[Blogger's note: after being crazy busy one month, and then crazy sick for much of another month, by God's grace I am finally back and able to catch up on posting my notes from sermons at my church for the months of June and July. Thank you all for your prayers; I am believing and claiming that I will be completely healed, and even healed beyond whatever Satan or the world calls a "preexisting condition." I completely reject that term in Jesus' name, and choose to receive by faith the complete healing that GOD says He has for me: a new [undisclosed part of the body] in Jesus' name!
In the meantime, I pray that you are blessed by these sermon notes as much as I was blessed by these sermons. I will post sermons twice weekly until we are caught up again, in the same manner that I did from January through May, 2021.]
Church 6/26/2021
Worship scripture
Psalm 103:12 "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
Offertory scripture
John 10:10
God promises life to the full
Sermon message: attitude of faith, part 2
Examining two stories in the Bible. Two persons both get blessed by God in the end.
One individual had a bad attitude and needed an attitude adjustment. The other had a great attitude such that even Jesus commented on him.
Jesus on religious leaders: Matthew 23:27 forward. Commenting on Pharisees and scribes as hypocrites.
For example, take Cain and Abel:
Cain had a rotten attitude. Abel had an excellent attitude.
Hebrews 11:4 God, through Apostle Paul, comments on Abel's excellent faith.
God sent Samuel to Jesse’s house to pick one of his sons to become the next king of Israel.
1 Samuel 16:7 God told Samuel: "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
God looks at the person’s heart
Galatians 6:7-8
You reap what you sow
Matthew 6:33
Seek first God’s kingdom
2 Corinthians 9:6-8: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
Giving with the right attitude matters.
Matthew 6:1
Giving with the wrong motive doesn’t lead to a reward from God. Don’t do it to show off.
Matthew 6:3
Give in secret to where only God sees it.
Same thing with prayer.
Matthew 6:5 the wrong way to pray
Matthew 6:6 the right way to pray
Fasting too
Matthew 6:16 the wrong way to fast
Matthew 6:17 the right way to fast
Bottom line: it’s about pleasing God, not men
Point #1: Humility is important for faith to work
Story #1: Naaman: a man who needed an attitude adjustment because he had a bad attitude
2 Kings 5:1-3,9-17 (see below)
Naaman was a military leader. Naaman also had leprosy. Elisha told him to bathe 7 times in the Jordan river. Naaman decided that the rivers in his homeland, not Israel, were better. The “dirty” Jordan river wasn’t “good enough” for Naaman.
But Naaman did humble himself, bathed in the Jordan river, and became clean.
Humility is important for receiving anything from God. Naaman didn’t just humble himself; he had a character change. Naaman realized also that the God of the Bible is the only true God and wanted to publicly worship Him back in his home country.
True humility is saying what God says. Believing what God says. Doing what God says. And not telling God what to do.
Point #2: Love and respect are important for faith to work.
Galatians 5:6 "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
We don’t use our faith to bring calamity in other people’s lives; we use our faith to bless others
John 10:10 (Jesus: "I have come so you can have life to the full") is a perfect description of this.
Giving God respect is important.
Story #2: the centurion who had humility, respect, love, and faith
Matthew 8:5-13 (see below)
A centurion comes to Jesus and asks Him to heal his servant who is sick with palsy. The centurion gives Jesus love and respect.
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