Luke 9:23 – We must take up our cross and follow Jesus.

Luke 9:1-23 – Context surrounding Jesus’ admonition to take up our cross and follow Him.

The cross: meaning in context?

• Matthew 10:34-38 – duty

• Matthew 16:24 – duty

• Matthew 27:32, 39 – physical cross

• Mark 8:34 – duty

• Mark 10:20-21 – duty

• Mark 15:21, 29-32 – physical cross

• Luke 9:23 – duty

• Luke 14:27 – duty

• Luke 23:26 – physical cross

• John 19:17-19, 25, 31 – physical cross

• I Corinthians 1:17-18 – the entire concept of salvation

• Galatians 5:11 – plan of salvation

• Galatians 6:12-14 – plan of salvation

• Ephesians 2:16 – plan of salvation

• Philippians 2:8 – physical cross (specifically, Jesus’ death)

• Philippians 3:18 – concept of salvation

• Colossians 1:20 – concept of salvation

• Colossians 2:14 – Jesus’ physical death on the cross

• Hebrews 12:2 – physical cross

Psalm 51

Psalms 51:13

Psalms 51:10

• “Create in me a clean heart”

  • What was wrong with David’s heart?

  • This is David’s prayer of repentance after Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba.

  • David needed a clean heart. He had dirtied it with sin.

  • David needed a heart transplant in the spiritual sense.

  • The Bible heart:

    • Intellect

      • Thinks – Proverbs 23:7

      • Reasons – Mark 2:8

      • Believes – Romans 10:10

      • Understands – Matthew 13:15

    • Emotion

      • Loves – Matthew 22:37

    • Will

      • Obeys – Romans 6:17

    • Conscience

      • Approves or disapproves – I John 3:20-21

  • Psalms 73:1 – How can a man have his heart cleaned? By faith! Acts 15:9

    • Galatians 5:6; I Peter 1:22-23 – A faith that obeys.

  • II Corinthians 5:16 – We are new creatures in Christ – with a new heart.

• “renew a right spirit in me”

  • How can one have a right spirit (mindset)?
    • Colossians 3:17; II John 1:9; I Corinthians 9:27; II Corinthians 10:4-5
  • To get to heaven, this is what we must have!

Psalms 51:11

• We must all draw nigh to God and have a close relationship with Him.

• II John 1:9

• I Corinthians 9:27

Psalms 51:12

• David was not getting his joy from God when he lusted after Bathsheba and schemed to murder her husband.

• We should find joy in God and rejoice in God’s salvation.

• Philippians 3:3; Romans 12:10; I John 1:4; Psalms 5:11; I Peter 1:8; I Thessalonians 5:17 – Rejoice!

• If we don’t enjoy serving God, we are not rightly serving God.

Psalms 51:13

• When we get all these things right, they we will also be able to teach sinners God’s ways. We must learn and practice these things first lest we be seen as hypocrites.

What about my heart? Does it need cleaning?

Introduction

• God gave specific (II Samuel 6:7) instructions about carrying the ark, but David did not follow them, resulting in the death of Uzzah.

• Rehoboam corrupted worship.

• Naaman at first refused God’s commands and was not healed until he relented and obeyed.

• The Pharisees corrupted God’s teaching and were repeatedly rebuked for it by Jesus.

• II John 1:9

What do we learn about local churches from the New Testament?

• They assembled to worship God and edify each other (I Corinthians 14:12, 26, 40).

  • Singing – Colossians 3:16

  • Praying

  • Lord’s Supper

  • Preaching

  • Giving

• They appointed men to work as elders and deacons. I Timothy 3:1-13

• They dealt with sin among members. I Corinthians 5:1-2

• They sounded forth the word. I Thessalonians 1:8

• They used resources to care for needy Christians only. I Timothy 5:16

Modern religious “wisdom”

• Worship God commands vs. entertainment, praise bands, contests, youth ministries, etc.

• Elders and deacons vs. “pastor” system – a preacher who is the public face of the church and may run things.

• Dealing with sin among members vs. a vast majority of people who don’t like being confronted with their sin.

• Teaching and preaching vs. other gifts, treats, and coffee.

• Using resources for needy Christians only vs. operating as a public charity.

God knew exactly what He was doing!

• Worship commanded by God
  • Edifies us! Hebrews 10:23-25
• Elders and deacons
  • Gets the right work done the right way! I Peter 5:1-4
• Dealing with sin among members
  • Protects souls! I Corinthians 5:6
• Teaching and preaching
  • Saves! James 1:21
• Using resources for needy Christians only
  • Keeps the focus on spiritual things! Acts 6:2-4

Quote from Frank Turek – Stealing From God

Introduction

• Types of proverbs:

  • Contrast – Proverbs 13:20

  • Comparison – Proverbs 26:9

  • Straight-forward advice – Proverbs 18:13

  • Extended (parable-like) – Proverbs 24:30

• Writers:

  • Solomon – Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; 25:1

    • I Kings 3:5-12; 4:29, 32; 10:6-7; Ecclesiastes 12:9

    • “Transcribed” by men of Hezekiah, Proverbs 25:1

  • Wise men otherwise unknown

    • Agur – Proverbs 30:1

    • King Lemuel (his mother) – Proverbs 31:1

• We need more wisdom in this world!

  • Proverbs 14:15-16

• Why aren’t these wise sayings always true?

  • These are general truths with exceptions.

    • God created humans with the ability to choose (Joshua 24:15).

    • Time and chance affect everything (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

  • Some passages may pertain to promises unique to Old Covenant Israel.

  • Different circumstances call for different applications of wisdom. (Proverbs 6:4-5; Proverbs 18:22 vs Proverbs 21:9)

    • There is wisdom in each view because all things are not always true in life. These proverbs approach from different angles, sometimes giving us several points of view on the same topic.

Proverbs 1:2 – The purpose of Proverbs: to know wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:4 – Proverbs are for helping the young and naïve so they don’t have to learn everything the hard way.

Proverbs 1:5-7 – Pride works against wisdom!

Proverbs 1:10-19 – Peer pressure is not a new problem!

Proverbs 1:17-18 – Even a bird has enough sense to not enter an obvious trap, but people that run to evil set a trap for themselves!