Persistent Faith

Take your Bibles this morning to 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians again as we pick up here in chapter 3 as we continue looking at faith.

!

Faith must persist. It must develop because faith, as we've seen as we've gone through the book of 1 Thessalonians, that faith is what sustains us when the trials and troubles of this life seem just to overwhelm.

And we see in the Apostle Paul's life that he needed faith and his faith continued to grow and to endure and to develop in his life.

Because sometimes we get the perception in our mind, I think, that faith is, okay, now that I'm saved, everything just becomes static.

But faith for salvation is the beginning point, and God wants our faith to continue to move forward, to endure, to persist, and to continue to do and accomplish in our life.

And so this morning we're going to see this report that Timothy, because remember Paul sent Timothy to get a report about the faith of those in Thessalonica.

You know, because he knew that they had faced some challenges, and he returned with a report about the church at Thessalonica, and it's something that encouraged and strengthened Paul's faith also.

You know, we're going to see here this morning, as Paul was here in Corinth now, facing some challenges, and Timothy returns to him, with what the Bible says,

good tidings from the church in Thessalonica.

So let's take a look here this morning, as if you found 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, let's stand together in honor of the reading of the Word of God here this morning,

1 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention

as we take a look here at this faith that persists and the impact of it.

And it says,

But now when Timotheus came from you unto us and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity,

that you have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us as we also to see you.

Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our afflictions and distressed by your faith.

For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your stakes before our God?

Night and day, praying exceedingly that we might see your face and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.

Now God Himself and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you,

and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another,

and toward all men, even as we do toward you.

To the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God,

even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we take a few moments this morning,

as we look at this idea and concept of faith and the impact that it has,

Lord, that faith is not static,

but Lord, faith is something that not only sustains, but it needs to grow.

It needs to mature that understanding of who you are and what you've done,

Lord, and how it impacts our lives.

Lord, help us to have a persistent faith,

a faith that sticks, a faith that grows, a faith that matures in our life.

And Lord, we pray just have your hand upon each one today.

Lord, you know each heart, each life,

the burdens, the struggles, the trials,

Lord, even the tests of our faith.

And Lord, we pray we might be encouraged to know that we can trust you

as we walk through and the impact that faith has upon us and upon those around us.

And Lord, we just give you all the praise in Jesus' name.

Amen.

May be seated.

You know, as we see here, as Timothy's report came,

it was an encouragement to Paul.

You know, now we need to remember when Timothy came unto him,

we find this in Acts chapter 18,

Acts 18 · chapter mention

is when Paul was in Corinth.

He went from Athens over to Corinth,

and he had started a work there

and began to preach and to teach and face some opposition.

And now Timothy comes with a report that says,

hey, those at Thessalonica who had been challenged,

had been persecuted,

they had faced great opposition,

are standing fast in the faith,

and they're not listening to the falsehoods that are being proclaimed.

You know, whenever the gospel's being proclaimed,

the one thing you need to always keep in mind,

there's going to be some falsehoods that the devil follows up with it.

You know, there's always going to be falsehoods or deceptions or questions

to try to deceive or to draw away people from the truth of the gospel.

The devil always does that.

And we find that Paul had been there at Corinth,

and he was raising in the synagogue,

it tells us every Sabbath day,

with the Jews and the Greeks,

and which was opposed by many in the synagogue.

And as you read through in Acts chapter 18,

Acts 18 · chapter mention

you'll find that Paul at this point was discouraged.

You know, I want you to understand that sometimes life

and what happens in life discourages us.

You know, we just say,

Lord, what is going on?

But, you know, I want you to see here,

what Timothy brought in his report was an encouragement to Paul.

And we're going to look at these things here this morning,

the encouragement that was needed

and the things that encouraged him and why they did.

But we see here, as he was facing this opposition,

Timothy comes and brought a report that refreshed the need

to continue preaching and proclaiming the gospel

and teaching the doctrines of Christ.

You know, because sometimes we say,

is this even doing any good?

You know, today in America,

sometimes you ask the question,

is the gospel really impacting lives?

Because we don't see some of the things we saw in the past.

You know, we saw many lives impacted through generations

and suddenly it gets a little stagnant or you get opposition.

Today in America, we have great opposition

to the truth of the gospel.

You know, even around us.

I mean, when you understand that

just our neighbors to the north in Canada,

you know, a preacher was arrested

for just stating what was right.

I want you to understand that

there's always going to be that opposition.

But we need to encourage ourselves

and encourage one another

when we see those that stand strong

because we see this solid report

that Timothy brings to them.

And we see here the lies

and the persecution of those at Thessalonica

had caused Paul to wonder,

did they stand?

Did they withstand all that was going on?

How were they doing?

How would it influence their faith

and their walk in the Lord?

You know, because I want you to see here

as Paul begins here in a section here in Thessalonians,

he not only ties their faith to their salvation,

but he ties their faith directly to their walk,

to their persistence of that faith.

How is your faith playing out daily in your life?

Because your faith is not a static.

Like I said earlier,

your faith is not a trophy.

Salvation isn't a trophy.

You put in the case and say,

I got it.

Or it's not a deposit.

You put in the bank and say,

okay, now that I'm saved,

everything's good.

We can put that away and go on with life.

Paul was encouraged,

not because of just their salvation,

but the fact that they had continued in life.

They continued walking with the Lord.

He had continued those things.

And we understand that we're going to face opposition.

You know, matter of fact,

consider what Peter said.

You know, in 1 Peter chapter 4,

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

Peter said this,

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial,

which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you.

You know, that's about, I like that.

That's pretty plain for us.

Because sometimes, you know what happens?

We get a woe is me saying,

well, this is unique to me.

Like something strange happened that shouldn't have happened.

But you know what Peter says?

Don't act like it's something strange.

Just understand it's going to happen.

That these things are going to take place in your life.

He says this, look at verse 13,

But rejoice insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings,

that when his glory shall be revealed,

ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I want you to see our faith isn't just a present faith.

It's a hopeful faith that looks ahead.

It looks forward to what's ahead

because this life, I hate to tell you,

but you know, a lot of people spend a lot of effort on this life.

But one day the Bible tells us this life is going to pass away.

It's but a vapor.

The trials and struggles,

it seems that they're never ending.

And it's like, how do I get through them?

But you know what?

Sometimes we need to realize that this life is not all that there is.

To keep our eyes on the right thing.

And it's not that we ought not to live this life,

but we need to live this life in light of eternity.

That's the whole theme of Thessalonians that Paul tells them.

Live in light of what Christ has done.

Live in light of what Christ has accomplished

and what he's going to fulfill when he comes again.

Because what we have today is just not all that there is.

You know?

You know, we ought to reassure us

that it's not just you or your situation

that seems insurmountable.

You know, you ought to expect problems.

I didn't say welcome problems.

I said expect problems.

I don't think anybody wants to have problems,

doesn't want to have issues in their life.

But you know what?

It ought not to catch you off guard

in the sense of saying, why me?

Our faith ought to overpower those things.

And even Paul here, as you read,

it ought to encourage us that Paul needed some encouragement.

Because sometimes when we read through the scripture

and over the years,

you kind of get the impression sometimes

that Paul was superhuman.

You know?

You see all the things that God did

through the apostle Paul,

and you say, man, this guy must have been

superhuman, nothing impacted.

I want you to understand,

Paul felt all the same things you and I feel.

He wasn't exempt from it.

The Bible tells us here

that he was discouraged

at Corinth.

You know, you can get discouraged with life,

but you know what?

There's things that will encourage you.

And we ought to be encouraged

in the faith.

You know, notice what he tells them here.

Look at verse 6,

and he says,

And Timotheus came from you,

unto us,

and brought us good tidings

of your faith and charity,

and that you have good remembrance of us always,

desiring greatly to see us

as we also to see you.

Notice verse 7,

Therefore, brethren,

we were comforted over you

in all our afflictions

and distresses by your faith.

Now think about that,

what Paul is saying there.

He says, guys,

he says,

knowing that you stood strong,

that your faith was real,

that you were willing to take a stand

for the truth of the word of God,

it encouraged others.

Paul said,

it encouraged me.

You know,

we're encouraged by the faith of others

to say, hey,

this is it.

He was comforted.

That word there

is not to coddle,

but it's to encourage.

In other words,

his heart was encouraged,

it was comforted,

that they had stuck by the faith

and would withstood

and were steadfast

in the Lord.

You know,

when we see here

that

what was happening

with Paul,

you know,

take a look over

to Acts chapter 18

Acts 18 · chapter mention

for a moment.

Acts chapter 18

Acts 18 · chapter mention

here in verse 4,

Paul is,

this is recorded

about Paul

and his ministry

in Corinth

and he says,

and he reasoned

in the synagogue

every Sabbath

and persuaded

the Jews

and the Greeks

and when Silas

and Timotheus

were come from Macedonia,

Paul was pressed

in the spirit

and testified

to the Jews

that Jesus

was Christ.

You know what?

It invigorated him

to keep going.

He was pressed

in the spirit

after this report.

In other words,

he was encouraged

by what was happening

to say,

hey,

you need to

keep going.

We're going.

Keep going.

You know,

sometimes I think

that's good

that we have

when we hear

missionaries,

especially ones

we've supported

a long time,

come and say,

hey,

this is what

God is doing here.

You know what?

I don't know about you

but it encourages me

to keep going

because sometimes

we get so short-sighted

about what's right

in front of us

we lose sight

of what God

is doing every place.

You know,

God is bigger

than Lincoln, Nebraska.

He's bigger

than your address.

God's doing things

all over

and we see

the reality

of it

and we can be

encouraged by it

that God

is still working.

You know,

when we understand,

he notices,

he says that

he was good tidings

of your faith

and charity

and it says

that they were

comforted over you

in your afflictions,

you know,

that they had joy.

You know,

think about that

for a moment,

that they had joy.

Now look down

at verse 9,

it says,

for what thanks

can we render

to God again

for you

for all the joy

wherewith we joy

for your sakes

before our God.

I want you to see here,

it not only encouraged them

but it caused them

to have joy

and gratitude,

to be thankful

to see what God

was doing.

The report

that Timothy brought

brought joy

to Paul

and those with him

renewing his focus

to stay the course.

You know,

I want you to see here

something practically

we need to understand

when it comes to faith.

A growing faith,

a persistent faith,

not only impacts you,

it impacts others.

It impacts others.

Practically,

we need to understand

that your faith

in the Lord

has an impact

upon others.

You don't live

your faith in a bubble.

You're not there

and it affects others also.

You're not by yourself.

You know,

that's the other reason

it's important

that we be together

with other believers.

You know,

that's the reason

God tells us very clearly

to not forsake

the assembling

of ourselves together.

You know what?

We need encouragement

from one another.

Part of walking faithfully

and walking in the faith

is being where God

instructed us to be

and that's in the Lord's

house on Sunday.

To meet together

with believers.

To be a part,

to be connected,

to be there,

to be present.

You know,

it's important

to understand

that your presence

is important

not only for you

but for others.

You know,

sometimes we forget that.

Well,

who's going to miss me

at church?

You know what?

You're just as big

of investment here

as anybody else

and you all impact

one another.

You all impact

the preacher.

You know what?

The preacher's encouraged

when people come.

Your presence

is an encouragement.

Your absence

is the opposite.

It's a discouragement.

But you know what?

We need that encouragement

to keep going

because there's always

going to be discouragement.

The importance

and the impact

we have on one another,

the consistency

that is needful

in that.

And we see here

that your faith

is important

that the steadfast

consistency

of the believers

at Thessalonica

helped Paul

face the challenges

before him.

I want you

to simply understand this.

Your faith

impacts others.

Your faith

has an impact.

You say,

well,

what am I doing?

Your presence,

your consistency,

your steadfastness,

makes a difference.

It encourages others.

It encourages

to keep going,

to move forward.

You know,

the faith

of the believers

at Thessalonica

had endured

through persecution

and we looked

at the false accounts

that they had accused

Paul of.

But I want you

to understand

that it wasn't

Paul's preaching

that they had faith in.

Paul was encouraged

because their faith

was not in what he said.

Their faith

was what in God said.

What God had said

is where their faith lied.

That's our commonality

is the Word of God.

Our commonality

of faith

is not in creeds

or doctrinal statements.

You know,

there's a lot of people

today whose faith

is tied up in a creed.

Now,

I want you to understand

a creed is nothing

but stating

what somebody believes

but your faith

isn't in what

somebody else said.

Your faith needs

to be in what God

has said.

to what God

has declared

because people

are going to add

all sorts of things

but we need to understand

what does God

say about it?

To have our faith in him.

That's what encouraged Paul.

It wasn't that they

just kept sticking around

or that they stuck with it

but that their faith

was in the Word of God

that was preached

unto them.

That it wasn't built

upon what Paul said

or what somebody else said.

You know,

I think that's one

of the dangers today.

It's amazing to me

as I talk to people

how many people

build their theology

because of what

this theologian said

or that theologian said

or this one over here.

Now,

I want you to understand

there's nothing wrong

with reading

what people have to say

about it

but I want you to understand

that all needs to be

filtered back

through the Word of God.

Don't just take

somebody's word for it.

Filter it back

because everybody's

going to have some flaws.

Some misunderstandings.

You know why?

Because your faith

needs to grow

and mature.

What you understand

a year from now

about God

ought to be different

than what you understand

about Him today.

It ought to be

more mature.

A better understanding

of who God is

and what He's done.

Because, you know,

the day...

Think in your mind

for a moment.

Hopefully this morning

you can think in your mind

back to the moment

when you called upon

the Lord to save you.

You know the good thing

about that?

You needed to understand

some very basic

simple doctrines

in order to be saved.

You didn't have to be able

to write a big thesis

about who God is

or how God interacts

with mankind.

All you need to understand

is that you're a sinner,

that Christ came

and paid the complete

full price

that was required

for you to be redeemed.

and the only thing

you needed to do

was receive and accept

by faith

and when you do that

that's just not

taking in

it's understanding

that yes,

He is the Savior.

You didn't have to understand

about the Trinity.

You didn't have to understand

all the things

of how Jesus

was both 100% God

and 100% man.

You didn't need to understand

all those things

in order to be saved.

But from salvation,

the basic understanding

of what our need is,

of who God is

and what He's done for you,

your faith needs to grow.

It needs to mature.

It needs to develop.

Because Paul is encouraged

because of what they did.

That persistent faith

is a product

of what is received.

It was the Word of God

not the Word of men.

And that persistent faith

produced a stability,

a stable faith.

You know,

secondly here this morning

we see Timothy

had encouraged Paul

by the report

that brought him

from the church

at Thessalonica

and they had maintained

their faith

and noticed

that being seen

in the charity

they had one for another

along with others

in their community.

Look back up here

in verse 6

it says,

and brought unto us

good tidings

of your faith

and charity.

Now that word charity

there isn't how much

they gave.

That word charity

there is love.

That unconditional love

that you do

because it's an obligation.

I want you to understand

there's different types

of love in the scripture.

As a believer

I'll give you

a little information

you have an obligation

to love one another.

We'll get to that

in a minute.

Most people don't

consider that

that you have

an obligation

before God

as a believer

to love one another.

It's an obligation

that was there.

You know

they had maintained

their faith

they'd seen

their charity

that they had

one for another

along with others

in the community

around them.

Look here at verse 6

because it says this

and have a great

remembrance

of us

always desiring

to see you

as we also

to see you.

And as we go on here

we find

that it puts

a direct dynamic

in their life.

You know

look down

in verse 12

and it says

and the Lord

make you to increase

and abound in love

one toward another

and toward all men

even as we do

towards you.

In other words

this is incorporating

idea and concept

of love.

You know

why did this happen?

Because they were

persuaded

that what the

scripture said

was true.

They were persuaded

that God is just

in his assessment.

of mankind.

They understood

some things

it transformed

their life

but they needed

to continue

in that

to persist

that persistence

of faith

the consistency

of their faith

was seen

through their love

one for another.

You know

gathering together

in a love

one for another

produces a stable faith.

You know

the one thing

I've seen

over the years

is people

who are not

consistent in church

are unstable

in their faith.

they come and go

but those

who set a consistency

to be where God

instructed

not only for their

benefit

they don't even

realize when they

show up

they benefit

from others.

They benefit

from serving

the Lord together

they benefit

they're encouraged

and they might not

even realize

the encouragement

sits there

because there's

a bond

there's a love

that is brought

together.

Look back in

John chapter 13

John 13 · chapter mention

for a moment

Jesus

here tells

his disciples

and

he's getting

ready to go

to the cross

and he says

this

he says

a new commandment

down in verse 34

he says

a new commandment

I give unto you

that ye love

one another

as I have loved

you

and ye also

love one another

notice something

here

he says

guys

I can just

imagine

Jesus talking

to his disciples

in my mind

sometimes

I'm thinking

about Jesus

he's got them

all sat down

there

and they're

talking

and he says

guys listen

to me

you need

to love

one another

you need

to love

one another

as I have

loved you

now that

puts some

context on

it

because you

know what

Jesus is

saying

I loved

you

even when

you were

unlovable

when you

were sinful

I love

you when

you do

things that

you shouldn't

do

when you

say things

you shouldn't

say

I mean

how many

times did

Peter put

his foot

in his

mouth

I mean

you think

about that

Jesus

loved

Peter

even

when

Peter

told him

Jesus

you don't

know

what

you're

talking

about

he says

love

one

another

as I

have

loved

you

now

look at

the last

part

of this

the next

verse

by

this

shall

all men

know

that

ye

are

my

disciples

if

ye

have

love

one

to

another

now

I want

you to

understand

the importance

of this

that this

is a

command

that plays

out

practically

in our

fellowship

one with

another

you know

oftentimes

a love

that a

church

has

towards

one

another

is

developed

not by

sitting in

the pew

but by

serving

together

you know

part of the

misconception

being in

church

is good

but it's

not the

objective

the objective

is what

happens

when we're

together

under the

preaching

of the

word of

God

as we

serve

God

on Sunday

and throughout

the week

no matter

what capacity

it is

that's what

builds

that love

one for

another

that's what

gives

opportunity

to display

that one

to another

to build

a commonality

together

to be

encouraged

in the

persistent

faith

you know

because there's

always going

to be

things

that cause

disruptions

in our

life

and we

need that

encouragement

practically

it means

you need

to be a

part of

a gathering

of believers

that are

bound

together

in a

common

faith

and

practice

I want

you to

understand

we're

bound

by a

common

faith

a common

belief

but also

a common

practice

how do

we put

that faith

into

action

that

concept

and idea

is important

and Paul's

encouraged

because those

at Thessalonica

didn't just

say I trust

God

they said

I live

trusting

God

I live

for one

another

I encourage

one another

we're still

together

working

for that

you know

notice that

through their

faith

though their

faith was

strong

it was yet

still not

fully

developed

look at

verse 10

for a moment

notice what

Paul says

he says

night and

day

praying

exceedingly

that we

might see

your

face

and might

perfect

that which

is what

in your

faith

you know

that causes

us to

ask a

question

if their

faith has

been persistent

their faith

has had

some

consistency

you might

ask what

are they

lacking

they're

lacking

a continued

maturity

of growing

up in the

things of

Lord

of the

Lord

you know

what

when you

mature

in the

faith

things quit

blowing you

around so

much

let me

put this

practically

when somebody

offends you

you don't

get all

they didn't

do what I

wanted them

to do

they didn't

do what I

expected

you know

a strong

mature

faith

isn't

dependent

upon

somebody

else

but a

strong

mature

faith

impacts

somebody

else

our

faith

is built

and dependent

upon the

choice that

we make

towards God

and what

God has

said

and that

ought to

mature

it needs

to grow

a stable

faith

grows

and matures

you know

look over

to Luke 17

for a moment

because this

is a concept

that even

Jesus

taught his

disciples

you know

in Luke 17

we find here

that the

apostles

asked Jesus

a question

what they

ask

increase

our what

faith

give us

more faith

how do we

get more

faith

how does

our faith

grow

notice what

Jesus said

and the Lord

said if you

had faith

as a grain

of a mustard

seed you

might say

unto the

sycamore

tree be

thou plucked

up by the

root and

be thou

planted

in the

sea and

it should

obey you

now I

want you

to hear

Jesus

here is

using some

illustrations

here for

them

but he

uses something

that's very

small the

grain of a

mustard

seed

the Bible

tells us

it's very

small what

he's referring

to

later on

he describes

this same

mustard

seed as

expanding

and growing

you know

look up

over to

Luke chapter

Luke 13 · chapter mention

13 for a

moment

notice what

it says

here down

in verse

19

because a

mustard seed

grows and

matures into

something that's

beneficial

it says this

it is like a

grain of

mustard seed

that a man

took and

cast it into

his garden

and it

grew and

waxed a

great tree

and the

fowls of

the air

lodged in

the branches

of it

I want

you to

see here

what he's

talking about

here is

your faith

needs to

grow

there needs

to be a

maturity

now I want

you to

understand

he uses

these

illustrations

and even

though these

illustrations

are not

directly

connected

to

faith

especially

in 13

he's talking

about some

other things

but it

gives us

that same

application

it gives us

understanding

of this idea

of a mustard

seed

it helps us

understand that

it's something

that has an

expectation

of growth

an expectation

that becomes

beneficial

an expectation

that doesn't

stay stagnant

you know I'm

not a master

gardener but the

one thing I know

that if a seed

isn't put in the

ground it doesn't

do you any good

a seed in the

in the little

paper container

it comes in

in the shed

will not produce

you anything

because it's not

a trophy to be

put on a shelf

or something to be

stored it's something

to be put in

to action

to be planted

to put forth

that which is

required

so it might

grow

faith is the

same in your

life it needs

to be put

forth

to do that

and we see

that their

faith

had even

though there

was a

persistent

faith I

mean you

look through

all the way

the different

chapters that

we've looked

at Paul

talks about

their faith

and the

greatness of

their faith

you know

chapter 1

opens up

he says

remember

without ceasing

your work

of faith

your labor

of love

your patience

of hope

in our

Lord Jesus

Christ

you know

you look down

at verse 7

he talks about

the example

of their faith

to those around

the world

there we find

in chapter 2

in verse 13

it was something

that was

effectually

working in them

it was something

that was functional

and now we find

in verse 6

here it was

that faith

and charity

he gives

him

accommodations

for it

but his

desire

was to give

what they

were yet

lacking

he wanted

them to

grow

and mature

Paul's

prayer

was that

God

would allow

him

to see

them

again

to speak

personally

building

on what

they lacked

but until

that time

they needed

to continue

to persevere

trusting

that which

they had

heard

and received

from the

word of

God

our faith

needs to

continue

to grow

I want

to let

you know

anybody

that thinks

their faith

has completely

matured

has a problem

because the

reality is this

I don't think

we'll even

begin to grasp

when we get

to glory

I think we're

going to have

a totally

different perception

of a lot

of things

it's going

to be that

light bulb

moment that

we have

sometimes

like oh

that's how

that works

even the

greatest

theologians

are going

to be looking

and going

man I got

that wrong

or I didn't

understand how

that fit

together

or you know

there's passages

in the Bible

that we don't

understand

a lot of

speculation

about them

but one day

it's going

to become

clear

you know

there was a

lot of

things said

in the Old

Testament

with the Old

Testament

prophets

the people

of their

day

didn't

understand

but people

of future

generations

looked back

and said

yes now

I see

exactly

what God

was talking

about

let me

give you

an example

in the

Garden of Eden

when

God came

to Adam

and Eve

and told

them that

her seed

was going

to crush

the head

of the

serpent

I don't

think Adam

and Eve

totally understood

everything pertaining

to that

there's some things

been revealed

to us

and we see

these pictures

and we

understand

but he says

in the meanwhile

while your faith

is maturing

there is something

to apply

in your life

notice here

in verse 12

he says

and the Lord

make you

to what

increase

and abound

in love

one toward

another

and toward

all men

even as we

do towards

you

to increase

and abound

because a

persistent

stable faith

grows also

in love

now

when we say

love

we need to

define things

what love

are we talking

about

are we talking

about what the

world defines

as love

well you don't

love me

you know

that's an

emotional

sensual

attachment

of love

that type

of love

is not

our example

you know

look over

to 1st John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

1st John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

it says this

in verse 7

beloved

let us love

one another

for love

is of God

and everyone

that loveth

is born of God

and knoweth

God

I want you

to understand

that when Paul

talks about them

increasing in love

it's the love

that God

has displayed

the love

that God

has revealed

to us

knowing

a dynamic

when it comes

to love

love impacts

one another

it impacts

our relationship

it impacts

how we encourage

one another

because

you know

it's interesting

look over to

1st Peter

chapter 4

1st Peter

chapter 4

and look

at verse 8

it says

and above all

things have

fervent charity

that is love

among yourselves

for charity

shall cover

the multitude

of sins

you know

what

when believers

as a body

learn to love

one another

it helps us

deal with offenses

that come

the right way

it allows you

to forgive

it allows you

to move

through

circumstances

and situations

it builds

a bond

together

that dynamic

of maturity

it's needed

as we mature

in faith

and knowledge

of God

it also allows

us to love

one another

in light

of our

Savior's

love

for us

I want you

to see

a persistent

faith

grows

and mature

and will

increase

in love

and builds

a firm

foundation

to walk

blamelessly

before God

notice that

the object

here is for

every believer

to be persistent

in faith

so that they

might walk

correctly

before the

one

that redeemed

them

because

we see

here look

down at

verse 13

he ends

this chapter

here with

this thought

notice this

thought

it's important

to the end

he may

establish

your hearts

unblameable

in holiness

before God

even our

father

at the coming

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

with all

his

saints

you know

what it

tells us

we ought to

have a

maturing

walk

and we're

going to

talk about

that when

we get

into chapter

four

of what

a mature

walk

looks like

because

it's one

thing to

say something

it's another

to say

what does

it look

like

how many

learn from

seeing

something

done

you know

there's a

difference

between

reading

something

and seeing

something

it sticks

with us

most if

we read

and we

see

and it

puts

together

that's

part of

education

it's the

information

and then

the

application

we need

to see

that

application

that's

that

maturing

among

one

another

why

because

he's

coming

again

you know

no

truth

establishes

the believer

faster or

better

than this

truth

in the

midst

of our

trials

and testings

these

believers

could be

assured

and encourage

themselves

with the

promise

of his

coming

when

temptations

came their

way

as they

did

daily

all around

them

I mean

temptations

come in

our life

today

you know

you can't

walk down

the street

without temptation

facing you

you can't

turn on

any type

of media

without

temptation

taking you

our

whole

advertising

culture

is about

tempting

you

to do

something

because

you

need

this

you

have

to

have

it

you

can't

live

without

it

but I