Tune and Prepare!

Puritan John Flavel identified six arguments that Satan uses to tempt us. together with six model responses. 1 Spot the voice of temptation in your life and identify how you should respond. You might like to ask two people to read it aloud as a dialogue. Argument 1: The Pleasure of Sin • Temptation: Look at my smiling face and listen to my charming voice. Here is pleasure to be enjoyed. Who can stay away from such delights? • Response: The pleasures of sin are real but so are the pangs of conscience and the flames of hell. The pleasures of sin are real but pleasing God is much sweeter. Argument 2: The Secrecy of Sin • Temptation: This sin will never disgrace you in public because no one will ever find out. • Response: Can I find somewhere God is not present for me to sin? Argument 3: The Profit of Sin • Temptation: If you just stretch your conscience a little, you'll gain so much. This is your opportunity. • Response: What do I benefit if...

Spot the voice of the Temptation A puritán John Flavel hat érvet sorolt fel, amelyeket a Sátán használ arra, hogy megkísértsen minket, és ehhez hat példaértékű választ is megadott. 1 Ismerd fel a Kísértő hangját. Fedezd fel az életedben felbukkanó kísértéseket, és gondold át, hogyan érdemes reagálnod rájuk. Érdemes kipróbálni és jó gyakorlat lehet : kérj meg két embert, hogy olvassák fel hangosan a szöveget párbeszéd formájában. 1. érv: A bűn öröme • Kísértés: Nézd meg mosolygós arcomat, és hallgasd meg elbűvölő hangom. Itt van az öröm élvezete. Ki tudna ellenállni ilyen élvezeteknek? Válasz: A bűn örömei valódiak, de a lelkiismeret furdalása és a pokol tüzének lángjai is azok. A bűn örömei valódiak, de Istennek tetszeni sokkal édesebb. 2. érv: Ha a bűn titkos • A kísértés: Ez a bűn soha nem fog nyilvánosan megszégyeníteni, mert senki sem fogja megtudni. • Válasz: Találhatok-e olyan helyet, ahol Isten nincs jelen, hogy ott vétkezzek? 3. érv:...

... The Bible is clear that repentance is a gift (Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25). Prodigals can come to their senses only because God gives them the gift of repentance. Those who are spiritually dead do not resuscitate themselves (Eph. 2:1–10). Not understanding that repentance is a gift is one of the ways people are most confused about repentance. They view it as something they must produce in themselves or others rather than a gift to be unwrapped. ... Here is the whole article

The Man Jesus Would Not Answer David Guzik — enduringword.com Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. Luke 23:8-9 When Jesus was put on trial before the Roman authorities, there were three aspects. There was a first appearance before Pilate (Luke 23:1-7), and then a second appearance (Luke 23:13-25). In between, Jesus appeared before Herod . This Herod – usually known as Herod Antipas – was the son of Herod the Great , who ruled when Jesus was born. The Romans only allowed him to govern one-fourth of his father’s domain. For this reason, he is also known as Herod the Tetrarch – the word tetrarch meaning “ruler of one-fourth.” His ruled included Galilee, and since Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate was happy to send Jesus to Herod. ...

Sinclair Ferguson I’m very tempted to remind you that these past few days, we’ve been thinking about things that we tend to forget. But I think it’s a good idea to round out the week by thinking about something that we actually need to forget. Yesterday we were thinking about remembering God’s covenant with us, because He remembers that covenant with us, and He promises that He will never forget it. But I find it intriguing that in that covenant, He actually promises that there is something He will forget. You remember the promise of the new covenant made in Jeremiah 31:34—and cited in the New Testament in Hebrews 8:12 because it’s fulfilled in Jesus Christ—where God says, in the New Covenant, “I will remember their sins no more” (Jer. 31:34). He makes a similar promise in Isaiah 43:25: “I am He Who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isa. 43:25). You can think about it this way: the only thing that God says He forgets is your s...

... A nurse came to me in great physical need. Her faith had sunk to almost zero. Then I received a very short message. "Tell the child that I am still alive!" What else could I have added to that? What a pity that the Lord himself did not speak more often in this way. He certainly has something to say to us! But his goodness is so great that he sometimes descends (personally) to his children to convince them directly. Praise be to his holy name! Did you have any contact with priests? Sometimes priests came to me to ask for advice on personal matters; often the advice was to pray. One priest occasionally asked me to lay my hands on his wife, who was suffering from severe depression. When he saw me, he always said: "They lay their hands on the sick, and they are healed." May I ask how you felt about the church in this country? During my career as an officer {in the Salvation Army} I didn't have much time to attend church services....

(acidic text) Intro Proper self-assessment is a delicate matter. It requires an orderly system of personal relationships and a great deal of grace. When we calmly and lovingly endure our conflicts and learn from them, when the unknown and invisible areas become smaller and smaller and our weaknesses, which are understandable to others from the outside, become more and more obvious, then our self-esteem problems also decrease significantly. They do not disappear—we live in a sinful world—but they are not the main problem and, above all, they do not provide a basis for false identity and compensatory behavior. {At the same time, I admit and confess that I am familiar with the following from personal failures or temptations.} Restless souls However, there are restless souls. Those who always have a ready explanation and justification for the correctness of their actions. These are mostly extroverted individuals whose satisfaction factor only reaches around 98% whe...

(The Roaming Spirit-Trader - acidic text) Intro A helyes önértékelés kényes jószág. Rendezett személyes kapcsolat rendszer és sok sok kegyelem szükségeltetik hozzá. Amikor nyugodtan és szeretetben elviseljuk konfliktusainkat és tanulunk azokból, amikor a számunkra ismeretlen láthatatlan terület egyre kisebb lesz és a mások számára kívülről érthető gyengeségünk egyre nyilvánvalóbbá válik, akkor önértékelési problémáink is jelentősen csökkennek. Nem szűnnek ugyan meg - bűnös világban élünk - de nem a fő problémát képezik és főleg nem adnak alapot hamis identitásnak és pótcselekvésnek. {Ugyanakkor itt azt is beismerem és megvallom, hogy a következőket személyes bukásokból vagy kísértésekből is ismerem.} Nyughatatlan lelkek Vannak azonban nyughatatlan lelkek. Olyanok akiknek mindig van kész magyarázatuk és igazolásuk tettek helyességére. Ezek többnyire extrovertált személyek akiknek elégedettségi faktora csak akkor jut el 98% körüli értékre, ha az általuk képviselt {vag...

Ever since I realized that I am nothing on my own and know nothing before God , and after I came before the Savior with this nothingness, namely, that He should be my life and my everything, I had every reason to be joyful. I could bring all my own and others' troubles before Him, Who did everything to help us. God's word and His wonderful promises brought me more and more joy every day, and I discovered more and more truths and promises that gave me reason to praise and thank Him. Emil Nigg

The writer of the Hebrew letter wrote about the good conscience and assurance: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb 10:19 Our dear brother and not-so-conflict-averse apostle, the Apostle Paul often appeals to his good conscience. Let's not forget that he was incessantly acting in front of his accusers, often suffering physical abuse because of them. He was constantly, consciously proclaiming the new covenant: the grace and righteousness above the Law , the untouchable spiritual status of the Christ followers - and the confrontation between the two realm. Paul's conscience was rooted in the Cross. ...

We cannot live a full and holy life apart from God. We were created to live and work with Him in community. If we accepted the propitiation we have done with the old life. We are new citizens, new breed, we have new ID in the Holy family. Unlike Adam and his heritage, we are not in the domain of the evil one. Jesus took of the price of our Sin status — once and for all. But due to humanity's dark past, we are still prone to continue making mistakes, living insensitively, falling, and occasionally committing harsh sins. However, Jesus, the faithful High Priest, intercedes for us from the very moment of our first repentance with His holy blood. We repent, confess our sins, and are cleansed. Reset . Everything is back to the original state. Adam's dark legacy and his descendant has passed away. I repeat: salvation is Christ's work, but sanctification is a process and a joint action with God. His Holy Spirit and His Holy Son will work in the life of the believer. ...

Excerpt The true nature of the sin and the true glory of Christ's Work Adam Adam stands as the first representative head of humanity. Through his disobedience, sin entered the world, and through sin came death - not just physical death, but spiritual separation from God. Paul writes in Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." This presents a mystery that we must understand: we are affected by Adam's sin {bad heritage} even though we did not personally commit it. Death reigned even over those "who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam" (Romans 5:14). We are connected to Adam in such a way that his sin became our sin, his condemnation became our condemnation. This is not unjust, because Adam truly was our representative head and our ancestor - the father of all human beings. Yet this very mystery reveals God...

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones I should like to call your attention this morning to some four of the verses which we have read just now in the 10th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Let me read them again from verse 19 to verse 22,: “having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Heb 10:19-22 Now these words were written, as you remember, as indeed was the whole epistle to a number of Christian people who were in a condition of discouragement and indeed of despondency. They were, as the title to the Epistle reminds us, Jews, Hebrews, who had been brought up in the old Jewish religion but who having heard the gospel had believed it an...

series: Our Living Word 4/4 Word, became flesh ..a hopeful fairytale in Norfolk - with a spin... Once upon a time in Norfolk,... This fairy tale began in Norfolk, in a town whose name I cannot remember, where the pastor of the small community there believed that the values that the Lord Jesus had instilled in them should be passed on. He had been working in the social sector for quite some time. He wanted to pass God's Love to the neighborhood. One might think that socialization among English people mainly takes place in pubs. However, it is unlikely that most people will be kissing each other there. Although it is indeed possible to talk there, it is not particularly predestined that long term relationships will develop. The pub is good for many things, but not for presenting our Christian life, for example. Sarah Clark 1789 This city, whose name I have forgotten, is famous for its rich ancient culture. Its architecture and various flavors are deeply...

Jesus on stress Phil Moore, London Most people don’t find {Jesus’ teaching on rest} very controversial. That’s because they haven’t understood it. They think that Jesus’ teaching about stress and worry is nothing more than fortune-cookie wisdom, nothing more than a first-century version of the Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. But it isn’t. It is much, much more radical than that. It tells us that stress is the chief symptom of our idolatry and self-worship. When we understand what Jesus said about stress and worry, it’s easy to see why it got him killed. The gospel writers tell us that the issue of stress and worry was a recurring theme in Jesus’ teaching. Luke tells us what he taught in the autumn of 29 AD, only five or six months before his enemies crucified him: Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or ...

You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within Ps 51:4-6 That is a little bit tricky for people to understand that we are already born in sin. As David says in one of the Psalms, “In sin my mother conceived me.” So that, to us, it may not appear fair that when the first people sinned, somehow sin was passed on and spread to all of humanity. But, in the end, the cross is not fair either. And so I think ultimately we sin because we’re sinners, and so we need to accept that we’re born … Just like we’re born into a certain family, certain parents, certain culture, race, gender, and so forth, we’re also born with this sinful nature. And so what the Bible says is that we need to be reconciled to God. So, when I was a college student, I like to think of myself as some...

Being able to help people in such an extraordinary way has given you a certain satisfaction, I suppose. I was very, very happy to see that some people were cured. But I never forgot who the Helper was. Whenever a letter like that came to me about healing, I would kneel down with those words: 'Look, My Saviour, this is for You, the thanks are for You,... but I can rejoice in this too, can't I? Were you also a pastor of the sick? I suppose praying over the sick and caring for the sick go hand in hand. If I was called to see a patient, that was the first question before prayer: "Is everything okay between you and the Savior?" In many cases, confession followed, clearing the way for a prayer of faith. James did not write in vain: "...even if he has sinned, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14-17) ... I am thinking here of the story of the healing of the man with a stroke (Matthew 9:2), who was first freed from his sins and then healed ...

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice {propitiation} for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. 1Jn 2:1-2 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1Jn 1:9 The Faithful Who Stands in the Gap When we drop our guard and we sin (which the Apostle John knows will happen & we should confess), praise God that our saviour Jesus faithfully stands in the gap,* defends us, and is the one who forever states our innocent plea before God the Father. Indeed, from His fullness we have all received grace after grace (grace *upon grace: in place of grace already given) for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17 Through Moses came the Law. The ...

Tim Maton – Everyday Church, Wimbledon (Thoughts on 1Cor 5 - Some of the details ) If I had a title for my sermon, it would be “Holiness is a whole church responsibility”. What comes across in Paul’s letters, including this one, is his passion: his passion for Jesus, the Gospel, for people and the Church. It’s because of these passions that Paul desires a holy Church; one that honours Jesus, that proclaims the Gospel, and sees many people saved and transformed by it. Today I want to highlight three ways in which we can take collective responsibility for the holiness of God’s Church. Recognise the destructiveness of unchecked sin Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of your old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch - as you really are. (verse 6b-7) Yeast is a type of fungus that’s been commonly used for millennia to make bread rise and alcohol ferment. Despite its amazing properties, the many mentions of yeas...