When God wanted to show His love for Israel, He compared it to a mother's love and comfort. Paul wanted to remind Timothy of his conversion and calling, so Paul reminded him of his upbringing by his grandmother and mother (2 Timothy 1:5). Mothers are the first people that we need, and the first to care for us. Using our holy imaginations, we can compare a mother's love and care to the gospel - the gospel according to mother.
I. Consider a mother's love and gospel love. A. Nobody loves us like Jesus, but from the earthly perspective no one loves like a good mother. For example, think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of the cross, loving Him to the end. B. Let's look at some comparisons between a mother's love and gospel love. 1. A mother's love is sacrificial. (She goes into the valley of death to give birth to us.) That reminds us of Jesus going to the cross to give us new birth. 2. A mother's love is disciplined. I can't speak for your mother, but I can speak for mine. She tau ght me themeaning of discipline and administered it often. In thesame way, Jesus disciplines us. 3. A mother's love, like Christ's love, is unbiased - all inclusive. a. An example of this is Susannah Wesley, John Wesley's mother. She had 18 children and spent in prayer and Bible study with each of them. b. This illustrates gospel love: "He is not willing that any should perish..." C. God loves you with a love deeper even than your mother's. II. Consider a mother's care and God's care for us. A. Care during infancy: 1. An infant would die without mother - totally dependent. 2. We need all of Christ's care. He has promised this care if we will come to Him. B. When we were hurt, we ran to mother. It is the same with Jesus: Matthew 11:28-30. C. Any son or daughter is grateful for the love and care of a good mother. How much more should we be grateful for God's love and care for us? III. Consider a mother's faithfulness and God's faithfulness. A. A good mother will stand by her childdren. 1. This does not mean that they will uphold us in wrong, but will set us straight. 2. Jesus does not uphold us in wrong, but He is faithful to forgive. 1 John 1:9 B. Our Lord is faithful to us. He stands with us in life. We are never far from His love and care. C. God is faithful to you. Are you faithful to Him? I hope that this comparison between motherhood and the Chritian gospel will help this day have greater meaning for you. Appreciate your mother, and do not fail to magnify God in your life. Allow your knowledge of a mother's love to lead you to a deeper experience of God's love.
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True love is of God, for God is love and His love never fails. (The Greek word of love here is "agapay," which is the word used in John 3:16 for God's love for us, and in 1 Corinthians 13.) We love God and people with the kind of love that He has for us. We sing a song called "Love Lifted Me." Love for God and people does lift our lives and I want to show you how.
I. Love enriches life. A. Love makes all of life more satisfying and better. 1. It makes relationships sweeter. 2. It makes all duties in life more delightful. 3. It makes all burdens in life more bearable. 4. It makes all plans of life more pleasant. B. Love for God will make prayer and fellowship more real. C. Love for people will make service for humanity more sincere and pleasant. II. Love enables life. A. When love that is inspired by God dominates our lives it will grow and serve, for that kind of love: "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." B. Let me share some illustrations that will show that this is true: 1. Love enables parents to make a happy home. 2. Love enables children to grow in body, mind and soul. 3. Love enables the church, and us, to: (1) effectively teach the word of God, (2) win the lost, (3) worship the Lord, (4) minister to the needy, (5) accomplish God's will on earth. (You get the idea!) C. Agapay love is the golden cord that binds God to us and us to each other. (FYI: Agapay is actually spelled Agape, but I used "ay" to make the right sound.) III. Love endures through all of life. A. Others things may fail, but love will never fail. B. If you want your Christian life and your Christian service to endure, do it in the love of Jesus and it will endure as the ages roll. Love leaves influences in people's lives that will endure for the rest of our lives and into eternity. C. Let your life count for the ages. Live in love and do acts of love. Is love the driving force in your life? The Holy Spirit will lead you into a life of love, and your influence will be felt all around you. Let love enrich and enable your life, for it will endure through time. Outside of Jesus, there is no abundant life, because it is eternal life that begins here and now and ends up in heaven. Let's take the journey from the Bible that will lead us to abundant life.
I. The first stop on the Journey is John 3:16. A. It begins with God's love for us. "For God so loved the world..." B. It continues with His gift of His Son. "That He gave His only begotten Son... C. It becomes effective when we believe. "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life..." II. The second stop on the journey is John 10:9-11. Jesus is the "Door." A. Vs. 9 - Jesus is the door, the entranceway to salvation. B. Vs. 10 - When we enter this "Door" we enter into abundant life. C. Vs. 11 - He is also the door to divine guidance as He shepherds us. III. The third stop on the journey is 1 John 1:9. A. We need to admit that we are sinners and confess our sins. B. When we do, Jesus will be "faithful and just" to forgive our sins. 1. "Faithful" means that He will always forgive. 2. "Just" means that only He is qualified to forgive our sins. C. Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us from sin. IV. The fourth stop on the journey is 2 Corinthians 5:17. A. By our believing in Christ, we are "in" Him. This means He is in us and we are in Him. B. When we believe and respond, we become new people. The old person died and the new person arose: Galatians 2:20. C. When we believe the whole focus of our lives changes. "Old things are are passed away; behold all things are become new." V. The fifth stop on the journey is Philippians 4:6-7: the peace of God. A. It is peace with God. B. It is peace within ourselves. C. It is peace with others. The journey begins when we tire of the turmoil of sin, confess, repent and believe. Then we have peace that eludes most people because they will not believe. If you haven't taken the journ Vs. 1a - Waiting patiently for God's timing is important. Those who pray and wait patiently get to see and appreciate what God can do for them. Here is what we discover when we wait patiently for God:
I. Vs. 1b - We discover that God hears us. A. Those who want to rush God or run ahead of Him, think that He is not listening - but He is. B. "Inclined unto me..." He leans toward us not away from us. C. "Heard my cry..." We have the Lord's ear 24 hours a day. He will always hear us when we pray. He never turns a deaf ear. II. Vs. 2a - We discover that God delivers us. A. In our impatience, sometimes the wonder of God's deliverance escapes us because we are hung up on God doing it our way. B. Jesus delivers us from the horrible pit of sin and its consequences through His blood. C. We are delivered from the miry clay of, for example: 1. worldly living 2. self-living III. Vs. 2b - We discover that God establishes us. A. In our impatience we cannot appreciate the solidity of our position in Christ. B. He puts our feet on the "Rock of Ages." 1. solid 2. sure 3. secure C. He establishes our steps. 1. NIV: "Gives us a firm place to stand..." 2. Our walk in the Spirit helps us take the right steps, like a child learning to walk. IV. Vs. 3a - We discover that God renews us. A. In our impatience we sometimes miss the wonder of renewal. B. First, He makes us new, as in 2 Corinthians 5:17 C. Second, He renews us from day to day. (This is the spirit of Ephesians 2:10.) V. Vs. 3b - We discover that God uses us. A. In our impatience are often not useable. B. God wants us to be available for His use and His purposes. C. The great result of our being used: 1. "Many will see it and fear..." 2. "and will trust in the Lord." Pray and wait patiently for God and He will do all of these things as He did with David. In our text John painted a beautiful and accurate portrait of Jesus. It gives us a clear view of our Savior. He is far more here than "gentle Jesus, meek and mild." He is seen in His full glory. It shows us:
I. Vs. 5a - Who and what Jesus is. A. "The faithful witness" 1. A witness is one who has seen and heard and has first-hand knowledge. Jesus uniquely has first-hand knowledge. 2. He witnessed with His life, His ministry, His miracles and His death and resurrection. 3. We know God only because of the faithful witness of Jesus Christ. B. "The first begotten from the dead" 1. Jesus alone defeated death. Others had been raised from the dead, but they died again. Jesus still lives -- forever and ever. 2. Illustration: Jesus has always had power over death. For example, He never went to a funeral that the corpse did not walk away. C. "The prince (ruler) of the kings of the earth" 1. Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him and rule. Jesus refused. 2. What Jesus would not falsely claim from Satan, He gained by His death and resurrection. He is "King of kings and Lord of lords." II. Vss. 5b-6 - What Jesus does. A. He loves us and He died for us. 1. Romans 5:8 - "God commendeth His loves for us, in that while we were yes sinners Christ died for us." 2. In His own words: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) This is what He did! B. He cleanses us from sin. 1. 1 John 1:7, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 2. How? 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." C. He makes us "kings and priests" to serve God. 1. We are children of the king by faith in Jesus. He has given us royalty. 2. He has made us priests. We are our own priest. We have access to God because of who Jesus is, not because of who we are. III. Vs. 7 - What He is going to do. A. He is coming!!!! His coming is a sure and certain promise of the Bible. B. He will be seen. Every believer and every unbeliever will see Him. Philippians 2:9-11 C. His coming will be mournful for unbelievers and glorious for believers. All that Jesus is, He is for you! All that Jesus did and does, He did and does for you. All that Jesus will do in His coming will benefit you if you believe in Him. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory."
It never ceases to amaze how so many verses in the Bible can stand alone to bless our lives. Philippians 4:19 is one of those verses. It makes a great promise to those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus. I. "My God" - It is a personal promise. A. As mighty and great as God is, Paul could refer to Him as "my God." B. Why could Paul say "my God" in an intimate and personal way? When we know this, then we will know it for ourselves as well. 1. Because he had a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 2. Because he had personal power form God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. 3. Because he had a personal mandate from God to serve Him. 4. All of this is available to all of us; therefore, we can all be recipients of the great promise of Philippians 4:19. C. Can you say "my God" for the reasons listed above. Make it personal. II. "Shall supply all your need" -- It is a positive promise. A. "Shall" is not a word of doubt, it is a word of certainty. There is no "might" here. It is positive. B. The problem is that we get our wants and needs confused. This doesn't mean that He will give us everything we want. 1. He supplies the need to be saved. This is a "biggie," because without Him there would be no salvation. 2. He supplies the need to be understood. "Every hair of your head is numbered." He knows and understands all of us. 3. He supplies the need for divine companionship. Jesus has promised that He will always be with us. 4. He supplies the need for peace. Philippians 4:6-7 5. He supplies the need to overcome the world. 1 John 5:4-5 6. He supplies the need for contentment. Philippians 4:10-13 C. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the needs that He meets in our lives. Whatever your need is today, God can meet through Jesus. That is a positive promise. III. "According to His riches in glory" -- It is a bountiful promise. A. God's resources will not run out. He is rich in everything. Let's look at the following promises in the Bible of some of these riches: Romans 11:33 (wisdom and knowledge), Ephesians 1:7 (grace), Ephesians 3:16 (Holy Spirit) B. "According to all of His riches," not just some of them. C. It is guaranteed by Jesus Christ - an eternal, sure guarantee. This is a promise to every Christian and to everyone who will accept Christ by faith and become a Christian. It is a personal, positive, bountiful promises to you. Claim this promise today. We all want to know that we make a difference in this life. Who wants to count for nothing? The four men in our text made a difference, and they can teach us how we can make a difference.
I. Vss. 3-5 - Why and how did they make a difference? A. They made a difference because they cared. 1.They cared enough to take the man to Jesus in the first place. 2.They cared enough to cooperate. "borne of four" One person could not have done this. 3. They cared enough to be radical, creative and different. What they did was not common practice and was not easy. B. They made a difference because they had faith. 1. Our faith will not save other's souls, but it can certainly make a difference in other people's lives. 2. We usually think of faith as personal, and it is. But people like Paul should help us to see that our faith should serve as a catalyst to witness and ministry. C.They made a difference because they trusted that Jesus could heal their friend. II. Vss.5-12 - What difference did their caring and faith make in the man's life? A. Because of these men, he knew that he was not alone. Do people in our community know that they are not alone, because of our care and faith? This is important. B. Vs. 5 - Because of them, the man was forgiven for his sins. Do we care whether or not other people have been forgiven for their sins? C. Vss. 6-12 - Because of them, the man was completely healed. 1. Through forgiveness of his sins, the man's soul was healed. He was put in right relationship with God. 2. His body was healed, enabling him to liv a more productive life. The quality of his life was changed for the rest of his life, and he could now do things that he had never done before - like carrying his own bed. Think about this: They enabled others to see the glory of God to glorify God. Are you making a difference in this church and in your community? Do you care? Is your faith of the helping variety? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith we cannot please God. Christian faith is not just believing about Jesus or believing Jesus, it is believing in Jesus. Faith should make a difference in our lives and it should reach out in all directions. For example:
I. FaIth reaches upward. Colossians 3:1-2 A. As a flower reaches upward to the sun, we reach up to the Son. In faith we grow toward Him, not away from Him. B. Sometimes our faith does not reach very high. 1. We are overcome by the trials of life: home, work, church, etc. 2. We are overcome by the cares of this life: the daily grind, the daily news, the various problems that we face that keep us earthbound. C. At these times we live beneath the privilege that we have in being believers in Jesus. After all, it is by faith that we overcome the world. 1 John 5:4-5 II. Faith reaches downward. A. Faith in Jesus does not fill us with pride so that we can't reach out to help people. It doesn't make us afraid to get our hands dirty. B. Jesus wants our faith to make us like Him. 1. He reached down to help the sinful. 2. He reached down to help the sick. 3. He reached down to help those in despair. C. Jesus' harshest words were reserved for the religious snobs of His day - the Scribes and Pharisees. III. Faith reaches inward. Colossians 2:7 A. Our faith in Jesus should make a profound effect on our inner lives. It makes us who and what we are as we live from the inside out. B. Faith reaches into our hearts and souls. 1. It stabilizes us. 2. It establishes us. 3. It enriches us. C. Victorious faith in Jesus is not a one-time change, in fact, it changes us within daily. Now comes the personal question. Does your faith make reach upward to Jesus. Does it make your faith reach downward, and outward, to others? Does your faith make you rich inward to change and enrich your life? According to our text, the greatest title for a Christian is "servant." We are only great when we give ourselves to unselfish service for a sinful and needy world. How can we attain this greatness?
I. We must share Jesus' outlook upon the needy world. A. Jesus saw the world as a needy, broken, suffering, dying people who needed help. B. Jesus' goal in life was not to attain personal success, or some great personal gain. In Philippians 3:7-8, Paul revealed that he clearly understood this. C. Is this somewhere close to your outlook on life? II. We must approach the sinful, needy world as Jesus approached it. A. He approached it with love. Hear the heart of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-44, 46-48. B. He did not ignore, or deny, the neediness of the world. 1. He approached it with sympathetic understanding. 2. He approached it with a great desire to help. C. He did not approach it with fear, but with faith. III. We must be driven by the same spirit of dedication that Jesus had. A. He did not live for himself, family or friends alone. B. He did not live to make money. I'm not saying the making money is wrong, but it is a poor reason for living. C. Jesus literally gave Himself to the task of helping and saving others. John 15:12-13 IV. We must attempt to make the same contribution to the world that Jesus made in the realm of serving others. A. We cannot die for the world as Jesus did, but we can live to influence it. B. We cannot rise from the dead as Jesus did, but we can bring others "from death unto life" by witnessing to them. C. We can serve Jesus unselfishly, and that means to serve people. Matthew 20:26-28 is the literal truth for us. True Christian greatness is to be Christlikein in our approach to life, to adopt His view of greatness. This means that we will not try to make our name great but to make Jesus' name great. Will you commit your life to this kind of living? Note: I don't remember if I have ever preached a sermon on the seven Asian churches that wasn't in a series on those churches, but as I read about the Ladoicean Church this morning, this idea hit me. I will share it with you and you can take these sparse notes and maybe do something with the text. Bro. Joe
Of the seven churches in Asia, there were only two that had nothing good written about them - Sardis and Laodicea. Let's examine the text and determine what was wrong with this church. This examination might help us make some changes in our own churches and in our own lives. I. Vss. 15-16 - Why was the church called "lukewarm"? A. They were indifferent. (They didn't care.) B. They were not a loving church, loving neither God nor people. C. They didn't really worship the Lord when they were together. D. They didn't witness to people in the community who needed Jesus. E. They didn't serve the Lord in ministry to people. II. Vss. 17-18 - They were self-sufficient. A. A church of Jesus Christ is supposed to depend on Him, not themselves. B. Vs. 17 - They had two accusations of self-sufficieny: 1. They thought that because they were rich, they had need of nothing. 2. They were blind to the fact that they were spiritually deficient. "wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked" C. Vs. 18 - They were challenged to improve their spiritual lot. Laodicea was famous for three things: gold, clothing and eyesalve. These items were used to illustrate the changes they needed to make. III. Vss. 19-20 - There was still hope. A. A church's situation is never hopeless, if they will listen to the Lord. B. Vs. 19 - God's chastening showed that He loved them and wanted them to repent. C. Vs. 20 - Jesus was waiting to be invited into their situation. 1. This would be for lost church members. 2. This would be for the church to enrich their worship, witness and service. Jesus should be the integral part of all that we do. In verses 21-22 they were encouraged to overcome. John had written in 1 John that we overcome by faith in Jesus. This was a call for them to exercise their faith instead of their riches, etc. Did you see some things in this text that remind you of your church? Did you see some things that reminded you of yourself? |
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