To whom I Owe It All 1 Corinthians 1: 30

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1.Any wisdom I possess, Jesus gave it.

(Who of God is made unto us wisdom,)

2.Any work of righteousness in my life, Jesus authored it.

(and righteousness,)

3.Any work of righteousness from my life, Jesus empowered it.

(and righteousness,)

4.Any devotion of separation in my life, is in obedience to Christ.

(and sanctification,)

5.Any Godly increase in my life, Jesus brings it.

(and sanctification,)

6.Any resistance of sin I put forth, Jesus gave the strength and knowledge for it.

(and redemption;)

7.Any hope I have for heaven, Jesus is the reason for it.

(and redemption;)

Christ's Teachings-Truth to Hold, Error to Avoid Luke 12: 6-10

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v.6 1. Though man’s value of life is small and uncertain, God’s value is rich in

remembrance.

(Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten 

before God?)

v.7 2. All details of life matter to God.

(But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore:

ye are of more value than many sparrows.)

v.7 3. God’s work in nature reveals the greater value of His people.

v.8 4. In your trials, believe, confess your loyalty to Christ.

(Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the

Son of man also confess before the angels of God:)

v.8 5. Give Jesus reason to bear witness of your love and loyalty.

v.9 6. Avoid the shame of denying Christ.

(But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of

God.)

v.10 7. Avoid blaming God for your trial, its details, its origin, its pain, its time, its

duration, its course, its outcome.

When We are Waiting on the Lord Psalms 9: 4

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(For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in 

the throne judging right.)

1. God holds onto His plan.

2. God is not discouraged by the opposition.

3. God has more time than any other party.

God is using time to extend His kingdom.

If a believer can adopt God’s view of time, he will have a resting heart, a

rested heart.

4. Conformity to God's will by all who are in God's particular plan is where 

God is headed.

This may be the reason for the tarrying.

5. God will maintain the spiritual integrity and honor of the one obedient to

His will.

6. God will present His solution to those in harmony with Him.

Tarrying may come because men are not in harmony yet with Him.

7. God will be right.

He will be sufficient also during the time of waiting. 

Christ's Teachings-Illustration of Covetouness Luke 12: 16-21

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v.16 1. Blessings may and do arise to any man.

(And He spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man 

brought forth plentifully:)

v.17, 2. Man looks at blessings as self serving.

     21 (And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room

where to bestow my fruits?)

v.17 3. Man plans on accumulating blessings.

thinking they are his reward to keep.

v.18 4. A covetous heart wills to keep resources.

(And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and

                there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.)

v.19 5. A covetous heart needs no faith, it concludes.

(And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;

take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.)

v.19 6. A covetous heart commemorates its accomplishment.

v.20 7. A covetous heart is unprepared for God’s accounting.

(But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose  shall those things be, which thou hast provided?)

v.20 8. A covetous heart is foolish indeed.

v.20 9. A covetous heart has no ownership right.

v.21 10. A covetous heart possesses no true riches.

(So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.)

How to Seek the Lord 2 Chronicles 26: 4, 5

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1. Knowing you cannot do without Him.

(And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that

                his father Amaziah did.)

(And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the

visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.)

The believer must have the Lord’s presence.

Can you do without the Lord?     Of course not, we would say!   But, does our

                life bear witness to our profession?

How do we then live?

The teaching of the world is to deny Christ, to live apart from Christ, to ignore

Christ’s teachings.

The devil deceives believers so that they try to live without depending on Christ.

They generally don’t out and out deny Christ, not verbally, but …

Surely the contrasting picture is to do nothing apart from Christ.

Most assuredly the admonition of scripture is that to attempt anything without

Christ is to gain nothing.   (John 15: 5)

It is so easy for a believer to tritely lay claim to scripture as a purported evidence

of commitment and dependency.

But, do we then live, knowing we cannot live without Him. We cannot draw

                breath without Him. Jesus is our very life.  (John 6: 63)   The words that I speak

                unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

If anyone else were to describe our life would they say we live just like everyone

else? or  would they say we live in constant dependency on the Lord Jesus

Christ?

Do we have the kind of relationship with  the Lord in which we only seek Him 

when we think we need Him, as in trouble or impossible circumstances?

We desperately need Jesus all the time.

We cannot live without Him!

2. With an obedient spirit.                                     

This is necessary to grow, won’t grow without it.j

(he did that which was right)

We are not seeking the Lord if we are not obedient to Him.

We are only seeking human gain or contentment.

We are only seeking something from God, but not seeking God.

We are picking what pleases us, not what pleases God. This is the violation of

scripture. Phil. 2: 13)

A believer who seeks the Lord will seek to do right.

A constant assessment of such a believer’s walk will be- Lord am I doing right?

Such a believer does not walk according to presumption but according to faith.

His life is constantly open for God’s examination to be sure his steps are right.

Make decisions based upon what is righteous).

The steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.   Psalms 37: 23

Obedience is a believer’s opportunity--rightly responding to God’s direction.

                Obedience is God’s desire for a believer.

We are not seeking the Lord if we neglect or disregard God’s teachings or let 

God’s instruction lay idle.

Seeking the Lord requires an obedient spirit.

An obedient spirit precedes the opportunity for obedience.

3. With a pure heart.

(in the sight of the Lord)

Seeking the Lord means guarding our heart from any defilements.  (impurities)

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.  (Matt. 5: 8)

We need to see God, to hear God, to know Him.

A pure heart has to be kept pure. At salvation our heart is cleansed and made

pure.

We must keep our heart pure by resting in God’s word and resisting evil

influences and temptations.

We need to be conscious that everything we do as Christians is in the sight of

God, before God.  God sees all.

God knows our heart and knows if it is pure.

God cannot take pleasure in defilement. God takes no pleasure in sin.

To willfully sin and prevail upon God’s goodness and forgiveness is an abuse of

doctrine and is inconsistent with the teachings of scripture.  Heb. 10: 26-31

God hates sin. God has redeemed a believer from the dominion of sin.

Believer, walk in God’s freedom.   Believe His word.

You are in the sight of God. Are you living with a God consciousness that you

and all you do are in God’s sight?

Are you seeking God’s approval?

4. Diligently, earnestly, longingly and patiently.

To seek the Lord requires faith, it requires doing something, making a 

commitment.

It requires continuity and consistency.

We must spend time. It has to be important to us, important enough that we will spend the time to seek and find God.

God doesn’t just simply make us into a finished product, although we are created

                in His image. We must apply our faith to learn His way, to experience victory

                over satan’s deceit and attacks.

We must put forth a labor-works of faith (James). It doesn’t automatically or 

accidentally happen. We must live the word.

Quit praying Lord make me …  Surrender your heart to God, obey His word and you will be conformed to Christ.

Prayer abuse--quit praying for God’s obedience, pray for man’s.

Seek the Lord earnestly, as though you must find Him, find His answer. There is

                no alternative to Him, to finding His will.

Don’t stop short of finding Him.

Seek Him longingly. Long to know Him. Long for His fellowship. Long for His

answers.

Count His presence very dear and precious, for it is.

Seek Him patiently. God has a reason for tarrying when He tarries. We need 

patience.

Patience is not only needed as we wait upon God, but we need patience for 

ourselves as we require time for conformity. Many times we become impatient 

with out own understanding, our own walk, our own standing. We want things 

quickly and don’t want to walk by faith, but want to jump. We don’t learn that

                way. The lessons are in the walk.

Seek Him! It is a divine labor, pursue it with great care and great diligence.

5. Without doubting or arguing.

Stay on track with the Lord.

God is headed somewhere---in your life, in this particular experience.

Stay with the Lord, keep seeking His solution.

When you doubt, satan is attempting to destroy truth or to deceive your

understanding to get you to question God’s leaders or God’s leadership.

Continue in what God has taught. Continue in His word.  (2 Tim. 3: 14)

View God’s order. See how God’s will is fitting together. Recount God’s 

leadership. Don’t discard past teachings. Stay before the Lord, continue seeking Him.

Don’t argue with God’s choices or whom God chooses to use to reveal truth.

God is going to work in the lives of His children. Don’t doubt His work. Don’t let unbelief hinder your spiritual achievement. Doubt undermines faith. Truth is 

certain. Faith in revealed truth leads to certain steps. As God leads in our life, His leadership is certain, and right.

Don’t keep questioning God’s leadership (make sure it is). Follow the Lord. Seek Him.

Doubting is not seeking. (Heb. 11: 6).

6. Unceasingly.

(as long as …)

Constantly we are to seek the Lord.

An interruption in seeking will cause an interruption is prospering.

Look for the Lord in everything.

Jesus is omnipresent, is omniscient.

God can communicate to His children through so many ways, people and things.

Look for His communication. Listen for His voice.

Don’t ever quit seeking the Lord.

We need God’s solution in every situation.

We need God’s guiding presence continually in our lives.

We need God’s constant nurture and fellowship.

We need God’s peace and unity.

We need God’s strength and deliverance.

We need God’s wisdom.

Constantly we need the Lord.

We must so abide that His solution is only a prayer away.

7. On His terms.

Seek the Lord where He is. Seek His word, it belongs to Him. Seek after the 

Lord, follow Him.

(Jer. 29: 13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me 

with all your  heart.

Find the Lord with your heart, not your hand, your eyes, your mind.

God is not obligated to meet our terms.

“God knows my heart, he will just have to accept me the way I am” is a human statement heard sometimes.

So many believers do not discover God or His ways because they expect God to accommodate their terms.

God is the one to be sought. He is a person not a thing or object.  We are not

seeking a solution, we are seeking God.  (Matt. 6: 33). We are not to seek to be

                bailed out of a problem that we got ourselves into, but are to seek Him. 

As we seek Him, we will be led to repentance and restoration from which will

come deliverance, that is His terms.

God’s terms are based upon truth. God’s terms may be uniquely granted for our experiences in life, but they will be His terms and will be an expression of His

truth, divinely given.

Agree with the Lord, accept His terms, learn His terms.

Seek the Lord according to His divine invitation. God will lead in a plain path.

Don’t ask the Lord to alter His terms. He cannot change His word.

God will always be found when you seek Him on His terms. 

God's Personal Message Genesis 37: 5-10

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vs.5  I) There are times when God speaks to His children in a personal way. 

(And Joseph dreamed a dream.)

vs.5  2) God's message may involve others, but He probably should be the one 

to tell them. 

(And he told it to his brethren:) 

vs.8  3) Others are not as likely to understand or appreciate our personal word from the Lord. 

(and his brethren said to him, ... ) 

vs.8  4) God's purpose in revealing to us His will is not to provoke those we love and have a responsibility toward. 

(and they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.) 

vs.9 5) Further clarity from God is to follow the same path of communication. 

(and he dreamed yet another dream,) 

Perhaps he should have kept quiet at this point. 

vs.9  6) God's personal declaration is never to be used to promote superiority. 

( ••. behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.) 

vs.10  7) God is the keeper of His Word; He really doesn't need our help--only our submission and obedience. 

(and he told it to his father ••• ) 

The Cause for Error Psalms 119: 9

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(Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto

        according to thy word.)

1. Failing to acknowledge His need to be clean.

2. Failing to be decisive toward God.

3. Failing to seek after God.

4. Failing to acknowledge the instruction of the word of God to his life.

5. Failing to be willing for the reproofs of scripture.

6. Failing to realize God wants what is best for you.

7. Failing to be and do as the word of God teaches.