In God's Hands Psalms 17: 2-4

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v.2 1. God gives forth His will.

(Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let)

v.2 2. God rewards equality with His word.

(let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.)

v.3 3. God proves the heart.

(Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast)

v.3 4. God looks at the depth of our commitment before Him.

(thou hast visited me in the night; thou )

v.3 5. God allows trials to test us.

(thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing: I)

v.3 6. God measures integrity and honor.

(I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.)

v.4 7. God looks for the fruit of His word.

(Concerning the words of men, by the word of thy lips …)

The Impact of Ceaseless Praying Acts 12: 5

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(Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of 

the church unto God for him.)

1. It has believing faith.

2. It occupies a position first before God, then before the obstacle.

3. It has God given life, energy.

Life equivalent to the need; time.

Prayer and faith must be committed for God’s season.

Note- life of Joseph in old testament and God’s sovereignty in his conditions.

4. It has God produced conviction.

Rely upon God’s part of faithfulness.

Don’t set false expectations of time.

5. It has God honoring compulsion.

6. It does not give out before the solution.

7. It gains God’s release.

C

The Kind of Heart God Desires Psalms 51: 17

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(The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:  a broken and a contrite heart, O God,

thou wilt not despise.)

Transformation of the heart.

1. A heart transformed and kept (the action of keeping) for Godly gain.

Hearts claimed by God’s spirit.

The way to keep from sinning is to never start.

The way to be pure is to have no impurity.

i.e.    flee lust, not conquer lust.

We are trying to conquer problems we should have fled from.

2. A heart that is unsatisfied with anything less than the truth of scripture.

The issue always is what God says.

Get direction from God’s word.  Anything less will produce wrong conduct.

3. A heart that is unsatisfied with unconformed portions of the believer’s life to

Christ.

2 Corinthians 3: 18

4. A heart that willingly seeks to have those nonconforming areas identified and

exposed.

Test- Does it bother  me for nonconforming areas to be identified?

If so, I’m not as pliable as God wants.

A closed ear will not permit the hearing of God’s reproof, thus, that life is not 

corrected.

It is necessary to hear the reproof for the correction to take place.

5. A heart that allows the same spirit who reveals nonconformity to reveal Christ’s

conformity--yielded to Jesus.

Allows the same spirit that exposes our sin to reveal Christ to us.    

Continually committed.

It is not enough to know you don’t conform, you need to know how to conform.

6. A heart that finds its approval in the spirit; it doesn’t look to the flesh for

                approval; the avenue of seeing, hearing, (the physical senses) are cut off.

Approval is gained from the spirit of the Lord.

The believer’s spirit is the initiator of his response, not his flesh.

7. A heart continually focused on the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ.

His example in living, giving, teaching, loving, forgiving, understanding, 

                patience, 

generosity, ….

Learn His example.

Where do we direct out ministry? What kind of heart are we going to show God 

ourselves?

A person asks how can I live such a life.?

Answer-   Only through the power and strength of Christ.

2 Kings 5: 1-15

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1)  Only God may determine the pathway to His glory.                                       

1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

2)  Only God may control circumstances of the people’s lives He wants to use.   

2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me

.

3)  Only God may overcome man’s struggling efforts and man’s unbelief.               

5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

4)  Only God may convince a troubled heart to follow Him (God).                         

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

5) Only God may accomplish the unlikely with unlikely sources

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

6)  Only God may overcome man’s complexity with God’s simplicity.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

7)  Only God may deliver what God knows man needs. 

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

8)  Only God may restore life to the dying.                           

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

9)  Only God may preserve the work that matters to God

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

10)  Only God may provide the path of His glory He alone is so worthy of.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

I Shall Not Want Psalms 23: 1

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(The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.)

1. A commitment preceding need.

2. An assurance in need.

3. An accompaniment in trial.

4. A promise to claim.

5. A fulfillment to come.

6. An enduring strength and hope.

7. A presence that sustains.

God at Work on/in Man's Need 2 Kings 5: 1-15

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1)  God is aware of the impossibility man faces.                                                 

1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

2)  God faces man’s impossibility in God’s time. 

2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

3)  God orders the steps of the man He chooses to bless.

V. 1, 2 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

4)  God chooses the relevant participants for His will.                                           

V 1, 2, 3, 4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

5)  God is greater than man’s missteps.

6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

6)  God’s authority rules over all circumstances and all persons; God is aware of man’s pressures. V 6-11

7)  God looks for faith and humility.                                                                 

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

8)  God requires surrender to His will- human conditions, human impossibilities, 

human wills.                                                                                                   

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

9)  God rules over impossible human conditions.                 

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

10)  God restores the servant and reveals the greatness of His (God’s) glory. 

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

What Happens When You Believe on Jesus' Name 1 John 5: 1

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1) Your name becomes no name, His name becomes everything.

2) Your work becomes less important, His work becomes everything.

3) Your plans become secondary, His plans become everything.

4) Your honor becomes unimportant, His honor becomes extended.

5) Your desire becomes hidden in Him, His desire becomes yours.

6) Your reasoning becomes vain, His promises become yours.

7) Your service (labor) becomes yielded, His will becomes known.