Dover Assembly
We started last week talking about the temptation that will come to us when difficulties come our way.
The enemy will show you many options that will appear to give us the easy way out, but always ends badly for us.
James 1:16 NIV
James 1:17 NLT
Genesis 3:4-5 NLT
Since God is good and he gives us all the good things we need, we should not look anywhere else to have those things provided.
“It is better to be hungry in the will of God than be full outside the will of God.” ~ Warren Wiersbe
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 NLT
There are 4 attributes of God’s goodness:
I. GOD ONLY GIVES GOOD GIFTS.
Everything good in this world is from God. If it is not from God, it is not good. If it comes from God, it must be good.
...even if we think it isn’t or don’t see it immediately.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT
It is sometimes through the hardships and troubles that we learn our best lessons.
II. THE WAY GOD GIVES THE GIFTS IS GOOD
When God gives us a gift, He always does it in a loving way.
What He gives and how He gives it are both good.
III. HE GIVES CONTINUALLY
The phrase "come down" means "keeps on coming"
God continually gives to us...
Everyday you wake up, every meal you eat, etc...
IV. GOD DOES NOT CHANGE
James 1:17 NLT
If we remember His goodness, we won’t give in to the enemy’s temptations.
2 Samuel 12:7-8 NLT
Last week we focused on the first barrier against temptation. That is the judgment of God.
This week we focused on the 2nd barrier-the goodness of God.
Both have to be kept in balance when we are tempted.
James 1:18 NLT
Genesis 39:7-9 NLT
He realized that all his blessings were not because of Pharaoh, but ultimately because God did it.
The next time you are tempted, think about God’s goodness and wait on God to provide it for you.
James 1:19 NIV
The quickest way to deceive ourselves is to not listen to what God’s word tells us.
Revelation 3:17 NIV
A mature Christian is able to look at himself and determine where he needs help and then where to go in God’s word for that help.
Mark 4:24 NIV
You need to evaluate what you hear and then do it. Are you hearing something over and over again in your lives but not doing anything about it?
Luke 8:18 NIV
How do we listen to God’s word? Do we have a preconceived notion of what it may be saying so we don’t look at it objectively to see what it REALLY means?
Matthew 13:13 NIV
Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV
If your spiritual life is decaying and you are being disobedient in any area, you are never going to grow.
