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Proverbs, Part 13: Application
4 CommentsYesterday, in a follow-up to last week’s message, I preached a sermon called “Self-Control in a Wired World.” My main text was Proverbs 25:28:
“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
You can listen to the message online, or download an mp3, and use the following questions prepared by pastor Don DeVries to help apply the sermon to your life:
1. What things are you tempted to do instead of what you should be doing? What do you fill your time with that crowds out activity of eternal value?
2. Have you feasted so much at the table of the world that your hunger for the Lord (Matthew 5:6) has diminished and your first love (Revelation 2:4) has grown cold? What can you do to rekindle that love and hunger?
3. What allowable and permissible pursuits have you allowed to rob you of your service to God’s church and His kingdom? What would change look like?
4. What things have crowded your life that keep you from fruitfulness (like time in God’s word, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, etc.)? What steps of repentance do you need to take to begin the process of change?
5. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15-16a “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…” How can you cultivate wisdom in your use of time? How can you put the eternal pursuits above the trivial?
A summary outline (PDF) is also available for download.
Dear Pastor Josh,
Thank you for such Christ-centered preaching! I especially enjoyed hearing Proverbs 24:30-34. I was very thankful that you made it clear that Christ would work in us.
This past Sunday, I waited for you to explain that it was the Spirit who would produce self-control in us ( Galations 5:22 ). All through chapter five, Paul emphasizes that it is through the Spirit that we put to death the the deeds of the flesh. He also says that we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness which is by faith(Galations 5:5).
Thank you for considering my thoughts. I am the kind of person who needs the law to point me to my hope in Christ (Galations 3:24). That way I don’t focus on trying to do things in my own strength.
Hoping in His grace,
By Gladys Eissen on 09/28/2009Gladys Eissen
Josh,
By Peter Giglio on 09/29/2009Thanks for envisioning us to the bigger and greater things that we can participate in. Personally I don’t facebook, chat, twit, blog or whatever but I appreciated how you didn’t say what we shouldn’t do and instead lite a fire under us for the glorious work of the gospel and the furtherance of His kingdom.
Thanks, Gladys! Josh wanted me to let you know that he agrees, and was going to cover that in the message’s fourth point, which he ended up cutting. He’s now planning to cover that point in the sermon this Sunday.
By Katherine Reynolds - Admin on 09/30/2009I ended up on Covenant Life Church’s website by searching “Josh Harris/I Kissed Dating Goodbye.” This particular message was pivotal in helping me make a crucial decision about facebook. Blessings to you and this (God ordained) ministry.
By Kenneth Westbrook on 06/30/2010Commenting for this entry is closed. We close commenting on all blog entries after 30 days to avoid spammers who try to exploit older blog posts.