FAITH VS LOVE IS THERE A LINK
To understand this resolution, we need to have a look at each one of these aspects
Faith and Love
Are they bound together and linked without separation?
Marriage – Love someone – you are faithful to them.
Child – Love my son – I will faithfully look after him and bring him up
Pets – Dog loves his owner – he is very faithful.
Divine Plan – God so loved the world gave only son – attain everlasting life – need to have faith.
MIGHT OF THESE WORDS
Love
I love you. I will never stop loving you. Unending love. You can even add it to a simple word like story and it changes everything. Now its not just a story, it’s a love story. The word love has weight.
Faith
I have faith in you my son. Tied to our essence – our beliefs. Its our belief in something. Tell story of abseiling/sky diving – faith in equipment. The shoot will open the figure of eight will work. Its things still to happen but we KNOW they will. Yes there is a measure of doubt, but they WILL work.
WHY MIGHTY?
Both of these words are action AND attitude words. They are work and thought, hands and heart.
To give carries far less impact as to love. Loving may imply giving, but it implies the emotion or motivation to give too. Isn’t that why when we receive a gift we always say, it’s the thought that counts. The deed is one thing, but the though as well is something else. Very few words are deed and thought in one.
CHARACTER QUALITIES
The resolution comes down to building your character. What a better way than to show more love and be more faithful.
May be able to quickly know what you can do about showing more love, but when combine love with faithfulness – loyalty mixed with responsibility, truth mixed with a desire for justice.
So in these qualities, thoughts and words merge into one and through what we do in our lives, what we think say and do, our very lives become evidence of how deep our faith and love run.
ACTIONS VS ATTITUDES
Do your actions measure up to your attitude? We may have all the right intentions in the world, but if we don’t follow through with them, we have no love or faith.
Does your attitude measure up to your actions? We may do all the right things outwardly, but if we are not doing them with the right attitude, we have done nothing!
FAITH
FAITHFUL IN WHAT IS SMALL WE WILL BE FAITHFUL IN WHAT IS BIG!
Know that scripture well.
We have turned it around a little. Easy to be faithful in the big things sometimes.
Easier to be faithful in the big things as that’s obvious. Small things – another story.
Turn to Matthew 5
Read from 21.
Mt 5:21,22
Jesus speaks about MURDER. That means we don’t kill. Well that’s easy, but what about ANGER
Mt 5:23-26
Jesus shows that our OFFERINGS are important and we know this, but what about our TIME
Mt 5:27-30
We know that we must avoid ADULTRY
Mt 5:31,32
We know that DIVORCE
Mt 5:33-37
We know that we should always live up to our PROMISES. We seem to be faithful to promises made to man than we are to the ones we make to GOD.
Mt 5:38-47
Christ always taught that we do not do well seeking our own REVENGE. But we may have ruled out that vengeful side, but have we replaced it with mercy and true love of our neighbour and others? True Friends.
FAITH SUMMARY
This year, pay attention to the small things. As our lives
GOD HAS FAITH IN US
That faith that we always say we have in God.
Remember the abseiling equipment.
That slight measure of doubt but the gut knowing that He is there and He will come through. That faith.
Well you know what, he has faith in us. God faith in us – no way. You think he had no faith in Job when he said the Satan go right ahead Job wont falter. You think he had no faith in Abram when he said offer up Isaac. You think he had no faith in Jesus when Satan was tempting him – Of Course He Did.
God is busy proving his sovereignty. He does that by having loyal followers. He needs us to be obedient. There is a measure of doubt that we will fail, so he sends his son to cover that, but he has faith in us that we will come though for him – 2005 or any other year for that matter will not be the year that I betray that faith. He is looking at you this morning, knowing how difficult it is and he is saying I have faith in you. Don’t let him down.
GODS LOVE
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lit a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns at the top of the figure of Jesus on the cross, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle he was holding, turned and left the church. There was nothing else to say.
GOD IS LOVE
Love is a God quality. There is no other source of love other than God. If we don’t know his love, we can not love. Its like drinking from a tap that is not connected to a water source. It just does not work.
Have you accepted the love God has for you? Have you the faith in the means he used to bring us close to him?
Is it real? Tangible? You can feel it? It makes you live?
Don’t even think about working on your love for others, if you have not accepted love from God through the sacrifice Christ made.
Get the love of God right in your life, and watch relationships improve, watch your heart soften and watch your love abound.
IT AFFECTS YOU
Don’t ever think that that love does not affect you. IT DOES. You are not excempt from that love. You are not excused, You are not to big for that love nor are you too small for that love. HE DIED FOR YOU BECAUSE OF THAT LOVE. (PLAY CD)
MUSIC TEAM TO COME UP. READY FOR OPEN EYES OF MY HEART LORD
WHERE ARE YOU?
Love and faithfulness is the core to your getting on top of this life and having a better one. You think that there is no plan for you to have a good life, well if you have doubts, come and speak to any of us that you see
We are going to have some music now.
And now if you would like to cement that commitment, if you would like to pray a prayer with me why not come forward and share with me and the others that are here your commitment, run up or take your time, but if this is your first time you are really committing to Christ then let us know – we want to rejoice with you. If you are recommitting you life let me tell you that it is even bigger than the first time, because you know the implications of that commitment. If you want to come up and bring with you that present you have for Christ to heal, bring it up. If you have a physical problem, and ailment, and I sense that there is that, I want you to bring it up and leave it here. This is bigger than feeling awkward, this is divine, its about eternity, and trust me there is not a single person who is here today that is not rejoicing at seeing you come forward to make this prayer with us.
PRAYER
MUSIC TEAM INCREASES VOLUME AND STARTS SINGING.
Last two songs.