"Obedient Faith Leads to the Blessed Life"
TEXT: Luke 6:46; Heb. 8:6; Deut. 28:2; Matt. 28:18-20
TRUTHS:
1. God does not force individuals to obey or worship Him. He will not twist arms to procure our obedience. He calls us to willingly come to Him, after considering the gospel and His character and nature, so that we walk through the seasons of our lives with Christ by our sides.
2. Every person needs to be aware of the negative consequences related to continually hearing God’s Word yet failing to put it into practice. Doing such will inevitably produce a hardened heart towards the things of God.
3. All believers need to “add and take away” from the truths that they adhere to over the course of their lives. Meaning, we all need to adjust, sharpen, and, at times, repent of, our perspectives and inward motivations. It’s easy to think that you have ‘arrived’ and possess all the right takes on the issues, doctrines, and truth claims the Church of Jesus Christ is wrestling with. But such a notion is simply untrue (and frankly, impossible).
4. To hear the voice of God, one must learn to love and serve the local church that the Lord has placed them in.
5. The Bible is God’s voice. The Scriptures also speak of additional ways in which the voice of God gets to our ears, and almost all those ways closely involve (and even depend upon) the believers directly around you.
6. We have not been called to simply observe the worship of God, but rather to participate in the worship of Jesus Christ.
7. God doesn’t implicitly demand moral perfection from us. We don’t chase moral perfection; we chase the one who was and is perfect—Jesus.
TALK TO EACH OTHER:
1. Why does it become a negative to continually hear God's Word taught if you fail to apply it to your individual life?
2. Why is Truth 3 so important to properly process and understand? What could happen if someone fails to apply this principle to their lives and spiritual journeys?
3. How can a believer participate in worship? How would you instruct a young or new believer to conduct themselves during a corporate worship service? In other words, what would you steer them towards so that they don't just observe the worship of God?
4. Why does the Lord tie His voice so closely together with participation in local churches (Truths 4 + 5)?
5. How can one discern if they are chasing moral perfection or if they are chasing the voice of God?
TALK TO GOD:
Pray into the following areas:
To 'chase' the voice of the Lord
For our Missions Team at King's Castle
A willingness to 'add and take away' from the truths we adhere to throughout our lives
That we are 'doers' of the Word
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