HIGHER GROUND

1
ARE YOU SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?
2
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Do you want to stand on a higher spiritual plane?
  
• It is possible but much effort will be required
  on your part.

3
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Salvation is in Christ.
• Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the
  elect, that they also may obtain the salvation
  which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2
  Tim. 210)

4
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Salvation is in Christ.
• One is baptized into Christ.
• Or do you not know that as many of us as were
  baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His
  death? (Rom. 63)
• For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
  have put on Christ. (Gal. 327)

5
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Salvation is in Christ.
• One is baptized into Christ.
• Belief, repentance and confession must precede
  baptism.
• He who believes and is baptized will be saved
  but he who does not believe will be condemned.
  (Mark 1616)
• Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every
  one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
  Christ for the remission of sins. (Acts 238)

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. (Rom. 109-10)
6
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Belief, repentance, confession and baptism are
  only the beginning.
• They will get you into Christ but higher ground
  is yet to be gained.

7
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• At first one is a babe in Christ, having just
  been born again.
• Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly,
  I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
  see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him,
  How can a man be born when he is old? Can he
  enter a second time into his mother's womb and be
  born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to
  you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
  he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 33-5)

8
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• At first one is a babe in Christ, having just
  been born again.
• One must desire the word in order to grow.
• As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the
  word, that you may grow thereby. (1 Peter 22)

9
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• At first one is a babe in Christ, having just
  been born again.
• One must desire the word in order to grow.
• Spiritual infancy can last longer than it should.
• And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to
  spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in
  Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid
  food for until now you were not able to receive
  it, and even now you are still not able for you
  are still car-nal. For where there are envy,
  strife, and divisions among you, are you not
  carnal and behaving like mere men? (1 Cor. 31-3)

10
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• At first one is a babe in Christ, having just
  been born again.
• One must desire the word in order to grow.
• Spiritual infancy can last longer than it should.
• For though by this time you ought to be
  teachers, you need someone to teach you again the
  first principles of the oracles of God and you
  have come to need milk and not solid food. For
  every-one who partakes only of milk is unskilled
  in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
  (Heb. 512-13)

11
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit,
  hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as
  new-born babes, desire the pure milk of the word,
  that you may grow thereby. (1 Peter 21-2)

12
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• For you died, and your life is hidden with
  Christ in God. When Christ who is our life
  appears, then you also will appear with Him in
  glory. Therefore put to death your members which
  are on the earth fornication, unclean-ness,
  passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is
  idolatry. (Col. 33-5)

13
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather
  let him labor, working with his hands what is
  good, that he may have something to give him who
  has need. (Eph. 428)

14
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Now the works of the flesh are evident, which
  are adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
  lewd-ness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
  contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath,
  selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy,
  murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like of
  which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told
  you in time past, that those who practice such
  things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal.
  519-21)

15
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Improper speech
• But now you yourselves are to put off all these
  anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language
  out of your mouth. (Col. 38)

16
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Improper speech
• Therefore, putting away lying, Let each one of
  you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are
  members of one another. Be angry, and do not
  sin do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
  nor give place to the devil. (Eph. 425-27)

17
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Improper speech
• Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth,
  but what is good for necessary edifica-tion, that
  it may impart grace to the hearers.... Let all
  bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil
  speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
  (Eph. 429, 31)

18
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• But if you want to grow in Christ, there are
  certain things which must be left behind.
• Ungodly attitudes immoral acts
• Improper speech
• Things that weigh us down and enslave us
• Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so
  great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
  every weight, and the sin which so easily
  ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the
  race that is set before us. (Heb. 121)

19
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• You must also have the proper mindset.
• If then you were raised with Christ, seek those
  things which are above, where Christ is, sitting
  at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things
  above, not on things on the earth. (Col. 31-2 )

20
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• You must also have the proper mindset.
• You must allow the Holy Spirit to produce His
  fruit.
• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
  longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is
  no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified
  the flesh with its passions and desires. If we
  live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
  Spirit. (Gal. 522-25)

21
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• You must also have the proper mindset.
• You must allow the Holy Spirit to produce His
  fruit.
• You must seek Gods kingdom and righteousness
  first.
• But seek first the kingdom of God and His
  righteousness, and all these things shall be
  added to you. (Matt. 633)

22
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• You must also have the proper mindset.
• You must allow the Holy Spirit to produce His
  fruit.
• You must seek Gods kingdom and righteousness
  first.
• Now you are ready for

23
love
Add to your
brotherly affection
godliness
steadfastness
self-control
knowledge
EIGHT STEPS TOWARD
virtue
faith
24
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• For this very reason, make every effort to
  supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue
  with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control,
  and self-control with steadfastness, and
  steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with
  brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with
  love. For if these qualities are yours and are
  increasing, they keep you from being ineffec-tive
  or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
  Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so
  near-sighted that he is blind, having forgotten
  that he was cleansed from his former sins.
  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to
  make your calling and election sure, for if you
  practice these qualities you will never fall. (2
  Peter 15-10, ESV)

25
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Faith is insufficient by itself. You must
• Become partakers of the divine nature, having
  escaped from the corruption that is in the world
  because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 14, ESV)
• Supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue
  with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control,
  and self-control with steadfastness, and
  steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with
  brotherly affec-tion, and brotherly affection
  with love. (2 Peter 15-7, ESV)

26
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Faith is insufficient by itself.
• The highest ground is to love as God loves.
• You have heard that it was said, You shall
  love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I
  say to you, love your enemies, bless those who
  curse you, do good to those who hate you, and
  pray for those who spitefully use you and
  persecute you, that you may be sons of your
  Father in heaven for He makes His sun rise on
  the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the
  just and on the unjust.

27
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Faith is insufficient by itself.
• The highest ground is to love as God loves.
• For if you love those who love you, what reward
  have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the
  same? And if you greet your brethren only, what
  do you do more than others? Do not even the tax
  collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect,
  just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt.
  543-48)

28
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Faith is insufficient by itself.
• The highest ground is to love as God loves.
• The acid test of love is the willingness to die
  for those whom one claims to love.
• Greater love has no one than this, than to lay
  down one's life for his friends. (John 1513)

29
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Faith is insufficient by itself.
• The highest ground is to love as God loves.
• The acid test of love is the willingness to die
  for those whom one claims to love.
• Jesus demonstrated His love for us.
• By this we know love, because He laid down His
  life for us. (1 John 316a)

30
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Faith is insufficient by itself.
• The highest ground is to love as God loves.
• The acid test of love is the willingness to die
  for those whom one claims to love.
• Jesus demonstrated His love for us.
• We ought to be willing to do the same for others.
• And we also ought to lay down our lives for the
  brethren. (1 John 316b)

31
SEEKING HIGHER GROUND?

• Do you love the brethren?
• Do you love your enemies?
• Would you lay down your life for those you claim
  to love?
• Then there is nothing that you would not be
  willing to do for them!