Good Shepherd Community Chapel

 Sermon delivered by  Pastor Jerry Johnson, Sunday, October 29, 2006

 Powerful Hope - Part Three (Revisited)

Text:     Romans 15:1-3

Morning Prayer – In Unison 

Good morning, Heavenly Father!  We reach out to You to honor Your Name today with our time and our attention.  We know these are gifts you have generously poured upon us and we thank you for them.   We trust You will enjoy our time together and we ask You to help us pay close attention to what You would say to our hearts this morning through the songs we sing, the Scriptures we read, and the thoughts we share.  We want You to be King in our midst today.

Dear Father, we reach out to You with all the faith we can muster – for we are all aware of our own imperfections and failures – and we ask You to strengthen our hearts and our minds by Your Holy Spirit within us.  Renew our minds with Your thoughts and Your ways of looking at us and the world we live in.  Help us to remember You are with us always and You care for us and love us all the time.  Teach us to follow You.  Teach us to abide in You.  Teach us how to obey Your command that we share Your Good News with others.

We believe in You, Precious Father, with all the faith we have.  We humble ourselves as best we know how before You.  For in this moment of faith and in this moment of  humility, we know we must look to You to deliver us from doubts; and to deliver us from pride; and to deliver us from fears and worry.  Forgive us of these sins that creep in so silently.  Continue to heal us in the depths of our soul where we really live and grow spiritually.  

Grant to us real, heartfelt harmony in the Holy Spirit as we worship you today.  We love you, Jesus Christ.  Be glorified in our midst, Loving Father.  So be it!  Amen.

1. As a preface to this sermon read the parable of "The Unforgiving Servant."  Matthew 18:21-35.

2. We are to please others and not just ourselves.  Romans 15:1-3

   1. Christ is our example: Heb. 10:7, 9

   2. Love thy neighbor as thyself  Matt. 22:40

   3. Who is my neighbor?  Luke 10:25-37

      1. Every human being is made in the image of God and sustained in life directly by Him and His love and long suffering.

      2. That’s you AND your worst enemy!  John 1:1-4, 29; Col. 1:16, Acts 17:25, 28.

3. Please others to help them be stronger in FAITH!  Romans 15:2

   1. How are we to understand this?  Abide in Christ – John 15:5-8 ---> bear fruit (the purpose of which is the propagatoin of the species -- "PLEASE" others (Ro. 15:2) with the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5).

   2. For when they are attracted to the apple they get the seed also!

4. Then, and only then (you remaining in Him and He remaining in you), ask ANYTHING you want and it will be done – vs. 7. 

   1. We're not talking about pink Cadillacs here: read James 1:5-8; 4:2-3. 

   2. In Prayer, plant seeds of faith: My Word will not return  to me void! Is. 55:11

5. The Blood of Jesus Christ was shed for your sins and the sins of your worst enemy.  If He desires to save you and if He is able to save YOU, then He desires to save them and He is able to save them!  1 John 2:2

6. Matthew 25:40 – what you do to the LEAST of one of Jesus’ little ones, you have done it unto HIM!  (Read Acts 17: 25 and 28 again.)

7. Think about it.  Forgive everybody enough to pray for their salvation from your heart.

   1. Nobody has done anything to you that is as great as the debt you owed GOD!

   2. The price on your head has been paid!  Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant.

   3. He who the Son makes free is free indeed!  John 8:31-36 

      1. Free from sin, free from selfishness.

      2. Free to love. 

      3. Free to forgive. 

      4. Free in your relationships. 

      5. Free to pray for others’ spiritual needs. 

8. Pray and God will give the sinner life!  Read 1 John 5:16-17 and James 5:13-16. 

   1. Think about it! 

   2. Do You Believe it!? 

   3. We are Free!!! 

   4. Let us pray

      1. for our friends

      2. and loved ones

      3. and anyone He brings across our path!