A Surprising Way to Get Closer to God

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.'

- Matthew 6:19-24

What does it mean to get closer to God?

'Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you... '

- James 4:8a

To get closer to God is to know His love and love Him more.

'We love because he first loved us. '

- 1 John 4:19

'And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. '

- Matthew 22:37-38

We should give God our hearts - but that’s easier said than done.

No one can serve two masters...

- Matthew 6:24a

Giving money to God can help us give our hearts to Him.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

- Matthew 6:21

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light…

- Matthew 6:22a

Our awareness of God’s love will grow and we will be closer to Him.

Ignite the Flame: Enthusiastic Faith in Witness and Worship

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

- 2 Timothy 1:5-7

Power to shine, not shrink back

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power

- 2 Timothy 1:6-7

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

- Acts 1:8

Love that’s expressive, not evasive

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love…

- 2 Timothy 1:7b

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

- 1 John 4:18

Freedom to act, not hold back

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

- 2 Timothy 1:7c

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

- 2 Samuel 6:1-5

The Power of the Holy Spirit

8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

- Romans 15:8-9

Humanity is distant from God by default.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

- Romans 3:23

We’ve been fooled by fakes.

25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

- Romans 1:25

A real God does real things.

24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

- Romans 3:24

17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

- Romans 15:17-19

Let God do something real in you and through you.

20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. -

Romans 15:20

“Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

- Romans 15:21

The Purpose of the Holy Spirit

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

- John 14:16-17

The Holy Spirit came to be everything we need.

We need someone to lead us to Jesus.

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

- John 15:26

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

- John 16:13-14

We need someone to help us grow.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

- Galatians 5:16-17

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

- Galatians 5:22-23

We need a purpose and the power to fulfill it.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

- Acts 1:8

Seek the Holy Spirit.

Seek the presence of the Holy Spirit.

8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

- Galatians 6:8

Seek the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

- Acts 1:5

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

God made a great promise.

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

- Joel 2:28-29

God keeps His promises.

'This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. '

- Acts 2:32-33 

6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

- Galatians 4:6-7

If we want to experience God’s promise, then we need to fulfill God’s premise.

32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved…

- Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21

Draw near to God.

' On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. '

- John 7:37-39

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

- Acts 2:37-39

12“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

- Joel 2:12-13

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. - John 14:16-18

The Holy Spirit Is Not a 'Something,' He’s a ‘Someone’

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, - John 14:16

The Holy Spirit Is Not Forceful, He’s Faithful

"Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

- John 14:17

The Holy Spirit Is Not Distant, He’s Intimate

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

- Romans 8:15-16

The Holy Spirit Is Not Just Present, He’s Transformational

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,[a] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

- 2 Corinthians 3:18

Butter than Anger

33 For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife. - Proverbs 31:25-30

We get angry when something we hold dear is threatened.

Anger can build.

For as churning cream produces butter… - Proverbs 30:33 (NIV)

Anger can break.

…pressing the nose produces blood...

- Proverbs 30:33

God’s anger is outweighed by God’s love.

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…

- Exodus 34:6

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

- Luke 23:34

Let go of anger and look at our situations with love.

We can look to God.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- Hebrews 4:15-16

We can look at ourselves.

We can look at others.

Me, Myself and I

“For as he thinks within HIMSELF, so he is.”

- Proverbs 23:7 (NASB)

“Do you see a person wise in his OWN eyes? There is more hope for a fool than him.”

- Proverbs 25:12 (NASB)

“Those who trust in THEMSELVES are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe”

- Proverbs 28:26 (NIV)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your OWN understanding.”

- Proverbs 3:5 (NASB)

Self is the number 1 enemy of God.

12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

- Ezekiel 28:12-14 (NASB)

 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew.

- Isaiah 6:1-2 (NASB)

You were blameless in your waysFrom the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.

- Ezekiel 28:15 (NASB)

How you have fallen from heaven, You star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who defeated the nations! 13 But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

- Isaiah 14:12-17 (NASB)

16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [a]eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

- Gen 2:16-17 (NASB)

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

- Rom 4:19 (NIV)

Trusting in yourself leads to nowhere.

2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

- Revelations 5:2-4 (NASB)

Through Christ, you are freed from yourself.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

- Galatians 2: 20 (NASB)

Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

- Colossians 2: 6-7 (NASB)

Allow God to love you.

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

- Romans 2: 4 (NASB)

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

- Luke 15:1-7

The Lazy Sermon

The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway. - Proverbs 15:19

Laziness is an attempt to find comfort.

9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest…

- Proverbs 6:9-10

Laziness is a trap.

11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

- Proverbs 6:11

Jesus Christ set us free and sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter.

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

- John 14:6

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

- John 14:16-17, ESV

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… 

- John 14:16, KJVAE

Don’t settle for the pursuit of comfort. Pursue the Comforter!

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

- John 15:4-5

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

- John 15:7, 10

The Holy Spirit leads us into a rhythm of rewarding work and rest.

…the path of the upright is a level highway.

- Proverbs 15:19

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 

- John 15:8-9

I Want More!

Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.

- Proverbs 12:9

One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

- Proverbs 13:7

We can be enticed by everything this world has to offer.

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

- Ecclesiastes 1:2

God made us to be satisfied by more.

11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

- Ecclesiastes 3:11

11He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

- Ecclesiastes 3:11, AMP

We should turn our focus from the temporary to the timeless.

19  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where  moth and rust  destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

- Matthew 6:19-21

Living for things that last leads to satisfaction that lasts.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

- Matthew 6:33