Whether you see it coming from far away or it just hits you out of nowhere, finding yourself face-to-face with a crisis is the kind of unwelcome experience nobody wants to be in. But in the midst of the financial, medical or mental chaos, Dr. Evans is here to remind you to ask yourself a very important question: “How can my crisis bring God glory?” In this lesson, be reminded of God’s power and ability to turn even the darkest of circumstances into that which will bring Him praise like you never could have imagined.

i want to talk to you about godliness

and i would like to suggest to you

that is our assignment

a lot of christians today are working on

the wrong assignment

we’re working hard

we’re putting in all the effort

we think we can put in

and it’s just not working everything is

coming up f

we’re failing in our lives we’re failing

in our

priorities we’re failing in our families

we’re failing in our commitments we’re

failing

while working hard

and i’d like to suggest to you it that

is because

much of what we’re doing is not tied to

the assignment we’ve been given

he wants you to see him at a level

you’ve never seen it before

so the question on the floor is how bad

do you want it

i want to talk to you about godliness

and i would like to suggest to you

that is our assignment

that if you are here today and you have

been redeemed saved

you’ve been saved

for the purposes of becoming

godly

we stay busy as people and as ministries

doing a lot of things

often not tied to the assignment

good things even

but wind up with a failing grade when it

comes to

what the assignment is

let me tell you about this assignment

because

when you first hear it you may say okay

yeah that’s the christian thing

but this assignment is very important

because

first timothy chapter 4 verse 8 says

for bodily discipline is only of little

profit but godliness is profitable for

all things since it holds promise for

the present life and also the life to

come

he says this assignment this thing

called godliness is not only good for

the sweet by and by it is good for the

nasty here and now

he says for this life

and the life to come because every

christian has two lives the the life you

now live and the life you will live he

says godliness

is profitable beneficial

for this life

and the life to come

so whatever this thing is called

godliness you want it because it has a

profit motive to it

said it is

profitable

now let me tell you what godliness is

not

before i tell you what godliness is

because that will help you to better

understand what it is when you know what

it ain’t

in second timothy chapter 3 verse 5 we

read these words

he says holding a form of godliness

although they deny its power

avoid such men as these

he talks about a form of godliness

something that looks like it but is not

it

the greek word for form

is the word that means shape

or silhouette

or appearance

or shadow

or outline

when you see the shadow of a person

you see their outline without their

substance in other words the shadow of a

person is not the substance of the

person it’s just the outline of the

person

that’s the word for form

you can look godly and there’d be no

substance

you can have the appearance of godliness

and there be no reality

you can look the part

how do you know if you’re looking the

part

versus having the part

he says having the form of godliness but

denying the power he says you know it’s

not godly when there’s no power attached

to it

because true godliness has power

connected to it

this form of godliness

you know as religion

religion

gives the impression

of something related to god that’s real

i mean you can look religious

you can wear religious clothes

you can use religious vocabulary you can

speak christianese

you can carry a religious book the bible

you can hang out with religious people

and there be no power many of us knows

what it is to go to church for years and

not be changed

to be in the vicinity of god

and i know better for it

because i was in the form

and i was at the location

but i was missing

the power

going to church in and of itself

will not have the power to make you more

godly like going into a garage will not

have the power to turn you into a car

the location in and of itself

is not sufficient for the purpose

godliness is to be associated with power

like when

pharaoh’s magicians

threw down their sticks and it became

snakes

it had the form of of reality until

moses’s snake ate him up

because moses snake didn’t just have the

appearance of a snake it had power

so the fact of our godlessness is

demonstrated by our lack of power even

though we still carry the form

i mean everything about where you’re

sitting now

fits the form

they’re pews here you know it’s a church

there’s a cross in front you know it’s a

church the pulpit here there’s a

preacher here there’s a choir stand here

there have been hymns that are being

sunk

if you’re looking for form you’ve got it

for many people church is god’s donut

shop

they want a sweet song

they want a sweet word

they want a sweet atmosphere

only to discover

they are no better off having come to

the shop

because you can have a form of godliness

you can have the look

you can have the

paraphernalia of it

without its reality

and without

its power

outline

without

substance

ah but godliness

he says

has power tied to it

so if you’re going through the form and

lacking the power that means we’re not

yet godly

or not let growing in godliness

please notice in chapter six of first

timothy verse three if anyone advocates

a different doctrine and does not agree

with sound words those of our lord jesus

christ and with the doctrine conforming

to godliness

he brings up godliness again at the end

of verse five suppose that godliness is

a measure of gain he brings up godliness

again

in the beginning of verse six but

godliness actually is a means of great

gain we’re going to talk about that

we’re going to talk about how to make a

profit by being godly

in verse 11 he brings up godliness again

so even in this one chapter we’ve seen

four times already this word

godliness the greek word yesipia means

reverence toward god

here is the definition of godliness

godliness may be defined

as a lifestyle that consistently

reflects the character of god

godliness is a lifestyle it’s not an

event

it’s a way of living

a lifestyle it’s the way you roll

it’s how you operate

it is a lifestyle

that is consistent with the character of

god now watch this

godliness assumes

you agree with something

so i don’t want to make this assumption

but this assumption is everything

godliness

assumes

that you

agree and do not disagree with god

now that may sound like a simple

statement but it’s deeper than it sounds

you can’t be godly and disagree with god

if you’re disagreeing with god you

cannot be godly

because once you disagree with god

you have made yourself your own idol

once you say

i don’t think god’s right on this one

you just judge god

and if you judge god

you became god

another god is an idol

so you’ve just built a monument to

yourself when you disagree with god

which means you cannot become godly

godliness assumes what the scripture

says when it says let god be true and

every man a liar

that when god and i disagree i’m wrong

when god and my peeps disagree

they’re wrong when god and my professors

disagree

they’re wrong

when god and the rich folk disagree

they’re wrong

one of the things that keep us from

godliness

is that we keep debating god

which will automatically block any hope

of ever becoming godly

you can’t be disagreeing with the person

you’re trying to be like

godliness is a lifestyle

that is consistently reflecting the

character of god so before we go any

further you’ve got to decide what god

says is right what i think that

disagrees with it how i feel about it

how long i’ve been dealing with it what

my friends say about it how i was raised

in it is all wrong when it disagrees

with god

unless you start there

the hope of experiencing

both the concept

and the provision and the power of

godliness is lost

that’s why he said in verse 3 the

doctrine conforming to godliness

doctrine means teaching

he says timothy i want you to teach the

principles that are related

to bringing people into conformity to

likeness

to

godliness because he’s already said

anything else is a doctrine of demons

chapter four

because a lot of folk are being taught

by the devil and don’t know the devil is

their professor

but the devil becomes your professor

when the people he uses are getting you

to disagree with god

godliness means

that i am

living my life in light of his presence

there is a consciousness of god’s

presence

and that presence is affecting me

that’s why people

are not experiencing more of god because

they don’t live in his presence they

visit his presence

see as long as you’re a visitor you can

leave

where you live is where you hang out

god has

visiting hours

on sunday morning

for most people

and so we give god the visiting hours

but we don’t live in his presence and

therefore we don’t become

we visit him

holiness

that is this unique recognition of the

uniqueness of god

living in light of his presence

brings you now on the highway

to godliness

here’s the godly person the godly person

is obsessed with god’s presence

they’re obsessed with pleasing god

because they’re ever conscious

of where he is

let me tell you where he is in a moment

but they’re ever conscious of where he

is and they have become obsessed

with that

consistently evaluating things from his

perspective what does he think about

that how would he feel about that what

would he say about that

that’s constantly on their mind whether

they’re saying it or not if they’re

constantly reflecting on him

and on his influence on their everyday

life

god becomes the son of their solar

system where the planets of all their

actions revolve around him

now let me tell you the enemy of

godliness

this will stop godliness in his tracks

and also regress you chapter 2 verse 16

of 2 timothy says this

but avoid worldly and empty chatter for

it will lead to further ungodliness

the enemy of godliness is worldliness

godliness

has an enemy

it’s worldliness he says worldly chatter

worldliness

what does worldliness means it’s that

system headed by satan that leaves god

out worldliness simply means you leave

god out

you don’t have to be a criminal to be

worldly all you’ve got to do is leave

god out of the equation and you just

became worldly he says avoid worldly

chatter that is communication

that is void of god’s perspective

because to be

godly

means i am pursuing and proceeding i’m

not trying to mix all in water diesel

and unleaded i am seeking to have this

consistent experience of god being at

work in my life

when god’s people

leave god out

and still try to suck the air of the

world all you’re doing is sucking in

more death because you’re operating in

an environment you were never created

for

not once you’ve been converted not once

you’ve been redeemed if you’re not a

christian then you don’t have this new

environment if you are a christian that

is your environment

god is your environment

that’s why i’m using the word to become

obsessed with god because it is your new

environment

and the reason why we often stay

defeated for so long is because we’re

sucking air in a place we don’t belong

no like the bible says bad company

corrupts good morals you hang around

with the bad people long enough you

gonna become one of the bad people

because your environment will suck you

in

so

godliness is this

lifestyle that becomes consistent with

the character of god that’s what it is

second peter chapter one verse three

second peter 1 3 says seeing that his

divine power has granted to us

everything pertaining to life and

godliness

through the true knowledge of him who

had called us by his own glory and

excellence let me read that again verse

three of second peter one seeing that

his divine power has granted to us

everything pertaining to life and

godliness through the true knowledge of

him who called us

by his own glory and excellence

guess what he just told you

everything you need to be godly you

already have

he says

seeing his divine power has given you

everything pertaining to life and

godliness

everything you need to become what god

wants you to be you have it already

when you accepted jesus christ if indeed

you are a christian

the holy spirit fertilized your human

spirit

the holy spirit fertilized your human

spirit and quickened you and made you

alive the problem now is your growth

cycle

because the job of the devil is to abort

the conception

in the same way mothers abort

their newly conceived children

satan seeks to abort the growth

of the spiritual life within you so that

godliness is never achieved

or limitedly achieved

or periodically achieved

the more god possesses you you see

his divine power has given you

everything

his divine nature

you have a new nature

let me use another word maybe this will

help us

god has given you a new appetite

you have a new appetite

your nature defines your appetite

for example

you don’t have to teach pigs to like

slop

it’s in their nature

you know they have to learn

to grow on slop

they gravitate to slop

that nature

you ever see a dog turn and eat its own

vomit

that’s nasty stuff except that it’s in

its nature

that’s not something you and i do

because that’s not natural to us

the new you that is the redeemed you the

saved you the new nature in you is

hungry for god

starving for god

dying for god

because that’s the divine nature every

true believer has divine nature and that

nature is being starved to death

because god can’t get enough of god

god wants all the god he can get so he

can grow god in you he can grow god in

me

but if god doesn’t get fed god

we wind up weak

because it’s his nature in us

so here we go

here is my challenge oh by the way just

so you know

everything you need to become

godly what god wants you to be

you already have and batteries are

included god not only gave you the

provision

coming with it is the power

to be

and to live life in a way

that explodes godliness

that’s why you know

your appetite

one of the ways god confirms your

redemption

is by giving you a desire for him

or making you miserable when you don’t

have it

one thing about a spiritual christian

they hurt when god hurts

when they make god sad they get sad when

they make god smile they’re full of joy

why because god and me on the same page

when you lose your appetite

you’re sick

you lose your appetite for an extended

amount of time something wrong with you

because that’s why the doctor always

want to know how’s your appetite

because your appetite

dictates your health

so if there’s little hunger for god for

his word to spend time with him to to

include him if there’s little hunger for

that that’s because sickness is set in

or maybe you’re not alive at all and

have never been born again

but here we go

here’s what we’re going to do

here’s my challenge to me

to you and to us

i want you

for this year

to work on

a godliness degree

i just showed you

where god says the godly person gets

great gain

so if the prophet motive

is a motivation for you i want to offer

you a doctorate degree in godliness

however

the higher you go in your degree the

more things you got to move out of the

way so you can get it

you can’t carry on the same program

and get a degree unless you’re going to

take all your life to do it you got to

adjust some things because the degree

is worth staying up all night or or to

not looking at this tv show or not doing

that or skipping that or not partying

over here cause i gotta get this degree

i gotta get out of here

in the way of sports language how bad do

you want it

or do you want to do like some folk

who spend all their lives in school and

never wind up with a degree

they just pick a class here and a class

there here a class there class

everywhere a class class

a little guard here a little guard there

here god there god everywhere god god

but they never wind up with paper that’s

profitable

there’s profit to godliness he says

[Music]

god’s goal for his people is godliness

another way of saying it is

god-like-ness

god wants his people to progressively

increase

in their character and conduct attitudes

and actions

to reflect

who he is and what he is like

at the heart of spiritual growth is that

we are becoming more like god

in how we function and how we think

because he is rubbing off on us

now that he indwells us by his spirit so

the question we have to ask

in terms of whether we’re progressing in

our christian life

is am i being more like god

are other people seeing me think

function and act more like god based on

his word

because i’m becoming

more godly

[Music]

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for the alaskan cruise we’re going to

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register to be there can’t wait to be

with you

[Music]

you