Sermon Tone Analysis

There is a lot to unpack in this one verse which starts us out today.

Beginning

This one verse right here talks about our Christian life.

It speaks of the beginning of our life in Christ.

He who began this good work in us.

The Holy Spirit begins convicting us of our sin.

He begins to show us we have fallen short of the mark.

He is the one who starts this work in us.

Have to be careful here.

We could into a real fine discussion here on the difference between your conscience and the Holy Spirit.

Verse 10 could take some further study which we don’t have time for that rabbit hole today.

The Holy Spirit helps us to recognize this godly grief this scripture talks about and helps us to realize we need a Savior.

There is nothing we can do in ourselves to save us from our sin.

Christian life on earth

Once we have accepted the gift of salvation, we are called to become more like Christ.

Our lives should be one lived out of devotion to Him.

Do we do this because we owe Him something?

If this is the reason why you serve in the church and try to live a life pleasing to our God, you are going to wear out and get tired.

You wonder when you will ever repay the debt.

The simple truth is, there is nothing you can do in this life to repay the debt which was paid for you sin.

We should do this out of love.

When we do something out of live for someone, we don’t find the thing we are doing burdensome.

We find joy in it.

I love history (Go from here about how you will watch documentaries.

Not a burden for you, but for Julie.)

Why will we rest even though we may still be in the same situation?

Because He loves us, and we love Him.

When we are serving Him and doing it for the right reasons, the burden is easy.

The yoke is light.

When we live our Christian lives in love instead of as a response to something I have to pay back, we will find a new joy in the lives we live.

As we continue to grow in Christ, the we will find the struggle is still there, but the burden does become so much lighter.

Why?

Because He has proven himself to us time and time again.

We will not question as much why is this happening as how is God going to use this?

Our lives in heaven

The last part of this verse says until the day of Christ.

It doesn’t say until the day of our death.

The day of Christ will be the day of His second coming.

The work in us isn’t complete until His second coming and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and those who are still living will be called to follow them.

God is going to continue this good work He has started in Christian believer and see it through to the end.

He isn’t someone who leaves something half done.

He will be the One who sees our transformation through to the end.

Told you there was a lot in this one verse and there is more to chew on.

This is a great reason for you to get involved in a small group or Bible study.

There are things during a sermon we don’t have time to dig into, but you can really have a great discussion about these things.

Paul genuinely loved these people.

He loved the people of this church.

They were truly trying to live the life God had for them.

They had grabbed hold of the grace of Jesus Christ.

He missed them.

He yearned to be with them.

They loved his as well.

They loved him back.

They were concerned about his imprisonment.

They didn’t hold this against Paul.

They continued the work of Christ and defended this work.

They were staunch supporters of the mission which was laid in front of them.

He really loved these people.

Even saying with the affection of Christ Jesus.

These people were his brothers and sisters in Christ.

They were fellow laborers who supported him without question and prayed for him.

People who pray for you.

This is the verse which really hits home for me.

When people say they are praying for the leadership of the church or myself and Mark.

You may not even know what we are facing the day you pray for us, but through the faithful prayers of the body of believers, each day has its own challenges.

The power of prayer is something which cannot be matched.

What a gift?

What a weapon both defensive and offensive.

Never underestimate what your prayers for the saints and the church can do.

Growing in knowledge to prove what is right

In his absence, Paul wanted this church to continue to grow in their knowledge of Christ.

He wanted them to continue to dig deeper in their faith so they could prove what was right and what was wrong.

Just like our world today, there were many different religions/cults.

There would be those who would present things which really sounded great on the surface, but when you actually got down to what their beliefs are based on, they have either taken bits and pieces of out the Bible and totally warped the meaning.

They’ve taken the verses out of context.

Or they have taken bits and pieces of the Bible and then added to it.

All of these are dangerous habits.

An example of this would be John 15:7

If you just take this verse, it sounds like if you have strong enough faith, anything you ask for can be yours.

However, look at the section of scripture this verse comes out of.

It is talking about fruit of the Spirit.

It is talking about Jesus being the true vine.

This verse can be used so many times to support the prosperity.

There is nothing further from the truth about this verse.

Once you take a look at where this verse comes from, Jesus is talking about being the true vine.

It is speaking of the fruit which will be produced from those who are in the vine.

It is talking about if we are truly believers, we will see the fruit of our labors which comes from the fruit of the Spirit, not worldly prosperity.

My scripture this morning from my devotion does actually take about God loving a cheerful giver.

Once again, there is so much more being communicated in this verse other than the monetary wealth we might have.

I want to read an excerpt from my devotion this morning about a missionary couple and the wife’s struggle.

“Rosalind Goforth and her husband, Jonathan, were missionaries to China in the late 1800s.

Their early labors brought few results, and Rosalind grew discouraged by the apparent futility of their efforts.

One day, struggling with disappointment, she turned to 2 Corinthians 9:6.

The words leaped out as God’s clear answer to her situation.

Greatly moved by God’s truth, she wrote the words “HE WHO SOWS BOUNTIFULLY WILL ALSO REAP BOUNTIFULLY” on a blackboard.

For the next two years, she kept that truth—written in bold black and white—before her.

In due time, God used the Goforths in one of the greatest periods of revival in missionary history. . .

.”

Excerpt From

Being Still With God Every Day

Henry Blackaby & Richard Blackaby