Memory Verse: John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Transcription

1 Part 2 1 Memory Verse: John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. In Part 1 of our lesson we have discovered what it means to be In Christ. We learned many contrasts that the Bible uses to teach that new life for the believer has a specific start and is not just something that we describe ourselves as based on some religious experience or church ordinance. Many of us have learned and experienced that in the beginning of our new relationship with Christ, not everything just turned around and became new. We were faced with many of the same challenges, the same temptations and the same strongholds that continued to haunt us with thoughts and cravings. All of this while perhaps still in the middle of the consequences for the way that we have lived and the choices that we have made. One would agree that when we awaken to each new day and are faced with the same frustrations and challenges, it may not appear that all things or even anything has become new. One essential thing that we must not do when we look at Scripture is to base the authority or power of Scripture by the way that we feel on the inside or the way that circumstances appear to be on the outside. In other words, when we look at our text we do not believe that all things are become new just because we see things begin to change. Neither do we base our agreement to the text because we see all things beginning to change that appear to be good. What we must do is look at the verse in its meaning and when we have an understanding of the meaning we can apply it to our lives and reap the blessings of it. There is a truth in the verse that if overlooked, can cause one to miss the priceless value of its promise. Look closely old things ARE passed away, behold, all things ARE become new. It is not based on what we think or feel, it is based on the truth of God s word! There are many things that we become partakers of the moment we become God s child. We understand the value of these things as we learn what they are and the only way that we will learn what they are is by continuing to grow in our knowledge of the Word of God. Before you today awaits a lifetime of new things that God has in store for those that love Him and belong to Him. As we look at some of the new things do not be discouraged if they are not visible in your life as it appears to be today. Just trust that the Lord has your best interest at heart and that He has a plan that may at times look like any other plan but the plan that you would choose for yourself. As you are patient with Him, if for no other reason than, He has been patient with you you will see ALL of these new things unfold down through the years and see that God s plans are best for you! Write down some of the new things that you are already beginning to experience since you have invited Christ into your life, or since you have rededicated your life to Him.

2 For the remainder of our lesson we will not attempt to make an exhaustive list of all of the new things that we are referring to in the Bible that are ours. But for the sake of placing more weapons in our spiritual arsenal we will see what God s Word says that some of these new things are! 2 We will take a closer look at the following: The New Process, New Peace, New Protection, New Power and New Purpose. We have a NEW PROCESS. When we first come to know Jesus as our Savior and begin our new life with Him, it is doubtful that any of us know of the process that the Bible describes as sanctification. In John 17, Jesus prayed to God the Father for His disciples that God would sanctify them. John 17:17 - Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. The word sanctify as it is used here means to separate from sinful things and dedicate to God or to set apart things to God. Since Jesus is speaking of His disciples in this prayer, we would be correct in saying that the same request pertains to us as well. What we must understand is that separating from sinful things and our being set apart for God is a process and never intended as being taught to be an overnight thing. Yes, we are set apart the moment we get saved, and from that moment we begin the process of learning how to live that way. Based on the truth of this single verse in John 17:17 we now know that we have an opportunity to be involved in the new process that God desires to use in order to bring about the change that we need. We not only see how this change is described (being sanctified) but we also see in the same verse the means that God uses in order to bring about the change.. Through thy truth, thy word is truth. Yes, it takes discipline and time but the means that the Lord has chosen for us to change is through the knowledge and application of His word because His word is absolute truth. Before we get into some of the passages in the Bible that convey this principle, let s think for a little time how this principle has revealed itself in our lives in the past when we think of truth. Since we know based on what we have just read in John 17:17 that God s plan for change is through the knowledge and application of His word because He has stated that His word is truth; it only makes sense for us to confess that what we have been doing has all been the expression of deception. Those of us that have been or perhaps are currently in active addiction may want to ask ourselves a startling question. Do we really believe that what we were doing, or what we are doing, is really real? If that is true than it confirms the fact that people act on what they believe to be real! What is alarming and sometimes tragic is that addicts can reach the point where they believe that the lie of what the drink or the drug is telling them is real. This belief is followed by a destructive plunge based on the hopeless attempt to hold on to a feeling (high) that we cannot hold on to while at the very same time it is truly doing what it does and that is to continue the process of stripping us of all that we have to reach its ultimate objective. How would you describe in your own words the lies that a person must believe in order to remain in active addiction?

3 3 In Hebrews 12:1 we are told to lay aside the sin that easily besets us. Hebrews 12:1 - Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. There is an interesting word in this verse that the Holy Spirit inspired the writer of Hebrews to use and it s the word beset. The word beset as it is used here means to be skillfully surrounding. In other words we can be skillfully surrounded by our habitual sin. Does that not sound like addiction to you? So then, it would be very accurate for us to say that every sin that so easily besets (skillfully surrounds) us is the result in the belief of a lie and believing that the lie is real. How can addiction skillfully surround a person? Look also at what Paul wrote in Romans 7:11 - For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew (to kill in any way whatever) me. According to this verse, before sin can ever reach its objective to kill it must first reach its objective to deceive. We will never experience the worse that sin has to offer if we do not first allow ourselves to be deceived by it. There is only one way to overcome deception and that is the knowledge and application of absolute truth. TRUTH, one of the EXTREMELY important reasons that Jesus came!

4 4 If I were to ask you, for what reason did Jesus come into the world, what would you say? There is more than one correct answer but there is one that most of us would not even consider giving attention to that lays the foundation for all other reasons. It is found in John 18: Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. 33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, AANDD FFORR TTHIISS CCAAUUSSEE CCAAMEE II IINTTO TTHEE WORRLLDD,, TTHAATT II SSHOUULLDD BBEEAARR WIITTNEESSSS UUNTTO TTHEE TTRRUUTTH.. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. Jesus also refers to Himself as truth. John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. We now have a Biblical understanding that Jesus Christ is the foundation for truth and that deception is what has taken us captive. The Word of God is our resource for truth and we know that we are changed (sanctified) by the truth that is available to us. John 8:32 sums up the entire NEW PROCESS! John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. What an incredible possibility is ours, that we might finally have the privilege of being set free! John does not declare that the truth might set us free, he says that it WILL set us free and according to verse 36 of the same chapter he says that we will be free indeed.which means, truly or in reality!! So then, we are saved at once, the moment that we trust Christ as our Savior and are granted forgiveness based on our request of having it. Following our salvation experience, we begin to grow in our faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of His word. It is during this spiritual growth process (sanctification) that we experience real change that will take place for the rest of our lives as God s power works in and through our lives. Now that you know that you can experience the change in your life that God desires for you to experience and you know that the change will take place by the knowledge and application of His word, the Bible; why not

5 5 right now commit to doing your part to stay faithful to reading and learning God s Word for the rest of your life! Dear God, I am committing myself to the study of your Word. I admit that I do not always understand all that I read, but I want to learn and grow. With your help I will do my part to read my Bible daily and place myself in the environments that you provide for me to learn and grow in my walk with you. Your name: Today s date: Yes, it is a NEW PROCESS, but one that is worth all of the time and effort when we see God work His amazing grace in our lives!! We have a NEW PEACE. The word peace is found in the Old Testament 334 times and is also found in the New Testament 116 times for a grand total of 450 times. It is obvious by anyone s observation of the Word of God that God is serious about being our source of peace. It is also obvious that He not only desires to be the source of our peace but also desires for us to have a clear understanding of the peace that He freely offers to anyone that desires to have it. God s word is rich in truth and a wellspring of blessings and hope for every one that chooses to believe. But what we must understand is that our believing the Bible is not what makes it truth. We must understand that the Bible does not just contain truth, it is absolute truth, whether we believe it or not! So then, when we read what the Bible has to say concerning a certain subject, whatever the subject may be, we can place all of our trust in the authority of absolute truth concerning that subject. Since most of us would admit that what we and the rest of the world have been searching for, in some form or fashion is peace, then the only way to find it is to find it God s way, in His word! Have you ever begun to get stronger in a certain area of your life that you were weak and still not have peace in your life? Have you ever overcome the addiction of something or another and still not had peace? Have you ever thought, through this process of sobriety that someday you may be content and you have not been? The absence of peace in a person s life is like rain without the possibility of a rainbow, it is like prosperity without fulfillment, it is like being lonely in a crowded room, it is like trying to fill the void in your heart for God with something or someone else it is like life without really living. What were some of the ways that you can look back in your life and see that you tried to find peace but continued to come up empty? Like anything else that we have a longing for, in order to have it in it s genuineness we must first find what it truly means for the Christian to have peace.

6 6 Perhaps a definition that most accurately depicts what the Bible conveys concerning the word peace would be the following definition: For the Christian, it is the restful state of a person assured of their salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God by the knowledge of belonging to God and their contentment with being in the center of the will of God. The Bible also refers to it as completeness, soundness, safety, quietness and tranquility. With that having been said we will spend the remainder of our time learning some of the ways that the Bible refers to the subject of peace and we will conclude with a Biblical example of a woman who acquired this peace through none other than the Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus! In doing so I would encourage you to look these verses up in your Bible and underline or highlight them so that you can become familiar with them. For our Bible knowledge: The Bible refers to the God of peace in Romans 15:33, Romans 16:20, Phillippians 4:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 13:20. The Bible refers to the peace of God in Phillippians 4:7 and Colossians 3:15. We read the Apostle Peter in his first letter saying, peace be with you in 1 Peter 5:14. The Bible says that He (God) is our peace in Ephesians 2: The Bible says that we can have peace with our enemies by pleasing the Lord in Proverbs 16:7. In Isaiah 26:3 the Bible teaches us that we can have peace of mind. In Isaiah 54:13 the Bible teaches us how we can have peace for our children. Psalm 4:8 tells us that we can lie down and sleep in peace. Psalm 29:11 tells us that the Lord will bless His people with peace. Psalm 34:14 tells us that we are to seek peace and pursue it. Isaiah 48:18 tells us that if we hearken (listened) to the Lord s commands, we will have peace as a river. Psalm 85:10 tells us that godliness and peace go together. Psalm 119:165 says that there is great peace for those that love God s word. We are instructed in Proverbs 3:1,2 that the keeping of God s word would bring long life and peace. The Scriptures that we have just mentioned are just a fragment of the promises that pertain to peace that God has for those that have a hunger and thirst to possess. When God freely offers, he freely gives. We know that this peace cannot be obtained without our first being In Christ. This peace is therefore for the believer to possess and keep for as long as he or she chooses to have it.

7 What do some or all of these verses teach you concerning the opportunity that we have to experience peace with God? 7 We have undeniably heard the good news, and there is more, but we would not rightly divide God s word without a clear understanding and an alarming warning for those that possess a false sense of peace today with the possibility of finding that out after it is too late. Psalms 85:8 - I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. We see in this verse that there is a way for us to sacrifice the peace that we had once obtained. It is clear by the truth of this verse that the Lord speaks peace to His people. But it also warns us of the danger of turning again to our folly (sin) and losing our peace with God. We are not speaking of losing our relationship with God but rather the fellowship with God that we have experienced when we are in a right relationship with Him. The Bible also clearly states that there is no peace for the wicked. Look at the contrast in the following verses describing those that have peace and those that do not. With God: Isaiah 57:2 - He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. Isaiah 57:19 - I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. We see here, peace for the backslider who returns to God! Without God: Isaiah 57:21 - There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. (Referring to one who is guilty of sin against God) Isaiah 59:8 - The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. One of the ways for us to apply God s word to our lives is to find a Biblical example of the area in which we desire help in and to see how that example can be lived out in our day to day living. As we have stated previously, there are many examples to choose from in the Bible. One that closely relates to this matter of peace and how to obtain it is found in 5 th chapter of the Book of Mark.

8 8 Mark 5: And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. While we describe the way that she obtained her cure, perhaps it might serve as a mirror in which many of us have seen or even currently see ourselves. What we can learn from how she received her PEACE: Verse 25&26 Her condition and her attempt to get better she persevered! A certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, The woman described here appears, on the surface, to be suffering only because of her physical infirmity on the inside. But when we understand the religious culture of that day we see much more than an illness that could bring her to despair. In the Book of Leviticus, chapter 15, we see the description of a case like hers. She was described as being unclean, her clothes were unclean, where she had sat would have become unclean and anyone that touched her would have become unclean until that same evening in spite of washing themselves. So we see that in addition to the continued weakness that she suffered from her illness she was also considered an outcast under the oppression of the Law. This only added to her sense of hopelessness and created loneliness that perhaps most of us know very little about. This helps us to understand why she may have come silently to Jesus because she had been used to keeping herself out of the sight of others. We read that while she was doing everything she could to find help, she continued to get worse. This may not be exactly what most of us have done; we may have never tried everything we could do to get better. In fact, it may look more like the total opposite of what we have done. Many people do not pay very much attention to getting better which will only make things grow worse. The lady that we read of did not struggle with an addiction but she did struggle with something that was much bigger than she was and she tried everything within her own energy and resources to get better. Describe how your struggle may have been similar in some ways to her struggle.

9 9 Verses 27 & 28 Hearing and doing. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. She had heard about Jesus and she made an intentional decision to act upon what she heard. She responded to what she heard by going to where Jesus was. When she did she acted upon what she believed. In other words, she did something about what she heard! Romans 10:17 So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Many of us can think back to a time, perhaps to the very subtle ways that we now know that God was trying to get our attention. We heard about Jesus and we may have even given some thought to doing something about what we heard. But somehow we managed to put the thought of asking Him for help off of our list of priorities and our addiction once again took center stage. For our learning: God never forces Himself into anyone s life; He comes in to help by invitation. But He does often times orchestrate the circumstances in order that we might see our need for Him. When He does, never turn Him down. Write one or two times when you remember that God was trying to get your attention. Stop for a few moments of prayer and ask God to help you to be sensitive to His voice when He is lovingly trying to get your attention. Then ask Him for the help to be obedient to whatever it is when He has your undivided attention. Verse 29 She believed, she acted and she received. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. In this example we notice that in order for this lady to have her need met there was an order that she believed she needed to follow. We learn that she first believed what she heard, she acted upon what she believed (that Jesus could heal her) and by faith, she reached out to Jesus for the help that she needed. What are some of your needs that you believe God will meet in your life?

10 10 Verses 33 & 34 - Her receiving peace was preceded by her speaking truth. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. What a beautiful picture that this lady is now able to speak openly and honestly about her experience. If she was tempted by embarrassment or humiliation concerning her condition of the past, she had obviously overcome those feelings. She fell down before Jesus and simply told Him all the truth. She knew that if anyone would be accepting and compassionate, it would be Him. We would not assume that her infirmity was due to her own poor choices. However, we do know that her infirmity caused her to be socially rejected by others and perhaps emotionally defeated in time. Jesus told her that her faith made her whole, or sound, which means to be free from injury, disease or illness. Jesus responded to her faith and granted her healing which would undeniably produce an amazing sense of peace in her heart and mind. In fact, Jesus tells her to go in peace which gives the impression that this was not simply a peace for the moment but a peace that will be with you wherever you go and forever as you go! What are some areas in your life that you have a desire for God to give you peace about? Have you tried everything else and you still do not have peace? Have you like this lady suffered many things and have not gotten any better but gotten worse? Are you getting tired of doing the same things that bring satisfaction but for a moment and are gone like the wind only to be seen as the counterfeit that they were? Hopefully you are learning and personally experiencing that a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ is the way to peace in this life and the life after. If you have not experienced this peace I would encourage you to reach out to Jesus by faith, have your sins forgiven; receive Him as your Savior and the peace that He offers will be yours!