Living Examples - Hold God’s Truth in Your Heart

Pray – (1/2 minute)

Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) – Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” (Acts 6:9-10)
      Passage: Psalm 119:9-16

        What comes out when you squeeze an orange? The immediate answer would be orange juice, but technically, that is incorrect. The truest answer is “whatever is inside”, because, if someone injected the orange with a foreign substance, that would also come out. I’m not a fan of trick questions, but our lives are like the orange. When we get squeezed by the pressures of life, whatever is inside of us is what will come out of us.
        As a believer, you have the new nature of the Holy Spirit within you, but that nature does not eliminate the fleshly, sin nature that you were born with. While the old nature is dead to eternity, it still has power in your life today and it still wants to oppose the purposes and the glory of God. When Stephen was squeezed by those opposing the gospel, He was able to speak with power and boldness, because He had committed the truth of God’s Word to his heart. The two natures within you are in opposition to each other. The one that will have the greatest power will the one you feed the most. Hold God’s truth in your heart and when you are squeezed, the Word will come out.  

Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)