1.9K
Downloads
289
Episodes
Sermons preached at the Hinckley Evangelical Free Church (Hinckley, MN)
Episodes
Monday Sep 24, 2018
Monday Sep 24, 2018
Foundations for Prayer
Matthew 7:7-11
September 23, 2018
We are called to live above and beyond our own n________ a________ (Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect!)
that option is only available to us as we s_________ to God and allow Him to live out His life in that person of our lives.
to capitalize on this wonderful promise, there are a couple of things that we will need to come to grips with....
- First of all we must recognize our n_______....
- the first two essential to salvation are first of all to realize our own need, and secondly to realize the riches of the G__________ that is in Christ.
- When we recognize our need we “Ask”, We “Seek” and we “Knock”
“The most fatal thing in the Christian life is to be content with passing desires. If we really want to be men of God, if we really want to know Him, and walk with Him, and experience those boundless blessings which He has to offer us, we must persist in asking Him for them day by day. We have to feel this hunger and thirst after righteousness, and then we shall be filled.” Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- The second thing that we need to address is the fact that God is our F_________.
This concept is really c_________ to prayer itself.... It is an argument from the lesser to the greater.... that is; if an earthly father does so much, how much more will God do????
“… how does God become “my” Father??
John 1:11 -12 tells us, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:“
- B___________ in Him, we r____________ a new nature and we become children of God.
- He will also give us His Holy Spirit, ‘the Spirit of a______’ whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father’(Rom 8:15)
- It means that, as my Father, He is i________ in me, that He is c___________ about me, that He is watching over me, that He has a p_____ and p_______ with respect to me!! It is His desire to bless and benefit me!!!
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- And this is based on His understanding that “If God be for us, who can stand against us????? (Rom 8:31)
- Because He is your Father, He will never give you anything that is e_________.... He will only give you that which is g_________....
- "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28
Monday Sep 17, 2018
Monday Sep 17, 2018
Judgment on those who judge
September 16, 2018
Matthew 7:1-6
The root idea of the Greek word “Judge” here means “to sunder, to part, to sift, to divide out.” And, as with many Biblical words, there are many different shades and meanings.
One can “judge” by being c____________, carping and c________________; in short that is being judgmental.
- This was the particular issue with the P___________ of Jesus day,
- "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people; swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!"'
- "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted" (L 18:11-14).
Or, on the other hand, by a judgment one can form an o__________, d________, or arrive at an accurate verdict.
“if the devil is not able to destroy a Christian’s witness by making him apathetic, he will try to do it by making him a fanatic”......
What is the spirit that condemns... it is a self-c_________, self r______________ spirit....
- Self is always at the bottom of this.... it is always a manifestation of self-righteousness, a feeling of superiority, and a feeling that we are all right while others are not. An inseparable corollary of justifying oneself is condemning others. When anyone e___________ himself, everyone else is lowered accordingly.
- a spirit that seems always ready to express itself in a d_______________ manner.
“...for in the same way that you judge others, you will be judged... and with the measure that you use, it will be measured to you.”
- how many of us would want to be judged by the Lord, in the way that we judge others??? Imagine if we were to be judged by:
-the c______________________....
-or by g__________________....
-or by the g________ that has been spread by others...
-or what I “think” is true....
Perhaps the real problem is that of assigning v________ to others based upon me, myself and I.
“….we are but beggars showing other beggars where to find bread!”
Monday Sep 10, 2018
Monday Sep 10, 2018
Why Worry
Matthew 6:25-34
September 9, 2018
“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness....” Have one single focus... Serve God!!!
a definition of the word worry here.
- "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?“ KJV
- “take no thought” = “being anxious” or “tending to worry”.
- So the real meaning of the word here is “be not anxious,” or because this is in the imperative tense, “...stop being anxious”.
- it is the word that is used to indicate something that d_________, s___________, or d__________ us….
- it means a mind that is divided into sections and compartments, and which does not f__________ as a whole.
the balance point...
- It is important to point out here that the Lord is not telling us that we are not to think about these things at all....
- While it is true that the birds of the air don’t worry about where their next meal is going to come from, they do busily s_________ for it. They do not just sit up on a limb and wait for God to somehow mechanically d_____________ it to them.
- We cannot be serving God and worrying about His ability to c_____ for us.... and since we have chosen to follow God, relax, -- don’t worry!!!
- the second reason that we are not to worry is found in vs 26-30.... The fact that God is both w_________ and a_____ to care for all those who will place their trust in Him.
- the final reason not to worry is in vs 33.... “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
- What Christ is saying is that we are to “make it our business to seek God’s interest and follow Him and we will see that all of our n____ are met without that e___________ of worry!
So, how do we avoid worry???
- First we must acknowledge that Christ’s p_________ are for believers. And in that, God knows what is best for us....
- Second, as a believer, you need to add to your initial salvation experience all you can learn about the n____ and c_________ of God! As you grow in your understanding of Him, you will find that you don’t worry about a lot of things that you used to.
- Third, we need to build into o___________ a kind of conditioned r________... when we see problems our conditioned response should be to flee to God.... not to worry about it.... and that is a learned reaction.
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Return on Investments
September 2, 2018
Matthew 6:19-24
Where are your treasures???
Examples of those who tried to “lay up treasures for themselves upon the earth”, ….and the c___________ that brought.
A_______ who stumbled upon a nice suit of clothes, two hundred pieces of silver and an ingot of Gold. ..... the result was the great defeat at Ai, and a great judgment on this mans family!
- Another illustration is S__________.... he let the love of money and women ruin his spiritual life.
- and let’s don’t forget about A_____________ and S__________,who lied to the Holy Spirit about the sum of money that they had to give to the church.
- Then Paul wrote about a young man named “D________” who “had forsaken me, having loved this present world.”!
It is no wonder that Paul wrote to young Timothy to remind him that, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” (I Tim 6:10)
If you have been afforded this worlds goods, use them here and now it this world in such a way that they are building up a balance in the next world.
The solution to the problem is not to give it all away, not to withdraw from society....We are n____ called upon to relinquish our possessions.... BUT we are called upon to use them u_______ the d__________ of God’s divine wisdom.
Jesus’ words here are designed to point out this terrible pre-occupation with possessions and how foolish and dangerous it is for us as Christians.
- In the first place, it is foolish because one day all earthly things will p_________.... they will be gone forever....
- I Corinthians3:12-15…In other words, ONLY as a person uses his/her possessions for s__________ ends is he/she able to accumulate real treasures....
- The second reason that this attitude is dangerous is pointed out in vs 21....
- Because where your treasures are... that is where your h______ will be.
- The third reason is found in verses 22-23 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!“
- .... is our vision of God and His will for our lives clouded and distorted by an unhealthy p________________ with things???
Who owns the possessions that are in your possession??? YOU??? or GOD??? The bottom line is that either God owns them AND you, (and thus you serve Him), or your possessions own you, and you serve them! There is no other alternative!