Old Living Word Podcast

The Blood of Christ covers all the required sacrifices of the Old Testament, i.e. Leviticus.

VIEW SERMON NOTES Well, citizens of the United States are enjoying the high position in the world!! What are doing with it?? Are we God’s instruments of God, dispensing His goods? Or, are we hording things for our own pleasure and security?What about our positions as employers, parents or just leaders of some group? All of these positions carry with them power which means accountability before God! We are to take warning about future judgment about misusing God positions, capabilities and possessions.

VIEW SERMON NOTES Our own reaction to being told what to do, even by God? Believers are to put aside their old ways and diligently obey the Bible.

How much are we willing to struggle to develop a deep unity with fellow believers? How have we been thinking unity is going to develop? By osmosis? By “clicking” together? How much are we motivated to pay the price of Christian unity? What should motivate us? Spiritual union with Christ means living a loving unity with follow believers and having Christ’s life be our life foundation.

How does it show that we are living by the fact the Christ is Lord? Are we conscious through out the week that we represent God to others? How much energy do we spend on physical, earthly things vs spiritual things? The Christian life means a focus on heavenly realities and putting away old ways of relating.

Will you, have you, withdrawn from the church? You may be here but you are not going to get much committed to any church: Not Good! Maybe you or friends and relatives may be sucked into forcing rules and regulations on everyone; make the church members behave! If that happen you will become legalistic. Legalism enslaves so that we must have Christ as our sufficiency!

Do you know of someone trapped in sin and guilt? Are you trapped in sin and fear of being exposed? Maybe you have been battling but are starting to slip into temptation. You don’t want to give in but certain individuals or things offer relief from fear. May someone or somewhere you read of cleaver explanation for your life problems and offer solutions that you know have nothing to do with God or Christ. But they look and sound good. You might say, “The forces against me in this society are too great.” A strong Christian life is possible because God’s work through Christ delivers us from the powers of sin.

Are you living a Christianity that is more about what makes you feel comfortable and not what Christ is all about? Are you being persecuted in some way because you really are living the Christian life? Proclaiming God’s work through Christ of saving and maturing people takes a high commitment.

So I ask, how much time do you spend focusing on the spiritual things of life vs the material things of life? How much effort do we spend wrestling with spiritual things vs material things? How much do we work at connecting our Christianity to everyday life? How much is the person of Christ determinative in how we live our daily life? Christ, being God is to be the person we must live for, since He is the source and sustainer of our whole life.

We are to strengthen our unity with fellow believers in Christ by highlighting vital truths we hold in common and live by.

Review of Eccl. 1 Chapter 1-6 The smashing of man’s self-sufficiency; self-determination 2 7:1-14, First in order of wisdom and out of this self-determination is to mourn our fallen-ness and humbly apply wisdom. 3 7:15-22, wisdom includes submission and balance. 4 7:23-29, wisdom includes a hard look at our fallen-ness 5 8:1-15, wisdom will be beautiful in the midst of evil but requires faith 6 8:16-9:10, wisdom includes living life the fullest given our limitations 7 9:11-17, wisdom includes submitting to God’s odd ways 8 9:18-10:20, wisdom includes not giving into temptations 9 11:1-10, wisdom includes investing and enjoying our lives 10 12:18, wisdom includes developing our relationship with God to face life. God’s instructions for life lead us to stability because it leads us to our need to obey Him.

What are we focusing on? Our careers, bank account. What takes up most of our mental energies? The things of God? Relationship with God, will prepare use to face the storms of life but must be developed at every opportunity.

Are we as Christians intimidated by the world around us? Are we hiding our Christianity because we are fearful of the tongue lashing we might get? Solomon has taken us down into human depravity and is now up human activity in wisdom and the fear of the Lord. Living life in wisdom means we continually invest our life and enjoy it in every healthy way.

Are we aware how much wisdom is needed in our times? Some of us are so aware of the corruption, we scared. Others are sticking their heads in the sand! Now even with the uncertainties of life, wisdom is still better because foolishness has ever spreading, spoiling effects.

All of us have experienced some kind of unfairness at our jobs, whether it’s an undeserved promotion someone got or the maltreatment we have gotten or someone else has gotten recognition we deserved. The question is how have we responded to such unfairness? Given the unfairness of life, we don’t want to fall into foolishness because it has spoiling and ever spreading effects.

We have all kinds of “Christian,” formulas to guarantee favorable out comes. When they don’t work we become upset, angry, demanding, discouraged, not wanting to enter into the chaos and hurts of life. We may be ready to offer all kinds of advice but not enter the lives of others. As we live life to the fullest however, we are to always bow down to the judgments and acts of God and live by faith.