Relationship Ambushes 1: The Eye
Scripture lesson: 2 Samuel 11:1-17
Key Verse: Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your
neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male
or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.
You shall not covet
- Covet:
“to desire wrongfully, beyond a normal or
acceptable limit, or without due regard for
the rights of others”
- People covet because they become convinced that
what they don’t have will make them happier than what they do
have
- Coveting starts with how we look at
things
- Coveting can lead us to act “without due regard
for the rights of others,” and that destroys
relationships
Lessons from King David
- Relationship
destroyer: (verse 1) He wasn’t where he was supposed to
be
- Relationship builder: Be
where you are supposed to be!
- Relationship
destroyer: (2) He kept looking where he wasn’t supposed
to look
- Relationship
builder: Move your eyes!
- Relationship
destroyer: (3) He sought information he wasn’t supposed
to have
- Relationship builder: Let
it go!
- Relationship
destroyer: (4a) He initiated a contact he knew was
inappropriate
- Relationship builder: Let
them go!
- Relationship
destroyer: (4b) He did something he knew was
wrong
- Relationship
builder: Don’t do anything you know is wrong!
- Relationship
destroyer: (5-13) He repeatedly tried to cover up his
wrongdoing
- Relationship
builder: Confess and repent!
- Relationship
destroyer: (14-17) He allowed it to lead him into
something even worse
- Relationship builder: Cut
your losses!
· Different kinds of coveting threaten different kinds
of relationships
- Coveting people can destroy marriages
- Coveting possessions can destroy families and
friendships
- Coveting positions or influence can destroy
business relationships
Relationship Ambushes 2: The
Mind
Scripture lesson: Mark 7:1-23
Key verse: Philippians 4:8 Fix your thoughts on what is
true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and
lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise.
Overcoming “Divide and Conquer”
- Evil spirits try to push your emotions into
harmful actions
- Every Christian has the authority to use the name
of Jesus to resist and evict these spirits
- Evil spirits are most successful when they can
ambush us
Thinking negatively about others makes for poor,
negative relationships
Thinking positively about others makes for healthy,
positive relationships
- Always err on the side of grace
- Always give the benefit of the doubt
- Let people know you believe in them
Overcome “divide and conquer:” always think the
best!
Relationship Ambushes 3: The
Heart
Scripture lesson: Matthew 5:3-10
Sermon key verse: Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean
heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
Overcoming “Divide and Conquer”
- Evil spirits try to push your emotions into harmful
actions
- Every Christian has the authority to use the name of Jesus to
resist and evict these spirits
- Evil spirits are most successful when they can ambush us
Heart attitudes that ambush
relationships
- Taking offense
- Unforgiveness
- Jealousy and envy
- Vanity
- Clinging dependency
- Playing the victim
- Demanding your rights
Make yourself immune from heart ambushes (Matthew
5:3-10)
- Depend on God (verse 3)
- Feel people’s pain (4)
- Be gentle (5)
- Be fair (6)
- Give people a break (7)
- Stay clean (8)
- Wage peace (9)
- Live for God (10)
Relationship Ambushes 4: The
Will
Scripture lesson: Exodus 32:1-14
Sermon key verse: Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified
with Christ. I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I
live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
Overcoming “Divide and Conquer”
- Evil spirits try to push your emotions into harmful
actions
- Every Christian has the authority to use the name of Jesus to
resist and evict these spirits
- It takes two to have a relationship
- Evil spirits are most successful when they can ambush us
Your will is that part by which you make
choices
- Your free will is very important to God
- How you use your will is very important to God
- Misuse of your will can destroy your relationships
Ambushes of the will
- Control
- Rebellion
- Self-centeredness
- Stubbornness
- Procrastination
- Indecisiveness
- Refusal to take responsibility
- Laziness
Lessons from today’s Bible story
- The people wanted gods and leaders they could control (verse
1)
- Aaron refused to take responsibility to stop them (2-5)
- The people indulged in self-centered revelry (6)
- God saw it as stubbornness and rebellion (7-8)
- God considered stubbornness and rebelliousness as grounds for
death (9-10)
- Moses resisted self-centeredness (11a)
- Moses respectfully argued his will against God’s will, based on
God’s principles (11b-13)
- God listened to Moses’ prayer and changed God’s mind! (14)
Relationship Ambushes 5: The
Tongue
Scripture lesson: James 3:2-12
Sermon key verse: Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful
for building others up according to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen.
- The Bible has much to say about the power of words
- If you can control your tongue you can control your life (James
3:2)
- Ambushes of the tongue destroy relationships
o Lying
o Complaining
o Nagging
o Gossip
o Telling secrets
o Sarcasm
o Lack of
communication
o Lack of
encouragement
o Failure to express
empathy
o Failure to express
support
o Failure to express
love
- Relationship builder: by the power of the Holy Spirit, follow
our key verse
o Bite off ambush
words
o Speak what helps
people
o Speak what builds
people up
o Speak what meets
people’s needs
o Speak what benefits
people
Relationship
Ambushes 6: Actions
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Scripture lesson: Galatians 5:16-26
Sermon key verse: Galatians 5:16 Live according to your
new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your
sinful nature craves.
- Your actions can ambush your relationships
-
- Actions that make you hard to trust can ambush a
relationship
-
- Secrecy
- Deception
- Unfaithfulness
- Actions that make you hard to be around can ambush a
relationship
-
- Selfishness
- Suffocating
- Micro-managing
- Pushing people’s buttons
- Irresponsibility can ambush a relationship
-
- Not taking care of money
- Not taking care of things
- Not taking care of people
- Not taking care of yourself
- Not following through on promises or obligations
- Self-destructive behavior can ambush a relationship
-
- Your own behaviors
- Enabling the behaviors of others
- These ambushes come from the old sinful nature
- To avoid these ambushes, follow our key verse
-
- Let God give you a new life in the Holy Spirit
- Learn what the new Holy Spirit life is all about (Galatians
5:22-23)
- Learn to connect with the power and love of the Holy Spirit of
God who lives within you
- Consciously, action by action, choose to live as the new person
you have become in Jesus
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E Pluribus Unum
Scripture lesson: Ephesians 2:11-22
Series theme verse: Ephesians 6:12 We are not fighting
against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers
and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of
darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the
heavenly realms.
Sermon key verse: Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew
or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all
Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus.
o The enemy tries to
divide and conquer
- Ethnicity
- Nationality
- Gender
- Language
- Age
- Education
- Economics
- Politics
- Denomination
- Anything else he can get us to argue
about
o Jesus gave his life
to make us one
o Jesus is building
us all together into a house for God
- Many kinds of materials are necessary to build a
house for people
- Many kinds of people are necessary to build a house
for God
- Our diversity makes us strong. Celebrate
it!