Begin with intentions in general.
-Choices
- Good intentions don't justify sin.
-Intentions of the heart
Discuss intentions relating to our spiritual life.
What are intentions?
Define:
* Dictionary: An aim or plan, the act of intending.
*My definition: A reason for doing something, a goal in mind when acting on something Choices
*Choices can result in failure, even if our intentions are good.
*Luke 14:28-30, Summarize what Jesus was saying.
*Jesus emphasizes careful decision making, while illustrating the lesson with a man's intention to build a tower.
*We may have good intentions, but Jesus teaches us to count the cost before acting to accomplish our intentions.
Example: People who are 'fixers'. Whether it be an attempt at being a handyman, or trying to fix problems in other peoples lives... they have good intentions but can at times end up making things worse.
Examples in our own lives?
Good Intentions Do Not Justify Sin
*Before becoming a Christian, Paul had good intentions while persecuting Christians. Yet he was lost in sin.
*Acts 23:1
*Paul, speaking before the Sanhedrin, professed to have lived with a "perfectly good conscience before God up to this day" While doing so, he locked up saints in prison, cast his vote to put them to death, punished them in the synagogues, tried to force them to blaspheme, and pursued them to foreign cities (Acts 26:11-12).
*Acts 22:16 He had to be baptized, washing away his sin, and calling on the name of the Lord. From Paul we learn that good intentions do not justify sin!
Example: Pastor spoke a while back about being honest even if it doesn't make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
*Many peoples natural reaction: Lie/ be dishonest to make the person feel good OR avoid getting into trouble.
*You should answer truthfully even though it probably isn't what they are hoping for.
*Sin is sin, it doesn't depend on the circumstances.
*However, you should still be careful of how you respond to a situation. Obedience Counts, Not Intentions *Matt. 7:21-23 What do the preceding verses mean? *Some people have good intentions, create magnificent works on earth/ are very successful. *Question: Is what they are doing God's will? *This is very important, it doesn't matter what kind of works we do on this earth if it doesn't aline with God's will. *They will be surprised at the judgment they receive after this life. *They won't enter heaven because they didn't obey God. *They will be surprised to learn that obedience counts, not intentions. *Sin is sin. Good intentions are only good if we follow through with righteous actions in obedience to God *As you've probably heard before, the road to hell is paved with good intentions! Example: Joe (during revival) spoke about how David wanted to build a temple for God. *God's will was for Solomon to build the temple. *David could have built the temple, he had good intentions. *BUT this would not have been in accordance to God's plan. *David would have been disobedient to God. Change in our lives and our intentions *Read Romans 6:11-14 What does this mean? -Christians should consider themselves dead to sin, but alive to God. -Christians should not let sin reign in their mortal bodies so that they obey its desires. -Christians should present their bodies to God for righteousness and not to sin for unrighteousness. -Sin will have not mastery over Christians because they are under God's grace. * We all have struggles in our lives. *More specifically here, when referring to struggles we are talking about sin and temptation. *We may or may not want to stop *Take the time to analyze ourselves. Read: Ephesians 4:22-24 *Pray for God to reveal things to us and allow him to make that change within us. *Repent for our sins. *We may be unsuccessful at attempts to stop. * We need to ask ourselves what our intentions are. -Are we doing this for ourselves (rid feelings of guilt, depression, etc), or for God? -Are we offering ourselves up to God, asking him to help make this change? -Are we allowing him to make the change? *Put in our full effort. *Give the glory to God.
-Choices
- Good intentions don't justify sin.
-Intentions of the heart
Discuss intentions relating to our spiritual life.
What are intentions?
Define:
* Dictionary: An aim or plan, the act of intending.
*My definition: A reason for doing something, a goal in mind when acting on something Choices
*Choices can result in failure, even if our intentions are good.
*Luke 14:28-30, Summarize what Jesus was saying.
*Jesus emphasizes careful decision making, while illustrating the lesson with a man's intention to build a tower.
*We may have good intentions, but Jesus teaches us to count the cost before acting to accomplish our intentions.
Example: People who are 'fixers'. Whether it be an attempt at being a handyman, or trying to fix problems in other peoples lives... they have good intentions but can at times end up making things worse.
Examples in our own lives?
Good Intentions Do Not Justify Sin
*Before becoming a Christian, Paul had good intentions while persecuting Christians. Yet he was lost in sin.
*Acts 23:1
*Paul, speaking before the Sanhedrin, professed to have lived with a "perfectly good conscience before God up to this day" While doing so, he locked up saints in prison, cast his vote to put them to death, punished them in the synagogues, tried to force them to blaspheme, and pursued them to foreign cities (Acts 26:11-12).
*Acts 22:16 He had to be baptized, washing away his sin, and calling on the name of the Lord. From Paul we learn that good intentions do not justify sin!
Example: Pastor spoke a while back about being honest even if it doesn't make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
*Many peoples natural reaction: Lie/ be dishonest to make the person feel good OR avoid getting into trouble.
*You should answer truthfully even though it probably isn't what they are hoping for.
*Sin is sin, it doesn't depend on the circumstances.
*However, you should still be careful of how you respond to a situation. Obedience Counts, Not Intentions *Matt. 7:21-23 What do the preceding verses mean? *Some people have good intentions, create magnificent works on earth/ are very successful. *Question: Is what they are doing God's will? *This is very important, it doesn't matter what kind of works we do on this earth if it doesn't aline with God's will. *They will be surprised at the judgment they receive after this life. *They won't enter heaven because they didn't obey God. *They will be surprised to learn that obedience counts, not intentions. *Sin is sin. Good intentions are only good if we follow through with righteous actions in obedience to God *As you've probably heard before, the road to hell is paved with good intentions! Example: Joe (during revival) spoke about how David wanted to build a temple for God. *God's will was for Solomon to build the temple. *David could have built the temple, he had good intentions. *BUT this would not have been in accordance to God's plan. *David would have been disobedient to God. Change in our lives and our intentions *Read Romans 6:11-14 What does this mean? -Christians should consider themselves dead to sin, but alive to God. -Christians should not let sin reign in their mortal bodies so that they obey its desires. -Christians should present their bodies to God for righteousness and not to sin for unrighteousness. -Sin will have not mastery over Christians because they are under God's grace. * We all have struggles in our lives. *More specifically here, when referring to struggles we are talking about sin and temptation. *We may or may not want to stop *Take the time to analyze ourselves. Read: Ephesians 4:22-24 *Pray for God to reveal things to us and allow him to make that change within us. *Repent for our sins. *We may be unsuccessful at attempts to stop. * We need to ask ourselves what our intentions are. -Are we doing this for ourselves (rid feelings of guilt, depression, etc), or for God? -Are we offering ourselves up to God, asking him to help make this change? -Are we allowing him to make the change? *Put in our full effort. *Give the glory to God.
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