Sermon Central
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B.a. Incompetent, Slip-Shod Faith
Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 25, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: Often we have bad attitudes which will cause our faith to be ineffective. Faith must be more than a wishbone of the church, it must be our back bone.
B. A. --- INCOMPETENT ---SLIP SHOD FAITH?
VS --- GET THE JOB DONE FAITH....
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
This is a two part lesson.
B.A. means Bad Attitude.
TEXT:
Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
1 Cor. 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
I. DO WE ABUSE FAITH? RARELY!
WE DO NOT PRACTICE ABUSE, BUT WE MIGHT BE LAX, SLACK, SLIP SHOD, CARELESS REGARDING OUR FAITH!
A. SLIP SHOD:
ONE WHO IS HABITUALLY NEGLIGENT
Wearing loose shoes or slippers
Down at the heel
Lack of strictness, precision
SHABBY
CARELESS, SLOVENLY
Untidy, Lazy
B. INCOMPETENT:
Not legally qualified
Inadequate to or unusable for a particular purpose
Lacking in qualities needed for effective action
Unable to function properly
Possess insufficient ability
C. EFFECTUAL:
Produce the desired effect
Getting the job done with the minimum of wasted effort
D. INEFFICIENT:
Not producing what is intended or desired
Wasteful use of time and energy
E. AN INCOMPETENT TEACHER HURTS KIDS.
Once I knew a school system that had many negative reports on students coming from a first grade teacher. They could not recognize nor make their letters when they were in the second grade.
Were the students all dumb? What was wrong?
The Principal starting observing the class, the papers taped on the wall out side the class room looked like a professional had written them.
After some observation, it was learned that the teacher would not allow her students to have a pencil. She went around individually to each student and with perfect penmanship she would write the lesson for them.
This caused the students to be lazy and far behind when they advanced to the next class.
The students absolutely loved their dear teacher, her class was easy.
The school system had a terrible problem. They threatened to bring charges against this teacher.
She decided to go to a different school system to teach. SHE DIDN’T GET IT.
She could prove her students’ work was superior to the other class’s work?
II. SELDOM DO WE PLAN TO FAIL,
BUT WE FAIL TO PLAN, AND THUS WE FAIL.
Habakkuk 2:2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
A. WE MUST QUIT PLANNING THE FUTURE BY LOOKING AT THE PAST!
B. An evil plan will always backfire. An evil plan will bring harm to the planner.
C. Bad plans make no allowance for modification.
D. A good plan will learn from others bad plans.
III. B.A.? B.A.?
TODAY WE LAUGH AT BAD ATTITUDES ---
THERE IS A SPIRIT OF GRADUALNESS THAT WE SLOWLY, AIMLESSLY, DRIFT INTO DANGEROUS HABITS AND BAD ATTITUDES.
A. PAUL HAD WARNED THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP!
B. 14 DARK NIGHTS HAD PASSED TOSSING THE LITTLE SHIP,
ALL HOPE WAS LOST...
Acts 27:28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.
C. WE NEED TO HEED THE WARNING AND CORRECT THE PROBLEMS WITH FAITH.
IV. WE NEED MORE THAN WISHBONES, WE NEED BACKBONES.
HAVE YOU EVER IDENTIFIED FAITH KILLERS?
A. A few years ago, there was a tree in Colorado that was over 500 years old.
Many people traveled to see this 500+ year old tree.
B. It was a seedling when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
The tree was 1/2 grown when the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
C. The tree had survived 500 years of storms.
The tree had been hit by lightning 14x’s...
D. Age did not kill it ...
Forest fires did not kill it ....
E. A LITTLE ARMY OF BEETLES DESTROYED THE LIFE IN THIS
HISTORIC TREE.
F. Little things , little foxes kill.
V. SLIP SHOD FAITH ---
FAITH THAT LINGERS WILL BE SELF CENTERED AND IT WILL ALWAYS BE COSTLY!
TO KNOW THE WORD OF GOD AND THE PLAN OF GOD AND NOT RESPECT IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS LACK OF FAITH.
A. Not many Old Testament women come forth in the New Testament.
B. There is one very sad story recalled in THREE WORDS.
Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.
C. LOT’S WIFE, NAME UNKNOWN, DID NOT HAVE FAITH TO BELIEVE.
Genesis 19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
