Bobby McDonald - Putting The Lord First By Cleansing Ourselves

Bobby McDonaldApril 20, 20176mWatch on YouTube

Speaker: Bobby McDonald Title: Putting The Lord First By Cleansing Ourselves Date: 04-16-2017 Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29) We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3) We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16

Summary

The central message is that putting God first means striving to be a reflection of Jesus Christ, which requires a continuous pursuit of holiness. Drawing from Psalm 139, the speaker emphasizes that this involves asking God to search the heart and reveal any ungodly ways. He warns that choosing self over God allows the devil to help in selfish pursuits, while choosing God leads to the fruits of the Spirit and Christlikeness.

Outline

The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.

What does it mean to put God first?Putting God first in life means pursuing holiness and desiring to be wholly like Him.

Praying David's prayer of searchingDavid asked God in Psalm 139 to search his heart, know his anxious thoughts, and reveal any hurtful ways.

God reveals hidden areas like procrastinationIn constant prayer, God reveals subtle issues like procrastination that do not match the image of Jesus.

Deeper levels of purityGod brings us to higher levels of Christlikeness, moving beyond basic guards with our eyes to deal with lust for possessions or vanity.

The Holy Spirit's role in convictionJesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Conviction through godly wisdomGod also brings correction through the words of other believers, exposing selfish focus on what we lack rather than what we have been given.

The danger of putting self firstIf we choose to put ourselves first instead of God, even selfish pursuits like gaining wealth can be aided by the enemy.

The two mountainsWe must choose which mountain to climb; climbing the mountain of self leads to ruin, while God helps us up the mountain of Christlikeness.

Climbig with God's helpBy choosing day by day to put God first and praying for cleansing, we find love, joy, peace, and true Christlikeness.

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Bobby McDonald - Putting The Lord First By Cleansing Ourselves

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