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Is Jesus Enough?. Why do followers drift away from God? King Solomon’s spiritual journey 1 Kings 3:3 “Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David”. Solomon’s Findings Eccl 1:2 and 12:8
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Why do followers drift away from God? • King Solomon’s spiritual journey • 1 Kings 3:3 • “Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David”
Solomon’s Findings • Eccl 1:2 and 12:8 • “Vanityof vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Reasons • a. Unmet expectations • John 10:10b • “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Reasons • b. Unanswered prayers • Daniel 3:21 • our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace • Psalm 23:4
Hebrews 6:10 • For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers,as you still do. • Hebrews 11:13
King Solomon’s conclusion: • Fear God and keeps His commandments
Is Jesus Enough? • John 14:6 • Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Is Jesus Enough? • Pastor Robert Morgan’s study on Galatian: • Grace plus nothing equals everything • William Barclay’s quote on “asking for direction…”
Is Jesus Enough? • Hebrew 4:14 • Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God……
Is Jesus Enough? • Jesus is our High Priest • The only one able to enter into the Holy of Holies • Represent us before God • Atone for our sins
Is Jesus Enough? • Jesus is the Son of God • Both human and divine
Is Jesus Enough? • Jesus is the perfect sacrifice • Hebrews 9:12 • With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
Following Jesus with a renewed mind • Grant Osborne (IVP): • “….the mind is where spiritual growth occurs …conduct based on input from the world or from God….”
Renewed Mind • Romans 12:2 • Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Renewed Mind • To renew = to renovate or to replace • Take out all the old stuff and replace with the Word of God
Renewed Mind • Do not conform to this world • World = values, standards, priorities, fashions, morals, etc
Renewed Mind • Be transformed • Matthew 17, Mark 9 – the transfiguration of Christ, same word as transformation • Matt 17:2 “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light”
Renewed Mind • Our transformation • 2 Cor 3:18“we all........are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” • 1 John 3:2 “we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like Him”
Renewed Mind • An on-going process, not a one-time event • 2 Cor 4:16 “yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day’ • Being a follower is a daily thing • Be transformed – our role is passive and submissive
Renewed Mind • c. Minds renewed by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit • John R W Stott’s quote:
Renewed Mind • Titus 3:5 (NKJV) “according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” • (NLT) “He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit”
Our Response • Hebrews 3:7-8 • So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion,”