1.21.18
"Work For Joy"
TEXT: 2 Cor. 1:1-2:4; Luke 9:23-24; Romans 21:1; 1 Peter 1:25; Luke 8:1-15
TRUTHS:
1. Advancing the Kingdom of God requires considerable effort and perseverance. As we labor to advance the gospel in both ourselves and in the world, we will often encounter difficulty at every turn. Although preaching, service, obedience, and witnessing are essential to advancing God's Kingdom, so is believers uniting in prayer. The difficulty we encounter as we advance God's Kingdom will prove to be insurmountable if God's people are not praying for victory and breakthrough.
2. Although Jesus was the perfect and full sacrifice for our sins, following him requires that we ourselves live sacrificially. Scripture calls us to lives of sacrifice in varying ways. We do not sacrifice to earn salvation or tip the scales so that our good deeds outweigh our bad, rather we sacrifice because doing so leads to abundant life and joy in the Lord. Jesus calls us to bear our crosses and we are to do this with the truth of eternity in mind. If we are not willing to work and sacrifice for joy, we are forced to look to the material world as our source of pleasure and hope.
3. A large part of our work will be to grow in our knowledge and love of God's Word. It is eternal and what it produces in our lives will be the only thing that we take into eternity with us. It is helpful to think of our lives as a garden. If we sow God's Word into our hearts, mind, and actions, we will reap joy and abundant life. If we neglect to sow God's Word into our lives and instead sow seeds only from this temporary world, we will reap confusion, angst, and troubled souls.
4. The parable of the sower shows us (3) specific reasons why people often walk away from the work of sowing God's Word into their lives:
- A lack of understanding. It takes patience, work, and some wrestling to understand God's Word and continually sow it into our lives. Often you can become discouraged from what you perceive as a lack of growth and walk away.
- Like what is easy. To reap the benefits of sowing God's Word, someone must be willing to wait and endure difficult seasons. Waiting on and trusting in God's Word is not easy and many choose to abandon what they were so excited about at one time.
- Lose interest. Sowing God's Word requires long-term discipline and obedience in the same direction. Distractions are sure to pop up and many are tempted to switch their interest and focus onto those distractions.
5. If we commit to God's Word and guard against the above reasons that cause many to abandon sowing God's truth into their lives, God guarantees that it will produce beautiful results in us and our lives. True and lasting joy comes only from growing and working in God's Word. As a result, we must honestly assess our view of God's Word and what we are sowing into our lives.
TALK TO EACH OTHER:
1. Why do you think prayer is so essential to God's work advancing?
2. What does it mean and look like to "wrestle" with the Word of God?
3. How can a believer tell if they are growing in God's Word?
TALK TO GOD:
Pray as you feel led concerning the following area(s):
That the work of the Lord would advance in you, your family, your church, and your community.
That your heart and mind would be guarded against the three reasons given in the parable of the sower that reveal why many abandon their pursuit of God's Word.