* Our number one need as a human is security - “who can I trust?”

* If we find our “ultimate” security in anything but God then when they fail us our world will fall apart.

* This Psalm is David’s journal when Absalom rose up against him.

* During this time he found security in God.

* This is how David was a man after God’s own heart and how he never lost his faith.

* Abimelech’s heart was in the right place - he didn’t want to sin.

* So when he ended up on the wrong path God got him off of it.

* “I have kept you from sinning against Me.”

* God kept him from sinning because of the motive of his heart.

* If your motive is to honor the Lord and obey His commands God stands as your protector.

* This is why Jesus wants us to pray, “Lead me not into temptation.”

* Abe’s dad Terah set out for Canaan first but he stopped short in Haran.

* Abe, on the other hand, when he set out he was able to see it through.

* One guy accomplished his goal but the other didn’t. What was the difference?

* FAITH!

* Abe was motivated by faith in God’s promise.

* Tears was motivated by his own ambition (not that this was wrong).

* Are your goals inspired by faith or your own ambition?

* In the OT God made four covenants - with Noah, Abraham, Israelites (through Moses), and King David.

* Covenants were all about BLESSING - “I’ll do this if you do this.”

* This is extremely important because it’s the backdrop to Christ’s “opening message.”

* What would He talk about?

* “BLESSED” is the first word out of His mouth.

* Wiersbe - “to them (blessing) meant ‘divine joy and perfect happiness.’”

* vs 3-12 talk about “experiencing” a blessing - living the “blessed” life.

* vs 13-16 talk about “being” a blessing (just like what God promised Abraham).

* The list of blessings are spoken as cause and effect:

* vs 3 - You want the kingdom of heaven? Then you can't think of yourself more highly than you ought.

* vs 4 - You want to be comforted? Then you must mourn over your own sin and the sins of your nation.

* vs 5 - You want to inherit the earth? Then you must be submissive to God and walk in His strength.

* vs 6 - You want to be filled? Then you gotta be hungry for what God can fill you with - desire to be "right" with Him.

* vs 7 - You want mercy from God? Be merciful to other.

* vs 8 - You want to see God? Be pure, live holy - no impurities.

* vs 9 - You want to be a child of God? Live peacefully with others and help them live peacefully as well.

* vs 10 - You want the kingdom of heaven (repeated from verse 3)? Then be willing to suffer for Christ.

* vs 11-12 - these verses encourage the hearers because what Christ said in verse 10 probably shocked them.

* vs 13-16 - Two ways to BE a blessing:

* 1) Salt - “you ARE salt”

* 2) Light - “you ARE light”

* Jesus was talking about identity.

* ** Note ** Jesus talked about blessing (Abraham) before He talked about Law (Moses) in vs 17.

* Stockholders in Facebook are seriously concerned about the addictive patterns of social media.

* They are asking Apple to do research on the addiction caused by smartphones.

* 75% of teachers said that students are suffering greatly in the classroom because of them.

* Facebook’s original goal was to consume as much of your conscious time as possible.

* Romans 12:2 - don’t conform to the world’s pattern.

* Psalms 119:65

* Anger is an emotion with a purpose.

* We can be angry and not sin.

* Three steps to control your anger:

* 1) Meditate on God's truth and be still - don't say or do anything. 

* 2) Give it your best shot - don't give in just because it's become a habit to lose your temper. 

* 3) Trust God with the situation - don't try to take control of it. 

* When you do you'll discover how to be angry and NOT sin.

* Ephesians 5:33 tells us the core need for a man is respect, especially in marriage.

* In the NKJV this verse reads - "but [God] did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell."

* God gives all people His respect as a gift because we are made in His image.

* But it’s our responsibility to keep it.

* Cain lost God’s respect because he didn’t give his best.

* When he refused to give his best he lost the thing he needed most.

* Such is the case for any man who doesn’t give his all in what he’s doing.

* Apply this to your work - do your best no matter how small a task and watch how your boss responds. (God will also receive this as worship).

* Apply this to your marriage - give your wife and kids your very best at home and watch how well they respond.

* Apply this to your body - give your best to be healthy and watch how your body responds.

* Apply this to every other area of life.

* Note - in Genesis 4:23 we see a man who had no respect for himself or anyone else and therefore he had to prove himself and get respect through threats.

* A man with no self-respect is a man who has to prove himself to everyone.

* Being on your belly in front of someone is a sign of submission and surrender.

* Look at the curse placed upon Satan - he is put into a place of submission before man.

* It would be a continual reminder that Satan is under our authority so long as we stay under God’s authority.

* It’s a reminder to him but an encouragement to us.

* Satan’s first mention in the Bible has him doing two things:

* 1) Question God’s Word.

* 2) Deny God’s truth - specifically in relation to God’s judgment.

* “You won’t surely die” was a flat denial that God would judge sinful behavior.

* Does this sound familiar? Look at culture today - we’re believing the same lie.

* vs 5 - the underlying motivation to sin is so you can “be like God.”

* It’s the reason he was kicked out of heaven and now he wants you to do the same thing.

* Note - in Eve’s mind Satan was right - she didn’t immediately die.

* Sin always satisfies temporarily and feels right in the moment.

* But it’s ultimate end is death.

* God + Adam = not good.

* God + Adam + Eve = good.

* What was missing? Relationship!

* This is why we have the ability to communicate - apart from others who are equal to us (human beings) we cannot relate as God relates in the Trinity.

* In the beginning God created “adam” (awh-dahm), not the male but humankind.

* “It is not good for “humankind” to be alone.”

* vs 17-23 - “she was taken out of man.”

* This is the “splitting of the adam,” so to speak.

* Feminine was taken from masculine.

* The two joined together creates the perfect picture of mankind made in God’s image.

* vs 24 - this is why God wants men to “cleave” to their wife - to create the oneness required to give the full picture of God’s image.

* Man alone is not God’s full image. Neither is woman alone.

* It’s the man/woman bond that creates it.

* This is why marriage is under attack today - Satan hates the image of God.