Is Godliness Worth it? We are Created by God for God!

So excited to kick off the High School Home Group with my church family at Garner Christian Fellowship. During this study I will be posting lesson reviews. Enjoy this journey with us!! 

Session 1: Is Godliness Worth it? 

There is no greater compliment that can be given to a Christian than to call him a godly person. He/She might have a great personality, be an excellent singer, be a zealous church worker, be a powerful speaker, be very talented and gifted; but none of these things matter if they are not a godly person. 

It is both the privilege and the duty of every Christian to pursue godliness. Every Christian should train themselves in godliness and should diligently seek to practice godliness in their everyday lives. 

Why is godliness so important? Jesus Christ died for us to walk in Godliness. He gave us salvation through grace so that we could walk in godliness. 

Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

• What does the Grace of God teach us? 

• how to say NO to ungodliness 
• how to say NO to worldly passion 
• how to have self-control 
• how to live upright and godly lives in a time when the world can seem more fun than the Christian life. 
• It gives us hope that living a godly life will not go without reward!!!! We have hope in our savior, Christ Jesus.

From the outside looking in, the world will seem to be more fun and more rewarding than serving Christ. We will begin to believe the lies the enemy has to offer us. Believers can even make excuses about pursuing ungodly passions. Young people can be persuaded by the world and even other Christians to compromise "just a little". 

1 Timothy 4:7-16 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

• We should reject lies and pursue truth 
• have nothing to do with ungodliness
• Train yourself in the values of Christ 
• Do not let any look down on you because you are young (Life is a vapor. You may not have the "rest of your life" to serve the Lord. Serve Him NOW) 
• Devote yourself to the Scripture 
• Do Not neglect your gifting from the Lord
• Delight in the Lord 
• Be mindful of the way you live because you can save yourself and those watching you. 

Ask yourself: What things attract young people to Christianity? What causes young people to bail out on serving Christ? Is the life of an average non-Christian better than a Christian's life?

The truth is the world is attractive. The truth is sin is fun! The truth is this life on earth is temporary and everything in the earth will fade away. The truth is Christianity does not equal a perfect life nor a life without trials and tribulation. The truth is serving Christ and living a godly life is worth it in the end!!!!! 

Roman 5:2-5 through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 

Asaph in Ps 73 explains the struggle when we look at the world's "success". In the end he concludes the grass is not greener on the other side. The nonbeliever does not have a real future because we live past this life!!!! The world, however attractive, is far less meaningful compared to a relationship with Christ. 

I love the Message version.

• Asaph finds himself looking at the world and it seems they have no worries:

I was looking the other way,    looking up to the peopleAt the top,    envying the wicked who have it made,Who have nothing to worry about,    not a care in the whole wide world.

• He is asking "Is God out to lunch?" Have you ever felt the people living in sin get everything so why play by the rules? Asaph was feeling the same way:  

The wicked get by with everything;    they have it made, piling up riches.I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;    what has it gotten me?

• But he turns his heart and affections towards the Lord. Something happens when we enters into the presence of the Lord.  In the presence of a Holy God we realize EVERYTHING THE UNGODLY IS CHASING WILL NOT LAST! 

Until I entered the sanctuary of God.    Then I saw the whole picture:The slippery road you’ve put them on,    with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.In the blink of an eye, disaster!

• Our hope is in a firm foundation! Asaph has an awaken:  

You’re all I want in heaven!    You’re all I want on earth!When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,    God is rock-firm and faithful.Look! Those who left you are falling apart!    Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.But I’m in the very presence of God—    oh, how refreshing it is!I’ve made Lord God my home.    God, I’m telling the world what you do! 

Is godliness a waste of your time? NO!!! We are not called to be good people. We are called to be GODLY people! Our motivation is Christ Jesus. Our desire and reason behind living a godly life is the presence of the Lord. It is refreshing and we will have a home for eternity with him. 

Let's go after godliness! When we go after godliness we will walk in the fear of the Lord. We will have a love for God that provokes us to walk out his commandments. We will have a desire and a longing for the Lord that overrides the ungodly passions and desires of our flesh. When we walk in godliness we watch our friendship and we date on purpose. When we are godly, we use the Word of God as our instruction manual vs seeing it as a legalistic book. When we are godly our character speaks for itself. 

Our "Walk It Out" scripture is Ps 51:10 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.