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Normality Weekly>
THIS WEEK'S NORMality: THE GOSPEL IS A LIFESTYLE
May 7, 2007
NORMality Weekly
Dr. Norman Campbell
May 6, 2007
NORMality Weekly for Monday May 6th. 2007.
Praise to The Lord
He is STILL ADEQUATE
He is STILL SUFFICIENT
He’s STILL more than ENOUGH in 2007
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<http://www.normancampbell.org/>
Here's something I read recently Sin will keep you from
the Bible but the Bible will keep you from sin!
TODAY'S STUDY
THE GOSPEL IS A LIFESTYLE
1 Thessalonians 1:5 ..because our gospel came to you not
simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy
Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived
among you for your sake.
The Gospel is not just about words.
It is not just about activities.
It is about lifestyle.
Prayer is not an activity; it is a lifestyle [1
Thessalonians 5:17]
Witness is not an activity; it is a lifestyle [1
Thessalonians 1:5]
Church is not an activity; it is a lifestyle [Acts 2:46-47]
When our lives match our words, the power of the Gospel is
displayed to everyone.
THE WORD BECOME FLESH
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the image of God [Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3],
but we would never have known what God was like unless He
became flesh - a human being we could see, hear and touch.
1 John 1:1-2 That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of
life;
2 For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and
bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which
was with the Father, and was manifested unto us
God's goal is that His Word become flesh in us too.
This means His Word is translated into the reality of our
lives, our words, our actions. This is the way He will show
His glory to the world.
2 Corinthians 3:3 You show that you are a letter from
Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink
but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of
stone but on tablets of human hearts .
A LIVING WITNESS
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Luke 21:12-13 But before all these, they shall lay their
hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the
synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings
and rulers for my name's sake.
13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
The bottom line of all Christian Ministry - no matter who
we are - is being a witness to the grace of God.
In a court of law, only first-hand testimony is valid.
In the same way, the Christian life is a first-hand
eye-witness experience. Being an eye-witness involves three
things:
* Seeing [1 John 1:3; 2:8]
* Speaking [Acts 4:20; 2 Corinthians 4:13]
* Living [Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter 1:3]
The early disciples were eye-witnesses of Jesus [1 John
1:2].
But so are we, for the same Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus
is living in us [Acts 5:32; 1 John 5:6-11].
These three elements of our witness –
* What we experience and see;
* What we speak
* What we live - can be seen in the life of the end-time
believers:
Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their
lives so much as to shrink from death.
THE PATTERN OF LIFE
Philippians 3:17 Join with others in following my example,
brothers, and take note of those who live according to the
pattern we gave you.
The Bible provides us with a pattern of living.
We are no longer to be conformed to the pattern of this
world [Romans 12:2], but to be conformed to the likeness of
Jesus [Romans 8:29]. Jesus Himself is the model of this new
life [John 13:15; 1 Corinthians 11:1].
Philippians 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or
heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And
the God of peace will be with you
[see also 1 Thessalonians 4:1; Ephesians 5:8-10].
This pattern of life is described in the Old Testament as
having a profound impact on the lives of those around us:
Isaiah 32:2 Each man will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the
desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
[see also 35:5-8].
Outside of Christ, many lives are dry and parched [Psalm
63:1].
Our lives can become a channel for the living water of
God's presence to turn the desert into pools of water
[Psalm 107:35-36].
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has
said, streams of living water will flow from within him.
[see also Psalm 84:6; Isaiah 41:18-20].
THE AROMA OF THE CHRIST
2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ
among those who are being saved and those who are
perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the
other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a
task?
God wants our lives to be so much filled with the presence
of Christ that we give off the aroma of Christ.
THE FRAGRANCE OF LIFE
Ephesians 5:1-2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly
loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God.
The Old Testament talks about sacrifices which were a
pleasing aroma to God [Numbers 28:2,6].
When we offer our lives as a living sacrifice [Romans
12:2], our lives become a pleasing aroma to God and to
others.
As we walk with the Lord, the Holy Spirit works to be
change us to the likeness of Christ [2 Corinthians 3:18;
Titus 2:11-12; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12].
Jesus is the Gospel become flesh. God doesn't just want us
to tell people about the Gospel. He wants us to be the
Gospel to them, just like Jesus was.
1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus
did.
It should be our lifestyle, it is yours!
AN INTERESTING FACT
A young businessman was rushed to a hospital in serious
condition. A doctor predicted that he might die. Not a
religious man at the time, he did, however, turn on a radio
and heard a Christian song being played: God Will Take Care
Of You.
He said that he couldn't get that song out of his mind. He
began to pray, and as he did, he reported a sense of energy
flowing in.
It was near Christmas, a Sunday morning. He heard a group
of nurses having a brief worship service in a nearby room
and struggled up out of bed and joined them. While there,
he committed his life to Jesus Christ. That man recovered.
Thereafter, for the rest of his life, he remained faithful
to his commitment. He referred every business and every
personal decision to God, was resolute in his ethics,
living by the teachings of Jesus. You've heard of this man,
who told all of this in a book about his life. His name was
J. C. Penney he started and operated the J.C. Penny stores
across America.
Norman
Dr. Norman Campbell <OXEYE><
There should be more fun in life:
The Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his
ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a
sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy
where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr.
Graham thanked him and said, If you'll come to the Church
this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get
to Heaven.
I don't think I'll be there, the boy said. You don't even
know your way to the post office.
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