"for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

God the Father.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name," Matthew 6:9
"But if your eyes are unhealthy,[a] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:23

"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[a] Father.” Galatians 4:6

Abba means "daddy."

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned."Ephesians 4:17-20

Set yourself apart from the Old way of life. When you come in dirty from the field you take off your dirty clothes and take a shower, but you don't stop there if you plan on going anywhere. You put on clean clothes. We need to clothe ourselves in the new self.

Practical Advice -- and an example to Follow.

“In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry," Ephesians 4:26


"The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;" Psalm 103:8-9

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.5 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for usas a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 4:31-5:2

Follow God's example. Our goal is for people to see the Father in us.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

God's standard -- do as God does.

The absolute truth -- God is our standard.

Be like Him.

Obey or break.

The love of the Father overcomes the failures of the children.

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." 1 John 3:1

World doesn't understand absolute truth. 

Until I understand the love of God I won't understand anything else.

The standard is perfection. 

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48

Perfect means "complete" or "mature."

"But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:14

Grow. Keep growing. Grow toward God. Grow to be like God. 

Every day we get a do-over. That's grace!

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:11-13

What is that evil?

Understanding the enemy is the first step in overcoming the enemy. We can't go blindly into battle.

Who is Satan?
-- He is a fallen angel.
-- He has been given control over the whole world.

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

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LordGod had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5

Satan likes when people don't believe he's rearl and he likes to stay hidden. These are great ways to do his work without interruption or interference.

He uses:

DECEPTION.
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44

He'll use half-truths, outright lies; other people to lie. Surface stuff doesn't tell the whole truth. 

Lies are just empty promises, a trap.

Deny the truth of the Word.

He makes the truth complicated. Asks, "but what if?" and "But how can?"

Faith is simple.

He uses wordsmithing, spinning. He will also overwhelm people with sheer volume of information so they just get callous or immune to it.

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1

Make sure you test what you hear. Look for the truth yourself. Test the source. Jesus said, "You are either for me or against me." 

DIVISION:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one,Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one" John 17:20-22

Nothing is more damaging to the church than division in a church body (or division between Christians). 

"So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[a] a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:21-25

Whatever we feed internally will win (either our flesh or the Spirit).

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Externally, we will always be looking for something better -- this divides us from within and away from what God has for us.

We shouldn't be afraid of the devil but we need to respect the threat.

DIVERSION: TURN US OFF THE PATH:

"Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Matthew 16:23

How do you avoid diversions? Be alert and then avoid them. Pushing through them sometimes will cause very negative consequences. If we have been diverted from the path, we will be too absorbed in the world and will have no time for prayer, church and the Word. If you value something, you'll find time for it. 

ANXIETY AND FEAR:

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. We know what God is capable of, so why fear?

DISCOURAGEMENT:

Discourages us because aspirations are open-ended. God knows and understands we are in process. This is grace. If you live in fear you will always fail (or never try). Do not let perfection get in the way of "good enough."
There's always room for improvement. This doesn't mean we are failures. It means we are human. Fatigue, worn out. He tries to make us give up. We aren't alone. Let God carry your load.

"They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 2 Peter 3:4

What's wrong with waiting? Giving us His grace, something to energize us!

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." 2Timothy 4:1-5

Forewarned is forearmed!

Faith is rooted in love!

"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." Luke 10:19

Use the power that is given to you!

Keep your eyes on the Cross!

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

Are you willing?

Surrender to God and let go of your own agenda. The enemy cannot and will never defeat our Father!!

(Jane left the voice recorder at church!! Sorry! I will try and load up the recording later this week. It was a really good sermon.)