Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "It is the Spirit that Quickeneth" John 6:60-69
- You can't separate Jesus from the Bible. (In the beginning was the word, Jesus is the word.
- You can't accept the Bible as truth without accepting Jesus.
- It's not about the religion, it's about the relationship with Christ.
- Religion is mostly rules, relationship require love.
- The Spirit gives life, the flesh profits nothing.
- Jesus came so that we might have life more abundantly.
- Don't focus on the things of this world, because they are temporary, they pass away.
- Jesus didn't come so that we can have our best life no, but He came so that we might have eternal life.
- We should seek the relationship, not the temporary things of this world.
- Jesus has already provided our needs.
- We have no hope outside of Christ.
- Our faith cannot rest on the fact that we have faith, we have to place our faith in Christ.
- Salvation is of the Lord; it's not about keeping laws and rules, but a relationship.
- The flesh is temporary, the Spirit is eternal.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "Genuine at Heart" Ephesians 6:5-9
- God awards us according to our obedience to Him.
- Servants are people who have a master.
- "With fear and trembling" not because we fear the master, but so that we might be able to represent Christ to our superiors.
- Servants are suppose to love their bosses. You don't love them because of what they've done but because of the position.
- Christ wants us to be like Him. We love so that we might be like Him.
- There are no conditions under which we should be obedient to those in authority of us.
- It is the will of God that we obey our master as a demonstration of the love of God.
- We should have one heart and one mind, we need to reflect Christ to others.
- The motivation should be love, not things of the world.
- We are vessels for Christ and the goal of a believer should be that we will reflect Christ in our day to day walk.
- God's love is a selfless love. Humans usually love with a selfish love.
- We, if we're born again, bare the mark of Jesus.
- God still loves us, no matter what we do.
- The will of God is that our commitments will be carried out, that we will serve with out complaints, grudgingly or for vain glory.
- Our life, anything we do with it, should be a living testimony and witness of the life of Christ. We are servants of God and our lives should reflect that. If we do because of monetary gain, we'll never be satisfied.
- This genuine at heart service has not it’s origin in the heart of a human being but in the heart of a loving Heavenly Father. He’s so big that if He lives in you… He’ll stick out somewhere!!!
- The OT high priest had to go once a year to atone for sin; however, our High Priest had to go only once to pay for the sins of the entire world.
- Our High Priest is Jesus Christ.
- We have to hang on to our faith. We won't find anything better than Christ.
- We are living in the age of Grace. We are forgiven by the righteousness of Christ.
- "To Whom shall we go?" Standfast!
- Christ was tempted like we are. That's how He can relate to sinners, because of this Christ knows what it's like.
- Christ feels our infirmities because He's in us. He's there for us through the good and the bad times. He's there before us and will always be there. His word says He'll never leave us nor forsake us.
- We often fail when going through the hard times; however, Jesus will pick us up and help us get right back on track.
- There's a throne that everyone will have to stand before the authority of an Almighty God. Our throne, if we're saved, is a throne of Grace.
- The OT priest had to find the perfect sacrifice, one without blemish inside and out. Priest also had to go through a ritual cleaning. Jesus became our perfect lamb.
- We're coming before God with a perfect sacrifice because of the sacrifice at Calvary.
- We can draw back the "curtain" boldly, confident. We go knowing that we are covered by the blood of Christ.
- At the throne of Grace, we will not find condemnation, but we will find mercy.
- We need grace daily. What we go through tomorrow, we might not have went through today.
- We need His mercy to pay our sin debt. We need His grace to give us the attributes of our Savior.
- We need to come before the throne of Grace daily.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "Honor Thy Father" Ephesians 6:1-4
- The family is the building block of all that we do.
- Society has spawned disobedient rebels, instead of respectful and obedient children.
- The command is to have obedience, not because they're great parents, but because of the position they are given.
- The parents have authority because God gave the parents the authority. Paul is talking to the children, not the parents.
- It's not up to the children to say what's right, it's up to the children to obey.
- If children do not obey under the parents, they will have problems in the rest of society.
- The rebellion that children have to parents is a sign of not only disobedience to the parents, but also to God.
- Children should obey the parents because it's the right thing to do.
- Obedience comes before honor.
- The goal should not be just to get children to obey, the goal is to have a relationship with your children. If the only goal you have is to get children to obey, you're missing the mark. You can't make your children honor you.
- Obedience is the practical step, what we can do, that leads to a relationship with the Father and with the parents.
- In love, discipline should lie in the lap of the dads.
- It's not the job of the Sunday School and Children's Church teachers to spiritually raise the children. It's the duty of the father.
- Fathers are suppose to direct the course of the children.
- You can't teach honor and respect, you can teach obedience.
- Obey--external
- Honor--internal.
- Honor has to deal with the heart; however, obedience is an external action.
- The promise, v 3, is for quality and quantity of life.
- There is a difference between what kids want and need. The kids need to learn reverence, respect and obedience to authority.
- Parents, don't give up. You may not see the honor and relationship you would like right now; however, keep enforcing that obedience and then you'll see that honor and relationship.
- Fathers are expected to love their children enough to discipline the children.
- With great authority comes great responsibility. (v 4)
- Dads, you don't have the right to claim the authority, if you're not willing to take the responsibility.
- Dads, you should step up in love, lead and teach your children in love.
- Fathers are not meant to control the children, but to teach the children.
- Fathers should not abuse their authority as a father. The authority should not be the focus, the love should be focus, because of the love, fathers need exert the authority for disciplining children.
- Fathers should not say no because they can, if they say no they should do it because it's not what's best for the child long term.
- God has chosen to reveal himself to us in the role of a loving father.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "Sin Not" 1 John 2:1-2
- Propitiation is the atonement for sin.
- We are saved by grace, it's by nothing that we give or that we can take away.
- We are admonished not to sin; however, once we get saved, if we slip and fall, we have an advocate with the Father, through Christ.
- The temptation to sin does not go away when we get saved; however, we should not act on those temptations.
- We are born into sin; we sin because we are sinner, not because we sin. We are sinners because of our father, Adam; consequently, nothing we can do can give us our salvation, so therefore, Christ had to come. Christ obeyed the law perfectly, which is only to man to have done that. Christ died not for His sin, but for our own. He took on our guilt and gave us His righteousness.
- He became our propitiation, at one ment with God (position).
- Atonement is not only to pay for our sins, but it changed God's attitude towards us.
- Our righteousness, our position, never changes. We cannot do anything to gain it, so we cannot do anything to lose it.
- Christ's righteousness is what gains us the position we have with the father.
- If we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, who is Jesus Christ.
- God doesn't throw us out of the family because of our shortcomings.
- What does sin do to believers?
- Sin in a believer causes a broken fellowship with God. It breaks fellowship with God because we chose to serve our own lust than to follow God's will. We chose to walk away from the fellowship.
- Sin breaks your testimony. It's not easy to build a good testimony. It could take years of honest walking with God, but it takes just one time of a person slipping in front of them.
- Sin can cause a broken home/family. For example, David and Bathsheba.
- Sin can cause the loss of blessings and curses. The discipline of God will come down on a person. The penalty and cost of sin doesn't go away. God cannot just forgive the sin, but He forgives the sinner. Sinners are forgiven, not sin.
- So how do we can from sinning?
- Exodus 20:18-20: And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19.And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
- The presence and fear of God is how we can keep from sinning. The closer we are to God, the less prone we are to yield to sin.
- Salvation is about the relationship and fellowship we have with God. God wants to walk and talk with us.
- Fellowship with God will keep you from sin.
- You cannot serve two masters. Just as sin can pull a person away from God, God can pull a person away from sin.
Pastor Richard “Buddy” Wimberly “Good Works” Titus 3:1-8
- Morally good works does not prove the existence of God.
- It’s an attitude and a life style.
- God doesn’t look on the outside, instead He looks at the heart.
- More than likely, you were brought to Jesus by the life someone else led.
- God never uses lazy people. It’s not the stuff that you do, but when we get saved, we become a servant, and all a servant can do is say yes and give Him our all.
- The Lord bought our life and whatever He wants, we should do.
- We are not saved by works, but when we get saved, we should be working for the Lord.
- We should want to serve God. Works should be manifested in the life of the believer.
- As Christ represents us to the Father, we should represent Christ to the world.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "The Law of Relation" Ephesians 5:21-33
- Submissiveness is the attitude that you prefer someone else above self.
- Wives are suppose to submit themselves to their husbands, the way they would to Christ. We would surrender to Christ with all that we have, so wives should give their husbands their all within God's law; meaning if what the husbands is wanting the wife to do is breaking God's law then the wife doesn't have to do it.
- In return the husband should love the wife the way Christ loved the church. Christ died for the church, He is our advocate.
- Christ is the church's advocate. He loves us in the good times and the bad times. A husband should love his wife in the same manner.
- We owe everything we are to Christ. Wives should have that attitude towards their husband.
- If a wife is willing to submit herself to the husband, the husband must then be willing to surrender himself to her. Christ gave all, this should be an example of how the husband should love his wife.
- Christ left the father, he didn't sever ties with the father, but he did leave the Father. Christ demonstrated His love for us by leaving the Father.
- Men esteem your wife as yourself and ladies be in submission to your husbands. We love Christ because He first loved us. It’s about the attitude.
- Both parties must be willing to serve.
- You can't have a proper relationship with God if your relationship with your spouse is not right. In turn, you cannot have a proper relationship in the church if your relationship with your family isn't right.
- We are a reflection of Christ. Everything we do should reflect our relationship with Him.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "Christ Liveth in Me" Galatians 2:15-21
- Justification-Having right standing before God. I am a child of God. I am viewed as having no sin. Yet it is not based on MY righteousness. It is based on Christ. You have no other part to play but surrender ALL the rest is Christ. God actually sees Christ's Righteousness not ours. We are accepted as God's son.
- Sanctification-Right living before God. Growing in spiritual maturity. Instead of positioning it has to do with practical application of how we live our life.There is one living in you who wants to live through you.
- Glorification-Standing right before the Living God. Justification and Sanctification will reach full maturity in Glorification.
- Salvation is only the beginning of our journey with God.
- No man can be justified by religion. We are justified through Christ.
- The believer is not guilty of sin in the sight of God. We have been saved; therefore, the judgment has been passed over because of the bloodshed at Calvary.
- Religion is about rules, true Christianity is about the faith in Jesus Christ.
- Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works.
- You get saved by grace and live by the rules and regulation of religion. You can't give authority to the things which grace destroyed.
- We cannot condemn others for their sins, even those who are Christians and slip and fall. We have to show those people the love of Jesus Christ. That love is the only way we will be able to reach others.
- We should not condone sin; however, we need to love the sinner.
- People cannot save themselves of the sin; we cannot save ourselves from the sin; it MUST be Christ!
- The power of Christ is the only way.
- The law of Moses demanded our death, it received our death when Christ died on the cross. On the cross was the sin debt for every man, woman and child born and would be born. When He died, our old man, our sins, died on the cross with Him.
- With the cross, we received a new life. We live because Christ lives in us.
- We have to die of our man and let Christ live in us.
- The life we live now is Christ's in us.
- We cannot do it, we have to let Christ do it in us.
- We are accepted before God because Christ lives in us.
- The Holy Spirit is in so that we can confirm to Christ.
- Christ is the earnest of our inheritance.
- You cannot mix law and grace.
- The greatest desire of a Christ is so that we might be able to exalt Him.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "He Knows You" John 1:45
- He knows all about us, whether we come to Him or not. He loves us, in spite of everything.
- Salvation is common to all men; however, it's personalized to the individual. He saves persons individually.
- Everyone sees the outside; however, Jesus sees the heart.
- Our secrets are unhidden in front of God.
- God revels the who we really are. He sees the inner working of our lives.
- God found us, not us finding Him.
- Nathaniel was hiding under the fig tree, what are you hiding under?
- He knows you, he knows you inside and out.
- If we're saved, we need to walk as children of God.
- What this world needs is for people to walk the life of Christ.
- Sometimes we are the greatest stumbling block for unbelievers because they have seen a lot of ungodliness in us.
- The Holy Spirit tells you what is right and what is wrong.
- We are sinners; therefore, we do not know what is right by birth, we learn what is right by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
- Our goal, as a Christian, is that we should what to represent Christ in our lives.
- Unbelievers are not going to see the Light of God if we do not reveal it to the world.
Pastor Richard "Buddy" Wimberly "The Blessings Shall Come" Deuteronomy 28:2
- The Lord blesses in the land where He places you.
- We need to serve and worship God with joy in our hearts.
- God put the Blessings first to show that God delights in blessing than in cursing.
- God wants you to serve Him because you love Him not because of the fear.
- The blessings are conditional on the basis that we hearken to the voice of the Lord, observe it, and then follow the voice of the Lord.
- He doesn't bless you because you got born again; you are blessed on the obedience. He blesses obedience because of the fact that He will be glorified.
- There are two paths; one where you choose to follow God or the one where you reject God's commandments.
- We have been bought with a price, so we are His.
- God provides the curse because He is a holy God.
- As God's child, we need to listen to Him.
- Our energy should be focused on what God commands us to do.
- If you are obedient, God will order the blessings to be on you; however, if you are disobedient, God will command the curse on you.
- You can't wallow in sin and expect to call out to God and have Him bless you.
- Holiness will become of the true follower.
- We shouldn't try to bend God's word.
- If you choose to be disobedient to God, you are in rejection of Him as your Lord.
- God doesn't want your sacrifice, He wants your obedience.
- Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience.
- Since God saved you, He has put forth a choice. Are you going to obey or disobey Him? Because we are His children, He disciplines us.
- Both the blessings and the correction will catch up to the individual.
- God doesn't reject anybody, people reject God. God simply lets people make their own choices and fulfill their hearts desire. The consequences will chase you do.
- If have the right to choose which road to take; however, you can't choose the consequences of the road.
- Everyday you have to make a conscious decision to choose who will be the Lord in our lives.
