Tag Archives: obey

Better than Sacrifice – 1 Samuel 15

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The subject for my second sermon which I preached at New-Life Church this Sunday gone was:  “To obey is better than sacrifice”.

It was based on when King Saul only partialy obeyed the Word of the Lord.  I examined motives, the excuses and God’s hate of disobedience, and he delight in obedience.  To finish I spoke on the help we have from the Holy Spirit and the importance of not trying to “go it alone” like King Saul was doing!

See below the Sermon Notes (Leader Notes for the House Groups) and the Discussion Points.  Feel free to use at your own churches.  If you have any feedback, please do contact me.

Recording will be available soon.

Leader Notes – To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

Discussion Points – To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

Honesty – Acts 5:1-11

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A short while ago Stuart led a discussion on Obedience at our Lifegroup. One of the passages was this very passage about Ananias and Sapphira, who sell their land to give the money to the church, and yet they secretly try to keep back some of the money for themselves. The result of their actions is very difficult to read, and I can imagine this is not the most popular portion

of scripture in the Bible! Stuart emphasised though that we should not pick and choose what portions of scripture we read and obey, but we must consider the entire Bible, and strive to do all the Lord asks of us.

3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal

? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” (NIV)

The Our Daily Bread picks up on Ananias and Sapphira’s lack of honesty. And although the result of their dishonesty is very extreme, it acts as an example / reminder of the consequences of sin and the need to be completely honest with God. God is everywhere. He knows all and sees all therefore we should not consider trying to hide things from Him, or trying to lie to Him.

In any situation in life we need to be honest, not only with each other, but to our Creator God. There is not half way house for honesty, we can’t be 90% honest, and keep something back for ourselves, or to protect ourselves. Is not honesty a key part of any loving relationship? How much more so, is honesty important with our God?

Honesty is a requirement, therefore we must be obedient to God. I will end with a quote from today’s Our Daily Bread:

There are no degrees of honesty.

Resisting Temptation – Luke 4:1-13

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First of all I am reminded that temptation is not a sin.  Jesus lead a sinless life on earth to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Even Jesus was tempted in the desert and yet He was able to resist temptation.   It is our calling as Christians to be obedient to the Lord and to resist

the devil and his temptations.

How did Jesus resist temptation?  Notice verse 1

 1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert…

The Holy Spirit.  Our God is so amazing, that he pours out His Holy Spirit upon us to help us, to guide us, comfort us and give us strength.  Leaning on our own strength and willpower, and stood staring temptation in the face, we don’t have a hope.  Especially those Christians caught in a habitual sin, they will understand that even though they know they do not want to partake in it everytime, they can’t seem to help themselves.

How can we resist temptation?  By leaning on the Holy Spirit.  By reading Gods Word as regularly as possible thus focusing our minds on Him, and filling our hearts with truths as opposed to the lies of temptation  (Note; Jesus used scripture when resisting temptation).  By fellowship with other Christians that we may learn from each other, share our problems and thoughts and encourage one another.  By getting rid of those things that cause us to Sin or are a source of temptation, that could include drugs, friends, internet, music etc.

By resisting we are being obedient to the Lord.  John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command”.  It is our duty as followers of Jesus to strive to obey Him.  Resisting temptation is one of the many ways we can Glorify our Lord.  Take a look at these two portions of 1 Peter:  1 Peter 3: 1-2,  and 1 Peter 3: 15-16.  Remember that old saying that I have no doubt used many times within my journal?  Actions speak louder than words.

What a Friend – John 15:9-15

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What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Words: Joseph Scriven, 1855. Music: Charles Converse, 1868.

Above is an old hymn that once I hear, the tune repeats itself in my head for pretty much the rest of the day.  It talks of the absolute truth and perfection of our friendship with Jesus.  Our true friend.

Reading this Bible passage you see how close the disciples were to Jesus and how much he loved

them. His love is was not just limited to his disciples however has he died for ALL that WHOSOEVER believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

3 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus will never let us down, He is always loyal, loving and faithful to His promise. He is our comfort and our strength. Where earthly friends can at times let us down, we can always rely on Him. Don’t know Jesus as your best friend? Then please check this link out: http://bygrace.co.uk/believe/

10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

and

14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

Tie in very well with a recent talk on Obedience that we had at our life group. I recommend you read the notes and comments at: http://bygrace.co.uk/2008/02/07/obedience/