WORDS OF DISTINCTION – “Daily”
INTRODUCTION: Today, being the first Sunday of the new year … we begin a new SERIES … “Words Of Distinction”. For the next several weeks, we will look at some DISTINCTIVE words in the Bible. We will explore their MEANING … and their APPLICATION to our Christian life.
THIS MORNING … we are going to take a look at the word “daily”, as it is used in the Bible.
We are already 4 days into 2004. How many days do we have, this year? ANSWER: 366 (it’s a LEAP year!). Just like the beginning of the New Year brings on a new START, a new BEGINNING, a new OPPORTUNITY … so does the beginning of each NEW DAY. Each new day gives us a FRESH START in the Christian life.
There is ONE DAY A WEEK that has been set aside for us to come together and worship … SUNDAY. I don’t expect everybody to come to church EVERYDAY … BUT … CHRISTIANITY is a DAILY ACTIVITY. It is a “way of life”. Living for Christ EVERYDAY, doesn’t depend on our being in church EVERYDAY.
BUT … there are SOME ACTIVITIES that God does expect of us on a DAILY BASIS … EVERYDAY … in 2004. These are clearly spelled out for us in the Word of God. Let’s see what God expects from us … “daily”.
I. DAILY PRAYER – Psalm 86:3, 88:9 – all turn
The Psalmist says that because he has “daily afflictions” … he sees the need for “daily prayer”. Every NEW DAY brings us NEW AFFLICTIONS … which brings us NEW OPPORTUNITIES to go to God in prayer.
1 Thes. 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing.” This doesn’t mean that we are to close our eyes in prayer all day long. I would discourage that while driving down the highway! When you’re out on the highway, you need all the prayer you can get … BUT … if you’re going to bow in prayer, do it before you get into the car … PLEASE!
“Pray without ceasing” means to PRAY CONTINUALLY. That is, don’t let anything into your life that hinders your prayer life. The Bible points out several things that can hinder our prayer life. These things will keeps us from “daily prayer”:
1.- SIN PROBLEMS - Psalm 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” If you have sin problems in your life, you won’t WANT to pray … you’ll want to HIDE from God in shame … AVOID Him. Like Adam, when he sinned against God, and hid in the Garden of Eden.
2.- MARRIAGE PROBLEMS - 1 Peter 3:7 – “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, … that your prayers be not hindered.” I’ve seen it over & over again … problems in a marriage tends to cause people to turn away from God.
3.- EAR PROBLEMS - Zech. 7:13 - "When I called, they wouldn’t listen. So now when they call, I won’t listen, says the Lord of hosts.” When we stop praying, and listening to God’s voice … God will stop talking.
BUT … when we are praying to God on a DAILY basis … God listens. That’s why He commands us to PRAY DAILY. I’m not just talking about praying before meals. I’m talking about getting down on your knees and PRAYING.
That would make a good NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! More on this later!
II. DAILY PRAISE – Psalm 145:2 – all turn
A good time to stop and PRAISE GOD is … the LAST thing you do before you go to sleep … AND … the FIRST thing you do when you wake up. It should be a DAILY thing!
EVERYBODY likes to be PRAISED … including God. We praise our CHILDREN when they do something good (or we OUGHT to!). We like to get praise from our BOSS … from our SPOUSE … from our TEACHER. “Praise” is what keeps us going … keeps us working harder … keeps our spirits up.
UNFORTUNATELY, some people praise their PETS more than they do the people in their own household! I’ve seen people say to their pet “You’re such a good dog … You’re such a precious kitty …” … and the next second “bark” at their husband, wife, or children!
God expects to be PRAISED … DAILY. This would make a good NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! More on this later!
III. DAILY BIBLE – Acts 17:11 – all turn
Jesus taught us, in the “Lord’s Prayer” to pray, “Give us this day, our DAILY bread.” We eat EVERY DAY. If we don’t, we grow weak. After awhile, we’ll DIE if we don’t eat. REMEMBER the “Law of 3’s”? You can live only 3 minutes without air … 3 days without water … 3 weeks without food.
God tells us, that to be strong Christians … to be Spiritually healthy … to be victorious in our Christian life … we need to be in God’s Word … DAILY. I’m not just talking about reading the WORDS … I’m talking about reading the MESSAGE that God has for you in His Word. There’s a difference!
This would make a good NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! More on this later!
IV. DAILY CRUCIFIXION – Luke 9:23 – all turn
Sometimes we have the wrong idea as to what it means to take up our cross. Some people, when they have a difficult circumstance in life beyond their control, they say: “This is the cross I have to bear.” Maybe it’s a marriage problem … a family problem … a health problem … That’s not what is meant here, when we’re told to “take up our cross daily”.
The “cross” had only 1 MEANING … 1 PURPOSE: to execute … to kill … DEATH! See 9:23 – “deny self” … “take up his cross daily” … “follow Me”. SOMETHING needs to DIE DAILY. WHAT is it? ANSWER: “self”.
There is to be a DAILY crucifixion of “self”. Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:31 - “I die daily.” Jesus said in Luke 14:27 – “And whosoever doth not bear his cross (die daily), and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
I have within me 2 NATURES: the OLD & the NEW … “self” and God. My OLD NATURE (“self”) is controlled by the Devil … it is sinful. It wants to lie, cheat, steal, cuss, gossip … do what comes “naturally”. My NEW NATURE is controlled by the Holy Spirit … it is what (Who) God has implanted within me when I was saved.
Ray Scott is a sinner by birth … and by nature. If my NEW NATURE (the Holy Spirit) is to control me, my OLD NATURE needs to be CRUCIFIED … killed … rendered ineffective.
It’s like the story of the 2 dogs, I’ve told before. I have within me 2 dogs … black/white. The one that I FEED is the one that will WIN. The one that I STARVE is the one that will LOSE. I can let Jesus Christ rule & reign in my heart … OR … I can let Satan rule & reign in my heart. It depends on DAILY crucifixion of “self” … of my OLD NATURE.
EVENTUALLY, ETERNALLY, my NEW NATURE will win out. It’s GUARANTEED! Jesus won that battle on the cross. When I die, my OLD NATURE will be gone. All that will be left is my eternal soul … and the NEW NATURE God gave me when He saved me in 1961.
BUT … in the meantime … if I am to live a victorious, blessed, joyous, contended, peaceful Christian life … I have to “die daily” to self … and put Christ on the throne of my life … DAILY.
This would make a good NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! More on this later!
V. DAILY EXHORTATION – Hebrews 3:13 – all turn
“exhort” means to ‘encourage’ … EVERY DAY. Sometimes we get DISCOURAGED … don’t we? Do you know one of the best ways to keep from getting discouraged? ENCOURAGE someone else! According to this Scripture … this is to be a DAILY activity!
How many people have you DISCOURAGED today?
o By being IMPATIENT with them?
o By being CRITICAL of them?
o By being a BAD EXAMPLE?
o By IGNORING them?
o By NOT ENCOURAGING them?
DISCOURAGING other people … will DISCOURAGE you! AMEN?
ENCOURAGEMENT is to be a DAILY activity. This would make a good NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. More on this later!
VI. DAILY SERVICE – ACTS 2:46, 3:2, 5:42, 6:1
Christianity is to be a DAILY activity … not just reserved for Sunday. It’s a DAILY way of life. We need to plan DAILY to live for Christ.
There are lots of things we plan DAILY on doing. Getting up in the morning … getting dressed … eating … taking a shower … brushing our teeth … reading the paper … Do we PLAN DAILY on serving the Lord? OR … is it something that we do … IF … we think about it … IF it comes up … IF it’s convenient. We need to make SERVICE TO JESUS a PLANNED DAILY activity. If we DON’T, we’ll leave Jesus out of our life completely.
This would make a good NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION! More on this later!
APPLICATION: If I were to quit here this morning, you would all AGREE with me that we need to make Christ a DAILY part of our life. I want you to do MORE than just AGREE with me. James 4:17 says: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” I don’t want to lead you to sin! SO … I want to give you MORE than just KNOWLEDGE. I want to give you a PLAN OF ACTION.
Take a look at the back of your “Notes & Outline”. I have here a PLAN OF ACTION. DAILY, commit yourself to: (See back of OUTLINE below).
CONCLUSION:
Your Heavenly Father keeps track of you DAILY … every SECOND of EVERY DAY. He knows your every heartbeat … your every breath. He has every star and every sand on the seashore numbered. He knows when every sparrow falls … or when every dove coos. Is it too much for Him to ask you to make Him an active part of your DAILY life? Let’s PLAN on it this year … at the beginning of 2004. Let’s make it a conscious effort. Let’s commit ourselves to serving Him DAILY.
STAND – PRAYER
PRAYER – “Father, we have been leaving You out of our lives. We’ve been neglecting You … and You haven’t neglected us one iota. Forgive us for not making You a part of our daily life. Forgive us … restore us … revive us … and make Your presence real to us … DAILY. This I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
HYMN - #361 – “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
WORDS OF DISTINCTION – “Daily”
INTRODUCTION:
- There are some activities that God expects of us on a DAILY basis in 2004.
I. DAILY PRAYER – Psalm 86:3, 88:9
- Daily afflictions calls for daily prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Don’t let anything hinder your prayer life:
1.- Sin Problems – Psalm 66:18
2.- Marriage Problems – 1 Peter 3:7
3.- Ear Problems – Zechariah 7:13
II. DAILY PRAISE – Psalm 145:2
- Everybody likes praise … including God.
- Your Heavenly Father EXPECTS to be praised … DAILY.
III. DAILY BIBLE – Acts 17:11
- If you don’t feed on God’s Word, you grow weak.
- There is a difference between reading WORDS, and God’s MESSAGE to you in His Word.
IV. DAILY CRUCIFIXION – Luke 9:23
- The “cross” means death and execution … “self” needs to die DAILY – 1 Corinthians 15:31, Luke 14:27
- Our old nature needs to be crucified … starved to death.
V. DAILY EXHORTATION – Hebrews 3:13
- “exhort” meant ‘to encourage’.
- Encouragement is to be a DAILY activity.
VI. DAILY SERVICE – Acts 2:46, 3:2, 5:42, 6:1
- Make service to Jesus a planned DAILY activity … or you will leave Jesus out of your life.
APPLICATION:
- We must do MORE than just AGREE that we must make Christ a part of our DAILY activity – James 4:17
- We need a PLAN OF ACTION (see back of NOTES).
CONCLUSION:
- PLAN on making Christ a part of your DAILY activity… a conscious effort.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
APPLICATION:
DAILY … Commit Yourself To:
I. PRAYER – DAILY, commit to think about prayer (shower, phone rings, coffee, watch, stop light, etc.)
- Pray for someone in your Sunday School Class.
- Pray for a lost relative or friend.
- Pray for 1 request on the Church “Prayer List”.
- Pray for the first person you see or talk to that day.
II. PRAISE – DAILY, praise God for an answer to prayer … for His protection … for His presence … for His goodness … for His grace … etc.
III. BIBLE – DAILY:
- Read 1 portion of Scripture from your daily Bible reading.
- Read the Scripture from your Sunday School lesson.
- Read the Scripture from last week’s sermon outline.
IV. CRUCIFIXION – DAILY:
- Abstain from 1 bad habit.
- Be sensitive to a personal fault or failure (if you don’t know one, ask your spouse, children, friend, etc.).
- Do something that you know you SHOULD DO, but you DON’T WANT to do.
- Do something you have been putting off doing, but you know the Lord wants you to do.
- Resolve not to give in to that temptation.
V. ENCOURAGE – DAILY:
- Send an encouragement card, or call or visit someone.
- Take a ‘treat’ to a friend, neighbor, or enemy.
- Send a birthday card to someone.
- Compliment someone who deserves it.
- Resolve to SMILE … even if you don’t feel like it.
VI. SERVICE – DAILY:
- Mention the Lord in one conversation.
- Look for a need in someone, and resolve to meet it.
