Sermons About Steadfastness
Some Things Don't Change
The Certainty of God's promises, Divine oaths, covenant sure word, steadfastness
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Trials: the means for spiritual maturity
Everyone experiences times of suffering in their lives. However, how we handle these sufferings and trials in our life will indicate our spiritual maturity. As Christians, we must realize that God intentionally ordains trials (testing) in our lives so that we might ultimately become spiritually mature. And if a believer is in doubt as to how they should respond/react to these trials, then they should ask God believing that He will give them the wisdom necessary to endure through their trials.
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The First Christians Identified
What is a Christian? Do we know the meaning of the word in God's eyes or do we adapt the world's view of the word? A Christian is "A Follower of Christ". And to be a follower of Christ you need to manifest the spirit and teachings of Christ our Lord.
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Prayerful Practicality
Sometimes it seems we either pray and don't work or we work and do not pray. But in the eyes of God, prayer without work is presumption and work without prayer is pride. If we do not want to tend toward either of these extremes, we must cultivate an ethic of practicality in our lives - particularly in the face of opposition, and knowing that no work of God goes forward without some sort of opposition from Satan. We ought to exercise the same practicality as Nehemiah, for it was this practicality that made his leadership so powerful. Nehemiah 4:1-23 teaches us four things that we need to keep in mind when we find ourselves under attack so that we can remain steadfast in the work of the Lord. We must remember that opposition is innevitable, prayer is crucial, determination is essential, and most importantly, God is invincible!
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Philippians 1:27-30 - Heavenly Citizens
The Life we live matters. Today when people want to define what an Evangelical is we often forget that the Lordship of Christ extends to everyone area of our lives. We tend to focus on here and now when as Christians we should focus on our heavenly citizenship. We are heirs of the King, but far too often we seek the benefits of this world rather than the heavenly kingdom of which we claim we want to spend eternity. Why would anyone want to have a heavenly citizenship without holiness is just a reflection of how anemic and weak American Christianity is today. In this passage Paul gives us 3 avenues that will help redirect our loyalties toward the heavenly kingdom. They include: 1) The Call to live as worthy Citizens (27a), 2) The Distinctives of Worthy Citizens (27b-28), and 3) The Grace of Worthy Citizenship. For Paul the Gospel of Christ is first. The gospel must be the center pole of all that we do and any philosophy of ministry we have. The call to be a heavenly citizen is a call to salvation and be a disciple of Christ. Paul also shows how allegiance, spiritual steadfastness, teamwork, and fearlessness are character changes that will speak volumes to an outside world and to the Christian community about the supremacy of the Heavenly Kingdom. Finally Paul shows us that believing and suffering are given to us in our heavenly citizenship. The Philippians were all recipients of grace as they hade been given the gifts of salvation (believing) and suffering. If we only see grace to be only pleasant benefits and blessings then suffering will be seen to be anything but grace. This must be combated because it leads people away from the true God and the true Gospel.
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