Sermon: Be Diligent In These Matters
Whatever happens to us and around us externally, we should focus on Jesus and our own spiritual growth internally.
Whatever happens to us and around us externally, we should focus on Jesus and our own spiritual growth internally.
You see, love, despite what the movies tell us, is a verb, not a noun—not a feeling.
True Biblical love is a choice that we make in spite of our ever-changing moods.
As we know, ignorance breeds hatred, and what we’re seeing is a growing distaste for Christianity.
There have been a lot of true Christians who have inadvertently been “Jerks for Jesus.”
We all have had questions and doubts in our lives, and we’ve all been angry at God–even as Christians.
Let us know and understand that it was written for us, through God’s inspiration to man, so that we can know God.
We know that we are a mess, and we need God’s grace in our lives.
If we want to be true salt and light to the world, we have to forgive.
God not only dwells in our spirit but also wants us to call Him Father.
Jesus did everything in service to glorify God the Father, not himself.
Fear doesn’t draw them to the cross because they don’t quite understand the beauty of the cross.
Guarding what comes into and flows out of our hearts and minds is what helps develop our Christian character.
We bring our life experiences, our hurts, our struggles, and life in general, and we say, “God, I need, fill in the blank.”
Jesus is perhaps in the wilderness and hears the whole world at this point cry out “My deliverer is coming, my deliverer is standing by.”
When it comes to prayer, we have to have faith that it can get done.
And while we cannot pay for salvation, once we have found it, we are willing to give up everything else to possess it.
Our purpose is not just to wash each others’ feet, but to encourage others to come to Christ and to become that new creation.
We should have no doubt in our minds that whatever need we have, it’s going to be provided.
Dwelling in the shadow, the shelter, or the secret place of God is an action, that we must take, a place we must intentionally pursue.
We are to be actively pursuing God and by faith, waiting, and trusting in His timing to do His work.
Let God take care of the bad stuff, the weeds that need to be taken care of, the weeds that will choke us if we’re not careful.
Our ability to spread the gospel of course requires love, but it may also require something else: courage.
There are a myriad of good works that God can call us to do based on who we are and what talents we have.
We can look at the Christmas story up, down, sideways, inside-out, upside-down, and all over, and it all correlates.
Saying the sinner’s prayer and baptism can be either religious or a true experience with Christ, depending on the heart.
Some inspiration for your holiday playlists.
We’re inclined to follow ourselves daily, even if we’ve been His for decades.
A stump in this sense is not just the remainder of a tree that has been cut down, but its “substance,” the true life that remains.
The point of praise is that it should be a natural expression of thankfulness and gratitude that comes from our hearts.
If we are patient and persistent in living a Godly life, we have many blessings ahead of us in this life and in the next.
Only the Holy Spirit can truly give us the power, strength, and ability to love Jesus and love one another the way Jesus did.
As children of God, we have to come to him and ask our Heavenly Father to fix it.
The spiritual sword that flows through us cuts through the Satanic attack on our minds and our feelings.
We need these reminders that wherever we are, whatever disappointment we’re going through, God has His eye on us.
God does a complete makeover of Heaven and Earth, where God and His people will dwell forever.
The Holy Spirit dwells in us and through us to preserve us, fill in the cracks, refinish us, make us new, and preserve us.
Jesus wants us to know the signs of the times in order to encourage us so that when chaos happens, we’ll understand it.
It was the impactful lyrics, sincere heart, and Holy Spirit that resonated through the music that most touched us.
Resisting the Devil is an act on our part and a decisive action of warfare.
We need to learn how to teach others to see God’s truth, not Satan’s lies that sound like truth.
We don’t just win a battle, we become something through that battle–-we become refined and more holy.
Not only is the Holy Spirit here to create us anew, but He is also here to be our advocate in times of trouble.
The closer we are to Christ, the more we begin to see our sinful ways and want to become more like Christ.
We have to examine where we are in the present and take count of that in light of God’s mercy and His judgment.
Listen to the voice of the Spirit who has the map, who is the map, who wrote the map for our good and is telling us the direction we need to go.
Our society has mixed up: authority, custom, and general consent when it comes to the Bible.
It’s amazing how God can plan these circumstances in our lives that interweave with so many other lives.
True freedom is found through the inner working of The Holy Spirit to change us from the desires of the flesh to His desires.
Turning skepticism into trust requires us to invest personally in people’s lives.
Misery might be contagious, but so is joy. Not only is it good for our souls, but it boosts the spirits of those around us and is a ministry unto itself.
We have to remember even though God is to be feared, His ‘consuming fire’ is also an example of His love.
To knock us into Godly maturity, we need to let God deal with us in a way in which He sees fit.
Our lack of faith may have caused us to sink, but God is right there to pick us back up again.
God is not rewarding our outcome; He’s rewarding our faithfulness.
If someone isn’t mature in their faith, they can mix the basics with a whole other set of beliefs that they derive from other sources.
Because of our sinful nature, there had to be a provision to enter eternity with Him.
We are not going to God’s throne of punishment. We are going to God’s throne of grace.
If you’ve experienced the Bible as I have, you’ll know it is alive and active.
Because the Lord is near, we do not need to be anxious about anything.
Jesus taught us to address God as Our Father. God created us to be His children.
No matter what circumstance we are in, God is working in us to do what pleases Him.
We must remember that even though humans fail us, and we fail ourselves, we can be confident in God.
The word ‘amen’ is an act of faith on our part to believe that God will grant our requests.
Even if revival doesn’t come to Watkins Glen, let’s at least expect God to show up somehow, somewhere, and some way in our lives.
We should fix our eyes on Jesus our shepherd, and ask, “What is God’s promise in this moment?”
God’s got to shake things up and create some stress so that He can bring those unhealthy habits to the surface.
Sometimes our interruptions can only take a minute yet change someone’s life.
Use your freedom to make the most of your newfound life and use it to do good, not evil.
If you’re living by the Spirit, the Lord may have you say or do nothing regarding arguing or getting some theological point across.
There’s a bit of God’s majesty that is combined with His love and His grace that permeates the atmosphere of His sanctuary and in worship.
The only losers in this race are those who don’t compete or just give up.
What we truly want is a Christian culture back in this nation again––not Christianity forced down people’s throats through legislation.
What other things have you thought were dead that God can resurrect?
Your audience might need to hear a different story than mine.
We are to love our adversaries deeply yet not care what those turkeys may think about our lives as Christians.
Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world and that He has overcome the world
We should invite the whole world to know this God of ours.
Because we are children of God and have the inheritance of The Kingdom, we, therefore, also have authority over Satan.
It seems the wide gate is getting wider, and the narrow gate is getting narrower.
When we work with all our hearts, God is our ultimate boss.
When God puts the pieces together, you find out that certain seasons in life were meant to be.
There’s a way to handle toxic people, and it’s not by confronting their toxicity with more toxicity; it’s by dissolving their toxicity with gentleness, patience, and kindness.
God wants to lift you up above the storm and give you strength.
Even though we cannot see Him, we can experience the countenance of God and the expression on His face.
Our life is permanently changed by our identification with Jesus on the cross.
What does it mean to stand in grace? How can we stand in something we cannot see?
Holiness is an inward lifestyle that naturally becomes more Godly.
God gives us a spark of hope which generates joy, and joy generates peace, and peace generates more hope, and then we find we have more joy and more peace and more hope.
The most important things are the easiest to ignore.
We have a weak Christianity because everyone wants to follow a Christ of their own making.
The Godliness that used to permeate our society has slowly flipped into a nation of secular humanism.
It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. If you want God’s blessings, you’ve got to be in right standing with God first.
Our circumstances often determine whether or not we are happy, but remaining in the vine determines whether or not we have joy.
Why should we be focused on the cares of this world when God has us in the palm of his hand and already seated in heavenly places with him?
There’s a difference between critical thinking and being led by the Spirit.
What did God want them to focus on? The land of milk and honey. They found it, but they didn’t.
God understands our situation and He blesses His people in spite of what goes on around us.
And through God’s provision, we can also increase our provision for others.
Heavenly wisdom would tell me to be considerate, submissive, and full of mercy.