ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD “Foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Romans 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Praise God for His Foreknowledge.
Praise God that He knows you and he knows all those who are His. Praise God for calling you, justifying you and for the future promise of glorification.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for those suffering because of hurricane Ida – Ask God to use this storm and this difficulties as opportunities for people to hear and receive the gospel. Pray for Great Commission Baptist relief workers and volunteers who are serving and organizing opportunities to serve in Louisiana and Mississippi.
- Ask God for opportunities to have gospel conversations with your non-believing friends.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Galatians 5 New Living Translation
Freedom in Christ
5 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
11 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.[b]
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c] 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Living by the Spirit’s Power
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Observe Paul’s list of the “works of the flesh” in verses 19-21. Paul’s warning about not inheriting the Kingdom of God is to those who make a practice of these things. Yet, these actions and attitudes are always sin, whether we make a practice of them or not. Are there any actions or attitudes in this list that you see in yourself? If so, confess your sin to God. You might even consider confessing your sin to your spouse or a member of your small group.
Now, rather than simply trying harder to kill your sin and be a better person, try focusing on walking with the Spirit. Paul says, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (v. 16). Paul is saying that, for the Christian, the key to avoiding sin and living a fruitful life is not fixating on the sin or the fruit, but fixating primarily on God, who has defeated sin. This is sometimes called the Principle of Indirection. It may feel unnatural to you at first. You may feel like you need to “pay” for your sin in some way. You may feel like you need to “take more responsibility” or more “action” against your sin. Maybe you do need to take more responsibility or action. But realize that the Principle of Indirection is the only truly effective way to “pay” for your sin and to “defeat” it. You cannot truly do either of those things. Only Jesus can. Humble yourself. Remember the Gospel. And invite the Holy Spirit to do in you that which, deep down, you know you cannot do on your own.