To be an active intentional follower of Jesus

To be an active intentional follower of Jesus

What keeps us from having real communion with God?

It is the things with which we fill our minds, wills and emotions!

The only cure is to confess, repent, and let the love of God in Christ Jesus erase them from our souls... regularly

Matt 5:27-28Matt 5:27-28

“You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

To Lust – To CovetTo Lust – To Covet

ἐπιθυμέω; ἐπιθυμία, (epi, upon, used intensively, thumos, passion), to strongly desire to have what belongs to someone else and/or to engage in an activity which is morally wrong—‘to covet, to lust, evil desires, lust, desire.’

AdulteryAdultery

– giving one’s heart or body to someone other than the one we have a covenant with...

In human terms its having a physical or emotional relationship with someone other than our spouse

In spiritual terms its filling our soul with things that quench the Spirit that God has put within us.. It isn’t primarily our actions its our attitudes – our passions

Listen! The Lord is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem—your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Isa 59:1-3 (NLT)

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:14-15 (NASB)

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. James 4:1-2 (NLT)

      The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness.

1 Co 2:14ff

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Eph 4:17-19 (NIV)

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

James 5:16 (NLT)

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:24 (NIV)

Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics.

Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. 1 Co 2:14-16

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion.

1 Co 2:14ff

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning.

Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:11-14 (NLT)

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 1 Co 2:14-16

1 Corinthians 10:14-16 (NLT)

1 Corinthians 10:14-16 (NLT)

So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15 You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am about to say is true. 16 When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the benefits of the blood of Christ? And when we break the loaf of bread, aren’t we sharing in the benefits of the body of Christ?

1 Corinthians 10:16-18 (NLT)

1 Corinthians 10:16-18 (NLT)

When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the benefits of the blood of Christ? And when we break the loaf of bread, aren’t we sharing in the benefits of the body of Christ? And we all eat from one loaf, showing that we are one body. And think about the nation of Israel; all who eat the sacrifices are united by that act

1 Corinthians 10:21 (NLT)1 Corinthians 10:21 (NLT)

You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.

“It's not having what you want, but wanting what you got.” Sheryl Crow

COVET, COVETOUS, COVETOUSNESS

COVET, COVETOUS, COVETOUSNESS

A. Verbs.

1.     EPITHUMEŌ (επιθυμεω), to fix the desire upon (epi, upon, used intensively, thumos, passion), whether things good or bad; hence, to long for, lust after, covet, is used with the meaning to covet evilly (Acts 20:33, of coveting money and apparel)