Bible Truth: God Knows Me

Scripture: Psalm 139:1 “Lord, You know everything about me.”

 Target Age Group: Ages 2 – 4

 Learning Context: Any small group setting like Sunday School or Church Toddler class.

 Target Time Frame: 30 minutes

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Application: God knows me and sees everything I say and do or think… Good or Bad

 

Materials: Pictures of a circle, a car and a tree (pictures of animals would be fun too), Bible for reference

 

Bible Lesson Opening:

 

Pick a song to sing before you start. It could be one familiar to most kids, (i.e. Jesus Loves Me, If You’re Happy and You Know It, …), or for the older ones it could be one you made up.

 

Say: There was a man in the Bible named King David who God used to teach us how we can love and know God. But, before David became a king, he spent a lot of time in the fields by his home taking care of his father’s sheep. While he took care of the sheep he would play his harp and make up songs. In the Bible, David’s songs are called Psalms. (Show the children how to find Psalms in the middle of the Bible.)

 

Just like we sang, David sang songs to God while he was all alone in the fields. David sang songs thanking God for who God is. David sang songs telling God how much he loved God. David sang songs to ask God to help him when he needed it. One of the songs David wrote is called Psalm 139 and it teaches us that God knows us.

 

I want to teach you special words for today… “God knows me” Let’s say that together. (Make up motions or learn the sign language to do along with it.)

 

Our verse for today is from Psalm 139:1. (Show the children how to find chapter 139 and verse 1.) It says “Lord, You know everything about me.” Can we all say that together?

 

Let’s find out how much He does know about us!

 

Part One: (from Ps. 139:1, 2a, 3, 16b, 16c)

 

Everyone stand up where you are. Now sit back down again.

 - God saw you do that!

 

Now stand back up again and reach and try to touch the ceiling. Now reach and try to touch the floor. Now sit back down.

 - God saw you do that too!

 

Raise your hand if you slept last night?

 - God watched you fall asleep and kept watching all night long!

 

Think in your head about yesterday. Did you make someone happy? How about sad? Did you go somewhere in the car? Did you get in trouble for something you did that was wrong?

 - God watched you do those things!

 

Psalm 139 says that God knows when we sit down and stand up. He sees us when we go places and when we rest at home. God knows everything you do. God sees you when you are doing good things and He sees you when you are doing the things you know you shouldn’t do. He can see you all the time. God knew you were going to be here today before you even before you were born!

 

God sees you!! Everyone say God sees me.

 

Part Two: (from Ps. 139:2b, 4)

 

Alright now I want everyone to think of something in your head. Don’t say it or shout it out or tell your neighbor, just think of it inside your head about your favorite animal. Everyone have it? Okay, turn to your friend and tell them what your favorite animal is.

 

I don’t know what animal you thought of, but God heard what you thought in your head even before you said it out loud! Psalm 139 says God knows our thoughts and what we are going to say even before we say it. God knows the good things you think and say; and He knows the bad things you think and say. He can even hear you when you pray silently in your head.

 

God hears you!! Everyone say God hears me.

 

Part Three: (from Ps. 139:13-16a)

 

We know God knows us because he sees us and hears us. But did you know God knows us because he made us?

 

What shape is this?

 (Point to the circle and have children answer.)

 Who wants to try to be a circle?

 (Choose 1 to 3 children to come up to the front and try to be a circle. Then send them to sit down again.)

 Good job! Let’s all clap to show them how well they tried! As hard as they tried though could they ever really be a circle? Of course not!

 

Repeat activity with the pictures of the car and the tree.

 

Did God make us circles, cars, or trees? Psalm 139 says that God decided what you look like before you were born. Look at your neighbor. Do you look like them? No, of course not. You look like you! God knew what color your eyes and hair would be. He made your nose the perfect shape for you. He chose your hands and feet especially for you. He thinks you are darling and precious.

 

God made you!! Everyone say God made me.

 

Comprehension:

 

We know God knows us because He sees us, He hears us, and He made us.

 Today’s verse is “Lord, you know everything about me.” Can we say that together?

 He sees everything we do, all the time. He hears everything we think and everything we say out loud. He made us look the way we do. God knows me and God knows you too!

 

What is our special words for today? (God knows me.)

 Who wrote songs to God while he took care of the sheep? (David)

 When can God see us? (All the time.)

 Can God only hear us when we talk out loud? (No.)

 Does God only hear the good things we do and think and say? Or does he know the bad things too? (He knows it all.)

 Who made you exactly the way he wanted you to be? (God.)

 

Let’s say our verse for today together, Psalm 139:1- “Lord, you know everything about me.”

 

If Time Allows…

 

Have a song ready to teach the children. It could be a song you make up beforehand to a familiar tune.

 for example… This is sung to the tune of “This Old Man”

 God knows me.

 God knows me.

 God sees, he hears, he made me too.

 He knows everything that I will do.

 Thank you God for loving me too.

 

Discuss again how David made up songs to sing to God and that we can do the same

 

Conclude…

 

Recite Psalm 139:1- “Lord, you know everything about me.”

 

Repeat the special words for the day, “God Knows Me”

 

Pray thanking God for knowing us, seeing us, hearing us, and creating us.

 

Need More Ideas? Browse our growing selection of preschool Bible lessons or print off a Bible coloring page to use with your class.

 

 

1 Peter 1:22-25

                        Last week we covered verses 18 – 21 of 1 Peter 1 and this week we move on to finish out the chapter with verses 22 through 25. Last week we covered redemption and what we were redeemed from, what we were redeemed with, who we were redeemed by, and what we were redeemed for. We will see that this section of scripture builds on the premise and assumption that you have been redeemed as I spoke last week. This is more than head knowledge of the bible; it is heart knowledge with Christ. Many people claim to be Christians, especially here in the United States but as John states in John 17:17…Many hear the truth, but are never purified by it, because they will not submit to it nor obey it. I pray that today we will hear the truth, submit to and obey it so that we may be purified by it.

 

1Pe 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1Pe 1:23  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

1Pe 1:24  for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

1Pe 1:25  but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

 

        Being redeemed and having purified our souls would be the equivalent of what we would call being born again. Of course we have perverted that phrase as much as we have the word love as I discussed for nearly a year when I covered 1 Corinthians 13. I remember seeing a survey once that over 50 percent of Americans say that they are born again Christians. But I assure you that it is not even close to 50 percent of America that have purified their souls by their obedience to the truth and have a sincere brotherly love and love one another earnestly with a pure heart. This would be a very different America if it was. What many mean by being born again is that they had at some point in their life had a religious or emotional experience that resulted in a fresh start in life. I witnessed this at several churches and events that I have been to where there is a cattle drive of people going forward at the end of the service. A majority of the people are simply reacting to an emotional feeling and never get the to obedience part. Many, when they leave the church service go right back to living the same way as before. They want the insurance of being born again but aren’t willing to submit to the obedience part of it. That is what Peter is saying here. Since you are redeemed, purified, born again you should be living in obedience. Not to be confused with if you are obedient you will be redeemed, purified and born again. You are not able to live in obedience without being purified. Don’t try to put the cart before the horse.

Joh 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

 

        Ed has been quoting this on Sunday nights that we are called to believe on the one who was sent. (Jesus Christ). But to believe is to obey.

        It is more than a head knowledge that God exist. It is about believing so much in God that you are willing to be obedient to what God says. Specifically love. That is why I spent over a year of studying 1 Corinthians 13. Love is the most important thing for us to do. Love God and love each other; the two greatest commandments.

        I want to take a minute and discuss belief and obedience. If Cindy and I have a map of the Georgia Mountains and a compass then we can safely go for a hike and plot our hike and not get lost. Because we believe the map we can hike for days and not be concerned with where we are. We know and believe that the map is true and correct. If we get lost we simply go back to the map and compass and figure out where we are. But if we leave for our hike and say we believe the map we have is correct but when we get lost don’t look at the map to help find our way out do we really believe it?

        Isn’t that like most professing Christians today? They say that they believe in God, say that they are born again but refuse to look at the map (the bible) for direction. And many of those that finally agree to look at the map out of exhaustion still won’t do what it says because it is “too hard” to follow all those rules.

        Jesus says…

        Mat 7:21  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

 

        In verse 21 it says people will call him Lord but it is the one who does, the one who is obedient is the one who is redeemed, born again, and have purified souls.

        We are called to obedience and that obedience would be to love because you have been loved. God has shown you His love by sending His son to give us a living hope, an inheritance that is imperishable and incorruptible. We have spent several weeks talking about how wonderful this gift is that God has given us. Now we are called, because of that, to be obedient to Him and love on another with a pure heart.

        John Piper writes…

                How then does our own obedience—“the obedience of faith”—relate to justification? The answer is: Our obedience is not the ground or the basis of our justification. Nor is it any part of the instrument or means by which we are united to Christ who alone is the ground and the basis of our justification. Faith alone unites us to Christ and Christ alone is the ground of our justification. Our obedience is the fruit of that faith. The faith that justifies is the kind of faith that, by the Holy Spirit (Ro 8:13-note), changes us. If your faith in Christ leaves you unchanged, you don’t have saving faith. Obedience—not perfection, but a new direction of thought and affections and behavior—is the fruit that shows that the faith is alive. James put it this way, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”  (James 2:17-note). Faith alone justifies, but the faith that justifies is never alone. It is always accompanied by “newness of life”.

 

        Take some time to evaluate yourselves. Are you acting in obedience to the faith you say you have. Or are you lost in the woods and trying to use a road map instead of a topographical hiking map? Many times when things are tough, when we feel lost we don’t go to the right map. We try to rely on our own senses which usually cause people to hike in circles. Why, because we believe in ourselves more than we believe in the real map. We have made ourselves our own gods. Or we will look to our friends or other books for our answers. If your faith in God and His word is real then we should be obedient to it first. Then ask other people’s opinions, read other books etc. to see if they line up with the word. If they do then we can take that advice and grow.

        We are called to show our obedience by loving one another. If you recall our past study on love there was a reoccurring theme that will help you today to show your obedience by loving. Love is self-sacrificing. If you put others needs above your own in all that you do you can be assured that you are living the obedience that, as a born again, redeemed, person of God you are called to be. God bless you in that as you go about your week.

 

1 Peter 1:18-21

                     If you recall the last time I spoke we covered verses 17 through 19. I covered the process of salvation through Christ from realizing you are a sinner to realizing that Jesus Christ is the only way for salvation. Let’s briefly review those 7 realizations.

 

Realize…God, the Father, accepts no sin

Realize…We, the people, are sinners

Realize…We cannot pay for our sins

Realize… A fear of the consequence of sin

Realize…There is freedom from the penalty of sin

Realize…The process God made to conquer sin

Realize… Jesus Christ is the only salvation from your sin

          We are going to overlap some scripture this week. We will be covering verses 18 – 21 this week and will be continuing on in the same theme of redemption. I would like to say that this message is much influenced by John MacArthur whom I appreciate greatly for his diligent work to study scripture.

 

1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 21.

 

1Pe 1:18  knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

1Pe 1:19  but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

1Pe 1:20  He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

1Pe 1:21  who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

 

          To be redeemed or ransomed as the ESV uses in verse 18 simply means to buy back someone from bondage by the payment of a price. In this text Peter is writing of the costly ransom price that was paid to purchase us.

          I want us to take some time to understand about our redemption because this is important. How you perceive redemption indicates your salvation status and whether or not you are included in that imperishable, incorruptible inheritance. Our redemption and inheritance only comes through Jesus Christ and His precious blood and not with perishable things such as silver or gold.

          We are going to answer four very important questions about redemption today.

          Let’s start with our first question…

 

What were we redeemed from? The simple answer to that is sin. But let’s be a little more detailed. Peter points out four specific aspects of sin throughout the latter part of this chapter.

          The first and second aspects we see in verse 14, we are redeemed from our former lusts. A redeemed individual should no longer be driven or controlled by lust or evil desires.

 

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

1Th 4:4  that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

1Th 4:5  not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

 

          Second, we are redeemed from a state of ignorance. A redeemed individual now has a knowledge of God. A knowledge of saving truth. The unredeemed can’t understand this truth.

 

1Co 1:18  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

          Third, in verse 18 we see, we are redeemed from a futile life. A redeemed individual has a life that has a point and has value. We glorify God and He is our significance. We have a function to bear fruit.

 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

         

          Fourth, again in verse 18, we see we are redeemed from traditions. A redeemed individual no longer has to be subject to the curse or heritage of their forefathers. We are now part of a new family.

 

Gal 4:4  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

Gal 4:5  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

 

          Our second question is…

 

What are we redeemed with? Verse 19 says…”With the precious blood”. It is not the physical, tangible blood or He could have just pricked His finger and accomplished the same thing. The blood, if one sheds his blood, he loses his life. This insinuates through death. The price, in order to satisfy a holy, just God was blood, the death of the perfect sacrifice. Innocent blood had to be shed to appease God. That price is higher than all the gold and silver in the world could purchase.

 

         

Our third question is…

 

          Who were we redeemed by? Of course we have already alluded to this already. The text says it was the precious blood of Christ. Who was foreknown before the foundation of the world that He would pay the price for your redemption. It couldn’t have been any blood or any death. It had to be a spotless, unblemished lamb. Precious, perfect blood, from a precious, perfect lamb. Your redemption was purchased at a higher price than you can imagine. You were purchased by blood not money, not silver, not gold, not works; Jesus had to give His life, His precious blood. It is precious blood because it is the only acceptable ransom price, because it cleanses the sinner, because of its power and value.

          It is important to remember as we read this text that it says that this was foreknown. It was fore planned. Christ’s blood sacrifice was an eternal plan that God put in action. This was not a contingency because things didn’t work out as God had originally planned. Jesus was the plan all along.

Act 2:23  this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

          God chose the redeemer and He chose the redeemed.

 

Eph 1:5  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

 

          As we close I want you to take notice the end of verse 20. It says that it was for your sake that this whole redemptive plan was made. He made the plan because He loves you, and for the sake of those who believe and have faith in Him. Not only did He provide the redemption but I believe He provides the grace that grants the faith.

 

          What are we redeemed for?  So that our faith and hope are in God. So that He will be glorified. That is the chief end of man; to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We have been redeemed in order to give us a relationship to God, our God that we can trust for our inheritance.  We have been redeemed for God’s good pleasure and to give us the confidence to be about doing His work.

And so, Peter lays it again at our feet. God wants you to live in hope. God wants you to live in holiness. God wants you to conduct yourselves in reverential awe and fear and honor to His name. And the motive for doing that is to understand what He has done for you in providing redemption. Let's bow together in prayer.

Lord God, how thankful we are that You have redeemed us and that You have unfolded for us this incredible plan and it is ours even though we don't fully understand it and it is ours even though we cannot fully thank You for it. And we feel so inadequate to express our gratitude so inadequate, even to grasp the full understanding and yet, Lord, as much as we do understand, it overwhelms us. Thank You, Lord, for redeeming us. Thank You for the plan to send the perfect Lamb, predestined, incarnated, resurrected and ascended. And, Lord, we thank You that through Jesus Christ we have been made Your people, Your church, Your redeemed. And, Lord, we desire that we might live as redeemed that we might live as those who have been freed from sin. We thank You in Christ's name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

1 Peter 1:17-19

                       We are going to continue in our study of 1 Peter chapter 1today. I had a lot of fun putting this message together. I had it almost completely done and then it was like a light bulb turned on in my head and I saw something in the text that really excited me. So after spending hours studying Greek meanings and reading commentaries on the text, I am not going to use it hardly any of it. I am going to show you the consistencies that are in the scripture that people don’t notice. The Bible was written by many different people over many years and yet, if you are willing to search, you can see the same redemption story over and over.

 

1Pe 1:17  And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

1Pe 1:18  knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

1Pe 1:19  but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

 

          I am going to talk about sin today. I know, ugh. Hang in there though; this is a message of redemption and deliverance not of rejection and despair. I have 7 points or stages concerning sin that I want to cover so I am going to move fairly quickly. I am going to use these three verses, in order; to show you the plan of salvation and that there is hope even though we are undeserving of the wonderful salvation that Peter wrote about a few verses back.

1.    “And if you call on him as Father”

Calling on God as father has a lot of implications. It is more than just saying he is my “dad”. The father that Peter is speaking of is, of course, God the father. Not just any father. He is a just and perfect father. Unlike our fathers that even if you had a great father he still was not perfect. God, our father, is perfect and demands perfection from us. Remember verse 16, be holy as I am holy? Moses writes this in Deuteronomy…

Deu 32:3  For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!

Deu 32:4  "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

 

          Realize…God, the Father, accepts no sin

2.    “judges impartially according to each one's deeds”

If we have a father that accepts no sin then he must, as a just and righteous God, judge our deeds to see if we are sinless. We are each be judged by our own actions. Paul writes in Romans…

Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We are separated from God by our sins. If God accepts one single sin into His kingdom then He would be allowing imperfection which is against His word, which would make Him an unjust God and a liar. This is how we know that it is not about doing more good than bad to get into heaven. It is about being perfect and sinless in order to be in the presence of God.

Realize…We, the people, are sinners

3.    “conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,”

I am going to use this portion of text for both points 3 and 4. First of all Peter writes conduct yourselves with fear, not conduct yourselves with integrity or good morals or by being perfect, because, as we read earlier, we cannot be perfect. We cannot absolve ourselves of our sins or just decide that we are not going to sin anymore. Even if we could, our past sins would not just disappear just because we are good now. Paul in Ephesians writes..

Eph 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Eph 2:9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

          Realize…We cannot pay for our sins

 

4.    “conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,”

Using that same text we see that we are supposed to conduct ourselves with fear. Paul writes in Romans that the wages of sin is death. Sin cannot go unpunished. If God allowed one sin to go unpunished or unaccounted for then He is not a holy and just God. Look at what we have seen so far…God accepts no sin, we are sinners and we cannot pay for our sins. If God is important to you, to any degree, than this should be a wakeup call to you. Jesus says in Matthew…

 

Mat 10:28  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

Realize… A fear of the consequence of sin

 

5.    “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,”

Again, we will use this one verse for points 5 and 6. First, notice that you were ransomed from your futile ways. The ransom for your past and future sins are paid for, when you do it God’s way, which is the only way. God, because of His love for us made a way for us to share in His glory. But there had to be a payment, a reckoning for our sins. Otherwise God would not be just.

 

1Jn 4:10  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

          Realize…There is freedom from the penalty of sin

 

6.    “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,”

We were ransomed from the futile inheritance and now we are adopted into a new family with a new inheritance. One that is imperishable and undefiled and unfading. We become children of God and are able to rejoice in the benefits of that status. This is about the process of salvation. God’s plan for our redemption is through adoption.

 

Eph 1:5  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

 

Realize…The process God made to conquer sin

 

7.    “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot”

This is how God can still be just and holy and be able to allow you and I, sinners, into heaven and adopt us as children. Jesus was without blemish or spot as he walked on the earth. He was perfect and therefore was able to be that perfect sacrifice for all of us. As long as we are “in Him” we are able to come to the throne. He paid the penalty that had to be paid in order for God to be a just God. There had to be payment, payment that we don’t even have the currency to pay. Jesus stepped up in our place and took the punishment that we deserved so that God’s wrath would pass over us. His blood covers our sins so that when God cast his gaze upon us, he sees us as righteous and holy, because he sees His son. Therefore, allowing us to be holy as he is holy.

Realize… Jesus Christ is the only salvation from your sin

 

          This is the only way to heaven. No one comes to the Father except through the Son. Because we cannot be holy and righteous without Him and that is what our Righteous, just God requires.

 

Joh 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Do you know Christ today? If you are counting on going to heaven by being a good person or by your works then you are going to be eternally disappointed. Talk with one of us before you leave today and be sure that you understand what it means to be saved, born again or whatever you want to call it.

         

Realize…God, the Father, accepts no sin

Realize…We, the people, are sinners

Realize…We cannot pay for our sins

Realize… A fear of the consequence of sin

Realize…There is freedom from the penalty of sin

Realize…The process God made to conquer sin

Realize… Jesus Christ is the only salvation from your sin

1 Peter 1:14-16

              We covered verse 13 of 1 Peter chapter 1 last time that I spoke and if you recall Peter had switched from indicatives to imperatives. As we continue on to verses 14 through 16 today he continues on with the imperative. Because you have this inheritance, because you have a reason to praise God in all circumstances, because God is worth it…

1Pe 1:13  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

1Pe 1:15  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

1Pe 1:16  since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

 

          Peter, in verse 14, is writing to those who should be prepared, those that are sober and those that have hope in the grace given to us through faith in Christ. We covered that verse last time. But, if you are those things, if you believe that according to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, then because of that you should be, and have the ability to be, obedient children that aren’t conformed to passions of the flesh. God calls us to live a holy life. Three times in Leviticus God says be holy for I am holy.

Don’t misunderstand me. We are not His children and holy because we obey. We obey because we are His children and are holy. We did not make ourselves His children and cannot make ourselves holy. He made us His children and made us holy through Christ who is our righteousness. Therefore, we should be obedient children. We now possess the ability and the unction to obey the demand of God’s call for us to live out what we already are…Holy. If you are born again God says “You are holy”. I know, this is a tough one to swallow. Kind of makes you squirm a bit doesn’t it? That is because you are still trying to make holiness as something you can obtain on your own.

If you can just stop that sin that has you enslaved then maybe you will be able to consider yourself holy, but, not until then. You don’t consider yourself worthy enough to be considered holy. So you try and try to overcome your sin and fail over and over again because you are trying to fix yourself before you present yourself to God.

You have the cart before the horse.

You are holy and that is how you can stop that sin that has enslaved you. You should be drawing your strength from that. Because I am holy I am not going to give in to that sin this time I am going to believe what the word of God says about me and I am going to act in faith that if I resist the devil he will flee from me.

The text is saying “you are holy, now act like it!”

The challenge that I see is for Christians to recognize that they are holy. When they look at themselves in the mirror all they see is their sin and depravity, which is who you were before Christ. But you are a new creation who no longer has to conform to the images of this world. Our struggle should only be to cause the outward man to correspond to the inward man that has the righteousness of Christ. This is our only battle. The war has already been won. As JD says the game is rigged.

If you are in Christ you are already victorious. So why are you walking around looking and acting defeated? Recognize who you are in Christ and understand that even if your flesh fails you can repent to a merciful savior and hold your head up so to speak and move on. Pick the ball up and keep running.

So, if our struggle is causing the outward man to correspond to the inward man who is righteous, how do we do that? Let’s look back at the text, in verse 14 it says “do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” Remember this is not about your position in Christ, this is about your position in the flesh. Your position in Christ is holy and righteous. Your position in the flesh is still depraved and still sins. This is about causing our position in the flesh to line up closer with our position in Christ.

          I have spent a lot of time considering this phrase “do not be conformed” in the past several days and have some thoughts that I would like to share with you that I believe will help you.

 

          KJV uses the term do not fashion yourself which Strongs defines as conforming to the same pattern. When I read this it reminded me of habits; Patterns of your old lifestyle. We should no longer be slave to the habits and patterns of our old lifestyle before we were saved.

          Again, if this is our part of our salvation, causing the flesh to reflect the spiritual condition inside me, how do we do that?

          First, we need to stop thinking of ourselves as less than we are, as I said earlier. We are children of God made holy by the righteousness of Christ who died for us. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as victims of our sins with no way out. We no longer have to be slaves to sin. We may not have the ability to be sinless but we have the ability to sin less. We are more than conquerors if we are in Christ. He has overcome the world, which includes Satan and your flesh.

          Second, we need to change our pattern, our habits. Studies show that it takes, on average, 66 days to form a new habit or pattern. Habits and patterns are performed automatically because they are performed frequently. Mental and physical repition creates an association between the situation and action which means that when a particular situation happens the action is performed automatically or with little or no thought.

          Let me give you an example. I play steel drums with a band and there is a song that I play what is called a lead pan. It plays the melody of the song and can be very challenging to play. Well, I am not overly, naturally musically gifted but I am learning the skills of playing a few instruments and learning to read some music. I began to play a particular song on the lead pan and played it and played it until I could play it with very few or no noticeable mistakes. That was a couple of years ago and I played it at almost every concert that we did for a little over a year. Then we stopped playing it for at least 6 months and I found out that we would be playing it again that night at a concert. I had no practice or anything prior to refresh my memory of note placement on the pan or anything. Well, the time came to play the song and I walked up to the pan and picked up the mallets and played it perfectly without missing a single note and didn’t even look at the music book. In the past I always had to read the music to play the song. I didn’t even think about the notes. My arms seemed like they had separated themselves from my body and were playing by themselves. I felt like I was watching somebody else playing but they were my hands! I knew how to play the song even though on the inside I was nervous that I couldn’t remember where the notes were. It had become natural for my hands to make specific movements at the cue of the music.

If I had just trusted in the knowledge that I had played the song over and over again and had no reason to be nervous then I would have reacted differently. I almost didn’t play the song because I was so nervous but Cindy encouraged me to step up and play. So I did.

If we could just trust in the knowledge of who we are in Christ then we will react differently to circumstances. But the key is in repetition. If every time the urge comes up to do that sin, you remind yourself who you are in Christ and that He loves you and wants you to act like the holy person that you are then eventually it will be a natural reaction to consider Christ every time you are tempted to sin. It is also important to surround yourself with people who will encourage you, as Cindy did for me that day at the concert, people who will remind you who you are in Christ that will encourage you to do what is right and pleasing to God.  It will be difficult but the reward is worth it. The first few times will be the hardest but it will begin to be easier and easier to withstand the devil.

That reminds me of this week. Cindy and I went zip lining in Orlando. I am not afraid of heights but I am not typically an adrenaline junkie. I don’t care for roller coasters and things like that but Cindy has really wanted to do this zip lining thing and we had an opportunity to do it very inexpensively so I went. The first time I had to step off that platform and start zipping was scary and it was all I could do to take that first step. The next time it was a little easier because I knew what to expect but as we did more and more of them I actually began to look forward to them and then when we were on our last line I was actually disappointed that we were almost done.

If you will take that first step of obedience, ask friends to help if you need accountability and encouragement, then you will find that obedience gets easier and easier and you can actually find a joy in it that you never even knew that you were missing. God rewards those that diligently seek Him. This is all about renewing the mind day by day, situation by situation while remembering that our holiness comes from Christ.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So, my final encouragement is do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance but be conformed to the passions of your Savior. For you to be holy as He is holy.