Killing Kryptonite | Week 10

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Week 10 | Truth, Tolerance and Love

Weather | 76° F | Wind: 8mph E

1 Pax continued the book study at Adventure Park at 6:15 for the tenth week of Killing Kryptonite. This week wrapped started the final section of the book. There are only 2 weeks left of this book. Lets finish strong!

The reading assignment was chapters 22-23.

Truth, Tolerance, Love

  • Do you find yourself only saying uplifting and encouraging things to others when speaking the truth about God?
  • Do you recall any instances when you warned others or at least pointed out the sin in their lives?
  • Do you think that the church does a good job of demonstrating true love?
  • Would you say that most Christian groups are tolerant of sin, while only giving uplifting messages and encouragement?
  • What might happen to us if we tell people to stop sinning and repent?
  • Why is it so important to count the cost of sharing the full gospel?

Chapter 22 – A Faceoff

  • People depend on leaders for the truth, this includes confrontation of sin.
  • We should not be offering disingenuous relationships with Jesus. This is offering counterfeit salvation.
  • Consider the outcome of this from all angles (Seekers, Communicators and Community).

Seekers

  • Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
  • Practice Lawlessness: Sin on a regular basis. Habitually. Sinful Lifestyle. These people can’t escape their Kryptonite.
  • “I never knew you” | Knew – Intimate Relationship.
  • 1 John 2:3-4 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
  • Matthew 7:20  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
  • You will know those that have a true relationship with God by their actions. This does not mean just attending church, or preaching the message, but have they repented of their sin and are actively seeking to obey him. Have they escaped their Kryptonite?
  • Litmus Test: Do they treat His words “go and sin no more” as optional or mandatory (commandment).

Communicators

Ezekiel 3:18-21 (NLT)  18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.  20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

  • We should not only teach but warn.
  • Are leaders giving new believers a false hope, by not warning them?

Revelation 22:19 (NLT) And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

Charles Finney was a great evangelist. There were times where he would preach repentance from sin and urge salvation but would not pray with the seekers to be saved. He would offer an ‘inquirer’s corner’ after the service for those considering becoming a Christian.

The Community

  • If we offer salvation to those who practice sin into our communities, we open our communities to the yeast of sin. It spreads rapidly.
  • As Christianity became more popular in Roman society, the church began to blend in with the world, and then slipped into the Dark Ages.

Take Action

  • Our silence when it comes to sin can send people and communities to destruction, leaving us responsible.
  • How does this change your marriage or parenting?
  • Does it change the way you speak to your friends and colleagues?
  • Ask God for answers, until you have a clear understanding how to live out this truth.

Chapter 23 – Tolerance

  • In the final book of the bible, Jesus gives 7 messages to 7 churches in Asia. Prophetic.
  • Who is Jezebel?
    •  There was an Old Testament Jezebel, Ahab’s wife.
    • She was perpetrator of idolatry, responsible for silencing the Word of God.
    • Jezebel became synonymous with ‘practiced sin’ in the world, ignoring the Word of God.
  • The church at Thyatira, Jesus says that they are permitting (not stopping) sin.
  • Burning Building Syndrome: All of us are trapped in a burning building, but none of us does anything to escape or help others escape. We just continue to encourage others with how blessed we are and expressing our love for each other while the walls are collapsing.

Jude 3-4 (NLT) 3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. 4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Remaining silent is giving consent. The analogy is that the way of the world is in opposition to the Word of God. Christians are rowing against the current, upstream. Remaining silent is like lifting your oars out of the water and letting the way of the world take over.

1 John 5:19 (NIV) 19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Philippians 3: 18-20 (NLT) For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

There are many that acknowledge him with their words, but deny Him by their actions.

Take Action

  • Get free of the sins that you have given yourself to in the past.
  • Free others by warning them.
  • Ask God to give you a love for others that will compel you to confront them.

Homework:

  • The next week’s reading assignment is Chapters 24-26.
  • Please read through Chapter 23 (no more than one chapter per day) by next Saturday 9/8.

Thought for the week:

We are all sinners by nature and Jesus’ sacrifice frees us from the penalty of sin, but what else? What is true love of Jesus? Are there ways of sinning that aren’t really sins?