of God. While our righteousness comes from the merit of Christ alone, God's expectation is still for us to learn His word and obey it. Deut. 6, Rom. 3

God has made provision for outsiders to become a part of His people, but not without submitting to His standards and conditions. God never intended for His people to exclude everyone else, but to remember that we were once the outsiders, and someone invited us to come to Christ. Ex. 12, Eph. 2

God continually demonstrates the consistency of His character, apart from our efforts and consistency, or lack thereof. The things that we go through teach us and train us, and God's presence in our lives imparts the consistency of His character. God takes no pleasure in our difficulties, but He understands that it is necessary for us. Lam. 3

Our identity comes from what we believe about ourselves based on what we are told. We want to take it identity from the word of God. To be a Christian literally means to be in the party of Christ. We also identity with things we read in the word, but it's important to identify with the right thing. Acts 11. ***Listening to this message, I found that I said some rather uncharitable things about my parents, which I recognize as breaking the most elementary of God's commandments. I thought this message was still a blessing other than that, so I went ahead and published it. But I do want to repent for those things that I said about them. It sets a very poor example of what we should be displaying, especially in the midst of teaching the word. Greg

God must come first in our lives, even before our own life. The Bible teaches us to count the cost and to find it worthwhile. Lk. 14, Mt.10, Heb. 11

Justin Roe fills in. God has made provision for the things we need, and He imparts them to us, so we need not look to our abilities. Eph. 2, Eph. 1, Jn. 20, Mk. 5, Jn.

It's crucial to understand that Jesus tells us the road is narrow. We must avoid abdicating all responsibility to obey God, and also not believe that our own ability will get us successful to the end of the road. We have to understand that our flesh is dead with Christ, and so we owe it no allegiance. Rom. 6

God tells us that He has a standard to gather around and to focus on when the battle seems to go against us. Is. 59, Ex. 17

In western culture, we tend to appropriate words and change their meanings. Similarly, the church has changed the meaning of important concepts in the word. Holiness has come to mean something different to the modern Christian than what it means to God. 1 Pet. 1, Gen. 17

Paul gives us a list of the worst attributes and behaviors of the flesh, but he said in the last times, those things would be in the church. 2 Tim. 3

Jesus came and taught the definitive and final word of God. He also proved God's authority over sin, disease, death, hell, and the grave. In order to wield authority in the kingdom of God, we must first learn to come under His authority. Mt. 8

The Bible teaches us that when it shows is something in our life that doesn't belong, we need to do something about it. Is. 64, Jud. 16, 1 Sam. 1

There are no shortcuts to developing patience; the experiences we go through that stretch our patients also help us to develop wisdom. Jas. 1