Get Up and Keep Walking in the Light
About this sermon
In “Get Up and Keep Walking in the Light,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about the authority of Scripture, grace and mercy, salvation. Drawing especially from 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 15, John 4, the teaching emphasizes that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that God’s grace forgives and also trains believers to leave sin and live in obedience.
Chronological teaching outline
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Odle focuses on the authority of Scripture while working through 1 Thessalonians 5. The message argues that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. It connects this with the conviction that true worship centers on God and is expressed through reverence, surrender, and obedience. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on salvation while working through 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 15. The message argues that salvation is presented as God’s work in Christ that produces a changed life and continuing faith. It connects this with the conviction that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on God’s commandments while working through Romans 7, Romans 6. The message argues that God’s commands reveal His standard and direct the obedient life. It connects this with the conviction that natural emotion and self-directed reasoning must yield to the Holy Spirit and the mind of Christ. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on grace and mercy while working through Romans 7, Romans 6, Romans 6:12. The message argues that God’s grace forgives and also trains believers to leave sin and live in obedience. It connects this with the conviction that God’s commands reveal His standard and direct the obedient life. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
Odle focuses on the authority of Scripture while working through John 1:7, Psalm 119, Psalm 119:130. The message argues that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. It connects this with the conviction that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on eternal judgment while working through Romans 7, 1 John 3, 1 John 5. The message argues that the reality of final judgment gives urgency to repentance, salvation, and faithful witness. It connects this with the conviction that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on grace and mercy. The message argues that God’s grace forgives and also trains believers to leave sin and live in obedience. It connects this with the conviction that natural emotion and self-directed reasoning must yield to the Holy Spirit and the mind of Christ. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on grace and mercy while working through Matthew 18. The message argues that God’s grace forgives and also trains believers to leave sin and live in obedience. It connects this with the conviction that salvation is presented as God’s work in Christ that produces a changed life and continuing faith. The practical emphasis is to examine the heart, receive correction, and finish faithfully.
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- 0:00:00
Father, we come to you this morning, and we just worship you and declare that you are faithful. Lord, forgive us for all of our complaining, for our murmuring, for our anxiety, for our fears, for the times that we don't trust you, or we think you don't care, or we think you have forsaken us and you don't know about our problems and our pain. Lord, we know that you are working all things together for our good. To those who love you, those who are called according to your purpose, you work all things for their good. Oh Lord, we just worship you this morning. Lord, I worship you and I thank you, Lord. God, I ask you, Lord, there's things that I've worried about. There's things that I've been worrying about and fearful about and and Lord, I've let them get in the way between you and I, and I just ask you, Lord, to forgive me, and I just pray that you'd help my brothers and sisters, Lord. Lord, help us not to worry. Help us not to falsely accuse you of not caring or not coming through for us. Lord, we just thank you. You're faithful and true. God, I ask you to bless my brothers and sisters here today. I ask you to speak to their hearts, God, and change their lives and draw them closer to you and and draw them and bring them through whatever trial or problem that they're going through, bring them through it. Maybe a sin they're struggling with, Lord, bring them through it to overcome it, to walk with you, Lord. And Father, we just worship you this morning. We praise you this morning. I just really sense that this morning that somebody needs to be encouraged that that you are going to make it through what you're going through right now. God will answer. Though it seems like the answer is late, or it seems like he's not going to do it, he's going to answer you if you stay with him. The test always comes to see if you'll walk away, see if you'll give up, see if you'll backslide and go back into sin and say, "What's the use in following God?" That's what the devil's always trying to do is get you to say, "What's the use? I follow God and things still go wrong." But God wants a people that will stick with him even when it's rough. And though it seems like he's late when he comes and he answers or he saves you or he delivers you, isn't it amazing though? It's always right on time. Amen. Praise God. Praise God. Well, you may be seated this morning. Hallelujah. Yeah. Hallelujah. Well, good morning, everyone. Good morning. Well, I feel the Lord here. You're going to need your Bibles this morning cuz we're going to study something. It's going to be more of a I guess more
- 0:03:01
of a teaching this morning. But as we get into this, I want to say this about what we're going to look at this morning. When it comes to the Christian life, when it comes to the Christian life and when it comes to basically when it comes to life in general, what we're about to discuss this morning is probably one of the most important issues um in the word of God and in the kingdom of God. And we're going to discuss this morning the issue of sin, okay? But it it's not going to be what you think fully, okay? Because we have to we have to understand how to deal with sin. And there's different kinds of sin. Now, I've spent a lot of time over the last year that we've been going here as a new church, I spend a lot of time confronting sins and dealing with sin, specific sins, and and and just, you know, trying to define what the Christian life should look like, you know? The Christian life should look different than the world. Right? We should look different. Um but we need to deal with the issue of how we deal with sins because the Bible says clearly, and we're going to look at it, that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But yet, the Bible's very clear about if we practice certain sins that we will not inherit the kingdom of God and we will not go to heaven. So, this issue of dealing with sin, how God dealt with sin, and how we deal with sin in our lives, is the most important issue in the kingdom of God. And right now, throughout the church world, there are a lot of false teachings about sin and how to deal with it. Uh I shared a little bit about that last week, how I even talked to a woman recently that sent me an email that said that because Jesus dealt with sin on the cross 2,000 years ago, that she doesn't have to deal with it anymore, that that she doesn't have to confess sin or repent of sin or feel guilty about anything, and that even if she committed a sin right then, that God would say, "I don't even know what you're talking about." if she mentioned it. That is not true. That's a misrepresentation of what the Bible teaches about sin, but we're going to look at this closely this morning, okay? Because, listen, the the way you look at this subject, the way you deal with this issue in your life, will determine whether you spend eternity in heaven or you spend eternity in hell. It's that simple. And I don't care how many times you you've been baptized or been to church or say you've been born again, how you deal with the issue of sin, what you believe about it and how you deal with it in your own life is going to determine your eternal destiny. Okay, and I I I'll just say straight up and most of you already know this. I do not believe that once you're saved, you're always saved no matter how you live your life. The Bible simply does not teach that. Okay?
- 0:06:01
There's a few verses that people pull out of context and misuse to prove that, but there's a mountain of verses that prove the other. Okay? But we're going to start out this morning in 1 Thessalonians. I want you to go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. And I really, really want you to keep up um with me this morning. Do you have one? Are you going to look on? Look on. Okay. I want you to see it. The reason I want is cuz I want everyone to see that I'm just not making stuff up. You should always make sure that any preacher or teacher is actually quoting the Bible correctly. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Let's get there. Let me get there. 1 Thessalonians 5. And we're going to read this so we'll read a little it in context here. Um we're going to start reading from verse 12 and read through verse 23. Verse 12, he says, "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and that are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now, we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly. That basically that means those who don't want any rule in their life. Comfort the feeble-minded. Support the weak. Be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesying. Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. And abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is something I want you to see that Paul said that man has a spirit and a soul and a body. I want you to put that up right here. Just we got a few illustrations this morning, but we have a spirit and a soul and a body. Now, that's what this 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, right? And in the Greek language, there's three different Greek words for spirit, for soul and body. Um, for a long time in the charismatic in movement, people have said we we are a spirit being that has a soul and lives in a body. But you need to see that you have three parts, and it's And this was a good illustration, but the outside circle there would
- 0:09:02
represent your body, which is your five senses and the the physical organ of the brain and and all that. And we all know we're well acquainted with our physical body. Then you have the soul. The soul makes up the mind, the will, and the emotions. The soul also makes up the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. The soul is what makes you you. It's your You know, everybody has a body and everybody has a spirit body. But the soul is what makes you uniquely you. It makes me Dean. It makes you Nancy. It makes you Andrew. I mean, it makes us who we are. But anyway, the soul is the mind, the will, and the emotions. The spirit is, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15, the spirit is also a spiritual body. Matter of fact, if my spirit body right now could step outside of my body, it would still have the form of a body. But it is a It is spirit. It is created and made by the very life of God. And the spirit in the area of the spirit is what contains And this doesn't say it, but in the area of your spirit, it contains your conscience, which is where you know instinctively what is right and wrong. Your conscience, your intuition, that's your ability to perceive things sometimes without seeing them. And um the the area of your spirit is also the area of of true worship, cuz the Bible says we should worship God in spirit and in truth. Okay? That's in 1 John I mean, that's in John the Gospel John 4. But I want you to see that Paul said something here. He said, "I pray God" And he was talking to people who were already Christians. "I pray God sanctify you wholly." Now, that word wholly there is not h o l y, it's w h o. Right? That means completely, fully. And the goal, and let me just say this, the goal of of God in your life, the goal of Christ true Christianity is for ultimately both your spirit, your soul, and your body to be sanctified. That word sanctified means to be cleansed and to be set apart as as different, as special, as clean. And this is something that we we need to understand the process of what God does with through salvation. Well, how many of you ever heard the term being born again? You ever heard that term? Okay? Being born again, the Bible also calls it regeneration. Okay? Now, what that means is when a person comes to Jesus, they come to God, and they've never been saved before, they've never been born again, they've never experienced God, the Bible's very clear about that means that the we still have a spirit, but they are spiritually dead and separated from the life of God, okay? The soul is completely under the control of what the body wants. Okay? We all know what the body wants, right? The body wants to see it all the time.
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