'Seeing Ourselves As God Sees Us - Sermon Outlines. Org



"Seeing Ourselves As God Sees Us!"

Romans 7:15-8:13

READ AS TEXT: Romans 7:24

INTRO. In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the LORD. The LORD

was high and Lifted up, His GLORY filled the temple where He was

seated. His voice caused the posts of the door to shake and the

house was filled with smoke. After seeing this wonderful display of

God's GLORY and POWER, Isaiah saw himself as he really was. We,

likewise, need to see ourselves as we really are. Seeing ourselves as

God sees us!

I want to title the message, "Seeing Ourselves As God Sees Us!" After

Isaiah's vision of the LORD his response was, "Woe is me! for I am

undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of

a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of

hosts." (Isaiah 6:5). When Isaiah saw his sin, confessed it to the

LORD, and was cleansed, then he was ready to go for the LORD!

Why must we see ourselves as God sees us? Because through our

eyes we are ok. Even though Isaiah 64:6 says, "But we are all as an

unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we

all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us

away." But God doesn't see as man sees. 1 Samuel 16:7b says, "For

the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh in the outward

appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." We must first take a

good look at God, see how HOLY He really is, and then look at

ourselves! We must not see ourselves with physical eyes, but with

spiritual eyes; then we will see ourselves as God does!

Paul must have been seeing himself like this in our text because he

declares, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the

body of this death?" Paul realized that apart from total reliance on

God that he couldn't live as he should! We must realize the same.

Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15:10, "But by the Grace of God I am

what I am...". Let us see tonight 3 things, The Inevitability of the

Flesh, The Infinite Purpose of God, and The Incredible Victory

Through Christ.

(1) THE INEVITABILITY OF THE FLESH—RELIANCE ON GOD’S PERSON

ROMANS 7:15-24

A. THE FLESH IS WEAK. In Psalm 78 the psalmist recounts Israel’s history from Egypt all the way up to David. We see a definite pattern they people followed: rejoicing, rejection and rebellion, repentance, rejoicing, rejection and rebellion, repentance. On and on it seemed to go. But is not their pattern our pattern also? Do we not behave oft in the same manner? In Psalm 78:38-39 we read, “But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.” It says there, “For he remembered that they were but flesh…”. Why did they reject God’s commandments, rebel against His will and murmuring against His goodness? Jesus gives us the answer in Mark 14:38—“Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” The mind, the heart is ready and…but the “flesh,”…is weak, and will be likely to lead you astray when the trial comes. (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible).

B. THE FLESH IS WORLDLY. Paul said in Galatians 5:17—“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” The child of God faces a conflict of two natures—the new--doesn't sin (1 John 3:9) and the old--prone to sin! D.L. Moody said, "I have more trouble with myself than any other man.” What can we do? Do we cry out in despair and say there is no hope? NO! Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16—“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Friends, you must remember "Christ in you, the HOPE of GLORY" (Colossians 1:27). We must say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

(2) THE INFINITE PURPOSE OF GOD—REMEMBRANCE OF GOD’S

PURPOSE

ROMANS 7:25

A. OUR SUBMISSION. We must realize that we cannot battle the flesh on our own but we must submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul said, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Paul is saying, “Christ is the only way I can experience victory over the flesh.” What the Law could not do, what the conscience could not do, what unaided human strength could not do, Christ can do in and through me! Mel De Peal said, "To live the sanctified life, we must choose to be HOLY. Sanctification is a life of Christ-centered choices, made evident in loving obedience to God." (Hebrews 13:10-16, 20-21).

B. OUR SANCTIFICATION. God’s purpose is our sanctification! “Sanctification” is the progressive conformation of the believer into the image of Christ. Romans 8:29 tells us, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” There is God’s purpose for us: “to be conformed to the image of his Son…”. Paul in Ephesians 5:25b-27 tells us one of the purposes of Christ’s sacrifice for us: “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

(3) THE INCREDIBLE VICTORY THROUGH CHRIST—REALIZATION OF

GOD’S POWER

ROMANS 8:1-13

1 CORINTHIANS 15:57-58

*TO HAVE VICTORY OVER THE FLESH, WE MUST:

A. DAILY ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT CHRIST HAS ACCOMPLISHED FOR

US IN OUR JUSTIFICATION (ROMANS 7:1-6).

B. DAILY RECKON OURSELVES DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE UNTO

RIGHTEOUSNESS (Romans 6:6-18).

C. DEVOTE OURSELVES COMPLETELY TO GOD (ROMANS 12:1-2).

Stephen Olford said, "What God expects us to attempt, He also enables

us to achieve."

CLOSING: Are you seeing yourself as God sees you, totally reliant on Him and His Spirit? When we see ourselves as He sees us, We will be humble, reliant, and submissive to God!

What about you? Is there ANYTHING in your life that He is not in control of?

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download