PREPARING The WAY For GOD’s VISITATION-II—Luke 3:1-10
Attention:
When our President visits an area, there is a huge amount of preparation that takes place.
Security is beefed up tremendously.
Communications are redesignated to prioritize federal mandates.
The Secret Service is prioritized.
Traffic is shut down in areas & rerouted elsewhere.
Likewise, preparations must be made for the arrival of the Lord!
If we want to experience His power, then we must make ourselves ready for it.
Need:
Do you feel as if you don’t experience God’s power?
You see Him work in others but not in or thru you?
John the Baptist was instrumental in preparing the way for the Lord’s visitation.
God’s visitation received adequate preparation.
How has God’s visitation received adequate preparation?
6 losses ensuring God’s visitation has received adequate preparation.
Last time we found that...
For God’s visitation We must lose...
1. TIMING(:3)
2. SINS(:3)
3. HINDRANCES/World(:4-6)
4—For God’s visitation We must lose the
WARNING/Brood(:7)
Explanation: (:7)
:7—“Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Our “warning” can be ill-advised or wrongly influenced/skewed. We can make religious decisions for religious reasons only! Because it ‘feels’ good personally. Not because God compels it.
“Multitudes” began going out(to the wilderness) to be baptized by John.
Due to the prophesies concerning his ministry, John was speaking to these multitudes.
He called them a “brood of vipers.” Those who came to him were obviously ‘sinners’ of religious persuasion with no concept or intention of inward repentance at heart. The parallel in Mat. 3:7 applies John’s word specifically to the Pharisees & Sadducees—the religiously self-righteous. Perhaps this statement was made to all but perhaps to the merely ‘religious’ it was particularly telling. Verse 10 tells us that the multitudes voiced personal concern about John’s exhortations as they applied to them.
John plied them with scathing words. He rhetorically asked them who had “warned” them of God’s “wrath”?, seeing as how they had neglected God in the guise of their religion. In other words the Pharisees & Sadducees would not have insight to the fact that the wrath would effect them since they were so self-righteous. Indeed no one but their own consciences & the crowd mentality had “warned” them.
“Multitudes”(See :10—“People”)—oclov—1) A crowd—1a) A casual collection of people—1a1) A multitude of men who have flocked together in some place, 1a2) A throng, 1b) A multitude—1b1) the common people, as opposed to the rulers & leading men, 1b2) with contempt: the ignorant multitude, the populace, 1c) A multitude—1c1) the multitudes, seems to denote troops of people gathered together without order Strong—A throng (as borne along); by implication, The rabble; by extension, A class of people; figuratively, A riot.
“Baptized”—baptizw—1) To dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk); 2) To cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe; 3) To overwhelm. Strong—To immerse, submerge; To make overwhelmed (i.e. fully wet); Used only (in the N.T.) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism.
“Brood”—gennhma—1) That which has been born or begotten—1a) The offspring or progeny of men or animals, 1b) The fruits of the earth, the produce of agriculture. Strong—Offspring; by analogy, Produce (literally or figuratively). Used 9X.
“Vipers”—ecidna—1) A viper, offspring of vipers—1a) Addressed to cunning, malignant, wicked men. Strong—An adder or other poisonous snake (literally or figuratively). Used 5X.
“Warned”—upodeiknumi—1) To show by placing under (i.e. before) the eyes; 2) To show by words & arguments, i.e. to teach; 3) To show by make known future things. Strong—To exhibit under the eyes, i.e. (figuratively) To exemplify (instruct, admonish). Used 6X.
“Flee”—feugw—1) To flee away, seek safety by flight; 2) metaph. To flee (to shun or avoid by flight) something abhorrent, esp. vices; 3) To be saved by flight, to escape safely out of danger; 4) poetically, To flee away, vanish. Strong—To run away (literally or figuratively); by implication, To shun; by analogy, To vanish.
“Wrath”—orgh—1) Anger, the natural disposition, temper, character; 2) Movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger; 3) Anger, wrath, indignation; 4) Anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself—4a) Of punishments inflicted by magistrates.
“to Come”—mellw—1) To be about—1a) To be on the point of doing or suffering something, 1b) To intend, have in mind, think to. Strong—To attend, i.e. Be about to be, do, or suffer something (of persons or things, especially events; in the sense of purpose, duty, necessity, probability, possibility, or hesitation).
Argumentation:
Rom. 1:16-18—“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
1Thes. 1:8-10—“For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia & Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, & how you turned to God from idols to serve the living & true God, & to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
Rom. 2:4-6—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness & your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath & revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:”
Rom. 5:8-9—“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
Eph. 5:2-7—“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us & given Himself for us, an offering & a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication & all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ & God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.”
Rev. 6:12-17—“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, & behold, there was a great earthquake; & the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, & the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, & every mountain & island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave & every free man, hid themselves in the caves & in the rocks of the mountains, & said to the mountains & rocks, “Fall on us & hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne & from the wrath of the Lamb! “For the great day of His wrath has come, & who is able to stand?””
Illustration:
2012 Mayan date for the end of the world/No doubt some will let it upset them but they should not be Christians!/Lose that WARNING
Christ has warned us of His return. We are to be prepared for it by aligning our lives with His Warning.
I get bogus calls ‘Warning’ me that my car is out of warranty(which it is)/They offer an extension of the warranty—for a price!/Lose the WARNING
I get calls ‘Warning’ me that APR for my credit card is too high/The problem with that is that I don’t even own a credit card!/Lose the WARNING
Likewise some attend church services merely because they fear a religious misstep will harm their chances before God.
Application:
?You willing to Lose/release/let go of the WARNINGs proffered by the world?
?You ready for God’s Visitation?
5—For God’s visitation We must lose the
CRUTCH of Misplaced Trust(:8)
Explanation: (:8) That in which we place our real trust.
:8—““Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, & do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
The actions of the Pharisees & Sadducees effectively denied their so-called ‘repentance’. True repentance will result in appropriate & observable fruit.
The ‘religious’ leaders considered among themselves that having Abraham as their genealogical father was the established basis for a right relationship with God. They were Jewish & that was all that was needed in their eyes.
John called them on this saying that God Himself could raise up children to Abraham from mere stones. Therefore something more is needed to honor God’s desire. The will/heart freely accepting God’s direction opens & straightens His path to work in & thru us.
If the hearers had truly received God’s word of repentance, then they would thereby manifest the manifold behaviors(“fruits”) which would speak to personal repentance’s reality.
John was wise to his audience’s spiritual arrogance. He quickly dismantled their smug dependence upon their physical heritage/genealogy as the means of God’s attention.
Deut. 4:37-38—““And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; & He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, “driving out from before you nations greater & mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day.”
Deut. 9:4-7—““Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, & that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. “Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.”
It was well known to them that God is able to do anything because He is God. Therefore, John revealed their trust to be useless. God raised them up to supplant the nations that He would have a standing witness in the children of Israel.
Num. 33:53—“‘you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land & dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess.”
Deut. 12:2—““You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains & on the hills & under every green tree.”
Deut. 20:16-18—““But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, “but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite & the Amorite & the Canaanite & the Perizzite & the Hivite & the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you, “lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, & you sin against the LORD your God.”
Deut. 18:9-13—““When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, “or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, & because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.”
“Bear”—poiew—1) to make. Denotes "to do", To designate performance, To denote merely productive action, To point to the action result. Poiew refers more to the object & end of an act. Poiew often means to do a thing once for all[not continually or repeatedly.]...& is very often used of doing good.
“Worthy”—axiov—1) weighing, having weight, having the weight of another thing of like value, worth as much; 2) Befitting, congruous, corresponding to a thing; 3) Of one who has merited anything worthy—3a) Both in a good & a bad sense. Strong—Deserving, comparable or suitable (as if drawing praise).
“Repentance”(See :3)—metanoia—1) A change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done. Strong—(subjectively) Compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication Reversal (of [another's] decision).
“Raise up”—egeirw—1) to arouse, cause to rise. Strong—To waken (transitively or intransitively), i.e. Rouse (literally, from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figuratively, from obscurity, inactivity, ruins, nonexistence).
“Stones”—liyov—1) A stone—1a) Of small stones, 1b) Of building stones, 1c) metaph. Of Christ.
Argumentation:
Harbor sin/Depend/Trust/Secret sin:
Rom. 1:28-32—“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
1Jn. 4:2-4—“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, & every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, & is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, & have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
1Jn. 5:19-21—“We know that we are of God, & the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come & has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; & we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God & eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Job 31:24-28—““If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’; If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.”
Jer. 7:3-4—“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways & your doings, & I will cause you to dwell in this place. “Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’”
*Ps 119:133—“Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.”
Ps. 44:20-21—“If we had forgotten the name of our God, Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.”
Ps 10:4, 11—“The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.”.....“He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.””
Presumption:
*Ps. 19:13-14—“Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth & the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength & my Redeemer.”
Num. 15:30-31—“‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, & he shall be cut off from among his people. ‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD, & has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’””
Deut. 17:12-13—““Now the man who acts presumptuously & will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear & fear, & no longer act presumptuously.”Php 3:18-21—“For many walk, of whom I have told you often, & now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, & whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
Rom. 6:12-13—“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, & your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
*Mat. 13:18-23—““Therefore hear the parable of the sower: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, & does not understand it, then the wicked one comes & snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word & immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, & the cares of this world & the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, & he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word & understands it, who indeed bears fruit & produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.””
The Soils represent differing ways of approaching God:
3 of the 4 soils are unfit because their crutches keep them from allowing God to work in their lives.
Illustration:
Makeup/Some women are unable to believe that they have a natural beauty that is their own from the Lord/They refuse to believe that a gentle & quiet spirit is of far greater worth than any runway moneymaker/They have believed what the world has told & sold them/CRUTCH
1Pet. 3:3-4—“Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle & quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
You see, what many women do not accept, is that any man worth having is someone who recognizes & treasures your inner beauty above your outer beauty.
Hoarders/Ultimately Trust in their possessions/Lose the CRUTCH
Imagine: ‘Bob’ is a victim of a car accident/Also has amnesia/But he never graduates from his Crutches/He doesn’t know what its like to be without the crutches/They have always held Bob up even though he is actually fully able to stand on his own/Lose the CRUTCH
Application:
?You willing to Lose/release/let go of the CRUTCH of Misplaced Trust?
?You ready for God’s visitation?
6—For God’s visitation We must lose the
ROOT of Sin(:9)
Explanation: (:9)
That which feeds/gives life to our personal disdain of God’s will.
:9—““And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire.””
In John’s day & even presently, “the axe” has been laid at the tree’s very root. The axe is ready to do its work. The “tree” has no choice but to respond appropriately because it cannot oppose the offensive axe.
No yield of good fruit results in its being cut down(from the root) & its being discarded in the fire where it will never have opportunity for service to its owner again. It is not that the fruit is poor quality but that it is of the wrong type completely.
In fact the “trees” of ‘bad’ “fruits” which have been nurtured & grown in unbelief, will be effectively & decisively removed. They will be destroyed as if “thrown into the fire.”
Mat. 7:15-20—““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
The “root” of one’s belief & the resulting actions will be dealt a death blow. There will be left no viable means for sustaining such a religiosity of bad fruit.
Through this statement regarding the threat of the “axe,” John is declaring to all that their time of God’s visitation & thus for the audience’s decision is nigh/at hand, & to be revealed fully thru his ministry.
Argumentation:
Prov. 5:21-23—“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.”
Rom. 2:12-16 “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, & as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, & between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”
1Jn. 3:18-21 “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed & in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, & shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, & knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.”
Jn. 15:5-6—““I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned.”
*Js. 1:12-17— “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires & enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; & sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift & every perfect gift is from above, & comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
1Jn. 1:8—“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1Jn. 5:18—“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin[continuously/practice]; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”
Christ has taken & thereby done away with sin’s condemnation & thus it can be effectively managed.
Illustration:
When we first moved into our house/Behind the back fence there was poison oak among the trees/I cut most of it out/But to get rid of it completely I had to pull out the roots so it couldn’t regenerate!/Lose the ROOT of Sin
Likewise we must allow God to forcibly remove the ROOT of Sin
Some things are just counterproductive for us/A substance abuser must lose the desire to engage in Sin/They must address The ROOT of their bane-trouble-problem which is always spiritual/Lose the ROOT of Sin
Grafted trees which have lost the graft/Granny’s peach tree/Little hard bullets for peaches/Lose the ROOT of Sin
Application:
?You willing to Lose/release/let go of the ROOT of Sin?
?You ready for God’s visitation?
7—For God’s visitation We must lose the
CONFIDENCE in false belief(:10)
Explanation: (:10) The end of ourselves
That which keeps us from asking the real questions & seeking the real answers.
:10—“So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?””
The multitudes(private citizens only or including those mentioned specifically below?) whom John addressed questioned John upon hearing his charge. They were so concerned that they had failed God that they asked John, What they could do about their situation. They recognized that they were in a quandry & wanted to know what was required to please God.
Unfortunately this is the same way that an unrepentant person approaches that which opposes their settled belief. However the unrepentant person continues to find comfort & support in his/her wrong belief to the exclusion & disdain of God’s truth.
“People/Multitudes”(See :7— “Multitudes”)—oclov—1) A crowd—1a) A casual collection of people—1a1) A multitude of men who have flocked together in some place, 1a2) A throng, 1b) A multitude—1b1) the common people, as opposed to the rulers & leading men, 1b2) with contempt: the ignorant multitude, the populace, 1c) A multitude—1c1) the multitudes, seems to denote troops of people gathered together without order Strong—A throng (as borne along); by implication, The rabble; by extension, A class of people; figuratively, A riot.
“Asked/Questioning”—eperwtaw—V.-Imperf. Active Ind.-3P—1) To accost one with an enquiry, put a question to, enquiry of, ask, interrogate; 2) To address one with a request or demand—2a) To ask of or demand of one. Strong—to ask for, i.e. inquire, seek.
“Imperfect tense, repeatedly asked”—RWP
Argumentation:
Acts 2:36-38, 40-42—““Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you[devout Jews who witnessed the 1st arrival of the Holy Spirit] crucified, both Lord & Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, & said to Peter & the rest of the apostles, “Men & brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, & let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; & you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”.....“And with many other words he testified & exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; & that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine & fellowship, in the breaking of bread, & in prayers.”
Acts 9:3-6—“As he[Paul] journeyed he came near Damascus, & suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, & heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling & astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise & go into the city, & you will be told what you must do.””
Acts 16:25-34—“But at midnight Paul & Silas were praying & singing hymns to God, & the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; & immediately all the doors were opened & everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep & seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword & was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, & fell down trembling before Paul & Silas. And he brought them out & said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you will be saved, you & your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him & to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night & washed their stripes. And immediately he & all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; & he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.”
Ps. 51:6—“Behold, You[The Lord God] desire truth in the inward parts[of man], And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”
Lk. 1:1-4—“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses & ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”
Jn. 8:31-32—“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, & the truth shall make you free.””
Produce true CONFIDENCE thru your relationship with God.
Illustration:
Steve jobs/He was a college drop-out/Co-founder of Apple Computer & Pixar Animation Studios/By 25yrs. was a millionaire/He popularized point & click computers(Macintosh)—i-Pods (portable music)—i-Phones(smart phone)—i-Pads/His products help Christians share the Gospel in ways never-before dreamed of/He was an innovator of things the world believes it can’t live without/He was worth an estimated $8.3 billion/Supported liberal thinking/“Like the Beatles, Jobs went to India to seek spiritual truth”(ChristianInvestigator.com)/He battled pancreatic cancer(since 2003) & was ‘prepared?’ to die(by his admission), giving an impassioned speech at Stamford Univ.(2005)/Wrong confidence!/Lose the CONFIDENCE in false belief
Lost people/They are unwilling to part with their belief until you have them examine the false source of that CONFIDENCE(Why do you believe what you believe)/If they knew the truth, then would they want to know it?/Lose the CONFIDENCE in false belief
Application:
?You willing to Lose/release/let go of the CONFIDENCE in false belief?
?You ready for God’s visitation?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Preparations for Presidential visit.
Action:
For God’s visitation We must lose the...
4. WARNING/Brood(:7)
5. CRUTCH of Misplaced Trust(:8)
6. ROOT of Sin(:9)
7. CONFIDENCE in false belief(:10)
1. TIMING(:3)
2. SINS(:3)
3. HINDRANCES/World(:4-6)
Presented 10/09/2011am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
