Resources for Pursuing God

Well, our last time together, we took a look at some of the challenges that we're facing in our pursuit of godliness. And as we ended the class, we were looking forward to how we're going to meet those challenges.

Because as those challenges are great, we have to believe that God and His grace and mercy has provided what we need to meet the challenges that are there.

Now, as you see from the PowerPoint, we're not having a segment from this old house or anything. And I couldn't think of the guy's name. Who's the guy who does this old house? The guy that's been doing it for years?

Well, that's one of them. What's the other guy? What is it? Norm. Yeah, Norm. That's the way I am, David. Norm. Yeah, I forgot. I couldn't think of his name.

But it's just kind of a picture helping us starting to think about tools, resources, provisions that we have.

And you might not have a tool bag like that or tools like that, but we're all familiar with working with tools, things that we need to accomplish something, whether it's around the house or some of you ladies like quilting, or some of you have crafts that you do, or on the job, whether it's lady or men in the office, computers, on and on we go.

We're very familiar with working with tools, and probably familiar with those times when we don't have the right tool to do the job.

And to me, that is very frustrating, and that's when I say, oh, Norm would be proud of me when I have something propped up the wrong way and using the wrong tool to try and accomplish something.

And, of course, I don't get the results that Norm gets with a shop full of every tool for everything that needs to be done. But we're, and we don't want to be in that situation.

And in the same way, you know, as I've been around the house and yard and been busy with projects and have a tool for the job, sometimes I just stop at the end of the job and thank God for the tool that I was able to have to do that job.

It made it so much easier to do the job and accomplish what I was trying to do. Well, that's how we want to view our Heavenly Father, as the one who has provided what we need in order to pursue godliness.

He makes these commands to us, gives us this instruction from his word that we learned about in our first lesson, that we are to pursue godliness, orient your life, discipline yourselves in this direction of godliness.

And that is a command that he wants us to pursue godliness. Well, in following up those commands, he makes the provisions that we need in order to pursue godliness.

And we can be thankful for that. He's commanded us again. Again, we've learned in previous lessons to walk in the spirit and, again, discipline ourselves toward godliness.

And he's provided what we need to obey him. And that's what we want to take a look at today in today's lesson. And as we look at these provisions that God has made for us, we need to be thinking about how and when each provision comes into play in our growth and godliness.

Now, throughout the rest of our lessons, we'll be focusing on some of that. But even as we're going through this, I really don't want us to see this just as a list of tools.

But even as I see tools at different times, whether it's in a magazine or in someone else's shop, I might see a tool and start thinking, well, I wonder what that is.

I wonder what that's for. I wonder how that's used. And if I don't know, I would go to the person and ask them, well, help me understand how that tool is used.

Or if I am trying to get something done and I don't have a tool and ask somebody, they might tell me, well, here's a tool that can be used.

And, of course, as he's telling me that such a tool exists, then I need to be thinking and my follow-up question will be, well, how do you use it? How does it work?

When does it come into play when I'm doing this project? And so as we look at some of these provisions that we have from God for us to effectively grow in godliness, that's what I want you to be thinking about.

And, unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to have time in each one of these provisions that we look at to ask you that question, okay, you've seen the provision that God has made.

Now tell me, when would that come into play? And I might try and do that a couple times during our lesson time, but as you're going to see, there are a lot of provisions that God has made for us in our pursuit of godliness.

And so you take some of these thoughts with you at the end of class and talk to them with each other or in your home or with each other, just to explore it a little bit more.

But then, well, I guess I've already addressed that. I was thinking, too, that it's one thing to know about the tool, and it's another thing to understand how to use it and when to use it.

So let's go ahead and get started this morning in looking at these resources that God has provided for our growth in godliness. And the first one that we have is our union with Christ.

We have to realize that, and thankfully so, I'm not the person that I used to be. I'm not facing temptation or sin as the person I was before my salvation.

And I'm not standing alone in life here in this world, but I'm standing here in this world as one who is united to Christ.

And, boy, there's one we could take all kinds of time to discuss. And I'm going to break this down a little bit more, but just to show you a couple verses that bring out this idea.

2 Corinthians 5.17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. There it is there. I'm not the person I used to be. If anyone is in Christ, there's something different about me that I wasn't before.

I wasn't in Christ before, but now I am in Christ. And being in Christ, I am a new creation. The old has gone. You see this distinction.

The old has gone. And the new has come. And Romans 6 is another set of verses. And I haven't written down all the verses in verses 1 through 12 and 18.

But I've picked out different phrases from those verses to show you this. And Paul says, What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? He's talking about growing in godliness.

You know, even way back then, people who have become in Christ have needed this instruction throughout the ages.

And Paul is addressing this same thing. Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? He says, By no means. And then we could ask ourselves that question, Well, why?

Well, we died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? And then in verse 5, If I have been united with him, There's that union with Christ, United with him like this in his death, Well, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

And then to verse 8, Now if we died with Christ, We believe that we shall also live with him. All of these things showing how closely we are united with Christ.

What has happened to him, what he has experienced, It has happened to us. We have experienced that. Verse 9, For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again.

Death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, That's helping us understand that union that we have.

The idea is recognize that what has been said in verses 1 through 10 Is already the truth about yourself. This is something we consider to be true.

In the same way, count it to be true. We need to act on it as it is fact. It is true. It's something that comes to bear on what I'm doing every day.

So you count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, here's the result of that. The provision that we have is union with Christ.

How does it affect what I think, And how does it affect my progress every day, My progress in this direction of godliness? Well, Paul lets them know.

Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body So that you obey its evil desires. You've been set free from sin, And have become slaves to righteousness.

So my union with Christ delivers me From the bondage of sin and Satan. They no longer have mastery or authority over me. I can refuse to follow sinful desires.

And I can walk in newness of life, All as a result of my being united with Christ. I mean, right there we're seeing, Boy, this comes into play every day of my life.

This is not just stale doctrine, Something that we learn in church And then go throughout the week And give no consideration to.

The amount of consideration we give to this truth Will directly affect how I make progress In my walk in the Spirit, My growth in godliness during the week.

And it's not a matter of, You know, I'm trying to get you To pull yourselves up by your bootstraps. I'm not trying to tell you Look deep within yourself And believe in yourself.

This is not, I'm not trying to build up your self-confidence. A quote that I came across Just yesterday in my reading It says this, Our confidence in Christ Does not make us lazy, Negligent, and careless.

But on the contrary, It awakens us, Urges us on, And makes us active In living righteous lives And doing good.

There is no self-confidence To compare with this. So I would be doing you a disservice To, if I was to Try and build you up In self-confidence.

What I'm trying to do Is build you up in Christ confidence. Confidence in Christ. And that's why we're looking at these provisions. It's not a mechanical thing That you're going to take up the tools And do Apart from any knowledge Or relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

It's something we're doing Because we are united with Him. He gives me hope That I can even begin to do Any of these things. Whether it's a mental activity Or activity outside of my inner person.

Things that I do with my mouth And my hands And my feet And all my body. So let's take a look Even more specifically Of what we have Through this union with Christ.

The next provision Is new life in Christ. And this goes along A little bit with What I've just read. Ephesians 2, 4 through 5. But because of His great love for us God who is rich in mercy Made us alive with Christ.

Okay, so if He made us alive with Christ Then something must have been true of us Prior to being alive with Christ. And He tells them in the rest of the verse Even when we were dead in transgressions It's by grace you've been saved.

So my union with Christ Has made me alive toward God. There's something different about me In my relationship with God now.

Just as a baby is born into this world. There's something different about that baby. That baby's relationship with the parent.

So it is with me In my relationship with God. I now desire things That I had no desires for in the past. Because of this union with Christ In my life That has made me alive Toward God.

I desire Him. I desire the things of God And godliness. And now I can pursue. I couldn't pursue it before. Even when it looked like Well that person is a good person.

No, he's still not If he's not united with Christ He doesn't have life toward God What he's doing on the outside That may look very nice and wonderful Is not a result of his union with Christ.

He's doing that for other purposes That are not pleasing to God Without faith it's impossible to please God. He just can't do that. It may be doing things as a result of one being Made in the image of God But not as one who is Who is alive toward God.

So new life in Christ we have. I have a nature now That longs for God in holiness. Something else we have The provision that is ours Being united with Christ Is our justification That I'm declared righteous.

Being with Christ We have complete sufficient righteousness From God That gives us secure standing with God. And it's not something we work for To gain salvation Or to keep salvation.

Sometimes when we're learning of the gospel And all that we have in Christ And we learn about justification And being declared righteous We kind of leave that at the entry door Of our salvation And think that that has nothing to do now With my progress in godliness.

Well it has everything to do With what I do now as a Christian. Any thoughts on why that would be true? How does that come into play In regard to my pursuing The outworking of godliness My relationship with God?

Roger? We do what we do now With a different motive in mind Rather than it being just a legal thing And just following the commandment We do it Because that's where our heart is And we want to use God Yeah, yeah I already have The righteousness that I need For me to be acceptable to God So I'm not laboring In doing these things That I need to be doing On a daily basis In order to gain a favor A righteousness of God That will keep me saved I have it in Jesus Christ I have everything I need To be acceptable to God Now I want to please him To honor him in my daily life Because of this relationship That I have with him So it has a lot to do With what we're doing On a daily basis Romans 3, 21 and 22 Now righteousness from God Apart from law Has been made known To which the law And the prophets testify This righteousness from God

Comes through faith In Jesus Christ To all who believe There's no difference In 2 Corinthians 5, 21 God made him who had no sin To be sin for us So that in him There we go again That union with Christ We might become The righteousness of God So we become The righteousness of God Obtain the righteousness That we need For relationship And fellowship with God In Jesus Christ Through Jesus Christ What a rest That can bring to me On a daily basis You know Because there's going to be Those times That we're going to think Oh I'll never make it I've failed again Now what do I have to do Well it's those times Yeah we need to confess Our sin But it should be A time of great celebration And rejoicing God thank you That you don't accept me On the basis Of this righteousness That I work for On a daily basis

Because right now You'd probably have Nothing to do with me But now I can confess That's in Give thanks to God And Jesus Christ And discipline myself In this direction Of godliness What else do we have New relationship with God We become his children John 1 12 Yet to all who receive him To those who believe In his name He gave the right To become children of God And then Romans 8 15 For you did not receive A spirit that makes you A slave again to fear But you receive the spirit Of sonships And by him we cry Abba father Does that have Anything to do With our daily progression Toward godliness That now he's our father That relationship again I'm no longer at enmity With him Do you treat You fathers Or We're all children here And have fathers

And understand that Fathers treat Children differently Than those who are Outside of the family And so it is With heavenly father It's a secure Relationship we have And as I've said There's so much We could talk about In each one of these And we could take The rest of the So many weeks We have together To discuss each one of these But we don't have time So I'm just kind of Stimulating your minds To think about Some of these things What else provision We have in our union With Christ We have peace With God Therefore since we Have been justified Through faith We have peace With God Through our Lord Jesus Christ Our peace with God Is accomplished Through our union With Christ We don't pursue Godliness In order to hold Back God's wrath God isn't standing Out up there In heaven With a hammer Just waiting for us To sin And wham Comes down on us

Again No Through our union With Jesus Christ Being justified By faith We have peace With God Wow Now as a heavenly father He's going to Disappoint us at times Of course That's part of That familiar relationship That we have with God But that's not An expression Of his wrath Due to sin In us It's so different We have him As our father now And when we sin We don't have to Go to him Fearful of being Cast out of the Family anymore We can go to him As a father Who loves us And make confession Of sin to him And he welcomes us And forgives us Our sin He's faithful And just to do that And to cleanse us From all unrighteousness So that peace with God That is ours That relationship That we have With God

What else do we have Through our union How about this one Jesus as our advocate 1 John 2 1 My dear children I write this to you So that you will not sin But If We know that We fit into that category But if anyone does sin All hope is lost No No It's not lost Why isn't hope lost Well because In our union with Christ We have one who speaks To the Father In our defense Jesus Christ The righteous one I mean that just Paints a beautiful picture For me When I sin That I don't have to go Before God And make a defense For For For staying in his family And for him to Withhold his wrath I would be a very poor Advocate In my own defense But we have one Jesus Christ

The righteous one Who is able to stand up there And act as our advocate I mean does that come into play In your progress Toward godliness It sure does If I didn't have that advocate there Jesus Christ The righteous one I would be without hope I would be in despair In my daily walk But he is there Well as our advocate We have this next provision Forgiveness of sins First Colossians 1 For he has rescued us From the dominion of darkness And brought us into the kingdom Of the son he loves In whom we have redemption The forgiveness of sins Ephesians 1 7 Also In him we have redemption Through his blood The forgiveness of sins In accordance with What?

The riches of God's grace The forgiveness of our sins Doesn't come as a result Of any good works Or acts of penance Or praying many prayers Even as believers Yeah we are sorry for our sin And sometimes it feels like We gotta kick ourselves around Through the day And maybe with a long face Moping around And harsh words To our wife Or kids Or the dog Or whoever And after we've cried a while And had sorrow For a certain number of hours Okay then I feel better You know And I think Okay Now I can get on with things Well That's not how we deal with sin In Jesus Christ We have forgiveness of sins I don't have to go through all that I don't have to waste all that time And fall into all kinds of despair

Because I have failed In my walk in godliness God has given us direction For what to do Confess your sin Repent And that's what we're going to be learning About in future lessons So let's not waste time Doing those things Trying to pay for our own sin Make up for our own sin We couldn't do that in our salvation Why do we still think That we need to do that In our sanctification It has no part Really We can give thanks For the guilt that is there But let's deal with it In a biblical way With the provisions Let's pick up the tool That God has provided And use the tool And continue on In that direction Of godliness Well what else do we have Security Romans 8 35 through 39 And I'm not going to be able To read all these verses Or we won't get through The rest of the lesson We're familiar with these verses When Paul asks that question

Who shall separate us From the love of Christ And he answers that question In verse 38 I'm convinced that Neither death Nor life Nor angels Nor demons Nor the present Nor the future Nor any powers Neither height Nor depth Nor anything else In all creation Will be able to separate us From the love of God That is in Christ Jesus Our Lord There's that union With Christ And with that In that union That we have With Jesus Christ I am secure Nothing can separate me From the love of God That is now mine In Christ Jesus In 1 Peter Peter talks about That same thing To believers Who were going through Some difficult times And probably were struggling With sin as well He reassured them That they had an inheritance That can never perish Spoil or fade That's kept in heaven for them

Who through faith Are shielded by God's power Until the coming of the salvation That's ready to be revealed In the last time So again I don't have to be afraid That when I do sin I'll be cast out Of God's family I already mentioned that When it came to our relationship With God as our Father I can confess my sin And go on I'm not concerned About losing my salvation Now if I'm doing this On a habitual basis That's something That's going to require Some examination And consider Well Am I truly A child of God And That There's There's room For that kind Of evaluation Well No doubt We could add So many more To this list Of benefits That are ours Through being united With Christ Think of the living hope That's ours You know

We look forward to that Does that come into play At times When we We sin What does to me At times God thank you That there's coming a day That I'll finally Finally be delivered From sin Both what's outside of me And what's inside me What I struggle with so much On a daily basis I look forward to that day And that's used in the scriptures At times To encourage God's people Oh there's others But as you read through your Bible Boy Add to the list Because I'm hoping That even as we've gone Through this Brief list You've begun to think More and more About how that comes Into play In my daily walk And as I pursue Godliness Well let's move Beyond our union With Christ And take a look At some of these Other provisions That God has given To us And the next one That I have here Is the Holy Spirit That's dwelling in us Dwelling in each believer

And Paul gives an example Of how this provision Is applied Which again Is what I'm trying To get you to think of As we move through These items That I'm listing here But he gives an example Of how this provision Is applied In helping others Grow in godliness When he's encouraging The believers In Corinth To turn from Sexual immorality He focused on the fact Of the Holy Spirit's Presence in them That the Spirit of God Was dwelling in them Their bodies Were no longer Their own But they belonged To God And actually Are the dwelling place Of God's Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 6 19 and 20 In verse 18 He says Flee sexual immorality All other sins Outside How does that call All other sins Outside the body Oh now I can't think of it Anyways Verse 18 He's talking about Sexual immorality And how serious

That is Because it's so much Associated with Our bodies And so In helping them Move from that What does he emphasize You see how that Comes into play With decisions They make On a daily basis He says Don't you know That your body Is the temple Of the Holy Spirit Who is in you Whom you have received From God Here's a provision That you need In your pursuit Of godliness On a daily basis That provision Is the Holy Spirit Dwelling within you You're not your own You're bought at a price Therefore honor God With your body So the Holy Spirit Is there What is Paul doing With them At this time To help them Put aside Sexual immorality What is he doing With these people Guess what the teacher Is thinking What's going on here

He's doing something With them He's writing a letter He's communicating A truth To them About the reality Of the Holy Spirit Dwelling within them In order that they Would not Pursue Sexual immorality It's kind of like Here son Here's a tool Take this tool Alright So what do I have to do With the tool then Use it So how are they going To use this Provision What is Paul Doing with them At this time He's bringing it To their minds He's bringing it To their attention Now As they go Through the day What are they going To have to do When they are Tempted to give Themselves To sexual immorality They're going to have To bring it

To mind You see how this Works in your Pursuit of godliness And at times You know I get to the place Where When there's a Certain thing Temptation That I find myself Susceptible to And it's almost Been to the point You know I've done it so much It's just habitual You know what it's like You just do it Without thinking And so My request To God Is Just help me Think about it Help me think About what is true At that time And then Help me do it But I've habituated Myself so much In that direction Of doing it Responding that way And what is a habit Something you do Without even thinking About it Now I'm going to do Something like I'll memorize a verse Like this But do you always Remember the verse No I don't either And so that's why We don't do these things Unassociated with God And the Holy Spirit We're using those tools

In dependence upon God God help me remember This provision That you've made for me So that I can be A doer of the word And that's how we need To think about Each one of these things Well there's other verses In the scriptures That relate to Other things that we have As a result of the spirit Of God dwelling in us Security Ephesians 1 13 and 14 The Holy Spirit Is a deposit Guaranteeing Our inheritance Oh there's a lot I could share about that How about Romans 8 26 and 27 The Holy Spirit Dwelling in us Prays on our behalf You ever been to that Place where What do I say How do I pray About this Well the spirit of God Is in there How praying According to the will Of God Does that help you In your progress Toward godliness Well I tell you

For sure it does It's a provision That God has made Excuse me But he's also Galatians 5 16 and 18 Is in there Giving us the desires That we need That are contrary To those fleshly desires That we have That's part of that Struggle that we Experience The spirit is in there Lusting against the flesh The flesh Against the spirit So we can give thanks That that struggle Is going on there That's a provision That I desperately Need I desperately need The spirit of God Within me So that I have The desires That are pleasing To God Those desires That will Lead me In this direction Of godliness And even desiring To grow in godliness So another Worship time That we can have With God Thank you God That I am even Feeling bad

And guilty About this sin That I did And that I even Desire to be different Thank you for that Well let's go on From the Holy Spirit God has provided His word And his counsel In his word Remember in Was it our last lesson I said That Adam and Eve Needed counsel From God In their relationship With God To understand Their relationship To God Sin hadn't even Entered the world But they already They still needed God's counsel To make sense Out of How to relate to God To each other In their surrounding Environment Well Then Satan Came on And they listened To his counsel But then we can Give thanks That God Acted in Continuing to Provide the counsel That they needed And that we needed And he's preserved This counsel And his word For us Because as human Beings And as sinful

Human beings We still need Counsel from God We need that Counsel from God And even to be saved But then also How to live And when we're United With Christ And we have The Holy Spirit Dwelling within Well now We desire God's counsel I can now Listen to God's Counsel And I can become A doer Of God's word And once again Be on the path Of a flourishing life That's where Adam And Eve were Prior to sin Just running to God I mean because They needed God's counsel That wasn't a bad thing That was a beautiful thing Can you imagine Them going to God And walking in the garden Receiving counsel From God And Adam Going back to Eve You won't believe What he told me That is so wonderful For our day today You know Remember yesterday

He counseled us And we did that And how happy we were And what a blessing That was Today he told me Something as well That will really help us Well sin destroyed that Not that God Didn't give the counsel But that we didn't Want the counsel But our union With Christ Changes that Now we want The counsel of God And that opens up For us This beautiful life again Even though we're still In a sinful world The sinful world Still makes it Very difficult And the sin within Still makes it Very difficult But still I'm on this path Again Walking and receiving Counsel from God Like Adam and Eve were And it's such a blessing It's such a wonderful thing I mean We experience that At least when we're Hearers of the word And doers of the word You can relate to that When you've heard the truth And done the truth And Man This is nice

Because God Has provided that Instrument that we need His counsel It's not because He's a harsh Taskmaster But because He's a good father Nurturing us In this pursuit Of godliness Showing us What to pursue And if we're Neglecting that We're missing The best thing There is for life Even in a sinful world So we rejoice That God has given us His counsel I even have to skip All these verses What else has He given us?

Prayer Philippians 4 6 and 7 Don't be anxious About anything But In everything By prayer and petition With thanksgiving Present your request To God Hebrews 4 14 through 16 Also An example A challenge Encouragement For us to Go to Christ When we're in need For grace And mercy I mean We have Jesus As an example Of this in prayer He prayed As He was pursuing Living out godliness In the garden Was that a challenge?

Was He Was it necessary For Him To pursue godliness At that time? What was He doing In that In that time? He was praying He was asking others To pray for Him He sets that example For us That we desperately need Praying to God And asking others To pray for us As well Recognize Paul's example Praying for himself He was afflicted Had this affliction Was that Was that affecting His daily walk?

He wouldn't have Prayed about it If it wasn't Three times He went to God Praying about this But also He writes to believers In Ephesians 6 Keep on praying For all the saints So we're seeing This relationship That is essential So God has made This provision Of prayer For us as individuals To pursue godliness But also to help Each other Pursue godliness So when we Encourage each other To come And to pray Or share Prayer requests In whatever setting That's a serious thing An important provision That God has made For my growth In godliness I need you To pray for me You need me To pray for you You need each other To pray for each other You need that It's a tool Provision That God has made For us If we're not Using that provision It's like Trying to cut a board Without a saw

Why would I use A hammer to do that It makes no sense And we could see that And say That's foolish Why is anybody Doing that Why isn't he Using the saw Doesn't it make As much sense For us Why aren't they Praying for each other I mean Same thing Is logical Prayer Other believers We're going to be Focusing on this In weeks to come As we Focus on Relationships Here's a quote From Paul Tripp In his book How people change At one level We want friendships At another level We don't want them In creation We were made To live in community But because of the fall We tend to run From the very friendships We need Quite often Our longing for them Is tainted by sin We pursue them Only as long As they satisfy Our own desires And needs We have a love Hate relationship

With relationships The Bible recognizes This profound tension But still places Our individual growth And grace In the context Of the body of Christ The scriptures Call us to be Intimately connected To our brothers And sisters In Christ Our fellowship Is an essential Ingredient For lasting change The work of redemption Involves our individual Relationship with Christ Alongside Our relationship With others In Hebrews 3 12 through 13 Is a good verse A couple verses That show Show this When it says Brother See to it brother That none of you Has a sinful Unbelieving heart That turns away From the living God Okay So how How do I make sure That doesn't happen But encourage one another Daily There it is A provision A tool God has provided If you don't want A heart

If How do I want to say that If you want a heart That's steadfast And is not being deceived And turned away From the truth Then you need to be A body that's encouraging One another daily I mean daily I don't see some of you Except once a week And yeah I can't minister To every one of you Or pastors Can't minister To every one of you But it's not What it's saying Each other We're doing that Each other We have relationships Such that we are Encouraging one another Daily So that we don't have Sinful unbelieving hearts Well I can only mention These last two The Lord's Supper Lord's Supper What does that have to do With my growth in God Well once a month We get together For a corporate time Where we sit down And have this This presentation Of the death And burial Of Jesus Christ

His death His body broken His blood shed And during that time We are to What are we supposed to do During that time Before we partake Examine ourselves Is that a part of Growth in God It sure is If we're not doing that In fact it says If we don't do that We are eating And drinking judgment Is that serious Is the Lord's Supper A means of God's grace Toward us To grow in godliness It is And so is baptism As we finish up With that And just being able To mention that If you want my notes Just let me know Give me your email And I'll send you my notes So that you can have Everything else But remember we started With that picture Of a toolbox And all the tools In there Well if I could put A picture of a toolbox Up there again In regard to the provisions That God has made for us This is what would be Written on On the toolbox From 1 Peter 1 3 His divine power

Has given us Everything we need For life And godliness Through our knowledge Of him who called us By his own glory And goodness There it is Everything we need For this life And godliness Now I'll be the first One to admit I need some help Learning how to use The tools That's why we're here As a church And I hope through The rest of our class Together We can learn A little bit more Of how to use These provisions That we have In Jesus Christ Let's close in prayer Father this morning We've just rushed through But there's so much You've provided us For our pursuit Of godliness 45 minutes Doesn't cut it Certainly But we can go on We can continue To learn And I pray That you'd help us To remember Even some of these things That you've provided

For us So that as we go We would faithfully use And these provisions And our pursuit Of godliness Would be much more Effective and honoring To you And we give thanks To you for that In Jesus name Amen