#GOFAMINTDailyDevotion Sun. 12/11/2017
Quarter’s Theme: CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE CHURCH
UNIT 3 – Steps To Resolving Conflict In The Church (Lessons 8-12)
LOYALTY CAMPAIGN MONTHS
Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 113, 146
Devotional Reading: ISA. 25:1-15
Topic For Adults
DESIRING GOD DAILY
Topic For Youths
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
Topic For Intermediates
YE ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH
Lesson Scriptures
ISA. 43:7; 60:1-3; 2 COR. 4:7; ROM. 12:1; MATT. 5:1-16; LK. 6:22-23
12/11/2017 LESSON 11
LET YOUR ACTION GLORIFY GOD
MEMORY VERSE
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5.16) KJV
DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING
Sun. 12/11/2017
Display Humble Attitude
Phil. 2:5-11
By all rights, Jesus could have demanded that those around Him bow down and serve Him and give Him credit where credit was due. Instead, He humbly submitted Himself to a God-ordained mission that would lead to His crucifixion. His act of humility and self-sacrifice would result in the salvation of mankind. Jesus could not have fulfilled His mission in life without being a humble servant—without giving up what was rightfully His in order to accomplish something that only One willing to give up everything could achieve. God asks us to have that same attitude. Humility removes pride. It enables us to be teachable persons who are willing to have good attitude of submission and servant-hood, persons who confess their sins and remember how Christ served us. It shows where our heart is and if we are open to Jesus as Lord and pre-eminent in our lives, as well as our Saviour. It allows us to be accountable, and to honestly assess our actions and performances.
Point Of Emphasis: True humility serves others in obedience to God, even at great personal cost
Prayer Point: Father Lord, help me to honestly assess my actions and performances with a view to submitting to Your will.
BACKGROUND
The primary reason we exist is to glorify God. We can never repay what the Almighty has done since the existence of man. Hence, the reason for the study on how our actions are intended to glorify God even when one is entangled in a conflict.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
PART 1: THE GOAL OF GOD’S GLORY (ISA. 43:7; 60:1-3)
The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of His manifold perfections. God’s great goal in creating and governing the world is to be glorified. God created us for His glory, and for us to display His glory in the way we live and by so doing to win praise for Him. God wants to fill the earth with His character. In other words, it is God’s plan to fill the earth with characteristics such as love, faithfulness, and grace as the waters cover the sea.
A biblical expression which reflects God’s attributes is found in the description of Moses’ encounter with God, where Moses requested God to show him His glory (33:18). After making it clear that He will not reveal His full glory to Moses, and that He is sovereign in bestowing His saving grace upon men, God manifested Himself to Moses.
The glory of God was to appear in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this and spoke of it and at the birth of our Lord Jesus, we find references to the glory of God. His return to the earth, to defeat His foes and establish His kingdom, will be in glory (Matt. 16:27; 24:30; 25:31).
PART 2: THE DO’S AND DONT’S DURING CONFLICT (2 COR. 4:7; ROM. 12:1; MATT. 5:14-16)
These are the things that you can do and refrain from doing to reduce conflict within our midst. The list may not be exhausted here, the Holy Spirit can inspire you to have more.
THE DO’S
¨ Be kind, and loving. Also, put yourself in the other person’s position (Col. 3:12; Gal. 5:23; 1 Tim. 3:3).
¨ Have self-control even when the other party doesn’t deserve it (Jam. 2:13, 3:17; Matt. 5:7).
¨ Be generous to give (Matt. 5:42; Rom. 12:8, 1 Pet. 4:9; 1 Jn. 1:17).
¨ Be hospitable without grumbling (Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Tim. 3:2).
¨ Live at peace with everybody (Matt. 5:4; 1 Thess. 5:13; Jam. 3:17
¨ Be satisfied with your possession (2 Cor. 12:10; 1 Tim. 6:6-8)
¨ Have a forgiving spirit (Matt. 6:14; Col. 3:13).
¨ Speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Pet. 2:15).
¨ Be prayerful (Matt. 5:44; 1 Thess. 5:17).
¨ Be strong in faith (2 Tim. 2:18; 2 Cor. 6:7).
THE DONT’S
¨ Don’t repay evil for evil (Rom. 12:17-20).
¨ Don’t gossip (2 Cor. 12:20; Tit. 3:9).
¨ Don’t grumble (1 Cor. 10:10; Jam. 5:9).
¨ Don’t speak abusive words or call others bad names (Matt. 5:22; Jam. 5:12; Matt. 12:36).
¨ Don’t insist on your own way (Jn. 3:14; 2 Pet. 2:3; Rom. 12:10).
¨ Don’t be arrogant (Rom. 12:16; Jude 16).
¨ Don’t be angry (1 Tim. 3:2; Gal. 5:20).
¨Don’t give offense (2 Cor. 6:3; 1 Cor. 10:32).
¨Don’t be contentious (Tit. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:24).
¨Don’t slander (2 Cor. 12:20; 2 Tim. 3:3; 2 Pet. 3:3).
The fact that we are Christians does not roll away completely our natural thoughts and feelings. When Christians are confronted with difficult situations, they should count on the grace of God and keep trusting Him with a view that He will sustain them to triumph over the problem. Embracing the dos and don’ts will make us to develop a peace making process.
PART 3: UTILISE THE OPPORTU-NITIES CONFLICT PROVIDES (LK. 6:22-23)
Believers should look out for opportunities that conflict provides. Those who are matured Christians will not see the negative side alone but also view its positive side as avenue to respond practically to conflict in his ways to make the best use of it.
¨ Use it as a way to glorify God, trusting and depending on the grace of God and not putting confidence in our ability alone to solve the problem (Ps. 37:31).
¨ Imitate Christ by heeding to the admonition given by Paul the Apostle to walk worthy of our calling (Eph. 4:1-3; 1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1).
¨ Constantly ask yourself this question “How can I please God in this situation?” instead of responding negatively to your neighbours misdeeds. God calls us to be merciful to those who offend us. Jesus teaches His followers to have change of attitude so that they can be changed within and without.
CONCLUSION
Situations do arise when God wants to use the conflict confronting Christians to help those who have misgivings about Him to understand His interest, have better solution and develop a better approach to the prevailing situation (Phil. 2:2-4). Therefore, let us emulate Jesus Christ and practise the law of sacrifice. By this, others will see the light of Christ in us.
QUESTIONS
- What does it mean to glorify God?
- Mention at least 5 ‘dos’ that believers must keep to prevent or resolve conflict.
- Mention 3 ‘donts’ that believers must observe and explain the reason why these are compul-sory.
- How can we use conflict to glorify God?
