Today will begin at the bottom. Verse 7 mentions a "sound mind." The Greek word means a "right mind" or a "sane mind." If you want to be in your right mind, you will need deal with fear, power and love. I'm not suggesting that you are crazy, but that if you want to have a sound mind as far as the Bible is concerned, you need to deal with these three things.
I. Fear: Do not be afraid. A. The word carries the idea of being cowardly. B. ....of being timid. C. Of being controlled by fear. 1. Fear is not always bad. There are things that should make us afraid, the problem with many people is that they are controlled by their fears. 2. Two illustrations: (1) An acronym: False Expectations Appearing Real (2) Charlie Brown: "I've developed a new philosophy, I will only dread one day at a time.....Terrible way to live! II. Power: Use the power that God has made available to you. A. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. 1. If you are saved, you have Holy Spirit power in you to help you live unafraid and in your right mind. 2. Think of it: It is the power of God in your heart - your inner sefl. B. It is the power of the faith in Christ, who saved you. Jesus said that if you have faith the size of the tiny mustard seed, you can move mountains. C. You are in your right mind if you are living with the realization of the power that God has given you to live. III. Love: Practice God's love. A. The Greek word is Agape (ahgahpay) which is the word used in John 3:16, 1Corinthians 13, etc. B. It is God's kind of love as shown in the life of Jesus Christ: 1. Sincere 2. Sacrificial 3. Selfless C. We need to practice this love even in a hostile environment...... Based on these three points, are you in your right mind?
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In the Bible, light is good and darkness is bad. We live in a dark world that desperately needs light. Our two texts point us to the light, and what it has to do with us.
I. John 8:12 - Jesus is the light of the world. A. We see the challenge of walking in the light: "He that follows me....." If we plan to be the light, we will have to follow Jesus. B. We see the fact of the light: If we follow Jesus, we will not walk in darkness.... C. We see the promise of the light: "but shall have the light of life.... If we follow Jesus in faith, we will have Jesus, the light of the world, in our lives. II. Matthew 5:14-16 - We are the light of the world. A. First, it is not our light, but the light of Jesus shining on, in and out of us. The source of moonlight is the sun...The source of our light is "Son" light. B. Second, if we have His light we reflect it by sharing it and by living the light before the world. 1. We can reflect Christ's light by our attitudes... Sour attitudes do little to make us shine. 2, We can reflect Christ's light by our actions. Example: How we treat those who serve us, etc. 3. We can reflect it by what we say to people. Dr. R.G. Lee saw this epitaph in a cemetery in England: "Here in silent clay, Lies Miss Arabelle Young, Who on the 21st of May, Began to hold her tongue." C. Third, when we reflect Christ's light, we bring glory to God: "glorify our Father which art in heaven. Jesus is the light of the world, and He enables us to be His lights in our dark world. Based on how you live your life, are you one of Jesus' lights? Our text is what I call some of Paul's last minute advice. He closes out his letters with some wise advice for the church or person to whom he is writing. In this text I saw the advice as Paul telling the people that this is what they should do.
I. Verse 13a - Watch - Be alert A. Be alert about the devil... 1 Peter 5:8-9 B. Be alert about people who can lead us astray. C. Be alert about the world system that always works against us. II. Verse 13b - Act Wisely A. Stand - Take a stand on the gospel, and the biblical message. B. Stand fast - Stand firm..."I shall not be moved." C. Stand fast in the faith... III. Verse 13c - Stand on the courage of your convictions. "Quit you like men..." A. I see this as act like a mature man instead of a youth - be mature. B. Derive your mature faith from the leadership of the Holy Spirit, not on your own opinions, etc. C. "Quit" here does not mean give up, it means to act in courage. IV. Verse 13d - Be strong in faith in Jesus Christ. A. Today's world does not call for "weak kneed" Christian faith. B. Paul always stands an example of this. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 C. Again, derive strength from the Holy Spirit. V. Verse 14 - Love like Jesus A. The word translated "charity" is also translated love. B. It is the Greek word agape (ahgahpay) which is the word used in John 3:16, 1n Corinthians 13, and other places as in 1 John. C. "All things" means to always love and always react in love. All means all. I think you will agree that this is good advice, and it is advice sorely needed today. I'm giving you the skeleton of my sermon on this text. You shouldn't have any problem filling in the blanks.
The background of the text is the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him, and left the other disciples at the foot of the mountain. When Jesus returned from that great experience, he saw a crowd arguing with His disciples. Here is the outline for the text: I. Verses 14-17 - A big need A very sick boy is brought to them by his father. The needed what they had to offer. II. Verse 18 - A big failure The sad words here were: "and they could not..." Doesn't this describe our service sometimes because we fail to trust and to pray? (See verses 28-29r) (You can take off preaching here on our failures.) III. Verses 19-22 - A big question "If" is the big word here. The big question is: "Will you have compassion on us and help us?" Like us, the man evidently knew what Jesus could do, and he asked. IV. Verse 23 - A big challenge "If you can believe....." Belief in Jesus brings great possibilities, but will we exercise our faith? V. Verse 24 - A big confession "Help my unbelief...." Let's just honestly confess that our faith, or belief, is not as strong at it needs to be. But the confession of it is not condemned by Jesus; rather it honored. VI. Verses 25-27 - A big success Jesus honored the weak faith of the father and the boy was healed. Jesus doesn't measure faith like we measure things. He reacts to the faith that we offer. The lesson and challenge for us here is for us to trust Jesus to act on our faith, no matter how weak it might be at a particular time. After all, Jesus said the faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. |
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