Part 1 - 02-11-19

Title: Men Livin' on Ten Part 1
Teacher: Brother Bennett
Date: February 11, 2019
Attendance: 7
Premise: Understanding and appropriating 10 virtues of Christ Jesus.
Opening Prayer: Brother Crawford

Sermon: Today, we will begin a message I have titled, Men livin' on Ten! In this study, we will explore the Ten Virtues of Jesus Christ. It is these Ten Virtues we as believers are experiencing as we continue to grow in Christ. And it is as we grow in our experience with Jesus that others around us will also experience him. If Christ lives inside of us, then it should be Him they see and experience, right? In John 10:10, Jesus tells us. "I came that you might have life, and might have it abundantly" Jesus came so that men can live on ten! What is Livin' on ten? I am so glad you asked, dear brothers. Let us begin. Everyone, please turn to 1 John 4:10-12; (read); The first virtue found in men livin' on ten is 1) Love; since the beginning, humanity has tried to define and capture the essence of love from every angle. Yet the songs, poems, and symbols just keep coming. Why? Because love is such a powerful and great force that we never seem to grow weary of hearing about it. Even still, we all struggle to comprehend and or express love from day to day adequately. Since God in His very essence and nature is love, we must look to him to better understand and also experience what this powerful thing called love truly means, and how we can keep His love in our hearts while at the same time sharing it with the world. In the same way, Jesus did. The word love is probably the most abused word in the English language. The methods we have to rate the degree of emotion are not very good, and as a result, we love Chicken, and we love God. Is this love the same? Of Course not, but how does one differentiate the meaning? It seems God understood this dilemma and so, in wanting to talk about this new kind of love, this divine love, that comes only through a real relationship with Jesus Christ, they took an existing word in the Greek – agape; and redefined it with new meaning to reflect the idea of God-Centered love. God-centered love has three distinct characteristics. Firstly, God's love is unconditional. Let us turn to Matthew 5:43-48; (read); God's love isn't dependant on love being given back. Secondly, God's love is sacrificial. Agape love places others first. Sacrificial love steps out to show intent, regardless of the response. Ephesians 5:25; (read); God's love gives itself up and takes risks for the concern and well-being of others. Lastly, God's love is forgiving. Matthew 18:21-22 (read); In our relationships, we often set one another up for failure by expecting perfection, which none of us can attain this side of heaven. Forgiveness, for us as Christians, Followers of Jesus Christ, is a lifestyle. This is our example in Jesus, and we have His assurance. 1 John 1:9; (read); Now that we have a little more understanding of what love is, What is the application. Let us go back to Matthew 5:43-44 (read); Jesus is telling us here that hatred is not on option for us. Regardless of how others treat us, we are to love. We are to love them in His love, just as He loved and continues to love us. 1 John 4:19 (read). This is not only "why" we love dear brothers; this is "how" we love. It is His love that enables us to love the unloved. Matthew 25:34-36 (read); Society today, as well as passed days, has little time to love and care for the sick, hungry, poor, homeless, and incarcerated people of this world. This should not be an example of us as imitators of Jesus. Kingdom-minded men livin' on ten should be about the Father's business, loving and caring for the unloved. Each day, as we live out this life here on earth, Jesus loves us unconditionally and sacrificially and offers us ongoing forgiveness. Dear brothers, this is our example of love. The next virtue of men livin' on ten is 2) Joy; let us turn to John 15:11 (read); How many here remember the cartoon "Winnie the Pooh? Come on now, don't be shamed! I know I'm not the only one use to watch Winnie the Pooh! Maybe so. Anyhow, on Winnie the Pooh, two characters were friends of Winnie. These two friends are Eeyore and Tigger the tiger. These two friends could not be more different. Eeyore always had a gloomy attitude and perspective, no matter how amazing the situation. Now Tigger was the exact opposite. He bounced through life without a care in the world, and never perceived anything to go wrong. In life, especially in prison, it is easier and more common to have Eeyore's attitude while wishing we had the attitude of Tigger. The joy of Jesus is not just overcoming that inner Eeyore, and it is not bouncing through life in Vain bliss. No, it is facing each day, the ups and downs, highs and lows, through the contentment and joy of Jesus Christ. This is the context of Philippians 4:13; "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us" Remember Paul wrote this letter while sitting in a prison that makes this place look like the Plaza. Joy is not the same as happiness. For so many, being happy is entirely dependent on whether life is great. Their happiness goes up and down based on the perception of negative issues going on. Joy is not dependent on circumstances; in fact, joy can become the strongest when troubles and problems come. Psalm 16:11; (read); This is the reality of joy when we trust and rest in His presence. The joy of Jesus has more to do with remaining in his presence than avoiding or downplaying the inevitable problems in life. Philippians 4:11-13 (read); The secret, as the apostle Paul states, is found in Jesus, abiding in his presence. The result of choosing eternal joy is mature and complete in Christ, James 1:2-4 (read); Joy is the fuel for the believer on our journey to maturity. In him, joy is strengthened when life is challenging. And we all know life can be challenging.

Joy is also found in serving Jesus. Luke 15:3-7; (read); When the lost are found, joy increases. As we join Jesus in His work by sharing Him with the world, seeing the lost come to Him, we experience more of His joy. The more we experience His joy, the less we experience the inevitable stress of this life. It's not that we don't see the stress, its how we see it. His joy can change our perspective and thereby transform our experience. Most of our stress comes from that feeling of not being in control. We can worry and stress about this and that, or we can trust in God. Joy is on the ongoing reminder that God is in control and that ultimately He is in control of the outcome. Dear friends, we will continue to be presented with good days and bad days, but we can choose to receive them both in His joy.

The next virtue of men Livin' on Ten is 3) Peace; let us turn to Philippians 4:6-7; (read); As with joy, His peace is not based on our circumstances or feelings. Most of us would define peace as more about the absence of trouble than the presence of contentment. Philippians 4:9; tells us, "The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you." The example the apostle Paul is talking about is Jesus. It is Jesus; they are learning, receiving, hearing, and seeing. Peace, true peace, is not about the subtraction of problems but the addition of Jesus. John 14:27; 16:33 (read); In our daily walk, we are encouraged to choose this peace as much as we have a responsibility in our interactions with others. Romans 12:18 (read); Not only is God calling us to live in the peace given to us but also to understand that when others do not allow it, we can remain in peace and, therefore, always be ready to offer this peace to others. Matthew 5:9; tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Dear brothers, the peace of God is always available to us as believers John 14:27; (read); Even in the face of death, our enemies, or the uncertainty of this life. Psalm 4:8; 29:11; (read); We must never forget that the non-believer cannot muster up "the peace of God in Christ Jesus." However, when they see the peace of Jesus in our lives, it opens up the door to minister. Further, it reaches those who do not know Jesus, people who are still lost desperately searching in vain in sex, money, power, drugs, food, and otherworldly things, trying to find lasting peace I believe the saying is "It helps me cope." Everyone desires peace, so much that many sadly are losing their very souls to obtain it. But the peace of Jesus Christ is the only lasting peace that can satisfy our worried and weary soul. Job 22:21 (read); When Jesus is our center when we set our mind on Him. His peace keeps us. When we allow His peace to be our foundation, our lives will be steady. Just as steady as Jesus' sleep in the midst of the storm on the sea of Galilee. When we daily surrender to Jesus, trusting in Him, the storms we face will be endured in His peace, where we can rest just as Jesus did. Numbers 6:24-26; (read); Amen!

The next virtue of Men livin' on ten is 4) Self-Control; let us turn to Titus 2:11-13 (read); In the Bible, our bodies, like the sin we create by our choices, is referred to as, "the flesh." The flesh wants to take care of itself and always be first, regardless of the cost to others, including ironically ourselves. Self-destruction is something far too familiar to me. Sadly it is a practice I know too well. I believe my trial counsel told me I was the most self-destructive person he has ever known." In our natural state, separated from God due to sin, we mostly have no choice but to obey self. While we can exhibit good deeds and make some good choices, we, in our strength, are unable to keep our behavior consistent because of who we are. But as Titus 2:12; explains, the grace of God after salvation gives us o new choice. Lets reread Titus 2:12 (read), "…instructing us" We are now able to choose either to obey God or to obey the flesh. We, by the grace of God, can say no anytime we want by obeying God. It is through Christ we not only find the freedom to choose but the power to practice self-control. Romans 8:3-4 (read); The law was given through Moses could never get people to fulfill its sacred standards, but grace has succeeded where the law failed. Lets read Titus 2:11-13 (read); again, "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people, instructing us…" Here the grace of God is synonymous with Jesus Christ. John 1:14, 17; (read); The word grace comes from the Greek word Khar-ece, it indicated favor, but it also shows divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in our lives. We must be mindful that a life of holiness, the practice of self-control, is but the response to God's love and grace. It is as we turn over control to Holy Spirit, desiring to please him, and not grieve him; that he empowers us to obey, to love God, our neighbor, our enemies, and thereby fulfill the law. Self-control, or better said, God-Control, is the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 (read); We take control by giving control. As we surrender, the flesh gives up, and God takes control. Self-Control is best achieved when harnessed to the practice of surrender. Self-control is not about trying hard; it is about yielding hard to Holy Spirit. Self-Control is yielding to Holy Spirit to do what He desires us to do, pleasing to Him. As Titus 2:12 tells us, "to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age." Psalm 37:4; tells us, "Delight yourselves in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." As we place our lives in His hands, He takes over more territory in our hearts; there is less flesh to interfere. His desires become our desires. As this transformation happens, God's quality, desires, and character will be seen and heard in our lives more and more. We will understand more of what John 3:30 means by "He must increase, but I must decrease." Self-Control is not just about the power to stop doing things that offend God, hurt ourselves and others; it is also about the ability to honor God, help ourselves and others. The power to build up. This will increase our spiritual growth rate. We can appropriately read. Titus 2:11-12 like this "For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to…live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age." As our Self-Control, yielding to the Holy Spirit increases, our connection to God increases, which in turn increases our witness to others. Self-control is possible when we allow God to control. Ok, we will pause right there. Next week we will pick up with the 5th Virtue of Men Livin' on Ten, Hope.

Benediction: Brother Crawford