MENS/YOUNG MENS MT. LEMMON Retreat
A GUARANTEE of GOD According to TRUTH and HOPE
COLOSSIANS 1:3-5
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
~ Give thanks to GOD for: those who’ve placed faith in and are saved by Christ! A soul has been redeemed, forever saved from hell and for heaven! Give thanks that we can love one another as Christ loves us!
~ Pray diligently that you and those in your church grow in their faith in Christ, in their love for the saints; grow in the hope for our eternal future (not wishful hope; an expectant and solid hope that destroys doubts and finishes fear off).
~ The Word of GOD in it’s entirety as well as the Gospel specifically is the truth: how do you know this is the truth? Why do you believe the Bible is GOD’s Word? I challenge you to learn about apologetics!
A CERTAIN FUTURE That Calls For ABSOLUTE SURRENDER
ROMANS 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect [complete] will of God.
~ Sacrifices in the Old Testament were slaughtered on the altar at the Temple. These were once living, then dead sacrifices. Here it talks about being “a living sacrifice” – what does this mean?
GALATIANS 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul died by beheading, not crucifixion - so what he's talking about here is identifying with Christ on the Cross; just as Jesus died for our sins, because of His atonement, we can now be dead to sin! And experience new life in Christ! A living sacrifice!
~ Understand that you can live a life that is acceptable to the perfect and holy GOD of all creation. What’s impossible for us is possible through Christ (MARK 10:27; PHIL 4:13) ! Why should we seek to live such a life? Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He died for us sinners, let us live Holy for Him (this is reasonable!); it’s our way of saying, “THANK YOU LORD for saving me from hell and for heaven!”
~ How is this done? Answer: verse 2 – don’t conform [don't allow the pressures this spiritually dead world to mold you into their image]; be transformed [yield to the power of the Spirit of Life in changing you inwardly into the image of the LORD Jesus Christ] ! By renewing our mind – a Divine download of Christ’s holiness that overrides the sinful programs in our mind! Happens every time you read, understand, and obey GOD’s Word. It’s in the doing of this by the power of the Spirit that we can “prove” – display evidence in our lives that we are acceptable to GOD and growing in spiritual maturity through Christ’s empowering grace!
The SURRENDERED LIFE of the SOLDIER GUARANTEES WARFARE
2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-6
3 For though we walk [live] in the flesh [mortal bodies], we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds [castles, fortress; also arguments against GOD’s Truth [arguments from the world, our own sinful nature, Satan and his fiery darts], 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity [arrested (cuff ‘em), imprisoned] to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled [fully completed, satisfied].
~ If you’re a born again Christian, congratulations!! – you’ve been drafted into GOD’s Army! And you have an enemy – actually, three enemies to fight: your very own sin nature that you were born with, thanks to Adam’s fall into sin; all of this world that’s full of sinners that will try to conform you into their sinful way of thinking, feeling, acting; and then there is Satan and his entire kingdom of darkness with his generals, colonels, admirals, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and foot soldiers!
That’s A LOT to fight!! Feeling hopeless yet? And who are your allies? Only the Almighty Father and Son and Holy Spirt!
~ AND the weapons GOD gives us – the Sword of the Spirit, the power of prayer, fellow warriors who got your back – are formidable weapons that will wreak your enemies!! Dying to your sin nature by identifying with Christ on the Cross brings spiritual life, spiritual victory.
If we want to know victory in life, then we must surrender all to Christ. This includes all our sinful impulses and temptations! Taking captive your thoughts – by the light of GOD’s truth, our thoughts, feelings, desires are exposed as either godly or ungodly – the godly are free citizens who walk freely in our minds and hearts; the ungodly are to be arrested, imprisoned, and executed! No MERCY!
~ “…every high thing that exalts itself” What ‘high things’? Any thought, feeling, desire that rebels against Christ’s will for you to live holy. What motivates us to exalt ourselves? PRiDE – the core of every sin is pride: “it’s all about me! Yes, I know this is a sin, and it breaks GOD’s heart, but I don’t care right now, I want it!”
The PRINCE Of PEACE MARCHES With HIS TROOPS of TRUTH
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
~ We rejoice – not just sometimes, not just when things are good, not only when we feel like it, not when our prayers get answered instantly – we rejoice always! Even in the dreadful, difficult, discouraging, defeated, dark, dreary, downcast, distressful times? YES! WHY?
Because the very GOD Who created this enormous universe is your LORD and Savior – do you know what this means? When you surrendered your life to JESUS, He became your personal Manager of life. He’s in charge – And He has the knowledge and resources – and the motives of love and caring – that all comes into play when you let go and let GOD! ROM 8:28 is still in our Bible brother saints!
~ According to vs. 6 what are we allowed by GOD to be anxious for? How much is “nothing”? Worry is a sin: The very meaning of worry in old English means “to torture”. It’s the opposite of faith. Faith says, GOD Who is the Truth, Who cannot lie – can and will do what He promised, so I will trust Him! Worry says, GOD can’t or won’t, so I will doubt Him (even though He is the Truth)!
If the LORD IS your LORD, then your problems, burdens, struggles and challenges are not yours to manage: they are GOD’s and since He is the GOD of the impossible, do-we-have-any-cause-to-worry?
~ According to vs. 6 again, how many things are we instructed by GOD to pray about? How much is “everything”? Why are we to include “thanksgiving” in our petitions and requests? Because as we think about all that we give thanks to GOD for, because of His blessings, provisions, answered prayer, we begin to gain confidence in His faithfulness and this encourages us in today’s prayer: that just as GOD was faithful and generous in His answer to my prayers yesterday, so He will be today, tomorrow and all the days of our lives! (and that ain’t no soap opera!)
~ What’s the result of all this? Vs. 7: “the peace of GOD” something this world knows nothing about but would die for; but you can not only know this peace but take a deep dive down into the depths of this Divine and anxiety-defying peace! And it’s a peace that keeps you safe and secure in the Almighty grip of GOD! And it’s unexplainable – “surpasses all understanding” even in the most horrible of circumstances, this powerful peace is preserved in you, because you trust in GOD:
ISAIAH 26:3-4
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
Meditate on the truth of GOD’s Word, on the nobility and loveliness of Christ the King and His justice which will right every wrong in this rebellious and violent world; meditate on and receive with a full heart of obedience, the Word of GOD and the GOD of peace will be with you, ALWAYS (and the Force can’t say that!)!
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