Cornerstone Truth

As Christians in the United States we have not been persecuted as in other nations and have suffered little.  As we broaden our horizon and have a more international perspective we realize this is not the norm for so many countries around the world.  Realizing the blessing we have enjoyed in the past, now we must be ever vigilant and committed to do our part, how ever small or large, in strengthening the brethren for the days ahead.  To be courageous and strong for the brethren we must first be resolved to grow our personal and individual faithfulness in Christ as His committed and devoted followers have been over the millenniums since the day of Pentecost.  This morning’s sermon, “How to Be Courageous When Facing the Fear of Persecution and Suffering!” will help us make right choices now to be strong and courageous when facing persecution and suffering.  First, we will examine three Scriptural choices that will embolden us to be fearless when facing persecution.  These are tough choices we need to make daily now to prepare for what our future will hold.  Second, we must also understand the correct Scriptural choices to be made now to prepare us for the painful sufferings which often come with persecutions. To conclude the lesson, we will discover the importance of continually having the spiritual perspective and understanding that this life in our physical bodies is only temporary.  You must remember, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm,strengthen, and establish you.  To Him be dominion forever and ever, amen!”  1 Peter 5:10-11

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As Christians in the United States we have not been persecuted as in other nations and have suffered little.  As we broaden our horizon and have a more international perspective we realize this is not the norm for so many countries around the world.  Realizing the blessing we have enjoyed in the past, now we must be ever vigilant and committed to do our part, how ever small or large, in strengthening the brethren for the days ahead.  To be courageous and strong for the brethren we must first be resolved to grow our personal and individual faithfulness in Christ as His committed and devoted followers have been over the millenniums since the day of Pentecost.  This morning’s sermon, “How to Be Courageous When Facing the Fear of Persecution and Suffering!” will help us make right choices now to be strong and courageous when facing persecution and suffering.  First, we will examine three Scriptural choices that will embolden us to be fearless when facing persecution.  These are tough choices we need to make daily now to prepare for what our future will hold.  Second, we must also understand the correct Scriptural choices to be made now to prepare us for the painful sufferings which often come with persecutions. To conclude the lesson, we will discover the importance of continually having the spiritual perspective and understanding that this life in our physical bodies is only temporary.  You must remember, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm,strengthen, and establish you.  To Him be dominion forever and ever, amen!”  1 Peter 5:10-11

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This morning we will examine how to conquer the fear of man!  I have found that this fear plagues so many of us whether it is the fear of what others might be thinking of us or a fear of physical harm that might be inflicted by others.  As other fears this is real and debilitating.  Let us discover from the Scriptures that overcoming this fear comes through genuine and real faith and trust in the LORD.  Lips service won’t cut it when it comes to fearing man.  We must have a deep and abiding belief that the LORD is ever present and is working to provide, protect, and lead us in His will regardless of the situation or circumstance.  This morning’s sermon is titled  “Overcoming the Fear of Man Through Faith and Trust in God!  We will begin by examining Proverbs 29:25 to define the fear of man and the snares that come our way when we fear man and not God.  Secondly we will discover Through the Psalms and the words of our Christ that believing, trusting, and humbling ourselves before our Christ and Lord will destroy the fear of man.

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In our quest to answer the question how can a Christian conquer the fear of death we discovered as Christians we need to serve the LORD responsibly in duty and devotion.  We also learned last week that to believe and trust in Christ Jesus as the one and only Sovereign who knows every thought, every word, and every day of our lives, also knows the day of our passing.  As the Psalmist has said, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.” Psalm 116:15.  This morning we turn to Christ’s eternal provision that we may not be enslaved to the fear of death as others who have no hope.  To do this we will answer two important questions.  First, we will answer the question, “Why did Jesus Christ come to earth and dwell in a body just like ours?”  Once we quickly establish He did dwell among us in a physical body, we will then give the two Scriptural reasons why this was essential to set us free from the slavery of the fear of death.  Second, we will answer the question, “How did Jesus set us free from the fear of death?”  To do this He initially needed to pay the full price for our sins our propitiatory sacrifice and then He need to become a merciful and faithful High Priest to forgive us of our future sins and to be an intercessor for us at the right hand of the Father.

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In the last sermon about Conquering the Fear the Death- Through Duty and Devotion we found that the man or woman who is completely yielded to God’s will and committed to serving Him from both duty and devotion, will stand their ground and live for Him until their last breath. This morning I want to dig deeper and look to the understanding of God being our only Sovereign and trusting Him with every day of our life! We will begin by defining what is meant by the LORD being our only Sovereign. We will follow with an in depth look at Psalm 139:1-6 and verse 16. We will discover every day of our life was ordained by the LORD before even one of them came into being. We will also discover that the day of our death is also known by our LORD. Knowing these truths, if we trust in the LORD’s sovereignty, we can take great comfort and courage in each and every day and the last day of our lives. Also, we can choose to faithfully glorify Him by following Him and His word in every thought, word, and deed!

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We continue our study of Conquering the Fear of Death.  This morning we will discover that fear is real, it is debilitating, and it is immobilizing if you don’t know how to conquer it.  Some outside of Christ have conquered fear but sadly not the eternal consequences.  We will discover how some  mortal, carnal men have accomplished in overcoming their fear of death.  More importantly we will look to Jesus and the Apostle Paul as examples of how a faithful person in Christ is able to conquer the fear of death.  We will find the ability to conquer the fear of death begins with absolute faith and trust in the LORD for our provision, protection, and salvation.  In this life we will find that a mind set on the Spirit, serving the Lord with love, devotion, and duty will consistently win the day over the fear of death even when it is most imminent.

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We continue our study of Conquering the Fear of Death.  This morning we will discover that fear is real, it is debilitating, and it is immobilizing if you don’t know how to conquer it.  Some outside of Christ have conquered fear but sadly not the eternal consequences.  We will discover how some  mortal, carnal men have accomplished in overcoming their fear of death.  More importantly we will look to Jesus and the Apostle Paul as examples of how a faithful person in Christ is able to conquer the fear of death.  We will find the ability to conquer the fear of death begins with absolute faith and trust in the LORD for our provision, protection, and salvation.  In this life we will find that a mind set on the Spirit, serving the Lord with love, devotion, and duty will consistently win the day over the fear of death even when it is most imminent.

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This simple sentence describes the culmination of the LORD’s awesome plan to set millions of people free from the fear of death and secure their souls in heaven with Him!  This morning we will begin a mini series titled, “Conquering the Fear of Death!”  We will examine the resurrection of Christ from past, present, and future perspectives.  We will travel back to that first day of the week when Jesus rose from the dead.  Next, we will briefly examine the present power to those who have obeyed the gospel plan of salvation and have been “raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places!”  Finally, we will hear the awesome news of the resurrection of the dead, body, soul and spirit complete on the last day!

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The denominational world calls this LORD’s Day, Palm Sunday.  The LORD calls it a day of remembrance and decision! 

Today, will you Choose or Refuse the call of wisdom and the fear of the LORD?  The Scriptures are clear and concise, choosing wisdom and to fear the LORD will result in enduring wealth, honor, and Life, but to refuse the call of wisdom and the fear of the LORD will result in distress, anguish, and death.  One would think most people would choose honor and over distress, enduring wealth and not anguish, Life instead of death! Sadly, both observation and experience would suggest different!  The problem lies in people being apathetic, lazy, selfish, and stubborn instead of being, submissive, mindful, and diligent in loving the truth.  This morning you will be challenged to think about your life and how it looks when compared to the two options.  Will you Refuse or Choose wisdom and the fear of God?

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In remembering and meditating on the words of the Apostle Paul, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I that I may gain Christ…” we ought to be moved to humbly worship and serve Jesus Christ the blessed and only Sovereign!  To Fear the Lord in reverence is to yield our will and our lives to His Lordship in faithfulness and love.  Knowing who He is and what great things He has and is doing for us should inspire and move us to bow the knee and our will to His will in humble obedience.  This morning we will examine this truth by first listening to the “word of faith” found in Romans 10:8-17.  With this passage we will establish that faith in what Christ has and is accomplishing for us moves our hearts to confess, believe, and obey in Him as our Lord and Sovereign!  We will also establish from Psalm 130:1-4 that this response to Christ’s sacrifice as Lord moves us to fear Him in faithfulness and love as we serve Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength!

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