“Let's Be Like Jesus Faith, Hope, and Charity” By Tom Hanson January 10th, 2010 Acts
11:26
… the disciples were called
Christians first at NEWS FLASH: 1
Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth
faith, hope, charity … A.
Faith—faith means firmness, security,
stability,
conviction. Commitment;
like a marriage
vow commitment—“…for better or for worse, ‘til death do us part.” We, as Christians, make a
commitment to God
for life everlasting. I
want to cleave
to Christ. It takes
a whole lot of
pressure to make a diamond, but diamonds are valuable, in part because
they are
so rare. They
aren’t just jewelry,
either; there are many industrial uses for diamonds.
The pressure for us is tribulation, but there
is no discharge
in that war. There
is a hell to shun,
and a lake of fire that we can be thrown into, but there is firmness
and
security in Christ. Job
had to correct
his wife once; he told her that she spoke “as one of the
foolish women
speaketh.” But she
didn’t walk away from
him. Romans
10:17 …faith cometh
by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. Amos
8:11
…I will send a famine in
the land…of hearing the words of the LORD. There is a famine of faith in the land because there is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. We need to be caring; the Word is alive in your life. Sunday schools everywhere teach basic truths—the Old Testament Bible stories. People all around us have been taught these things, but they may need a nudge. People’s faith is drying up, but just a few words from us can change that. The best advertising is word of mouth. B.
Grace. Grace
means favor. Ephesians
2:8 …by
grace are ye saved through
faith… James
2:14-24 …by works a
man is justified,
and not by faith only. We need to prove our ministry by our works. People have physical needs. Many times we need to meet those needs before we can reach their spiritual needs. Some people back away from works, but God is going to go right to the works. Matthew
5:16 …
they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father … Are the people around you, who see your works, glorifying your Father? Hebrews
6:10 …God
is not unrighteous to
forget your work… Nehemiah
4:6 …the
people had a mind to work. A mind to work is something that we need to keep in prayer. It won’t come naturally.. C.
Hope—the
fuel of faith To have God-sized faith we need a God-sized hope. Hebrews
11:1 …faith
is the substance of
things hoped for… What are you hoping for? They say our carbon footprint is substantial, but, how about our faith footprint? We have left a faith footprint, our faith fingerprints, everywhere we have gone in the Spirit of God; everywhere leaving the substance of hoping for Jesus to return. Is our hope big enough to make a difference in the actions of our lives? A little hope won’t get the faith engine moving. I used to have a little scooter when I was about ten or twelve, and a little gas wouldn’t get it moving, but, with enough gas, I could get up to the mailbox and back—about a half a mile. Our hope in Christ needs to be real. Then people will see the faith in action. Colossians
1:23, 27
…the hope of glory. Many of us have self-esteem problems, but you are worthy. Hope is like a cord, an attachment to God. Where do we get this hope? Galatians
3:27
…been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. 1
Timothy 1:1 …Lord Jesus Christ, which
is our hope; 1
John 3:3
…every man that hath
this hope in him purifieth himself… D. Charity; agape love Matthew
22:37-40
…love thy neighbour as
thyself… We need to have agape love for ourselves before we can truly love our neighbor as ourselves. It needs to be a 24-7 relationship. We can do it; we just need to get it done. We can make a difference, if we stay about our Father’s business. Matthew
6:14 …if
ye forgive men their
trespasses… Matthew
18:21-22
…how oft shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ... Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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