IRSASTHOAD: "I'd Rather See A Sermon Than Hear One Any Day." - Steve Sikes
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As I've thought about Steve's sermon over the last 20 plus hours, I've pondered what it takes to be a walking, breathing sermon. We talked about it at Life Group, too. It seems to me that most people I've seen as walking, breathing sermons have been people who are acquainted with suffering... "the fellowship of suffering"...
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Life can be soooooo hard! God gives us huge opportunities to be walking, breathing sermons! I am convinced it takes wearing the FULL Armor of God as we live out the Be-attitutudes and the other principles from Christ's Sermon on the Mount. Simple? Hardly!
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Our church family has been challenged to read through the Bible in a year. Steve and Dan are preaching through it. We were in Hosea yesterday!
- Did you know that God asked Hosea to take a prostitute for a wife?
- Did you know God asked Hosea to stick with her... to love her... to be patient with her... to treat her kindly...?
- Why?
- Was it hard? Did he and their children suffer much because of this?
- What was the purpose?
Hosea was to be steadfast and longsuffering as he lived out the kind of love that God gives to His people:
- Unrequited love!
- Unrelenting love!
- Redeeming love!
- Holy love!
- Just and merciful love!
At one point, Steve shared a quote about love: "The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference!" Love is a choice!
In living out this "love story" sermon, Hosea participated in the GLORY OF GOD! For centuries, God sent prophet after prophet to His people begging them to repent... warning them of the consequences of not trusting and obeying God... pleading with them to leave their evil ways... Yes, His love for His people was relentless!
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Steve pointed out 5 things that Israel lacked:
- Lack of knowledge -Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge."
- Lack of trust in God
- Lack of leadership
- Lack of faithfulness
- Lack of love for God
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God loves us enough to offer us His own armor to wear... the armor is actually Jesus Christ. We must come to KNOW Him in order to be a walking, breathing sermon - for His glory!
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In Ephesians 6, before it lists the six pieces of armor, it tells us to STAND FIRM. At the end of the armor list, it tells us to PRAY. Prayer! What a weapon!
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God, today,
may each of us be
Your walking breathing sermon
as we wear Your armor
and live out the attitudes of Your heart
- Jesus style -
for Your glory!"
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- STAND FIRM
- PUT ON TRUTH
- PUT ON CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS
- PUT ON READINESS OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
- HOLD FAST TO THE SHIELD OF FAITH
- KEEP ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION
- TAKE UP THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, THE WORD OF GOD, AND USE IT
- PRAY! PRAY! PRAY TO BE LIKE JESUS IN ALL WE DO!
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