Understanding the Laws of Life and Death [part III]

Bishop George Davis, 8:30 am service September 11,2011
 Before I share these notes with you, I'd like to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives in 9/11. May God bless and comfort the family, friends and cities they left behind. 


--> Deuteronomy 30:19
--> John 10:10 ["The enemy only comes to steal kill and destroy..." ]


-Jesus says he came so that you may have life and have it more abundantly - meaning that the idea of god taking you through hardships to "teach you a lesson" is absolutely contradictory to the Word of God.


- We shouldn't have a problem with the enemy throwing challenges our way because we already have the answer!! [Jesus] Just like you don't have a problem with your teacher giving you a pop quiz if you know every answer. 


* Learn to make choices that align with the Word of God so that it becomes habits that align with the Word of God. Those habits become a character that aligns with the Word of God and having a character that aligns with the Word of God leads to living a life that aligns with the Word of God. 


--> Colossians 3:1 -set your priorities on what's a priority in Heaven. Your heart should be wrapped around what's important to Heaven
           - when you do this, your mindset will be in line with God's, and when situations come it won't be so hard for you to make the righteous choice. 
ex: swimming upstream. It's hard to swim upstream when the current is flowing in the opposite direction. In your walk, everyone around you might not be walking in the law of life, but you don't turn around and follow them. Keep pressing forward! 
--> Proverbs 31:19- *the fear of the Lord ignites the law of life- if i want to live this life that John 10:10 talks about, the bible says that fear of the Lord LEADS to it! 


-->Psalm 128:1-6 [all of psalm 128]
--> Psalm 31:19-
--> Proverbs 14:26-27
--> Psalm 145: 18-19


[Notice a recurring theme? If you fear the Lord, he will bless you] 
     |--> 2 reasons why: 
           a) because He's a good God 
           b) because the more you have the fear of God on the inside of you, your priorities/desires start to change to line up with His.


--> Psalm25:12
           - He'll teach you how to walk in His way! Your soul will be at ease [ you can have a lot of bad things going on around you yet you can till praise God] 
 a lot of people don't totally understand what it means to fear the Lord.
*The fear of the Lord = an attitude (3 components)


1) reverence for God- an expression of deep respect, love and admiration for God. Ex: Like someone utters the name of Jesus and immediately you get excited.. 
                          --> 1 Peter 3:15* God has his own private place in your heart that no one else can enter. 
*God's word is not a suggestion! IT"S A COMMANDMENT! 
*Going to church every week is NOT just about receiving a good word. It's about doing what you've been doing alone all week, now in a public setting! Praising God. Corporate worship with your fellow brothers and sisters! When you realize that it's a time for you to praise God publically, maybe you won't have as many excuses for not going. It's disrespectful! If God is showing up, it's disrespectful for you to be absent because you are supposed to be there giving him the praise He deserves. You should come to church always ready to give God something. 
--> exodus 23
2) obedience to God - John 14:15
3) hatred for evil
          --> Proverbs 8: 4-8 
Having a hatred for evil means NO exceptions! If God hates it [i.e. homosexuality, lust, gossip, etc] then we as his children and followers should hate it as well. Some people confuse holiness with simply abstaining from immorality and sin, or dressing nicely. Holiness is simply "at one with God." Meaning, if you are at one with God, you will make the godly decision, you won't tolerate the things that upset him, and you will follow his commandments. 


*"Salvation is ONLY in the name of Jesus because he was and still is the only one qualified to represent mankind." ~ Bishop George Davis 

               

Understanding the Laws of Life & Death

- beginning of a new series by Bishop George Davis 
Romans 7:15- Romans 8:2
-in my flesh there is no good thing. However, through Christ JesuI live by the law of the spirit, not the law of man 
-2 master laws that exist on earth and they are polar opposites:
       1) law of life 
       2) law of death 


-There are things that we do, sometimes ignorantly, that enacts the law of death to work against us when God designed for the law of life to be operating in our lives each and every day. 


-Called laws because they're always working either for or against you for your entire life. 


*Important to know about these laws because if we don't, we may end up blaming God when things go wrong in our lives and get mad at God. 


- You can't expect to live out the law of life in your life if you're continually enacting the law of death
- *Death is always trying to work against you, but because you're in Christ Jesus, the law of life supersedes the law of death because it's more powerful


--> Psalm 115:12- 
-God will bless you on credit! (he knows your heart)
--> Genesis 2:7-9; Genesis 1:26


*It's a powerless place to be in when everyone else is responsible for your mess because that means you can't get out of this prison/ bondage you're in unless they decide to change their ways. But when you take responsibility for it, you have dominion over it. 


[reference scripture: John 6:63, 1Tim 3:16] 


--> Romans 5
From Adam to Moses, the people of the earth were being dominated by the law of death until God gave Moses the law --> now they know what's right and what's wrong so they (we're) without excuse. 
--> John 3:36- 


-He that believeth on the son of God has eternal life. The law of life is the dominating force in the life of a born-again believer so you no longer have to bow a knee to the law of sin.
- God has put himself in us! (supernatural) he's trying to get us to a place where we're in this world but not of this world --> it's a daily fight to live in this world, but not be contaminated by this world 


John 17:13- 


- Stand up and show the world what God looks like! 
*Don't tiptoe around the devil! Why? Because Jesus has made me free from the law of sin! I don't have to try and impress you, be afraid of you, fearful, cowardly, etc. Because God has set me free to be me in Him. 


* assignment for the week: overflow in the word of God this week. You can do that by - CD, meditation, of key scriptures, etc.