Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33 NLT Ps Peter Nicholes Sunday 24 th March, 2019
Righteousness is right standing Before God Before ourselves Before the devil Before man Holy Spirit Our Conscience Spiritual realm in this dark world On earth On the day when I act, says the LORD Almighty, they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. Malachi 3:17-18 2
3 Sin Levels Sin you are aware of and you deal with it daily Sin you are not aware of and you are under grace until. Sin you are aware of but choose to ignore because you get a secondary gain For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14 NIV 3
Level 1 Sin You are aware of and deal with it. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." 1 Peter 1:13-16 NASB and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; 1 Peter 2:24 NASB 4
2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and welldeveloped, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4 MSG Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 1 Peter 4:1-4 NIV Level 2 Sin Unaware of sin until a trial of maturity comes upon you For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 1 Peter 3:12 NIV Trials and temptations that form righteousness in you 5
Level 3 Sin Kryptonite = known and practiced sin No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. I never knew you, who practiced lawlessness 1 John 3:6-9 NIV Matthew 7:23 NKJV 6
Spirit of this age Tolerance is Kryptonite I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. Revelation 2:19-20 NASB Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits. Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NKJV 7
Kingdom advancement can only be done through righteousness But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a person is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:2-5 NIV Cannot inherit the Kingdom of God Idolatry is when the believer is given over to sin 8
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. A seared Conscience is when Kryptonite is at work 2 Corinthians 4:2 NIV The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 NIV 9
Communion Southern Lights will always reveal kryptonite Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Acts 20:26-27 NIV By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-27 10
Godly Sorrow vs Worldly Sorrow Godly Sorrow Hurt my God Sorrow about Him Pray, cry out for grace weak to strong Empowering Grace Worldly Sorrow Hurt my ministry/position Sorrow about US Feel ashamed, want to hide! Permissible Grace yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 NIV 11