ASSIGNMENTS 1. Daily read over this material and read or sing the song. 2. Place the scripture where you will see it each day. 3. Think of times and ways you have been admonished and how you felt about it at the time as well as later when you had time to reflect on the admonition. 4. Write down the needs for admonition and how you met the need. 5. Plan to tell the class how you have seen, recognized, and met such needs for admonition, or tell how you should have admonished someone and did not. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x At times one hesitates to reprove or admonish evil-doers, either because one seeks a more favorable moment or fears his rebuke might make them worse, and further, discourage weak brethren from seeking to lead a good and holy life, or turn them aside from the faith. In such circumstances forbearance is not prompted by selfish considerations but by well advised charity. - Augustine x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS MONDAY - VERSES: Jeremiah 42:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 8:5 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for the warnings of scripture and loving Christians who want to help us make it to heaven. TUESDAY - VERSES: Ecclesiastes 4:13; Psalm 19:9-11 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you accept the warnings and admonition to help you grow. WEDNESDAY - VERSES: Acts 27:9-11; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you see the need for admonition in your own life as well as others' lives. THURSDAY - VERSES: Ezekiel 33:3-9 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to forgive you for the times you have neglected to warn others or have been unkind in admonishing others. FRIDAY - VERSES: Colossians 3:16; Jeremiah 6:10 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God for the wisdom to know how and when to admonish for the best results. SATURDAY - VERSES: 1 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 5:14 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you have the courage to admonish others when it is necessary. SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 57 ADMONITION - 8-25-13 to 8-31-13 SCRIPTURE - Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. COMMENT - To admonish means to urge to duty or remind of obligation in a kind and loving way. We need to constantly be looking for those who need admonition to continue to live the Christian life SONG - REMIND ME, DEAR LORD 1. The things that I love and hold dear to my heart Are just borrowed they're not mine at all. Jesus only let me use them to brighten my life, So remind me, remind me, dear Lord. 2. Nothing good have I done to deserve God's own Son; I'm not worthy of the scars in His hands Yet He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead; Why He loved me, I can't understand. REFRAIN: Roll back the curtain of memory now and then; Show me where You brought me from, and where I could have been; Remember I'm human, and humans forget; So remind me, remind me, dear Lord. THOUGHTS The old plumber was admonishing his young helper, who was always taking coffee breaks. "When I was an apprentice," he said, "we used to lay the first two lengths of pipe -- then the boss would turn on the water and we'd have to stay ahead of it." x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x PROFOUND WARNING Father overheard shouting to his son: "If you fall off that rock and break your leg, don't come running to me!" x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x I was taking my mother for a drive, and she'd scold me whenever I went over the speed limit. Unfortunately I dismissed her advice, and a state trooper pulled me over and issued a ticket. As my mother and I continued on our way, I complained that he should have let me off with a warning. "Joan," she said, "I gave you the warning. He gave you the ticket." x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Years ago a small group of Japanese believers were heckled and abused whenever they assembled to worship the Savior. But the persecutors could not shake the faith of the new converts. Each time the Christians gathered, the mob would throw stones at them, but they still faithfully continued to have their weekly meetings. Eventually the opposition became so great that the outdoor services had to be temporarily abandoned. Later, when a time of relative peace and tolerance had come to the community, many were won to Christ. Returning to the spot where the believers had frequently been attacked, they began to pick up some of the rocks. Using them as part of the building materials, they constructed a small house of worship, rejoicing that God had worked all things together for good. Jesus says that His followers will meet with suffering and heartache, but He admonishes them not to be discouraged. Earth's sorrows are meant to be stepping stones in the process of sanctification. Indeed, we "must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Glorying in affliction will turn our troubles into spiritual triumphs! x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x In Moody Monthly recently, George Sweeting writes about the desperate need for honesty in our culture. He refers to Dr. Madison Sarratt, who taught mathematics at Vanderbilt University for many years. Before giving a test, the professor would admonish his class something like this: "Today I am giving two examinations one in trigonometry and the other in honesty. I hope you will pass them both. If you must fail one, fail trigonometry. There are many good people in the world who can't pass trig, but there are no good people in the world who cannot pass the examination of honesty." x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x A friend of mine once met a lady who was severely depressed by a series of disheartening events. When asked how she was weathering the storm of adversity, she answered, "Quite well, under the circumstances." "Sister," he replied kindly yet firmly, "you'll never make it that way. Get ABOVE the circumstances-that's where Jesus waits to help and strengthen you." She took his wise admonition as a word from heaven, and laying aside her sadness and self-pity, she began to praise the Lord. New confidence in God's love and kindness was generated in her soul, and she soon gained the victory of faith. x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Communication should be as crisp and to the point as the sign I saw when I was in Chicago recently. It read: WARNING! GUARD DOG ON DUTY -- SURVIVORS WILL BE PROSECUTED! Now that communicates. I didn't want any part of that fence, that dog, that yard, or anything to do with that house. To be effective communicators, we should always be just that clear, though not necessarily that threatening. Zig Ziglar, Top Performance, (Revell, 1986) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x The little boy went to the store and asked the clerk for a box of Duz detergent. "What do you need that for?" asked the clerk, and the boy answered, "To wash my dog." "That's pretty strong stuff for washing a dog," warned the clerk, but the boy insisted that Duz was what he wanted, so the clerk sold it to him, reminding, "Now be careful when you wash your dog. That detergent is strong, and could kill him." A week later the boy came in the store again and the clerk asked, "How's your dog?" The boy explained that the dog was dead. The clerk said, "I'm sorry, but I tried to warn you that Duz was too strong." The little boy shook his head and said, "I don't think it was the Duz that did it. I think it was the rinse cycle that got him." x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER INTRODUCTION - ROMANS 15:13-14 I. ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER TO PURITY OF LIFE - 1 JOHN 3:3; MATTHEW 5:8; PHILIPPIANS 4:8; 2 TIMOTHY 1:3; 1 TIMOTHY 5:22; 1 PETER 2:1-3; JAMES 1:27; 3:17; TITUS 1:15 II. ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER TO DOING GOOD - HEBREWS 10:24; MATTHEW 5:16; EPHESIANS 2:8-10; 3 JOHN 1:11; GALATIANS 6:9-10; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:9-10; 1 PETER 2:11-15; TITUS 3:8; 1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19; JAMES 3:13-14 III. ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER TO OBEDIENCE - ACTS 5:29; ROMANS 2:6-10; 6:16-17; 2 CORINTHIANS 10:4-6; COLOSSIANS 3:20; 2 THESSALONIANS 1:8-9; TITUS 3:1; HEBREWS 5:9; 13:17 CONCLUSION ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER INTRODUCTION - WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ADMONISHED SOMEONE? SCRIPTURE - (Rom 15:13-14) Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. {14} Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. A. ADMONISH MEANS TO URGE SOMEONE TO FULFILL THEIR DUTY OR TO REMIND THEM OF THEIR OBLIGATION IN A KIND AND LOVING WAY. B. PAUL SAYS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER. C. WE WILL LOOK AT ADMONISHING ONE ANOTHER TO PURITY OF LIFE, GOOD WORKS, AND TO OBEDIENCE I. ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER TO PURITY OF LIFE - (1 John 3:3) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. A. PURITY IN HEART - (Mat 5:8) Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. B. PURITY IN THOUGHT - (Phil 4:8) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things. C. PURITY IN CONSCIENCE - (2 Tim 1:3) I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, D. PURITY FROM SIN - (1 Tim 5:22) Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure. E. PURITY IN FOOD - (1 Pet 2:1-3) Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, {2} as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, {3} if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. F. PURITY IN RELIGION - (James 1:27) Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. G. PURITY IN WISDOM - (James 3:17) But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. H. PURITY IN ALL THINGS - (Titus 1:15) To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. II. ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER TO DOING GOOD - (Heb 10:24) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, A. WE SHOULD GIVE GOD THE GLORY FOR OUR GOOD WORKS - (Mat 5:16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. B. WE WERE CREATED IN CHRIST FOR GOOD WORKS - (Eph 2:8-10) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. C. WE SHOW GOD IS IN OUR LIVES BY GOOD WORKS - (3 John 1:11) Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. D. WE WILL BE BLESSED IN THIS LIFE BY OUR GOOD WORKS - (Gal 6:9-10) And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. {10} Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. E. WE WILL BE BLESSED IN THE FUTURE LIFE BY OUR GOOD WORKS - (2 Cor 5:9-10) Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. {10} For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. F. WE CAN INFLUENCE OTHERS BY OUR GOOD WORKS - (1 Pet 2:11-15) Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, {12} having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. {13} Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, {14} or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. {15} For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men; G. WE SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO MAINTAIN GOOD WORKS - (Titus 3:8) This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. H. WE LAY A GOOD FOUNDATION FOR ETERNAL LIFE BY OUR GOOD WORKS- (1 Tim 6:17-19) Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. {18} Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, {19} storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. I. WE SHOULD DO GOOD WORKS MEEKLY - (James 3:13-14) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. {14} But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. III. ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER TO OBEDIENCE A. OBEDIENCE TO GOD - (Acts 5:29) But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. B. OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH - (Rom 2:6-10) who "will render to each one according to his deeds": {7} eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; {8} but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath, {9} tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; {10} but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. C. OBEDIENCE IN HEART - (Rom 6:16-17) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? {17} But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. D. OBEDIENCE IN THOUGHTS - (2 Cor 10:4-6) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, {5} casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, {6} and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. E. OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS - (Col 3:20) Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. F. OBEDIENCE TO THE GOSPEL - (2 Th 1:8-9) in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. {9} These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, G. OBEDIENCE TO GOVERNMENT - (Titus 3:1) Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, H. OBEDIENCE TO JESUS - (Heb 5:9) And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, I. OBEDIENCE TO OUR ELDERS - (Heb 13:17) Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. CONCLUSION - How are you doing at admonishing your fellow Christians? A. To purity of life - Abstaining from sin & impurities in flesh & spirit? B. To doing good works - Being selfless and helpful to others? C. To being obedient - In all areas of life being in subjection? Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.