The Seed of Sin and the Fruit of Fear. Destroyed lives, ugliness in the heart and home, a man’s life fading into the background of defeat and sadness, this became the legacy of Lot. When Fear drives the train, it will drive it off the rails and into the ground hard!

Paul reminds Timothy that God has not given us “the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). So, we begin there. We recognize that there is a “spirit of fear” and so we must deal with that; but we also recognize that we have been given spiritual power, agape love, and the capability of a disciplined mind, or self-control.

This Proverb reveals something very dangerous and very dark about human reason. “There is a way that seemeth right…” literally means “straight” and it could be the right way, but obviously if it leads to death and not life it is the wrong way. The difference is the heart’s desire. Who does the person desire to please? Who is the driver of this life? Self or God?

Isaiah 35 tells us about "the way of holiness," which is not that which seemeth right to man, but that which is right to God. This is the way we must choose!

 People of God are not immune to the world, or to the temptations of the devil, we are quite capable of being drawn into the sin. Being forgiven, being born again in Christ, does not mean suddenly perfect, nor completely resistant to evil. We have a choice to make, we have choices to make on a regular basis.

Israel, more than any other nation, had seen God reveal Himself time and time again, yet they continually forsake God and commit adultery against Him. What is the response? Not only does God allow judgment, He brings judgment.

The purpose of that judgment is twofold.

There are four truths I want to show you here, two truths about God and two truths about each one of us here today, no matter our spiritual condition. All together these four truths will make it clear that we must take God seriously:

People of God are not immune to the world, or to the temptations of the devil, we are quite capable of being drawn into the sin. Being forgiven, being born again in Christ, does not mean suddenly perfect, nor completely resistant to evil. We have a choice to make, we have choices to make on a regular basis.

That is not a rule, but it surely is a proven fact of life. Of course, truer than the upper-downer days is a God who is unchanging, who is always faithful and true, and a huge part of the story of Abraham is a lesson about learning to trust God, letting God grow us up through the highs and lows, the victories and failures. Being fit to father was a process of 25 years of Abraham being fathered by God.

Charles Spurgeon, known for his exceptional preaching, as well as his extraordinary battles with depression, once said, “Excess of joy or excitement must be paid for by subsequent depressions.”

While this is not a rule, it surely is a proven fact of life. Of course, more true than the upper-downer days is a God who is unchanging, who is always faithful and true, and a huge part of the story of Abraham is a lesson about learning to trust God through the highs and lows.

There is no higher example to follow in ministry than Jesus himself. The apostle Paul agrees, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Phillippians 3:12). 

However, before we consider how Jesus preached, or what he preached, we should consider who Jesus was, as a man, as a minister, how was Jesus formed? How did the Son of Man become the Teacher, Minister, and Shepherd that he was, and is?