SF048 - THE PATHWAY TO PEACE (Proverbs 16 7)

                                                                                                                                                                                SF048

THE PATHWAY TO PEACE

Proverbs 16:7

INTRODUCTION

Peace is something we all long for...

Peace with others

Peace with God

Peace with self

Peace comes as a by-product of pleasing God...

Pleasing those who are important to us is a real source of joy in our lives.  I can recall as a teenager working around the house or in the garden.  The reason I did the work is because my Father told me to, but the underlying reward was knowing that he was pleased with me.

It should be the overwhelming desire of ever Christian to please God in all that he does.  I want to share with you how the Bible says we can please God.

1A.       YOU MUST TRUST COMPLETELY

(John 3:7)  "You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'"

(John 14:6)  "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

2A.       YOU MUST FOLLOW OBEDIENTLY

Public Confession

(Matthew 10:32)  ""Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven."

Scriptural Baptism

Proper candidate

Proper mode

3A.       YOU MUST PRAY WISELY

(1 Kings 3:9‑10)  "So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" {10} The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this."

 A Discerning Heart

To minster to God’s people

To make the right decisions

4A.       YOU MUST GIVE CORRECTLY

1B.       Spiritually

(Psalms 51:17)  "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Broken spirit = To burst, crush; opposite of proud.

Broken and Contrite heart = to collapse

2B.       Physically

(Romans 12:1)  "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God‑‑this is your spiritual act of worship.

5A.       YOU MUST WORSHIP PROPERLY

(Psalms 69:30‑31)  "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. {31} This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs."

Praise the name...To be clear, to shine, to make a show, to boast.

Glorify = magnify him...To twist, to be large, boast, to promote.

6A.       YOU MUST BEHAVE HONORABLY

(Micah 6:6‑8)  "With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? {7} Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? {8} He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Act justly = to live above question or charge by God.

To love mercy = Constant love put into action.

To walk humbly = Think properly of one's self.

7A.       YOU MUST SUBMIT FULLY

(Job 22:21)  ""Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you."

(Hebrews 12:9)  "Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!"

8A.       YOU MUST LIVE PURELY

(1 Thessalonians 4:1,3,7)  "Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.{3} It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; {7} For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life."

GOD has called and equipped us to be like Him!

9A.       YOU MUST SERVE LOYALLY

(2 Timothy 2:3‑4)  "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. {4} No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs‑‑he wants to please his commanding officer."

10A.     YOU MUST CONTINUE FAITHFULLY

(Hebrews 11:6) “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

"Faith is...

Believing that something is so,

When it is not so.

In order for it to be so,

Because God has already said so.

-Manely Beasly

APPLICATION

We ended where we began... with FAITH

If you have not Trusted Completely all the rest are impossible.

Are you...

Following Obediently

Praying Wisely

Giving Correctly

Worshiping Properly

Behaving Honorably

Submitting Fully

Living Purely

Serving Loyally

            Continuing Faithfully?