Scripture: Romans 12:17-21 What I want to do then this morning is lay out four ways to battle bitterness by battling unbelief. If God empowers his Word now, there will be great results: your heart will be freed from the burden of bitterness; at least from your side relationships can be healed; one more obstacle can [...]
Romans 12:17-21 Is this salvation by works? Does this teach that we earn our way to heaven? No. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). And the opposite of salvation, judgment, is not by grace through faith, but by works (the opposite of grace) through unbelief (the opposite of faith). So that’s what Jesus means. Therefore [...]
Scripture: Romans 12:17-21 Everybody has to deal with anger one way or the other—it is a universal experience, and most of it is not good. I base that on James 1:19-20 which says, “Be slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.” We should learn how to be slow to [...]
Scripture: Psalms 37:1-7 6) Verse 11: “The meek will possess the land and delight themselves in abundant shalom.” This word is translated “prosperity” here, which probably has a ring that is not so helpful in our day. In the Hebrew it refers to the whole well-being that comes to those who trust. So here’s a little [...]
Scripture: Psalms 37:1-7 3) Verse 4: “Delight yourself in the Lord” (that is, “trust in the Lord,”), “and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Now that’s an amazing promise, because envy usually arises from not having the desire of your heart. You will see somebody that has something that you wish you had, [...]
Scripture: Psalms 37:1-7 Alright. We’ve seen what it is; we’ve seen that the Bible condemns it; and we’ve seen that there are negative consequences if you give way to it indefinitely. Now let’s just talk about how to fight it. That’s the big issue, and Psalm 37 is the place where we’ll start. This is a [...]
Scripture: Psalms 37:1-7 There are so many opportunities for envy. It’s a universal threat to our joy and to our concern for other people. So what I want to do is observe a text where it is prohibited in Scripture, look at some consequences of giving in to it, and then talk about how to fight [...]
Scripture: Psalms 37:1-7 One of the barriers to being concerned for other people is that we envy them. We’re going to talk tonight about battling the unbelief of envy. Let’s define it. As I analyzed envy myself this afternoon—and when I checked my thoughts with Webster’s dictionary—two things stood out about it. 1) Envy has an [...]
Scripture: I Tim. 6:6-12 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. This is God’s demand and this is God’s gift. It is all of grace. That’s why the only fight we fight is the fight of faith—the fight to rest so fully in the grace of God—to be so satisfied with [...]
Scripture: I Tim. 6:6-12 This is exactly the same response I got a few years ago when I confronted a man about the adultery he was presently living in. I tried to understand his situation and I pled with him to return to his wife. Then I said, “You know Jesus says that if you [...]