Sermons
Abiding in Light, Life, and Love II
Series: Abiding in Light, Life, and LoveLink to sermon video: Abiding in Light, Life and Love II - L Siegle
Abiding in Light, Life, and Love II
(Matthew 7:21-23)
Thesis: The invitation to ABIDE means “knowing” God in a real and personal way.
INTRODUCTION
1. The title of this series is, Abiding in Light, Life, and Love II
2. There is a direct relationship between “hearing God” “knowing God” and “doing that which is right”
a. Stephen Covey (1932-2012) --Educator, Author, Businessman, Speaker who wrote: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People…once said, ““Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
b. Life is all about “the process” =è the “movement” =è “directionality” necessary to arrive at the proper
“destination”
c. Have you ever bought a piece of furniture from IKEA -- “Swedish word, ‘these directions to assemble don’t make
sense’
1) “Batteries not included; some assembly required” --
2) I never read the instructions (always had parts left over in the end).
3) The Bible is the “manufacturers handbook because HE created us”
4) Do we ever actually read the “fine print”?
3. We talked about the meaning of “abide” which means to “remain” but this implies that we are in the right position
(place) to actually remain where God wants us to be, and therefore to do what He wants us to do.
OLD COVENANT ESTABLISHED
1. God established His “Covenant” with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and at later at Mt. Sinai Moses with the entire
“nation” of Israel as they were liberated from Egyptian “bondage” (Exod. 24:1-18).
a. The people were told “all the words of the Lord and all of the judgments” (v. 3).
b. “Covenant” establishes the ‘boundaries of relationship’ and includes rewards and punishments (blessings and
curses) (Deut. 28:2, 3)--the “blessings” that would arise from obedience. (Deut. 28:15)--the “curses” that would
come as the result of disobedience.
2. The “covenant” was established on the basis of “blood” (Exod. 24:5-8)--REASON: (Lev. 17:11, 14)
a. The basis of “covenant” was understood to be a matter of life and death (relationship or separation).
b. The seriousness of sin is understood and there is a reminder that “shedding” the “blood” was required in order to
obtain forgiveness (Heb. 9:22).
c. The Old Covenant was given to Israel to help them to understand “the process” involved in the “covenant’ (Heb.
10:1-4)
NEW COVENANT ESTABLISHED
1. God, through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (I Cor. 15:1-4) established the “better” covenant in
what was accomplished by Christ through the Cross (Heb. 9:11-15).
a. The New Covenant had been foretold (Jer. 31:31-34).
b. Israel had “broken” their “covenant” with God and thus God would make a “new” one--a “better” one
1) No more “laws” written on ‘stone tablets’--now God would write His “laws” into the hearts of the people (v.
33).
2) Every person who would become part of this “new” covenant would first come to know God (Rom. 10:17).
3) The “process” would be “obedience” based upon having an intimate relationship with God, not just the
“facts” or “going through the motions” --(Rom. 6:17) ---obedience from the heart.
2. There are people around us (friends, relatives, family, children) who see what we do, and sometimes just “imitate”
what they see--but God wants more--the actions must arise from within the heart of the people, not just ‘following
the crowd’ around them.
a. How many times have we seen those who were “raised in the church” later just fall away?
b. Children must be shown and encouraged to develop their own, personal faith in who God is and what God has
done (parents cannot carry their children along forever).
DOING WITHOUT KNOWING (Matt. 7:21-23).
1. All of us are ‘accountable’ to God (Rom. 14:12).
a. Calling Jesus ‘Lord’ is not the same as Him actually being Lord of our lives (Luke 6:46).
b. Faith means having a daily, intimate trust in God, to walk with Him each day, to look to Him for a sense of
guidance and direction in our lives.
1) “So, what is God doing in your life right now?” (deer in the headlights stare).
2) “What people, situations, and circumstances did HE USE to speak to our lives this past week?”
2. Those people just had a “list of stuff” they had done (Matt. 7:22) --There was a gap between “doing the will of my
Father” and what was on their list!
a. The implication here was that even their ability to employ the use of “spiritual gifts” (casting out demons, doing
“wonders” (miracles) was not evidence of the inseparable relationship between “hearing” “knowing” and “doing”
what God wanted them to do.
1) Jesus told them, “I never knew you” (perhaps the saddest words to ever hear) (Matt. 7:23).
2) Saul of Tarsus through he was faithfully serving God--he was mistaken. Later, he made sure he was in tune
with the will of God (I Cor. 9:27; II Cor. 13:5).
3) Do we remember the four things that Stephen Covey gave to demonstrate the “process” of life?
a) Sow a thought…Reap an action
c) Sow an action…Reap a habit
d. Sow a habit…Reap a character
e. Sow a character…Reap a destiny
4) This very “process” goes on each and every day of our lives.
3. God wants to give us a life of “joy” and “abundance” (John 10:10)--not the way the world measures it.
ASSIGNMENT THIS WEEK
1. Focus on how and what we THINK (Rom. 12:1-2).
2. Become ACTIVE from our transformed thoughts to become action (Exod. 24)
3. Be CONSISTENT in our actions to become habits (Ge. 6:22).
4. Allow our CHARACTER to be shaped by consistency of action
5. Look beyond the immediate results that realize a godly DESTINATION is the result of a godly devotion
CONCLUSION
1. God wants us to enter into the “secret place” (Psa. 91:1, 2).
2. This week we are going to pay close attention to the people, circumstances, and situations of life to begin to evaluate
what it is that God is doing in our lives.
3. We are going to better understand the “process” of where we are and how it is that we can move into the direction of
where HE wants us to be.
