Sermon Tone Analysis
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as it is the first Sunday of the New Year and we will be gathering around the Table of our Lord Jesus I want to speak to you about something that has been on my heart and mind for some time
why are we here?
why do we serve?
why do we worship?
why do we give?
why do we pray?
what does your spiritual life look like when you are not here?
where is your Lord and Master in the hustle and bustles of everyday life?
is your life about you, your schedule, your goals, your plans, your desires, your wants or is it a life lived with joyful submission under the loving guidance of your gracious Master?
last week I preached on the Lordship of Christ
in the angels announced to the shepherds
Jesus is Lord
word “lord” repeated 657x in the NT
there are no lords without slaves
the very title lord signifies ownership of slaves who do his bidding
conversely the position of slave signifies a master or lord
John 15:
Before we became believers and became a slaves of Christ every one of us were slaves of the devil.
Jesus speaking to Jews who believed him but had not yet submitted to him as their Lord and Master
though slaves of sin they prided themselves on being sons of Abraham thinking this automatically justified them in the sight of God
they were thinking this automatically justified them in the sight of God
John 8:31-
We are slaves of whatever controls us and/or whatever overcomes us.
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when they objected Jesus said these shocking words,
John 8:
God created us to glorify him by serving him
when Adam and Eve rejected God’s word and rebelled against him thinking they would become as God they in fact became the servants of Satan
this is where we all begin
if you are a slave of Christ it is because he went to the slave market of sin and purchased you for himself
1 cor 7:
some of you can remember what it was like when Christ purchased you out of your slavery to the devil and his desires
tears of joy, hunger for the word, passion for prayer, willingness to serve anytime in any way, couldn’t stop telling others about your new found joy and happiness in Christ
this is the core of what it is to be a Christian
Being a Christian is a very simple thing to understand.
It is a life of passionately loving your Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
it is a life of loving your Master, Jesus Christ
the Christian life is an ongoing relationship of love
easy to lose this perspective
for too many professing believers the Christian life is about how much God loves them and wants to give them everything they need and want
for them the Christian life is about God lifting me up, fulfilling me, satisfying me, loving me rather than about my loving him
The Christian life is really about my loving Christ and him alone, above all others, willing to surrender everything to follow him, even to die for him and keeping that flame of zeal burning bright and hot!
A Christian is One Who Loves Christ
The great commandment is the sum of all that God requires of us.
Mt 22:37
this is the key to our relationship with God and with Christ our Lord
being a Christian is about loving Christ so much that you want to know him, serve him, obey him, exalt him, please him, be with him, tell others about him
this is the core of what it means to be a Christian
how much do you love Jesus Christ?
are you growing in your love for him?
do you love him more today than you did yesterday?
do you desire him more now that in the past?
love as the motivating principle in the Christian life
Paul driven to know Christ
Paul loved Jesus and this was the driving force behind everything he did, all his thoughts, all his accomplishments
Paul’s relentless zeal to serve Christ arose out of his focus on the fact that Christ had died for him.
2 Cor 5:14-15
he was consumed with Christ
what does Jesus say about loving him?
Mt 10:
loving Christ to the point of choosing him above those who are most dear to you in this life
the Christian life is about a heart attitude of love to Christ above all others
Paul about believers loving Christ
Eph 6
believers are those who love Christ first, above all others
Peter about loving Christ
John about loving Christ
Being a Christian is defined by love for the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 16:22
describes every unbeliever!
as we start this new year I want us all to examine ourselves about our love for the Lord Jesus Christ
I am not asking about your doctrine, your theology, your ministry, your service, your bible reading, your prayers, your good life
what is the condition of your love for Christ?
I am concerned about this because the degree to which we love Christ will determine the degree to which we accomplish anything of significance for him
with that on our minds let’s turn to
A Loveless Church
a letter from Jesus to one of his churches, the church at Ephesus
Rev 2:1
the 7 stars are the 7 pastors - he holds them in his hand (Rev 1:20)
Jesus walks among the 7 golden lampstands - he is moving amongst his churches
The Good
Rev 2:2
a strong church, sound theology, faithful doctrine, effective ministries, evangelistic zeal
founded by the Apostle Paul () who taught them for 2 years
there was so much power in Paul’s ministry that people would take hankerchiefs, touch Paul’s skin and then were taken away to heal the sick
people brought out their books of magic and burned them
so great was the ministry that there was a riot when the idol makers started seeing their business decline
a phenomenal movement of God that no one would have forgotten!
can you imagine being a part of a church like that?
such a powerful work of God that the whole city of Ephesus was affected!
after Paul there was a string of faithful godly pastor who continued the work Paul started
“toil” = strenuous labour
- they were working hard for the kingdom
“patient endurance” = ability to keep courageously working under great pressure
“cannot bear with those who are evil” = they were intolerant of those who were unrepentant in their pursuit of sin
v.6: hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans
a group which promoted sexually immoral conduct
they were zealous about holiness and righteousness so that those who wanted to persist in their sin could not remain with them
loved the law of God and held themselves and others up to that truth
practiced church discipline
“tested those who called themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false” = they were aware of the qualifications for apostles ()
they were aware of the qualifications for apostles (Acts 1:21-22)
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