Sunday Sermon Outline: Distinguishing Right From Wrong

"Distinguishing Right from Wrong"
Isaiah 6

Introduction:
    Isaiah 5:20-23, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! [21] Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! [22] Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink, [23] Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!”
    Isaiah 5:24-25, “Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. [25] On this account the anger of the LORD has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched out.”
    Romans 1:18, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” 
    1 Corinthians 10:11-12, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. [12] Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
    1 Timothy 4:1, “the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” 

I. The Confirmation of Truth 6:1-4
    “In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. [2] Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. [3] And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” [4] And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.”

    Ephesians 2:20-21, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, [21] in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.”
    John 20:31, “these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” 

    Romans 15:4, “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” 

    John 8:31-32, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

II. The Confession of Sin 6:5
    “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.””

    Ezekiel 18:4-5, 9, “… The soul who sins will die. 5 But if a man is righteous, and practices justice and righteousness, … 9 if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully-- he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord GOD.”

III. The Cleansing of Sin 6:6-7
    “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. [7] He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.””

    Ephesians 5:25-27, “... Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, [26] so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
    2 Timothy 2:21, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” 

IV. The Commitment of the Servant 6:8
    “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!””

    Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
    Acts 22:10, “'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go on into Damascus; and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.'”

V. The Commission of a Servant 6:9-12
    “He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ [10] “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” [11] Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, [12] “The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.”

    Luke 10:16, “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

    “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

VI. The Confirmation of the Faithful 6:13
    “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”

    Romans 11:5, “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.”

Conclusion:
    Revelation 22:6-20, “And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. [7] “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” [8] I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. [9] But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.” [10] And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. [11] “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” [12] “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. [13] “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” [14] Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. [15] Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. [16] “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” [17] The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. [18] I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; [19] and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. [20] He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

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Sunday Sermon Outline: Hebrews 9

“Regaining Our Value”
Hebrews 9

Introduction: Romans 3:23; Habakkuk 1:13


I.   The Characteristics of the Old Covenant  vs. 1-10

      A. The Old Covenant was PHYSICAL. vs. 1-5
     "Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. [2] For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. [3] Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, [4] having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; [5] and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.”

      B. The Old Covenant was RESTRICTIVE. vs. 6-7a
     “Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, [7] but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, ...”

      C. The Old Covenant was IMPERSONAL. v. 7b  
     “... which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.”

     D. The old covenant was IMPERFECT. vs. 8-10
     “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, [9] which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, [10] since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.”


II.  The Characteristics of the New Covenant  vs. 11-15

      A. The New Covenant is SPIRITUAL. v. 11
     “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;”

      B. The New Covenant is NON-RESTRICTIVE. v. 15 
     “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

      C. The New Covenant is PERSONAL. vs. 13-14
     “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

     D. The New Covenant is PERFECT. v. 12
     “not through the blood of goats and calves, but through [Jesus'] own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”


III. A Covenant of Cleanliness  vs. 16-26

      A. We can only be made clean by our Creator. v. 16
     “For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.”

      B. We can only be made clean with blood. vs. 17-22
     “For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. [18] Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. [19] For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, [20] saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.” [21] And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. [22] And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

      C. We can only be made clean in heaven. vs. 23-24
     “Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”

      D. We need only be made clean once. vs. 25-26
     “nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. [26] Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

Hebrews 10:14


Conclusion: John 6:53-58; 2 Peter 3:13; 2 Timothy 4:8; Matthew 25:1-13

Hebrews 9:27-28, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, [28] so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”


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