FINISHING WELL Retreat Series 1 Practicing being in

FINISHING WELL Retreat Series 1 “Practicing being in the Presence of GOD” James 4: 8

As you already know…Jesus saves! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3: 16) n Because of God the father’s unconditional love for the us, he gave his only begotten Son Jesus to pay for our debt of eternal death on the cross. This one time event is done by Jesus! n n John 6: 29 John 3: 36 So what's next? ?

Do you BELIEVE in God’s plan for our salvation? Can you define these parts in our Salvation? Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification

Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification God’s plan for our salvation has three parts in this order: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. Justification is God’s unconditional love for us through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. Sanctification is the reciprocation of our love toward Jesus. Glorification is the ultimate reward we’ll receive when Jesus returns. We’ll be like Christ.

What is Justification? What does it mean to be justified? Simply put… to justify is to declare righteous, to make one right with God. “justification by the righteousness of Christ alone. ” Justification BY FAITH!! There’s nothing we can add to our justification. Its instantaneous!!

We are justified, declared righteous!!! righteous n n n At the moment of our salvation! Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous. Our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice covers our sin, allowing God to see us as perfect and unblemished. Because as believers we are in Christ, God sees Christ's own righteousness when He looks at us. This meets God's demands for perfection; thus, He declares us righteous—He justifies us.

SANTIFICATION Sanctified…”to be set apart” Corinthians 6: 17 -18 It’s the reciprocation of our love toward God. Sanctification means to set a part or to make holy. The Holy Spirit helps us in this process to become like Christ. This is not a one time event; it’s a life long process. But…. what helps us? We are sanctified with the help of the Holy Spirit (Comforter) that Jesus gives us.

Do we have a part in Sanctification? n n n We must reflect, by our actions, sanctification and purification…we are separated from the world. We are in the world but not of the world. Our actions would be holy and righteous. We should think about heavenly things instead of worldly things. If you sanctify yourself to God, have you found that the world will hate you and persecute you?

SANCTIFICATION Don’t get confused with justification. It’s your motive that counts. Our actions or work is to do what Jesus commands us to do, and not adding to our justification. Many churches are stuck in justification and believing that any work is adding to justification. They call it legalism. Our work of obedience to Jesus is the reward we will receive. E. g. If you don’t fast or worship on the Sabbath (Saturday), you will not lose your salvation.

SANCTIFICATION Christians are to pursue sanctification n As Paul commanded the Corinthians - 2 Cor 7: 1 1� Having, then, these promises, beloved, may we, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God; The cleaning of ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit. Spirit is the instrumental agent by which God strengthens the inner man Eph 3: 16 that � that He may give to you, according to the riches of His glory, with might to be strengthened through His Spirit, in regard to the inner man -"sanctified by the Holy Spirit" - Ro 15: 16 -"sanctified. . . by the Spirit of our God" - 1 Co 6: 11 -"sanctification by the Spirit" - 2 Th 2: 13 -"the sanctifying work of the Spirit" - 1 Pe 1: 2 (NASV)

SANCTIFICATION Spiritual living verses Earthly? One who sets their mind on things the Spirit has revealed through the Word, is setting their mind on "the things of the Spirit" In 1 Tim. 6: 11 godliness is set in contrast to following after the lusts of the flesh and the world Godliness is a mind set on spiritual matters (Rom. 8: 5 -6). When we set our minds on "the things of the Spirit" (the Word of God), we are then able to "live according to the Spirit" - Ro 8: 4 -5

Spiritual living verses Earthly n n n A godly person worships God "in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4: 24). Whenever one follows “God's will” on how to worship Him, then one is being godly. Worship is our attempt to give something of ourselves to God…. It is the "fruit of our lips" (Heb. 13: 15) n Presenting of our bodies as a "living sacrifice" (Rom. 12: 1). A godly person is one who acts properly, reacts properly, and leaves no doubt in anyone's mind that he/she is a child of God is seen in this person from the inside out and from the outside in.

SANCTIFICATION Are we bearing fruit? n n n The principle of godliness found in the Titus context is that of the control or filling of the Holy Spirit which produces the qualities of conformity to Christ. In 2 Pet. 1: 6 -7 the apostle Peter describes the proper spiritual combination of qualities that makes for a mature, fruit-bearing Christian (2 Pet. 1: 5 -11). Among these is the quality of godliness.

SANCTIFICATION Are we bearing fruit? Thus, there are two parts to godliness: n First, there is the "God-ward attitude" of "reverence and respect. " n Second, there also is the "doing of what is pleasing" to God, as the "duty" that we owe to Him. Godliness also has its fruits. There must be the "doing" of what pleases God.

GLORIFCATION Praise the Lord We won’t be glorified until after Jesus returns n n John writes of this in his first letter when he states that “when he shall appear we shall be like him” (1 John 3: 2). Paul speaks further of the doctrine of glorification when he says in Romans 8: 18, “For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ” We get glorified bodies! Feasting with Jesus! Receiving eternal life and being with Him wherever he goes!

Practicing being in the Presence of GOD How do you draw near to God? James 4: 8

Humble yourself before God…Points to Ponder James 4: 8 When we draw near to God, we can count on Him to reciprocate. This means that fellowship with God is intentionally cultivated.

Humble yourself before God…Points to Ponder How do we prepare in response to God’s plan for our salvation? We each have daily opportunities to draw near to God. n If we neglect His word, His people, and time in His presence, we will find that He seems distant – and we will be the ones who have drawn away. n

Humble yourself before God…Points to Ponder Thus, fellowship with God is much like holiness in life. -It is developed – with some effort on our part… the Holy Spirit will not do this alone. -It is the job of the Spirit-empowered believer. -We may think that we must clean up our lives and then draw near to God. -James puts it the other way around. It is only when we know the truth of his presence that we are ready to take on the responsibility of holiness.

Humble yourself before God…Points to Ponder n A life of faith is: Our love for God -Resulting in “Dependency upon God” -Resulting in “Obedience to God” n Matthew 22: 37 John 15: 5 Galatians 5: 22 -23 Romans 12: 1 -2 n n n Offer your bodies as a living sacrifices…with actions Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12: 1 -2)

CROSSTALK • What is the evidence in your life that you are bearing fruit? • In what “fruits” do you need to grow? How are you going to do that? • What benefits have you witnessed in your life from being connected to the Body of Christ? Like any good father, God wants to see His children grow. And His primary way of growing our faith is through adversity—there simply is no more effective way of deepening our relationship with Him. But we must choose to view adversity as an opportunity, rather than as an obstacle. When we do that, we grow in our Christlikeness. Adversity is a given. Growth is optional Remember: n Offer your bodies as a living sacrifices n Be transformed by the renewing of your mind .

FINISHING WELL Retreat Series 1 Practicing being in the Presence of GOD: James 4: 8 13 Week Series n 1. 12/22/16 – Al Hurt – Introduction n (Holiday Vacation) n 2. 1/5/17 – David Pond– Prayer (Talking to “Dad”) n 3. 1/12/17 – Jim Zeilenga – Self Control (Taming the Beast) n 4. 1/19/17 – Larry Mc. Coy – Gentleness (Power Under Control) n 5. 1/26/17 – Ben Cook – Faithfulness (High Fidelity – Trusting What You Know) n 6. 2/2/17 – Michael St. Clair – Goodness (Fertile Soil – Distinguished Fruit) n 7. 2/9/17 – Michael St. Clair – Kindness (Clark Kent or Superman) n 8. 2/16/17 – Mark Cedar– Patience (Unswerving Deliberate Purpose) n 9. 2/23/17 – David Pond – Peace (Living in Victory) n 10. 3/2/17 – George Murphy – Joy (From the Cross to the Empty Tomb) n 11. 3/9/17 – George Murphy – Love (It’s Not What You Feel, It’s What You Do) n 12. 3/16/17 – Keith Dady – Giving (Disregarding Self) n 13. 3/23/17 – Keith Dady - Armor of God (Taking a Stand 3/24 -25/17 – RETREAT– Practicing the Presence of Christ

Songs of Sanctification https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Ot_UQLfc. Azs&app=desktop Mercy. Me. . . Sanctified n https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ttd. Fby. Tkbc. I n