Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
This past summer my little sister Lydia married a man named Joseph.
Joseph has quite a few brothers.
Lydia also has several brothers.
For the bachelor party Lydia’s brother’s determined that Joseph’s brothers needed to experience a waterfall jump (S).
One of the many somewhat crazy things the boys in my family do is jump off a waterfall into the pool at the base.
Now, all of my brothers have done this.
Joseph’s brothers had not.
So as we arrive at the falls we are explaining how to jump.
There are two very important things about jumping off a waterfall.
1 - You have to jump. 2 - You have to jump correctly.
What do I mean?
When you get to the top, you can’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.
The more you stand there and look at the drop, the less likely you will be to jump.
You have to just jump.
To jump correctly you have to fully commit to the jump.
A weak jump or hesitation can result in injury.
You jump off and you pull everything in.
In the spiritual realm, faith is kind of like jumping off a water fall.
The more time we pause to consider what God is asking, the less likely we are to do it.
Count the cost, make a plan, but then jump!
When we take that leap of faith we must fully commit to it.
Hesitation or half-hearted attempts lead to spiritual injury!
When God calls us to take a leap of faith, we must commit to the jump.
It is that commitment we will learn about this morning.
It’s been awhile since we were in Acts, so let’s catch up.
Paul has begun his second missionary journey bringing Silas along with him.
The Holy Spirit has led them through closed doors and a dream to where they are now.
They know it is where they are supposed to be.
However, Being in God’s will does not mean absence of difficulty.
Paul and Silas display incredible commitment in these verses.
That commitment is going to be tested.This morning we are going to see the testing of their commitment.
When we preach Christ we need to be committed.
Our commitment will also be tested.
Will we pass the test?
Endurance to pass a test comes through confidence in God and His will.
If we are going to be committed to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
If we are going to have the same commitment we see in Paul and Silas.
We need to be confident in our God.
The passage we will consider this morning provides us with three areas in which we must have an unshakable confidence.
When we are confident in our God, we will be committed to His calling.
Area #1…
1. Be Confident In God’s Placement vv.
11-15
Christmas was 2 1/2 weeks ago.
One of the traditions we have is decorating the Christmas tree.
This is something everyone gets excited about.
However, it is often most exciting to the youngest.
Once one of our children can walk and hang the ornaments on their own, something very interesting happens.
All the ornaments end up on about 3 branches.
Right?
You can see what eye level is for our three oldest because that’s where most of the ornaments are!
We look at where there are putting them and we say “are you sure that’s where you want to place that?”
They are usually very sure.
This year the kids did pretty much all the ornaments, Jess and I didn’t do very many.
And we spent some time asking if they really wanted to put that there.
But when we back up and we see the whole picture, it had its own special beauty.
In life, God places us where He wants us.
There are times we are tempted to ask if He is sure.
But we can be confident that if we could see our lives from God’s perspective, they would have their own special beauty.
As we go through life, we must be confident in God’s placement.
In these verses we see two examples of God’s placement.
Example #1…
a. God places in physical locations vv.
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READ vv.
11-12
Troas is where Paul got the vision of the man in Macedonia.
Ran a straight course.
In Greek this is a technical sailing term.
But I think it indicates the heart and attitude of Paul and Silas.
God says to go, they go straight there without any deviation.
The next day they continue their journey.
There is no delay in their obedience.
They arrive in Philippi (S).
Why there?
Because it is the main city in that area.
It had special rights and privileges.
This is where God placed them.
He called them here.
God’s calling of them and placing them in Philippi couldn’t be any more clear.
What we are going to see in a minute is that horrible things happen here.
But that doesn’t change God’s call.
There are many Biblical examples of this.
However, the best example is Joseph in Genesis 39ff.
Most of us know the story.
Joseph is sold into slavery because of the jealousy of His brothers.
He rises to favor with his master but ends up in prison through the lies of his master’s wife.
Would it be hard to trust God’s placement when wrongfully imprisoned?
Amen!
After 2 years in prison Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and ends up second in command.
Joseph’s testimony about everything he endured is found in (S).
Joseph understood that God had placed him where he needed to be.
We’ve got to understand this.
If you are seeking God and His will, then you are where you are by His design, purpose, and plan.
The house you live in, the job you have, the state, the county, the family.
All of this is according to God’s placement.
And beloved, God doesn’t make mistakes.
You are there for a purpose.
God has placed you there.
I am not there.
Your brothers and sisters are not there.
You are.
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