Here are some sermon notes I took from Pastor Roger Walter’s message given during the Prophecies Decoded seminar series at the Vancouver Community Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Three Appeals to Self
1. Lust of the Flesh ( Instant Gratification )
2. Lust of the Eyes ( Desire for What Looks Good )
3. Pride of Life
Selfishness goes all the way back to the Serpent’s Lie in the Book of Genesis.
Genesis 3:3-10
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Jesus dealt with temptations on a regular basis. Jesus was tempted by appetite, power & glory.
The Bible records Jesus spent 40 days fasting one time. Another time Jesus stood with Satan on a small mountain and looked out over a large region of the known area of the world. Satan offered Jesus Kingship over these lands if Jesus would just bow down to Satan. Jesus always replied by stating: “It Is Written” and would quote a verse from the Old Testament scrolls.
The lesson for us is that we must be in the world as respectful citizens but do not have to be of the world. Spend time in prayer each day to connect with our Heavenly Father.
My own personal faith story is that I am not as selfish as I was in the past. It takes work and the steps are listed below. There is a free online book you can read that will help you also. Just click the image above to go to the Great Hope website.
Galatians 5:16-21
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Steps to Holiness
1. Recognize Your Problem – Pride
2. Lay It Aside by Denying Self
3. Get Into Your Bible Daily
4. Cultivate a Prayer Life
5. Get Accountability ( Family Member or Friend in the Church )
6. Keep Looking to Jesus
What are we doing with our time?
Love God and Do What He Wants, Not What We Want
Reading my Bible every morning gives me the strength to go on in this world that has fallen away from believing in God and His Creation.