Sermon Tone Analysis

Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)

 

 

You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.

 

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth," (John  4:24)

 

 

 

REBOUND AND KEEP MOVING

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Winning a basketball game requires players to shoot and to REBOUND the ball.

When the ball leaves the hand of a shooter, arches gracefully toward the basket, drops inside the rim of the hoop, and rips through the net, he scores.

But when his shot misses, the ball must be rebounded.

Rebounding recovers the loose ball as it ricochets off the rim or backboard.

Rebounding restores the opportunity to shoot, to score, and ultimately, to win.

In the Spiritual life every Christian misses shots or sins.

But like basketball, the contest of the Christian life does not end when a believer sins.

God graciously provides the way to /rebound/ from sin, to /restore/ the filling of the Holy Spirit, to /recover/ fellowship with God, and to /keep moving /in the Spiritual life.

Rebound offers the believer an infinite number of chances to win and keep winning in the Christian life.

*WHAT ABOUT SIN? *

 

       If every shot in basketball went through the hoop and scored, rebounding would not be necessary.

But no player is perfect.

If Christians never sinned the rebound technique would not be necessary.

But no Christian is perfect.

We all sin.

/       If we [Believers] say that we have no sin, (Sin nature) we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth is not in us./

(1Jn 1:8)

 

       /If we say that we have not sinned, (When we have) we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us/.

(1Jn 1:10)

 

        Sin is disobedience to the will of God, any mental, verbal, or overt activity contrary to the perfect character and standards of God.

Yet why do believers continue to sin after salvation?

The volition of Adam is the culprit.

God created the first man perfect, without sin.

But Adam’s decision in the Garden to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit, (Gen 3:6-8) alienated the entire human race from God. (Gen 3:2-3; cf., Rom 5:12; (1Co 15:22) The resulting Spiritual death of Adam was passed to all men.

Sinful, imperfect mankind can have no relationship with perfect God.

The omniscience of God knew the free will of Adam would choose to sin.

Therefore, even before God created man, He conceived the plan for renewing our relationship with Him.

He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross.

As our perfect substitute, Jesus paid the penalty for every human sin — past, present, and future (Rom 5:8; (2Co 5:14-19; (1Pe 2:24; (1Jn 2:2).

This matchless plan or policy toward mankind is called grace.

*WHAT ABOUT GRACE?

*

 

       God’s solution for sin is established by His grace.

Grace is all that God is free to do for each of us on the basis of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

We do not earn or deserve grace; we can do nothing to merit the favor and blessing of God.

He has done everything for us!

 

       *GRACE FOR BELIEVER AND UNBELIEVER *

 

       Sin separates the unbeliever from God.

Since Jesus Christ resolved the sin problem on the cross, just one issue confronts the unbeliever: What do you think about Christ?

The issue is resolved by one simple act of faith.

/“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”

/(Acts 16:31)

 

/       For by grace you have been saved through faith; [Believing in Christ] and that not of yourselves, --- (Salvation) --- it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast./

(Eph 2:8-9)

 

       When you believe in Jesus Christ, a non-meritorious act, God the Holy Spirit instantly enters you into a personal and eternal relationship with God the Father.

You are saved by grace.

Even though you are still a flawed human being, you have been declared righteous at the moment of salvation when you are given the righteousness of God.

(Rom 4:3-5; (2Co 5:21) No matter how many sins you commit in your Christian life, your eternal relationship can never be broken because the immutable promise of God guarantees your transgressions will not be remembered.

/“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”/

(Isa 43:25)

 

       Immediately after salvation, logistical grace extends from the justice of God to His righteousness present in you.

In military life, logistics, the supplying of troops and equipment, play a vital role.

But in the Christian life logistics play an even more dramatic and pivotal role.

You are alive today because of the logistical grace God supplies to your every need, and as a part of your logistical grace the rebound technique cleanses your life of personal sins, freeing you to advance Spiritually.

*WHY REBOUND?

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       If all sins were blotted out at the cross, why is sin still an issue?

If all sins are already forgiven, why must you rebound?

The penalty for sin, (The Lake of Fire) is removed once and for all at the cross, but repercussions of personal sin in the life of a believer must be confronted.

When a believer sins the initial repercussions are loss of fellowship with God and loss of the filling of the Holy Spirit, the empowerment for the Christian life.

No member of the Trinity can fellowship with a believer having sin in his life.

Sin destroys our temporal fellowship with the Lord.

Rebound, confessing or naming our known sins to God the Father, is the only means compatible with grace for restoration of fellowship with God and recovery of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Rebound is our access to intimacy with the Lord, the gateway to Divine power in our life, our license to serve the Lord.

*THE REBEL WITHIN *

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/       For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate/.

(Rom 7:15)

 

       /So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin [The sin nature] which indwells me./ (Rom 7:17)

 

       During our lifetime as Christians we will always be plagued with the sin nature inherited from Adam.

After we sin we may experience feelings of remorse or guilt; then, we may try to attain forgiveness from God by performing acts of penance or self- punishment.

Why?

We feel guilty because we make decisions to “do the very things we hate.”

We punish ourselves to purge the guilt.

We wrongly reason, When I /feel/ forgiven, then I am forgiven.

Such human attempts to gain forgiveness can lead only to confusion, a guilt-ridden conscience, and Spiritual impotence.

No one can merit forgiveness from God. Understanding the relationship between the sin nature and sin is necessary to avoid a guilt complex once we become involved in sin.

When Adam chose to disobey God he died Spiritually and was cursed with a sin nature.

This sin nature, subsequently inherited by every human being, resulted in Spiritual death separation from God in time and eternity and the sovereignty of the sin nature over human life.

(Rom 6:12) The sin nature itself is passed down genetically through procreation and resides in the cell structure of the human body (Rom 6:6; Rom 7:14-18).

Invisibly lurking in our genetic makeup, Satan through the sin nature continually tempts the soul to rebel against God.

But the sin nature cannot make us sin.

(The devil did not MAKE us do it!)

Temptation is not sin.

The sin nature is only the source of temptation, our volition is the source of personal sin.

Only when we choose to succumb to this inner tempter do we sin.

Our choice makes us responsible for all our sins.

With the exception of Jesus Christ, every person born into the human race possesses a sin nature, (1Pe 2:22; cf., Rom 3:23).

Salvation does not eradicate this inherent corrupter of mankind, but does give us access to the only way to resolve the repercussions of sin in our lives.

No believer will ever be sinless in this life; but we can and must sin-less!

(1Pe 4:1-3)

        

       *UNDERSTANDING THE SIN NATURE *

 

       To recognize the sin in our lives we must understand how the sin nature seeks to influence and gain control of our souls.

The sin nature is composed of an area of weakness, an area of strength, trends toward legalism and lawlessness, and lust patterns.

Within the sin nature the area of weakness is the source of temptation for personal sin; the area of strength is the source of human morality.