Reasons why We need to live according to Gods word and not our feelings

SERMON NOTES
I have a problem only Jesus can fix
Ephesians 1:7-12
Pastor Rick Countryman
1. The Father has blessed you.
2. The Father has loved you.
3. The Father has chosen you.
4. The Father has adopted you.
This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

JULY 12/13, 2014

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)
Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil.
Jeremiah 13:23 (NLT) How can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight? Job 9:2 (NLT)
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us... verses 7-8
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
2. The Father has made His wisdom and understanding available to you.
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
verse 8
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke

He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. Ephesians 1:7-12 (NLT)
How has the Father blessed you?
1. The Father sent Jesus to purchase your freedom from sin and death.
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us... verses 7-8
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.” So God created

you for asking.

James 1:5 (NLT)

verse 5b (NLT)

human beings in his image.
And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:23 (NLT)
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Isaiah 53:6 (NLT)
Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?
Proverbs 20:9 (NIV)

Wisdom is seeing and responding to life from God’s perspective. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 14:12 (NIV)
You get wisdom when you... • read God’s Word study God’s Word
memorize God’s Word meditate on God’s Word
Television Newspaper Magazines Radio Blogs Internet Bible
Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you. Proverbs 4:7-8 (NLT)
Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight. Love wisdom and she will make you great. Proverbs 4:7-8 (GNT)
• do what the Bible says.
Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Proverbs 7:1-3 (NLT)
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are onlyfooling yourselves. James 1:22 (NLT)

• surrender your life to Jesus.
Knowledge begins with respect for the LORD, but fools hate wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7 (NCV)
How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and revere the Lord!
Proverbs 1:7 (TLB)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)
3. The Father has revealed to you the mysteries of His will.
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
verses 9-10
This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan
kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as
the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him. Romans 16:25-26 (NLT)
This message is the secret that was hidden from everyone since the beginning of time, but now it is made known to God’s holy people. God decided to let his people know this rich and glorious secret which he has for all people. This secret is Christ himself, who is in you. He is our only hope for glory. Colossians 1:26-27 (NCV)
...at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow... and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-10 (TLB)
“All of history personally can be summed up like this: At the end of time we’ve either said to God, ‘Thy will be done, Jesus Christ is Lord in my life,’ or we’re going to say, ‘No, I think I want to live my life my own way.’ And God’s going to say to us, ‘Thy will be done.’ And we’ll live life separated from God.” C.S.Lewis

Genesis 1:26-27 (NCV) James 1:18 (NLT) Romans 5:12 (NLT)

Four Lessons For Forgiveness

Four Lessons for Forgiveness

One evening, my husband and I had a family bible time with our teenage sons. One of my sons, Jed shared his favorite bible verse - Acts 13:38-39:

[via]

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses."

Jed explained that we can forgive others if they sin against us. however, God would be appreciated. If we do not forgive others, God would not forgive us. That's very good example. 

So we need to forgive others whether other people hurt us or not. If we hurt others in some ways, we need to ask for forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness is very vital to all of us, because God wants to see us forgiving each other peacefully and humbly before He forgives us. The Lord is looking out for you whether you are forgiving others or not.

Let's get to know about four lessons for forgiveness.

1. Forgiveness is very hard. Well, it is not so easy. You know, accepting forgiveness from others is very important because when you accept someone's forgiveness, you will be happy. If you do not accept someone's forgiveness, then you will not feel peace inside your body and soul emotionally and spiritually. Asking for forgiveness is not simple, too. When you face someone that you hurt, you realize that you have have done wrong. You ask for forgiveness, someone will accept yours lightly and calmly. You will feel happy when you are free by keeping up your own bitterness and madness. Please know that God is with you.

"I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright" - Leviticus 26:13

2. Forgiveness is the key to make peace in your life. Have you been feeling struggling with your life? How about your relationships with other people? I believe that you may need to ask for forgiveness and that you will feel peace. But, if you do not forgive others (or you ask for forgiveness), you will not able to make peace in your life. The Lord wants to see you forgiving others as well as people forgive you, all past things will go away, you will be ok.

"Good Words to Remember: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" - Psalm 27:1

3. Forgiveness never be cheaper. Remember that the Lord is very satisfied with your forgiving action, He will forgive you. He knows what you have done in your past and present times. No matter how He can see you any day, any where, any time, and any how that happen, you know that forgiveness is not so cheaper. The Lord loves you, He is very forgiving person.

"Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" - Matt. 18:33

4. Forgiveness set you free. When you forgive others, people forgive you. You will be free from sins. You will feel peace and joyful. You can feel to love yourself, other people, and the Lord. You can feel alive to be free when you are forgiven. Jesus Christ loves you because He knows your pains but He is here to help and empower you to freely forgive.

"Let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 'The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression.'" - Numbers 14:17,18 

The four lessons for forgiveness are the key to set your spiritual action and freedom. Letting go of the past provides us the freedom to live our lives in the present. The Lord understands what you deal with your old past but, He loves you very much. He is glorified to be with you, you know He forgives you always. It's okay to ask the Lord for forgiveness and ask Him to help you moving on and seek forgiveness and make peace with other people. 

Prayer- what is it good for? Absolutely Everything

When we pray everyday, we are strengthening our walk with God. We are building our defenses against Satan, who love nothing more than to see us fail and fall as he did. If you ignore God and His commandments, He is more likely to ignore your requests. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in The Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." If you are constantly turning to God, and allowing yourself to be content in His will and His ways, He will bless you in ways you cannot even begin to imagine. The Lord has blessed me with an amazing family, and I am eternally grateful for my wife and kids even though I sometimes don't show it. We need to be careful and always have peace with them. Sometimes we have to make the hard decisions as men, and they may not understand it, and may be mad at you for it sometimes, which is why we need to turn and trust God (Prov 3:5,6). In James 5:16, it says when a believing person prays, awesome things happen. God blesses those so much who turn to Him in prayer, be it in gratitude, or suffering. We must remember God allows us to be here and He cares for us. In 1 Peter 5:7 it says to cast all of our cares upon Him because he cares for us. John 3:16 goes even further and tells how He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us. There is a special on the History Channel that talks of crucifixion and how it was meant to be the ultimate ate punishment and embarrassment. Jesus died in the most humiliating way as atonement for our sins from Our Father. King David goes on to say in Psalms," For The Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord bestows honor and favor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless, O Lord God, blessed is the man who trusts in you. In Matthew 6: 9-13 Jesus gave an example on how we should pray, called the Lords Prayer. 

Our Father who art in Heaven (acknowledging He is the supremes Being)

Hallowed be thy Name (his name is the most holy of all) 

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven ( Saying We strive to subject ourselves to His will as that is our purpose) 

Give us this day our daily bread ( a request for supplying all of our needs and he does day in and day out) 

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors ( forgive us as we forgive those who do us wrong, and give us the strength to be as loving as God is and as patient) 

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil ( keep us strong and safe from the evil one who seeks to make us fail( 1 peter 5:8)) 

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. ( again exalting His Glorious name) 

Amen

This is how Jesus prayed,a and how we ought to pray, in the same context. Jesus is our Saviour, but also our friend and brother. When God calls us His Children home, Jesus will be right there, vouching for us. He says No man comes to the Father but through me. 

John 12:44-50

Jesus Came to Save the World

 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Discipline Your Kids, Do Not be Afraid of CPS

There is a book that is called "Do you mind if your kids don't?" And it talks about disciplining your kids and the benefits and drawbacks of discipline and the drawbacks are, depending on how you discipline your kids, Child Protective Services will stick their nosy agents in your family affairs and try to take your kids.

Proverbs 13:24 says that if you don't discipline your kids then you hate them, but if you are quick to discipline them. We are the people who suffer when our kids misbehave. We must be prudent in laying down the law. Proverbs 22:6 says train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. We must continuously educate our kids everyday, even into adulthood.

Billy Currington hits it right on the head when he sings, "walk a little straighter, Daddy, you're still leading me. We are the people our kids will grow up to be, so we need to make sure we are spot on. Yes, as humans, we will make mistakes, however, Phillipians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We are made for the purpose of loving God, and through our actions, showing His love to others. We must show our kids that we love them, and it hurts us when they do not obey Gods rules or ours. We must be not only the best example for our kids, but also to the world.

Loving Your Wife as Christ Loved the Church

Loving Your Wife as Christ Loved the Church

When God created woman, He used a rib. The rib was meant to symbolize equality. He carefully designed woman to be mans partner, not another man, nor did he make two women. Christ will one day return and take all those who follow His commandments. Men, we must make sure we do something about this chronic distrust women have for men. When we encounter those who call themselves "players", we must lovingly remind them that path only leads to loneliness and despair.

{via}

As Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another."

When you counsel another man, you are doing your duty to make him a wiser person. Proverbs is known as the book of wisdom because it talks again and again about how it is wise to hold your tongue and listen to our fathers and mothers and their instructions. The same goes for other men amongst us, namely our peers.
Please make sure you deserve your wife's respect and trust. Don't keep secrets...

When we keep secrets from our wives, we are breaking our wedding vows that we made to her, and most importantly to God. Marriage is a union of two people becoming one in God's eyes as explained earlier in this post. Genesis 2:18-24 explains that the first marriage as designed by our Awesome Creator. We are to be intimate, transparent, and completely honest with our wives. Ephesians 5:25 explains that is deeper how God called us to their husbands, to protect them, and our foolish secrets do just the opposite. These are the women we asked to marry us!!! That means spend the rest of your life with her!!!! Without trust, there is no love, and you don't want to spend the rest of your life with a woman who wants to take your head off with a meat cleaver, because you betrayed her.

On an encouragement note: please be kind to your wives and love them as Christ loved the Church.

Welcome to Living a Faithful Life

Welcome to Living a Faithful Life

As of March 7, 2014 - My husband and I choose our blog named, "Living a Faithful Life." It creates a good opportunity to give spiritual guidances for those who are living in the Christian life. We help encouraging those who are improving their lives, a happy living, and creating the relationship with God. Importantly, this is all for you...

[via]

 So thank you for visiting our blog. God bless you all...