THE GOOD LIFE
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, January 14, 2024
(Deuteronomy 6:4-7) “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE MEANT TO ENRICH US
1. MAKE GOD THE CENTER OF MY LIFE
(Exodus 20:2–3) “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me.”
A. HOW?
- Adoration
- Trust
- Supplication
- Thanksgiving
B. WHY?
- God is my sovereign Lord
- Life flows from the sovereignty of God
- There is room for only one God in my life
(Matthew 19:21–22) Jesus told him, … “Come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”
“…let me fix my heart on gain and I do not see God. If I enthrone anything other than God in my life, then God retires and lets the other god do what it can.” Biblical Psychology, Oswald Chambers
2. KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON GOD
(Colossians 3:2) “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”
(1 Corinthians 10:31) “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
3. PUT GOD FIRST IN YOUR INCOME WITH THE TITHE
(Deuteronomy 14:23, LB) “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.”
(Matthew 6:21) “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
4. CULTIVATE GODLY RELATIONSHIPS
(Philippians 2:3) “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.”
(Proverbs 27:19, LB) “A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.”
- Be outgoing.
- Be a treasure seeker.
- Be hospitable.
- Be empathetic.
- Be resourceful.
- Be self-sacrificing.
5. EAT SPIRITUALLY SATISFYING FOOD
(1 Peter 2:2, GW) “Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation.”
6. STEWARD YOUR TIME
(Ephesians 5:16-17, Phillips) “Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God.”