South Union Sermons

Bottom line: To be full of the Spirit, you can't be full of self.

Any Christian can be and every Christian is commanded to be filled with the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit and the indwelling of the Spirit are not the same thing. Every believer is immediately and permanently indwelt by the Spirit at the moment of salvation. To be filled with the Spirit means to obey the Spirit's will fully.

Stephen was introduced in the Scriptures by Luke as a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost. There is much to be learned from Stephen about the privilege of, the practicalities of, and the principle for being full of the Holy Spirit.

Bottom line: Persecution and suffering are not strange to the Christian's life.

When it comes to suffering in the life of a believer we must:
1) Expect the expected, i.e. suffering.
2) Rejoice in the suffering (because of what it can bring - reward and rest).
3) Distinguish the differences between suffering for good or evil or for suffering temporarily or eternally.
4) Bank on God, trust Him to be faithful even in the midst of our suffering.

Bottom line: The promise of persecution calls for our preparation and perseverance.

Jesus promised that persecution would come because the world hates Christians. He shared how to prepare for it so that we might persevere in the face of it.

Bottom-line – Submitting to God requires that we submit to governing authorities until submitting to governing authorities requires that you no longer submit to and obey God.

Bottom line - Persecution in the life of the church was then, now, and to come.

Persecution is woven into the fabric of the history of the church. It is also a current reality in both physical and spiritual forms. As believers we need to prepare for persecution by walking in the fear of the Lord and His comfort. If we do, then we can react by submitting to the sovereignty of God, being filled with the Spirit of God, being obedient at all cost to God, being thankful for the privilege of suffering for and with Christ, and being bold in the face of persecution.

Bottom line - The worst of times is the best of times to do the best things.

Even when times look their worst, it is still the best time to do the best things. Peter shares with us in chapter 2 five of the best things we can do: 1) Live evangelistically, 2) Eat properly and grow in maturity, 3) Serve in ministry, 4) Identify yourself peculiarly, and 5) Sacrifice worshipfully.

Bottom line: When we wake up, clean up, dress up, and eat up, we actually grow up to be like Jesus.

Paul writes to Christians in Rome and tells them it is high time to wake up from a sleepy Christianity. Two reasons to wake up are because Jesus is coming again and we will stand in judgement before Him. We will give an account of the stewardship of our lives. A sleepy Christianity won't cut it on judgment day. Paul says to wake up, clean up (cast off the works of darkness), dress up (put on the armor of light), eat up (don't feed the flesh but rather the inner man). When we do these things we "put on the Lord Jesus Christ," i.e. we look like Him.

Bottom line: Render honor to whom honor is due, and the blessing of God will return to you.

Honor means to hold that something or someone has value and worth. We honor others when we let them know we see valuable they really are.
The level of honor we pay is determined by value we perceive. Honor is to flow in every direction from our lives in terms of authority: up, sideways, down. Honor is rewarded by God, when we honor God and His authority structure.

Bottom line: When God’s people follow God’s process, God’s promises of healing the land are fulfilled.

Bottom-line: Don’t trade what you want most for what you want in the moment.