THE MONDAY MORNING PREACHER’S PACKAGE
CODE 100609-18
CONTENTS:
MESSAGE 1 – THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
MESSAGE 2 – THE LAST VERSE OF THE 19TH PSALM
MESSAGE 3 – THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN APOSTOLIC HEART
MESSAGE 4 – A LIVING SACRIFICE
MESSAGE 5 – HUMILITY—THE PRIDELESS LIFESTYLE
EXTRA SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS
FREE SERMON OF CHARLES SPURGEON’S – THE FAITH OF RAHAB
MESSAGE 1
THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
By Eddie Lawrence
Introduction:
In the first church I ever pastored there was a sweet little older lady that would often approach me and spit out a little rhyme for me. At the age of 25, I suppose she thought a little grandmotherly advice was in order for me and she was right. Here is the rhyming advice she would share:
WHERE GOD LEADS YOU HE WILL FEED YOU.
WHERE GOD GUDIES HE PROVIDES.
Now through the years, there have been sermons and stories I do not recall, but this little rhyme is still emblazoned in my memory and quiet honestly has brought encouragement to me in many circumstances. I also have passed in on to many other people. It is true, if we will follow where He leads and guides then He will be responsible to get to us what we need to do what He has told us to do.
Proposition:
There are times when we must have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is not to say that we do not need His guidance at all times; but, it is to say, that there are times that in order to go further, to go deeper, we need revelation from the Spirit of God. Such an occasion happens in all our lives, as it did the early disciples.
John 16: 12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bearthemnow.13However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His ownauthority,but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declareitto you.15All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declareitto you.[c]
Transition:Let me draw some truths from this passage as talk about the Guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
1. THERE IS MORE THAT JESUS WANTS TO SAY TO YOU
John 16: 12“I still have many things to say to you,
A. There is a body of truth and knowledge that Jesus desires for us all to attain. He desires that we grown in our understanding and knowledge of truth.
B. Jesus does desire to speak to you. That is, you can hear the words of Jesus spoken into your soul. The first requirement is to first meet him. Then, after you meet him, you can begin to converse with him. In other words, believer, you are invited into a conversation with Jesus. In these verses before us today, we are given some insight as to how the protocol of conversation with Jesus takes place.
Illus—I once heard a Bible teacher explain that God deals with us like peeling an onion. One layer at a time. He does this because we could not bear for Him to show us everything He needs to do at one time. He deals with us issue by issue, attitude by attitude, one truth and then another. Each step of the way, the goal is that we become more like Christ. We are His workmanship (Eph. 2:10). We all are a work in progress.
Question: Let me pause for a second and just ask you something. What is HE dealing with you about right now in the season you are in? How is it going? Peeling those layers can be painful can’t it? Just know, if He is dealing with you about it, then it means He knows it’s time for you to hear it and bear it.
2. CERTAIN CONDITIONS HAVE TO OCCUR IN ORDER FOR YOU LEARN MORE
…,but you cannot bearthemnow.
The first two of these thing we pretty much just dealt with. But let me share these three conditions together.
A. His willingness to share
B. Our ability to bear
C. The timing in our growth process
Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you.” This statement came after three years of daily interaction and discipleship. Yet, there was more that they would need to fully understand what that first three years was all about. In context, we know that they knew Jesus as their Lord, but they had not yet been given the Holy Spirit who would guide them deeper. We also know that certain events would have to take place in order for them to understand more:
1) They would need the Holy Spirit’s indwelling ministry of illumination and prophetic understanding.
2)They would need the historical event of the Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
So, by principle, we can also know that in our own lives that there are certain things that may need to happen around us and in us in order to go to the next live of understanding and revelation. We live life in the Spirit but our bodies walk in out within the boundaries of time.
3. THERE IS A DEFINITE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT INTO YOUR LIFE
13However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
A. There is a historical moment for the Spirit coming to the Church
Acts 2
B. There is a historical moment for the Spirit coming to the Christian
Romans 8:9
Do you know for sure that the Holy Spirit has come into your life? If not, you can be sure. At the end of this message today, we will invite you to come to make sure about the important matter of knowing Jesus and inviting Him into your life asking Him to flood your heart full of His Holy Spirit.
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH
…,He will guide you into all truth;
A. I remind you that earlier in John 14:6, Jesus shared with them that he was the truth. Therefore, the ministry of the Holy Spirit as our guide is to take us deeper into the person of Jesus Christ. The totality of life is to be related to Him as the core and center of all truth. Think of this in light of these verses:
John 1: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was in the beginning with God.3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Colossians 1: 16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.17And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19For it pleasedthe Father thatin Him all the fullness should dwell,20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Hebrews 1: 1God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,2has in these last days spoken to us byHisSon, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;3who being the brightness ofHisglory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself[a]purged our[b]sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,4having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Illus—A young lady once asked a minister why the Lord allowed her to marry a young man who later was unfaithful and left her. The minister simply responded with the question, “Before you married, did you ask God who you should marry?” She responded that she had not. The minister then asked another question, “Is it fair to blame God for what happened since you never even asked Him if you should marry this man?” The young lady then understood how she had been blaming God for something she never asked His guidance about.
One of the wonderful assurances we have as believers is that we have the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth. The Lord desires to give us direction. Often we have not because we ask not. I encourage you to make the life long decision to consult with God on your decisions. It is amazing how He can alert you and direct you through His Word and His Spirit. Jesus promised us that we would be guided by the Holy Spirit. Take Him at His promise!
THINK ABOUT IT:
-What pain we could avoid
-What blessing we could attain
If we but allow the Spirit of God to do what he was sent to do, to guide us into all truth.
5. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ON A MISSION IN YOUR LIFE
You tend to think you are on a mission for God but more importantly God is on a mission in you.
….;for He will not speak on His ownauthority,but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declareitto you.15All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declareitto you.[c]
The preceding verses teach us some great truths about the Holy Spirit:
-He is sent by Jesus
-He speaks what He hears
-He will speak about future things
-He will glorify Jesus
-He speaks and imparts to you what belongs to Jesus
Think About It:
The Father speaks to Jesus. Jesus speaks to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to you. You are invited into the sweet communion that is taking place between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. You are there through Jesus who is your mediator, Elder brother, and Savior.
It is as if they were in a conference room (the realm of the Spirit) enjoying sharing their hearts and wisdom with one another and then Jesus tells the Father about you. The Father shares with Jesus what He would like to give you. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit out of the room (into the realm of the natural) with that wisdom to where you are and delivers that wisdom to you.
MESSAGE 2
This makes a great devotional talk or for a brief Sermon.
THE LAST VERSE OF THE 19TH PSALM
By Eddie Lawrence
INTRODUCTION: Some years ago it was common place in the schools across America for students to begin their day with a bible reading and a prayer. In many cases, students were called upon to memorize Scriptures and recite them. One of the Bible verses that many students memorized is the last verse of the 19th Psalm. It reads:
Psalm 19:
14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
The reason this verse was and is so popular among people that memorize Scripture is that it contains two areas of our lives, that if mastered, positions us to have a life more well-lived. Those two areas are:
1. What we think
2. What we speak
TRANSITION -- What we think and what we speak are important to God and should be important to us. If we can effectively experience godly change in these two areas of our lives, we would live in victory as never before. Please allow me to share some really neat truths with you in this brief little message that can bring big powerful results:
First notice 3 Quick Observations about How We are to Live.
This verse addresses:
1. The Words of my mouth---What we speak.
At over 25,000 words daily spoken, our mouths can quickly get us into more trouble than we have time to get out of. So this verse speaks about what we speak.
2. The Meditations of my heart---What we think.
What we speak usually flows out of what we think.
What’s in the well, will come up in the bucket. Sometimes our bucket mouths show we are drawing water out of a muddy well. This verse gives points out that we need God’s help concerning what we think.
3. The Standard—Pleasing in God’s sight. This is the goal, to have a mind and mouth that God can be pleased with. The only way that can happen is with God’s help.
Now that we see the three areas this verse addresses, lets--
Secondly notice 2 Great Resources God gives us to live by this great verse:
1. God’s strength—It is through His power and only through His power that we can speak and think the right things
Sometimes we speak before thinking and it gets us into trouble and sometimes we don’t speak but it is in our heart anyway and that gets us into trouble.
James says, “No man can tame the tongue!” This is true. God is the only tongue tamer.
Joke—Did you hear about the lady who came forward during the invitation and told the Pastor that she wanted to lay her tongue on the altar? The Pastor said, “Lady this altar is only 30 feet long.”
Seriously, misusing our tongues is no laughing matter. People can be devastated by our gossip and criticism. We need the power of God in our hearts to purify the words that flow out of our mouths.
2. God’s Redemption—when we speak or think in an ungodly way we are meditating on and sending forth those things from which Christ died to redeem us.
We are to experience victory because we have been redeemed from those things. They should not lord over us. We are to lord over them because The Lord is in us through His redeeming power.
When the Psalmist cries out “O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer”, he is decreeing over his life that in order for his mouth and his mind to please God, He relies upon the strength and redemption of God to transform him.
We need to realize that often in order to see someone else’s life experience the strength and redemption of the Lord in their life, that we need to think and speak the right words concerning them. If we do not, we may be found releasing the very word s that the enemy may use to drive them further from the Lord. God help us! God help us! God help us to draw upon his power and redemption to saturate our minds and mouths so that our thoughts and our words will be pleasing in His sight.