Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the month “April, 2016”

25 Apr 2016

The Basics are Basic #4

PRAYER

Memory verse:

 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.                        John 16:24

 

Principles of Prayer

Psalm 50:15                And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

Jeremiah 33:3            ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Matthew 6:5-8           “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 7:7-8           “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Philippians 4:6-7                    Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18        Pray continually;  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

James 4:2-3                You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.  when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Conditions for Answered Prayer

  1. Pray in Jesus’ name

John 14:13-14            And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

  1. Pray according to God’s will

1 John 5:14-15           This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him. 

  1. Pray in faith

Matthew 21:22          If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

  1. Pray with a pure heart

Psalm 66:18              If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened

  1. Resolve conflicts in relationships

Matthew 5:23-24       “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,  leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

  1. Confess sins

1 John 1:9       If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

  1. Obey God

John 15:7         If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

Prayer is an expression of the heart towards our Heavenly Father.  When we pray, God listens to our hearts, not our words.

God desires to answer our prayers because He loves His children.  He will always answer our prayers, but always in a way that is according to His good and perfect will.  We can and should pray about everything.  There is nothing too difficult or insignificant for God!

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18 Apr 2016

The Basics are Basic #3

OBEDIENCE TO GOD

Memory verse:

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
John 14:21

Why Is Obedience to God Important?

1 Samuel 15:22  But Samuel replied:  “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Luke 6:46  “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

John 14:21-24  Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”  Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

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.

James 1:22-25  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.

James 4:17  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

1 Peter 1:14  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

1 John 2:3-6  We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

God commands His children to obey Him. If we live in obedience to Him we demonstrate our love for Him. Because God gave His one and only Son to die on behalf of our sins, we should live a life of obedient submission to His will as a sign of thankfulness and gratefulness for all He has done. If we chose to live in disobedience to His Word, we sin.

Benefits of Obedience to God

Deuteronomy 4:39-40  Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below.  There is no other.  Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

Proverbs 1:33  But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.

Proverbs 16:7  When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

Isaiah 1:19  If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;

Jeremiah 7:23  but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.

Matthew 7:24-27  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

John 15:1-14  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.   Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.

Obedience will bring forth the fruit of joy in our hearts.  Remember, in order to know the commands of God that we might obey them, we must read and study His Word. Obedience to God is always in alignment with His Word, the Bible.

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11 Apr 2016

The Basics are Basic #2

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Memory verse:

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12

What is the Meaning of Eternal Life?

John 17:3  Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Colossians 3:4  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Eternal life is a personal relationship with God which lasts eternally and begins the moment we put our trust in Jesus as our Savior.

How Do We Obtain Eternal Life?

John 1:12  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–

John 5:24  “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

John 20:31  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Acts 16:31  They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.”

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–

1 John 5:11-12  And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Eternal life begins the moment we put our trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.  At that moment we become a child of God, a member of God’s eternal family (Romans 8:15-16).

Can Eternal Life Be Lost?

John 10:27-30  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

John 14:16-17  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Romans 8:35-39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 1:13-14  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Philippians 1:6  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 10:12-14  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.  Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

1 Peter 1:5  who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

2 John 1:2  because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

Eternal life cannot be lost. God’s Holy Spirit, who lives within all true believers, is our seal and guarantee of eternal life.  If we seek to live a life of obedience to Christ and His Word we will grow in our relationship with God.

What Happens When Believers Sin?

1. When God’s children (believers) sin, communication with their Heavenly Father is hindered, but they remain God’s children. We are not removed from God’s family.

Isaiah 59:2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

1 Peter 3:7  Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

2. Believers who fall into sin must confess their sins to God in prayer so that their communication with their Heavenly Father can be restored again.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

3.  If a “Christian” falls into sin and then begins to mock Christ, it is obvious that they never truly believed.

1 John 2:18-19  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

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04 Apr 2016

The Basics are Basic #1

THE GOSPEL

Memory verse:

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:24

What is the Meaning of the Gospel?

1.  The bible says that there are three things that are common to all people:  1) all have sinned (Romans 3:23), 2) all will die (Romans 5:12) and 3) all will stand before God in judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

2.  Because of sin, people are separated from God and will die; death is physical, but also spiritual separation from God; God who is Most Holy, cannot relate with man who is sinful.

3.  People often seek to bridge the gap of separation back to God by various means such as trying to live a good, moral life or being faithful in their religion.

4.  But God says that all these good deeds will not help us bridge this gap and end the separation (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Mankind needs a Savior who is able to bridge this gap and bring them to God.

5.  Jesus Christ came to deliver mankind from death; to “bring us to God.” He was put to death to pay the penalty for our sin and raised from the dead as proof that salvation is through Him.  Jesus is the bridge to bring people back to a right relationship with God (1 Peter 3:18).  He is the Savior!

6.  God offers eternal life with Himself and the forgiveness of sin if we fulfill two conditions:  1) we must hear the gospel and 2) we must believe (John 5:24).

7.  By believing we put our trust in Christ to save us from our sin and renounce our sinful ways.  We must invite Him into our life (John 1:12; Revelation 3:20).

You can have your sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life now by praying and asking God to forgive you and telling Him you want Jesus as your Savior.

Prayer is simply talking with God.  Our words are not as important as the attitude of our heart.  We place our trust in Christ by praying a prayer like this:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I admit that I am a sinner.  I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for me.  I trust Jesus to forgive my sins right now.  Let me start a new and meaningful life with you today.  Amen.”

You have heard the gospel.  Have you believed and put your trust in Jesus?

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