Time for an Upgrade

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God –Following the commands

Hebrews 10:24, 25 (NKJV) “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

John 4:23, 24 (NKJV) “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God –F–Following the commands –H–Have proper attitude Israel’s need

Malachi 1:6 (NKJV) “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’”

Malachi 1:7, 8 (NKJV) “You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably? Says the Lord of hosts.”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God –F–Following the commands –H–Have proper attitude Israel’s need We must find joy in worship

Psalms 122:1 (NKJV) “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God –F–Following the commands –H–Have proper attitude Israel’s need We must find joy in worship We must desire the time

Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God In our level of maturity

Time for an Upgrade In our level of maturity –Too many babes in Christ

1 Corinthians 3:1 – 4 (NKJV) “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?”

Time for an Upgrade In our level of maturity –Too many babes in Christ –Maturity yields stability

Ephesians 4:14 (NKJV) “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”

Time for an Upgrade In our level of maturity –Too many babes in Christ –Maturity yields stability –Maturity accepts responsibility

Ephesians 4:16 (NKJV) “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God In our level of maturity In our zeal

Time for an Upgrade In our zeal –We must be zealous

Titus 2:11 – 14 (NKJV) “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Time for an Upgrade In our zeal –We must be zealous –Zeal that is based on knowledge

Romans 10:1 – 3 (NKJV) “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”

Time for an Upgrade In our zeal –We must be zealous –Zeal that is based on knowledge –The zeal of the early Christians

Acts 8:4 (NKJV) “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God In our level of maturity In our zeal In our forgiveness

Time for an Upgrade In our forgiveness –Forgiveness principle

Luke 17:3, 4 (NKJV) “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Time for an Upgrade In our forgiveness –F–Forgiveness principle –S–Spirit of forgiveness Forgive before the asking

Mark 11:25, 26 (NKJV) “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Time for an Upgrade In our forgiveness –F–Forgiveness principle –S–Spirit of forgiveness Forgive before the asking Forgive during the offense

Luke 23:34 (NKJV) “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.”

Acts 7:59, 60 (NKJV) “And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Luke 15:20 – 22 (NKJV) “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.’”

Time for an Upgrade In our forgiveness –F–Forgiveness principle –S–Spirit of forgiveness Forgive before the asking Forgive during the offense Forgive as we want forgiveness

Matthew 6:14, 15 (NKJV) “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Hebrews 10:17 (NKJV) “then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’”

Matthew 18:21, 22 (NKJV) “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God In our level of maturity In our zeal In our forgiveness In our perspective

Time for an Upgrade In our perspective –Change from what MUST I do to what CAN I do

Philippians 1:21 (NKJV) “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Time for an Upgrade In our perspective –Change from what MUST I do to what CAN I do –This is God’s perspective

John 3:16 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Romans 5:8 (NKJV) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Time for an Upgrade In our worship to God In our level of maturity In our zeal In our forgiveness In our perspective Do you need to upgrade your relationship with God?