Seven Words to the Church Today (Week 2) - Feb. 13, 2022 - Daniel Koch

LCC Discipleship Minister Daniel Koch continues in week 2 of our sermon series by encouraging all believers not to give up, no matter what happens. The Christian life will come with challenges – this is inevitable – but we can recognize the true source of our adversity and by faith, we can choose to not allow fear to dictate our response in difficult times. “These letters (in Revelation) are still the actual words of Jesus, and they take a lot of the guesswork out of trying to decide what Jesus desires for his church today.” “It’s important that we recognize Jesus for who he fully is – that we don’t just pick the parts that sound nice or seem nice to us, but recognize that he also is incredibly holy, powerful and fully deserving of all of our worship.” “The Christian life is a very active life. Sometimes you hear ‘being a Christian is not about doing, it’s simply about being.’ No – we are called to do as well. Authentic faith is always demonstrated. The doing can’t be the reason that we earn salvation, but it is the response to salvation.” “Jesus honors those who don’t give up.” “I want you to remember that even when it feels like no one else sees, you have a God that does. He honors those that don’t give up.” “Jesus beckons us to not give up on the life that he’s called us to, or on the community that we’ve been called to be a part of.” “It is important for us to know and recognize the freedom that we have now and to not take that for granted.” “For us, we deal with the challenges of living fully for Jesus. Loving people who are hard to love. Giving and being willing to sacrifice when it’s difficult to do so. Being patient in waiting on the Lord, forgiving those who don’t deserve it, loving those who hurt you. The Christian life is - and will always be - a call to come and die.” “Jesus acknowledged that even when it seems like you get no return in this world, he sees you and he values your perseverance. Don’t give up.” “There are a few underlying ideas that can help when things get difficult: · Recognize that adversity and challenges are an inevitable part of this life. (John 15, Matthew 5, John 16) · Don’t misjudge the source of our adversity. Recognize the greater enemy. · Don’t allow fear to dictate your response to adversity. “Facing difficulty is part of what it means to be part of God’s people – and you are not the first to face things.” “We have this promise that we will get to spend eternity with him and in the meantime, we will face challenges while looking ahead to that future hope.” “When we settle for a more superficial reason for our adversity, we are likely to get caught up in a more superficial solution and neglect the real issue at hand. We have to remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood primarily, but against the dark and evil spiritual forces of this world. When we correctly discern the root issue, we then realize that we are no match and cannot overcome without the power of Jesus Christ – and so we cling to him.” “Fear is a great enemy to faith, but Jesus reminds us of what we see in scripture – there are really only two things that we need to fear. One is God himself. The fear of God is beginning of all wisdom. And the second… is nothing. When you have God on your side, there is nothing left to fear.” “The Christian life is one that recognizes that God is in control – no matter what happens to us.”