Battle Plan: Engage
Engage: (verb—action word) To become
involved, to join in, to latch on, to hitch, to get on a track or path and
stick to it; to commit to do something.
God wants us and expects us as His
people to be fully engaged with Him and this kingdom life He has called us to
(in prayer and holiness).
1 Timothy 2:1-10
I urge, then, first of all, that
petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for
kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in
all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our
Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator
between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself
as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And
for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the
truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy
hands without anger or disputing. 9 I also want the women to dress
modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate
hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good
deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
There’s a battle we need to engage in,
but let the enemy not be us, be on the right side of the battle
Luke 6:41-42
41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s
eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can
you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when
you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck
from your brother’s eye.
He doesn’t want us to be arm chair
quarterbacks, but to be in the ball game!
To quit criticizing those fully engaged and get in the game!! Be an inspiring force.
1. God’s Chosen
Genesis 18:18-19
18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and
all nations on earth will be blessed through him.[a]
19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and
his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and
just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
· God chose Abraham and had a plan for him to become great
· Abraham’s path was laid out by God
· God’s path for Abraham included many blessings and promises
along the way (as well as sacrifice and pain—garden of Gethsemane—humble
surrender in prayer)—Kingdom attitude
· Abraham had to engage as God’s chosen by keeping the way of
the Lord, doing what is right and just, directing his children and his
household.
· The promises of God were contingent upon Abraham engaging in
and embracing his chosen status
· How does this apply to us?
2 Chronicles 16:9a
9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen
those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
· God is looking for His chosen people to be fully committed
to Him
·
The humble (posture of prayer / surrender)
· Those are the ones He strengthens
· He wants us to be those people, He chose us to be those
people
· Our families and our kids need us to raise up and lead (from
our knees)
· The world needs for us to be great examples
John 12:23-26
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls
to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it
produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it,
while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever
serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father
will honor the one who serves me.
· It takes dying to self and our sinful desires (dying to self
/ humility--produces fruit. We can get
so caught up in our life, loving our life and caught up in our own thing that
we have no time to die to self let alone live a whole life devoted to Christ,
devoted in prayer and humble servitude.
· Email to singles I wrote this week about relationships and
poorly attended events
· Humble surrender to the kingdom life
2. Sin Grieves
· God
· People
Genesis 18:20-22
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and
see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not,
I will know.”
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham
remained standing before the Lord.[b]
· Think about the damage that sin has caused in your life
(your own sin and the sin of others)
· Think of how much sin hurts God (He gave His son so we can
have a relationship with Him)
· Rebelliousness is the biggest cause of sin—mankind wants to
do what they want to do
Matthew 23:37-39
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as
a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look,
your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not
see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[a]”
· God longs to have a relationship with all of us
· Most people are not willing
· Man is not inherently good, but evil
Genesis 6:5
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had
become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human
heart was only evil all the time.
3. Boldly Speaking To
The Lord
Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee though no one pursues,
but the
righteous are as bold as a lion.
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each
other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous person is powerful and effective.
Genesis 18:23-33
23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away
the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous
people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous
people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the
righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be
it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city
of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am
nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the
righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of
five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said,
“I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found
there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will
not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak.
What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I
find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to
the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I
will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak
just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I
will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left,
and Abraham returned home.
· Abraham had a close walk with God
· What he was asking fell in the area of God’s will that as
many people be saved as possible
· Not a selfish, but a Godly desire on Abraham’s part
Psalm 34:15-19
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears
are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out
their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers
them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those
who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord
delivers him from them all;
No comments:
Post a Comment