Category: Steadfastness

Invitation delivered by: Joshua Jackson

Joshua exorts us regarding the need for continual diligence and attention as we live each day as Christians.

Audio

This letter the Lord wrote to the church at Ephesus was the first of seven written to churches in Asia. At the time of this writing, Ephesus was a large city — the most important seaport in Asia Minor.

Each of these letters follow the same pattern, and are found in chapters 2 and 3.

The Lord first commended the church at Ephesus for its work. The church was apparently diligent, steadfast, fruitful, and contended earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). They “hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans” as did the Lord.

However, something was missing. He admonished them for having “left your first love.” Though there was still the form of faithfulness in Ephesus, some zeal or vigor was missing. That lack of passion for Jesus was the reason for this censure.

The Lord called them to repentance, and here as elsewhere indicated that their salvation hung in the balance. This clearly indicates the fallacy of those who hold the doctrine of “once saved always saved.”

Here, those who “overcome” and receive the tree of life are the faithful and zealous. This is a wonderful lesson for us today!

Each local congregation must decide to be steadfast in the face of opposition and false doctrine; Zealous in the Lord’s work; and, work for Unity and Peace.
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Those who live by faith will be faithful in their walk. They will obey God, and diligently live for His cause. They will set their affections on things above, where their reward is to be found.

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One of the most sobering passages I can think of is found in John 15. There Jesus said, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (vs. 2).

The text disproves the common belief expressed as “once saved, always saved” and soberly warns us to be industrious as Christian servants.

The text tells me that I need to develop the proper skills needed to be a fruit bearer. It tells me that I need to be spending the time and making the effort necessary to bear fruit. And, it tells me that I need to identify the type of fruit that Jesus expects me to produce.

It also tells me that there are a lot of Christians who need to get started before it’s too late! (Think about it!)

Stan

In two weeks, we will begin a Gospel Meeting with brother Jerry Fite, of Pasadena, TX. The effort will start on Saturday night at 7:30 pm, and will continue through the following Thursday. There will be a special Wednesday morning study together with our regular Sunday services and the weeknight preaching.

Jerry preaches for the Parkview congregation in Pasadena, and has been a faithful proclaimer of God’s word for many years. He is known to the brethren here, having spent a number of years at the Castleberry congregation as a young man, while his father Harold preached for that group. He held a meeting for our congregation in May of 1999, and we are glad to have him return to preach for us again.

Continue reading “The Importance of Gospel Meetings” →

This sermon is an exegetical treatment of Colossians 1:9-19. The text relates Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Colossians, “that you may be filled…” Also, the Preeminence of Christ is revealed and discussed.

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Bodily exercise profits a little, but is is much more important for the Christian to be spiritually fit. The lesson encourages and instructs in this.

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The sermon is an exegetical treatment of 2 Corinthians 8:8-15, where the apostle Paul calls the Corinthians to be steadfast in their Christian walk.

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As Christians we have duties and obligations with regard to membership in a local congregation. Our attitude in carrying out those duties is important. We should be enthusiastic, industrious, positive and persistent.

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Jeroboam convinced the Northern Tribes that it was too much to ask them to return to Jerusalem to worship God. Instead he fashioned golden idols, and introduced idolatry to the nation of Israel. (cf. 1 Kings 12). It is often claimed that God requires too much of us. Is it true? This sermon establishes that what God requires is reasonable and doable for the Christian.

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2 Timothy 2:20-21 and the surrounding context reveals that the Christian’s spiritual welfare depends upon their diligence in serving him. The difference between vessels of honor and dishonor is the willingness of said vessel to sanctify themselves to God’s service.

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I recently came across an interesting sermon outline by Mark Copeland with the above title. There were five major points in the sermon that I thought were very good, and wanted to share with you in article form.

In Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, the Lord wrote letters to seven different churches, some of which could be categorized as weak, and some as strong. One church in particular serves to make an important point. The church at Sardis, (cf. Revelation 3:1), was admonished by our Lord, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” A congregation can have a nice building, have many members, can have a lot of “program”, and can run smoothly and still be dead.

The better way of gauging the relative strength of a church is by determining whether the congregation has the characteristics of the church as revealed in the New Testament. There are terms such as “body”, “family”, “temple”, “kingdom”, “bride”, that establish principles which are the foundation of strength among God’s people.

Continue reading “The Measure of a Strong Church” →

Becoming a child of God is described as being “born again.” It is the beginning of a new life, not the end. As such, the Bible continually admonishes the Christian to continue steadfastly in his life for Christ.

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