Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.1UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.05UNLIKELY
Fear
0.12UNLIKELY
Joy
0.63LIKELY
Sadness
0.17UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.59LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.01UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.91LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.83LIKELY
Extraversion
0.07UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.75LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.71LIKELY

Tone of specific sentences

Tones
Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Language
Analytical
Confident
Tentative
Social Tendencies
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Emotional Range
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
The Power of the Word in the Believer’s Life—Part 2
Review
Review
Let’s look back briefly at what we discovered last evening.
We said that we should study the Bible because it is:
I.
The Source of Truth
II.
The Source of Happiness
We should study the Bible not only because it is the source of truth, but also because it is the source of happiness or joy.
Jesus, in Luke 11:28, says, “Blessed [happy] are they that hear the word of God, and keep [obey] it.”
Now when we talk about obeying the Word of God we need to differentiate between two kinds of obedience: first, legal obedience, and second, gracious obedience.
See
LESSON
A. Legal Obedience
Legal obedience, or we could better call it legalistic obedience, pertains to the “covenant of works,” the “old covenant,” or the “Mosaic covenant.”
Legalistic obedience demands absolute, perfect obedience without a single failure ().
If you fail, that’s the end.
One false move and you’re finished.
Now that’s legal obedience.
This is the “covenant of works,” but in contrast to that in the Scripture, we have the “covenant of grace.”
B. Gracious Obedience
Gracious obedience pertains to a loving, gracious, merciful, and forgiving attitude on the part of God.
Legalistic obedience says you had better keep every rule or you’re finished.
Gracious obedience says if God sees in your heart a spirit of grace; if He sees a sincere and loving and humble willingness to obey; if He sees a positive response to His Word, even though there are times when we fail, then He counts us as obedient because that’s the spirit in our hearts.
Even though our gracious obedience may be filled with defects, it’s the proper attitude that God is after.
That’s a tremendous principle, and I want to illustrate it for you because it’s so important.
obedience pertains to a loving, gracious, merciful, and forgiving attitude on the part of God.
Legalistic obedience says you had better keep every rule or you’re finished.
Gracious obedience says if God sees in your heart a spirit of grace; if He sees a sincere and loving and humble willingness to obey; if He sees a positive response to His Word, even though there are times when we fail, then He counts us as obedient because that’s the spirit in our hearts.
Even though our gracious obedience may be filled with defects, it’s the proper attitude that God is after.
That’s a tremendous principle, and I want to illustrate it for you because it’s so important.
1. Commitment reduced ()
A favorite passage of mine, , graphically illustrates several spiritual truths.
It’s all about Peter, who had gone fishing when he shouldn’t have.
The Lord had already called him into the ministry, but he went fishing instead and violated the Lord’s call.
He and some of the other disciples were fishing, but they didn’t catch any fish.
They had fished all night, but it was totally fruitless.
When morning came, Jesus appeared on the shore and asked them if they had caught anything.
Peter, like the rest, had nothing to show.
It was a great lesson for them because God was saying, “If you think you can go back to fishing, you’re wrong.
You’ve been called to the ministry, so your fishing is finished.
I can reroute every fish in every sea you approach.”
So Jesus called them over for breakfast.
2. Commitment revealed ()
The Lord had made breakfast, and I imagine He made breakfast like He made anything: “Breakfast!”—and there it was.
After they had eaten, verse 15 says, “Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these?”
Now that was an interesting statement.
Jesus used the most grandiose word for “love” that was in the Greek language, agapaō from which we get the word agapē.
In other words, Jesus said, “Do you super love Me? Do you love Me to the limit of love?”
Peter responded, “I sure like You a lot.”
Peter used a different word that spoke of a lesser love, phileō.
And the Lord said, “Feed My lambs.”
The second time Jesus said to Peter, “Peter, do you super love Me?” Peter replied, “Well Lord, I like You a lot.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” (v.
16).
Do you know why Peter kept saying, “I like You a lot,” instead of the word Jesus used?
Simple.
His life didn’t match such a claim.
He knew if he said, “Lord, I super love You,” Jesus would have said, “Oh, is that why you don’t obey?
Have you forgotten that I told you a long time ago that if you love Me you’ll keep My commandments?
How could you say you super love Me when you don’t even do what I say?”
Peter wasn’t about to get himself in that trap, so he said, “I like You a lot.”
“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me?” (v.
17).
Jesus said, “Peter, do you like Me a lot?” Now that hurt.
You see, Peter thought he was being fair; he wasn’t even going to claim super love, but Jesus questioned the love that Peter did claim.
The verse continues, “Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? (Do you like Me a lot?)
And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.”
Peter said, “Lord, You know everything, You know I like You a lot.”
He appealed to the doctrine of omniscience.
He wanted Jesus to read his heart because his love wasn’t obvious from his life.
The doctrine of omniscience is a great reality, but when I was a kid I thought it was bad; I thought God was going around spying on everybody.
Now I realize that if God wasn’t omniscient there would be plenty of days that he wouldn’t know that I loved Him because it wouldn’t be obvious from my life.
So Peter says, “Lord, You know everything—You know that I love You.”
3. Commitment required
And do you know what the Lord Jesus told Peter?
The Lord is so good.
He looked at that disciple who couldn’t even claim the supreme love, that one who couldn’t even obey, that one who couldn’t even stay awake at a prayer meeting, that one who stuck his foot in his mouth every time he had an opportunity, that one who almost drowned when he could have walked on water, that one who wanted to tell Jesus not to go to the cross, that one who grabbed a sword and tried to chop up the Roman army, and Jesus said to that character who had fouled up almost every opportunity he had, “You’re My man.”
Three times He said, “Feed my lambs.…
feed my sheep.…
feed my sheep” (vv.
15–17).
Jesus took Peter on the basis of his heart attitude of willingness to obey, even though he blundered.
God works with us on the premise of gracious obedience—not legal obedience.
Here was a man who failed to obey over and over again, but in his heart he really wanted to do it.
The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
The Lord Jesus knew that, and that’s how God looks at us.
He says, “My Word is the source of joy if you obey it, and if you obey My Word, I’ll fill your life with joy.”
No, He doesn’t mean that if you ever fail one little bit in His rules, that’s the end of joy, and then you have misery.
Instead, He says, “If I read as an attitude of your heart a style of life that shows a commitment and the desire to obey, I will pass over those failures.”
It’s the deep commitment He’s after, and that’s the source of joy.
4. Commitment rewarded
As you study the Word and hear what it says, and you draw out its principles and obey those principles because it’s in your heart to obey them, then God pours out the blessing and joy.
But if you crank out obedience in every legalistic manner possible, and if in your heart you don’t want to do it, He will never give you the joy.
To do good deeds without the right heart attitude doesn’t count.
Let me show you what I mean.
The Bible talks about different kinds of fruit, and it talks about the fruit of the Spirit.
Before there’s ever fruit in your life, such as winning people to Christ, and before the fruit on the outside means anything, it has to come from the fruit of the Spirit on the inside.
Action fruit, things you do without the proper attitude fruit, is pure legalism—Pharisaism.
If you crank out all the stuff you want to on the outside and you are a legalist to the teeth like the Pharisees, then you’ll never know joy.
On the other hand, if you have a heart of obedience with the right attitude, even though you may fail on the outside, God will give you joy because He sees the gracious, obedient spirit in your heart.
That’s what He desires.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9