June Sermon Notes

Hebrews 5:7-10 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.  Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered  and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him  and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. 

1. Reverent submission is what is needed in order for your life to become a portal or a gateway for heaven to pass through. 

2. Although Jesus was a son He learned full obedience from what He suffered. 

3. Once made perfect He became the source of eternal salvation. 

How many of us would want God to make us a source, a gateway in which heaven could reach others? 

Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature  God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature  of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death —even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

To become obedient means to empty yourself and to surrender your full rights until His thoughts, His wisdom and His ways and will becomes His. 

Paul said it so well in Galatians 

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live , but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

The one thing that determines the spiritually weak from the spiritually strong, or the spiritually smart from the stupid in this room today, is not our educational ability or our jobs, salaries, or even our upbringing, but it is our obedience and sacrifice to the written and spoken word of God. 

None progressive attitude 

Hebrews 5:12-15 & Hebrews 6:1-3 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. 

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,  instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And God permitting, we will do so. 

One of the first things you must do when seeking to become a portal of obedience is to ensure that your response to God is not sluggish, for you must ensure that whenever you hear His word that your heart is thrilled and excited when heard and received . 

How we hear must be established well. Some learn but never practice, some listen to progressive revelation but in themselves never progress. 

Learn and listen to the principle of obedience 

Matthew 5:19-20 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 

There is a standard that you must pass in the kingdom. The one who is doing the least of these things is called least in the kingdom, but the one who practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom. Those who hear, teach and do are the true sons of God.

Acts 1:1 -2 In my former book,  Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach  until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 

Most people are talking and teaching what they do not do - this is called the least which is just talk. This is why you must not become dull when hearing His voice. 

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good 

If the bread that flows from the mouth of God is not important to you then you will never take it serious. If you are a casual, interested listener then your spiritual pace will be random. If you are eager to learn then you listen and watch intently, because you want what you are listening to, to alter your course. 

If you are to become a portal of obedience you must become a low maintenance type of person meaning you don’t still need man to instruct you in the elementary teaching of Christ.  

If you are relatively new to Christianity then obviously for you the bible says there is a period whereby you need the milk of the word, but if you are saying you have passed this stage then you should be eating the meaty things which are no longer elementary teachings. 

When foundational truths are not in place, you have to be told to pray, give your tithe. Be convinced to live a life of sacrifice. Do you always have to be convinced or whipped up in order to follow? Is your attitude about attending anything other than a Sunday, well I will see how I feel? 

God does not want you to be under law but He gives you a free will to self govern your life . If you don’t pay your tax, the Inland Revenue will get you five years down the line, but God doesn’t do this because He has given you a self maintenance life. Do you reach the poor, talk the gospel, do you read, fast or do you just prepare for Sunday, this is elementary. To know more and more and do less and less is wrong. 

Half obedient immature people don’t like you following up on them, for when you see spiritual indiscrepancies they argue like they are mature, telling you all the reasons why they and the bible tells them they can act like this. 

1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,  now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Milk is good as it reflects a love for God, but milk alone on its best day doesn’t take us beyond the works of the flesh maturing us.

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, t o abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 

The day of manifestation is coming and on that day your soul must be clean with no jealousy, hypocrisy and so on. On that day people will show us honour as non believers observe us. Imagine non believers glorifying God because of your obedient life. The world must scrutinise our lives, our family, and finance. 

Solid food changes your nature and nature develops your stature . THE WORD that comes to you produces more and more manifestation of the coming kingdom. With obedience you are able to taste more of heaven this side of the grave, for in essence the Christian life is about bringing heaven down to earth, rather than waiting to die in order to receive heaven. 

If you are really going to become mature then your spiritual senses must be trained in order to choose that which is good so it can reject that which is evil. 

When you possess the power to choose well stature comes to your life, as God approves of your choices. There are only grey areas with those who are spiritually carnal. 

True obedience will cause us to plant continual seeds in hope . It’s because of hope that we raise our children to believe in good, trust in that which has been taught and imparted into them. We raise the church with the hope that Jesus will do that which He says He will do  and that we will see Him one day like He promised but whilst we are waiting for His literal manifestation to appear we will continue to meet with Him through access through the Holy Spirit - all this is done in hope. 

Hebrews 6:18-20 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,  where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. 

Our obedience will bring to us great hope and a greater acceleration. People have little hope because they trust in the temporal things of life, but if we obey and trust, our trust will be rewarded. What you are looking for is not lost, it just hasn’t been revealed because your obedience has not yet been made complete.