Some Stuff That We Need to Do (Oct 18)

Pray for each other

James 5:16

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Encourage each other

1Thessalonians 5:11

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Stand together to pray for those that have rejected God

Philippians 1:25-27

25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; 26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. 27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Hebrews 10:23-25

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Meditate on God's word

Psalm 119:9-16

9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Pray

1Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

Make a commitment

Never give up

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. :58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Have hope

Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

First (Oct 11)

The other day, I had something on my mind as I approached a time with God. I had planned ahead that there was something I was going to find out and something that I was going to do. That was one of my goals for that time. But I immediately realized that my priority was wrong. The entire purpose of that gathering time was to hear from God's word and to listen for direction. I quickly changed my focus and asked God to show me something from His word. I was not there to do anything else but to hear from God and to respond in obedience, praying that my life would glorify Him. There are definitely other times for other things, but during this time, as in other times in life, God had to be first. God has to be first. I don't know how many times I can say it, but that's pretty much the gist of the lesson today. God has to be first.

Matthew 6:22-33

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 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? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We cannot have two masters. We cannot serve God and have other things that so occupy our thoughts that we have them set up on a pedestal higher than God. We must put God first. He must be first and foremost—our most (and only) important concern! I think that one reason we don't see revival in the church is because we care about so many other things more than we care about being right before God! Tell somebody that a friend said something mean about them and they get very upset and either work hard to make amends or begin to plot revenge. Tell somebody that their favorite sports team lost miserably and they get upset and try to figure out how the team can improve or what they need to do to still win the championship. Tell somebody that there is a sale at their favorite store and they run off to check it out before you finish the sentence. Tell somebody that they lost a loved one and they grieve. Tell somebody that they lost money, a job, or a valued possession and it seems like the worst news ever. Tell somebody that their spiritual apathy is leading to death and that God is calling them back to His heart because He loves them and they shrug their shoulders and move on to other things—and that's if you even get a response!!! What is wrong with this picture? We care about so many things and our hearts are so full of passion at times. But do we even care about God? Sometimes we're lucky if He's even on the first page of our list. God has to be first!