Singleness and the Soul Retreat, Session 2

Session 2 - Kelly O'Rear - 3-27-10

1 Cor. 15:1, 3-4 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. . . . For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” (emphasis added)

• The gospel is of first importance – it must be what defines us, and where we find our identity.

Our greatest danger at a Christian school is self deception. We must remember that knowledge doesn’t equal spirituality. Are you believing and living it?

Stop trying to perform for God’s love. You can’t earn what can only be given as a free gift of grace. Simply drop your guard and LET HIM LOVE YOU!!!

“Nothing grieves the Father more than when you think He has unkind thoughts about you” (John Owen).

You have to move from KNOWING God loves you to BELIEVING and TRUSTING that He loves you beyond anything that your mind, your reason, your emotions (etc.) tell you.

1 Tim. 4:6-8 – “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (emphasis added)

• Godliness: “good worship” – a life that flows out of a heart of worship.
• Acts 4:13 – the men of the council could tell that Peter and John had been with Jesus – a life of godliness is evident
• 2 Cor. 2:14-16 – “…manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place…” – if you walk with Jesus, you will bear His aroma.
• True godliness inspires and drives others to desire godliness and seek God.

“Discipline” (for godliness – 1 Tim. 4:7 – see above)

• Adding healthy habits
• Removing hindering habits (too much TV, Facebook, etc.)
• Killing deadly habits
• We have to stick with it even when we don’t see any immediate results.
• Seek accountability. Who really knows you?
• Sanctification involves addition AND subtraction.

There is a huge difference between doing time with Jesus and spending time at His feet, truly in His presence.

Don’t find your identity in the approval of others and what they think of you. When speaking or performing in front of others, don’t define success by whether or not they like you.