I Kings 13:1-32

What God requires for salvation is not difficult (John 7:17).

It only becomes difficult when man gets in the way.

Man can understand, believe, and carry out God’s requirements for salvation. He can be what God requires one to be.

All of God’s commands are to be respected.

There was nothing wrong with eating or drinking in Samaria, except for what God told this specific prophet.

There is no room for rationalizing around God’s commands.

God’s commands must be strictly obeyed, even if we can’t see the reason behind them.

Examples:

Hebrews 10:24-25 – Not forsaking the assembly.

Genesis 2; Matthew 9:6 – God’s marriage law.

The sad effects of believing a lie.

The prophet thought the deceiving prophet had received a later revelation.

Many in the religious world today make the same mistake of believing a lie.

Sin cannot successfully be committed.

It may be pleasurable, but it will not be successful.

Numbers 32:23 – Your sin will find you out.

Galatians 6:7-8

Disobedience is fatal.

A lion slew the disobedient prophet.

II Thessalonians 1:7-9

Matthew 7:24 – Sin is fatal.

How do we react to God’s commands?

Romans 12:10 – Outdo each other in serving one another.

Book: Start with Why by Simon Sinek

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

The Golden Circle – Why, how, what

What is my purpose as a Christian?

The aim of our charge

To behave differently.

To teach the word.

To be an example.

I Timothy 1:5

Matthew 6:33-34

I Thessalonians 4:1, 10

I Corinthians 9:24-27

II Corinthians 5:9

Philippians 3:10-12

II Corinthians 13:11-13 – Aim for restoration

I Timothy 1:5

II Timothy 2:4

II Timothy 3:10-15

II Timothy 2:22 – Pursue righteousness

Four ways to draw even closer to God this week.

Read with your spouse, kids, or friends.

Pray for someone.

Discuss a sermon/class/podcast with a friend.

Do something nice for someone.

Win the week, win the war!

Acts 2:41; 6:1 – Prayer was a big part of the lives of the apostles and the early Christians.

Romans 12:12

Make it an engrained part of your routine.

Daniel 6:10-11 – Even threatening death would not stop Daniel.

Nehemiah 1 – Nehemiah wept and prayed for days!

Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:16, 28; 10:17, 21; 23:46

Freshen up your phrases.

Matthew 6:5-15 – Avoid meaningless repetition.

Psalms 51:16-17 – God demands a broken and contrite heart.

Changing our wording forces us to think, which is what we should be doing when we pray.

Have you tried writing or typing out a prayer?

Psalm 48 – Include praise in your prayers.

Colossians 4:2 – Include thankfulness in your prayers.

Develop a proper heart.

Luke 18:9-14

Romans 8:5 – We should be spiritually minded.

Read a whole book of the Bible in one sitting.

Deuteronomy 8:3

Psalms 119:1-16

We need Jesus as our shepherd! (See https://berksblog.net/2020/07/03/we-are-sheep-he-is-the-shepherd-we-need-an-illustration/)

I Thessalonians 5:27

You have more time for Bible reading than you think! (Infographic - https://www.crossway.org/articles/infographic-you-can-read-more-of-the-bible-than-you-think/)

A good reading option: ESV Reader’s Bibles: https://www.crossway.org/articles/a-guide-to-esv-readers-bibles/

Pray for longer than 2 minutes.

Luke 18:1-8

Nehemiah 2:4; 1:4-6; 4:4; 5:19; 6:9; 13:14, 22, 29 – Nehemiah was a man of prayer.

Listen/watch another sermon/class

I Timothy 4:16

II Timothy 2:2

Many churches have started putting classes and sermons online because of the COVID-19 outbreak. This can be a great resource for us!

Acts 17:11 – Examine what you hear!

Recommendations:

https://www.humblechurchofchrist.com/Humble_Sermon_Recordings/2020/2020_Sermons_mp3_recordings.htm

https://lhmcallen.org/sermons-laurel-heights-church-mcallen-tx/

http://www.justchristians.com/sermons

http://www.thebibleway.com/audio/sermons

http://www.dowlenroad.com/sermons-alt/

Send a note to someone.

II Corinthians 2:13; 7:6-7

Communication can be a great boost to others!

I Peter 2:21

Angered, but righteous

Mark 3:1-5 – Jesus was angry at their hardness of heart.

Mark 6:3

It’s easy for us to get riled up at sin, and then sin in return.

I Thessalonians 5:15 – Don’t repay evil for evil!

Acts 17:5 – Rioting!

I Peter 3:8-9

I Corinthians 13:5

Acts 18:12, 17 – Evil going unpunished is not a new thing!

Anxious, but trusting

Luke 12:49-50

Luke 22:39-46 – Jesus underwent great stress but trusted in God.

John 16:32-33

I Peter 2:21-23 – Jesus entrusted Himself to God.

Aware, but optimistic

Matthew 9:35-38; 10:1, 6-7, 16-17, 21-23 – Jesus was not naïve about the dangers, but He knew the people needed the word of God.

Matthew 11:1 – The world needed the gospel then and it needs it now!

Matthew 28:19

The gospel is the greatest weapon in the world, and it’s the only thing that can change hearts and minds.

God’s people have always had a single house of salvation at any given time.

One ark - Genesis 6

One tabernacle – Exodus 25:8-9

One house for Rahab’s family – Joshua 21:1-19

One temple – Deuteronomy 12:6-14; 14:23-26

One church – Matthew 6:18-19; I Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23

Matthew 16:8 – Jesus would build His church. He succeeded!

I Corinthians 1:2; Romans 16:16

In Christ, His body, His church, there is:

Triumph – II Corinthians 2:14

Reconciliation – Ephesians 2:14-16

Life and light – John 1:14

Completeness – Colossians 2:10

Sonship – Galatians 3:26-27

All spiritual blessings – Ephesians 1:3

The teaching and practice of the church of Christ started in Jerusalem in AD 33.

Ephesians 1:22

Does God want us to worship Him with music? Yes.

What kind of music? Under the Old Covenant or New?

II Chronicles 29:25; Psalm 150 – Instrumental music was authorized under the Old Covenant.

What about under the New Covenant?

Under the Old Covenant, God told His people to use instruments in worship. In the New Covenant, He authorizes only singing.

Answering possible objections:

Ephesians 5:19 – The word “psallo” never authorized the use of a musical instrument. It expresses an action, but the object must be specified. In the New Testament, the heart is specified as the object. See Hebrews 9:10.

Revelation 14:2-3 – The voices in Heaven were described as thunderous and melodious as instruments, but it was still singing. Also, this is highly figurative language and not to be taken literally.

Use of songbooks

The Bible doesn’t say not to.

Having instruments at home

Historically, instruments were added to worship by Catholics in 670 A.D. and strenuously objected to by many at the time.

II John 1:9 – To use instruments of music in worship is to go beyond God’s command.

Ecclesiastes 12:7

What do you think your favorite thing will be?

Being in the presence of God.

Matthew 25:34, 41, 46

Matthew 7:23

I John 3:1-3 – We will see God as He is!

I Thessalonians 4:17-18

Being with other saints

I Thessalonians 4:15-17

Revelation 6:9-11 – This seems to imply that those in the afterlife remembered their lives on earth.

No more troubles

Luke 16:19-26 – All physical problems will be gone in heaven!

Hebrews 4:8-11 – God gave the Israelites rest in the sense of Canaan, but there is a greater rest waiting for God’s people.

Matthew 5:11-12

Romans 8:18

Philippians 3:20-21 – Sin and temptation will be left behind!

Myths about Heaven

It will be boring.

James 1:17-18

God created everything we enjoy on earth. How much better will Heaven be?

It’s not an actual place.

What all of this means right now.

I should be living like a citizen of Heaven!

Philippians 3:20-21, 19

Colossians 3:2

Matthew 6:19

Appreciate what Jesus did!

Philippians 2:5-11

John 17:5

Matthew 22:37-39

This love comes from my decision to follow Heaven’s example.

John 13:34-35; 15:12 – Jesus is the example!

Romans 5:6-8 – It was God’s decision for Jesus to die for us, even in our sins.

Titus 3:3-7 – God decided to love us.

It’s my decision when to love others. We certainly would not want God to show love for us only if or when we deserved it!

“This person has an eternal soul.”

“God is watching how well I love others.”

“I want to become an expert at love – just like my Father.”

I must prove to be a neighbor.

Luke 10:25-37 – Parable of the good Samaritan.

Matthew 5:43-48 – Our job is to love our neighbor. We should be a neighbor to all we come in contact with.

Love must be the foundation of my behavior toward all others.

Romans 13:7

Galatians 5:13

James 2:1, 8 – Fulfill the royal law!

I John 3:16-18 – We need to capitalize on opportunities to show love for others.

Acts 26:24-29 – Paul showed love for others even in chains.