Faith, Love, Hope

Opening Story

How do I struggle with this?

I don’t personally know the numbers but I guarantee that if everybody who called Lighthouse Community their home church. There would not be a seat left in this building this morning.

Now let’s take it up a notch…If everyone who called themselves Christians show up to be followers of Christ this world totally different.

Question

How do we all struggle with this?

If we are truly Christ followers and not just talking the talk, what must we do?

How does that look like?

Text

What does the Bible say about this?

1 Corinthians 13:13 (CSB)

13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.

The Pastor Dave paraphrase:

I can know it all, say it all, have it all but if I don’t have love…in means nothing, it’s useless, it just doesn’t mean anything.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 (CSB)

3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is commending the Thessalonians because they were walking the walk. Their work and labor were evident in that the gospel had gone throughout the area and neighboring areas.

If Paul were here standing before us today could he say these very words to you and I?

Notice the word “your” in these statements. We cannot and we must not sit there and say somebody needs to do this or that.

“your work produced by faith”

Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that isn’t based on proof.

Our faith in Christ must produce work, it must lead to action. Scripture makes it crystal clear that this work does NOT lead to salvation but salvation leads to the work.

2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that we walk by faith. Let’s get walking.

“Labor motivated by love.”

Some may argue that work and labor are basically the same thing. So what is Paul saying here. Works is for your relationship with the Lord.

Labor is what happens when we love Christ and love for Christ must lead to loving others. And loving others must lead to serving.

I came to serve, I came to serve, I came to serve. That is the example that Christ gave us.

Love leads to serving.

Endurance is inspired by hope. We hope in Christ and as long as we have hope we can continue. This is hope leading to endurance. Do you believe our world is lacking hope? Are you lacking hope? With no hope you have nothing to fight for. Thus there is no need for endurance. Walking by faith is an endurance race.

Application

What should you do about this?

Work - growing your relationship with Christ. This could be doing something more is doing something less or even not at all.

Labor - loving and serving others. Christ pointed out that this is how the world will know we belong to Him. By the way we love one another.

The world isn’t going to know we are Christians by the mask we do or do not wear, by our vaccination status, whether we are Republican or Democrat, if we drive a Ford or Chevy, if we are vegetarian or meat eaters. Yet we fight about this everyday.

Endurance - Hope is Christ, hope in eternity, hope in Life.

Challenge

How can we all live this out?

Work - work out your salvation this week.

Labor - love and serve, love and serve. It is not about you!

Endure - Eyes on the prize, Hope in Christ.