strong – La Vista Church of Christ https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms Wed, 04 Oct 2023 02:44:16 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-LaVistaBanner-Copy-1-32x32.png strong – La Vista Church of Christ https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms 32 32 157465916 Rules for Prosperity and Success https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/rules-for-prosperity-and-success/ Sun, 10 Jan 2021 20:32:46 +0000 https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/?p=29954

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Joshua 1:1-9

 

I.         Moses had died and Joshua now finds himself the leader of a nation about to conquer a land to claim as their own.

            A.        God appears to Joshua and offers words of encouragement - Joshua 1:7-9

            B.        The advise was excellent for Joshua, but it is also useful for you and I - Romans 15:4

            C.        This is the time of year when many graduate, leave home, and begin their own life

                        1.         In some ways, it too is a daunting task

                        2.         There are so many possibilities, both good and bad

                        3.         There is excitement, but there is an element of dread or even fear

            D.        How can a person succeed? The answer is still the same.

II.        God’s advice

            A.        Be strong

                        1.         It must be important, it is mentioned four times in just this one chapter - Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18

                        2.         As David approach death, he told his son the same thing - I Kings 2:2

                        3.         Christians receive the same advice - I Corinthians 16:13

                                    a.         It is not telling us to go lift weights

                                    b.         It is not telling us to be strong headed or stubborn

                        4.         “Be strong” appears 31 times in the Scriptures

                        5.         You see, a man of moral character is going to face a lot of opposition in this world.

                                    a.         After all Satan is seeking to bring good men down - I Peter 5:8

                                    b.         You will find that when faced with opposition, most people seek appeasement

                                                (1)       They don’t want trouble. They don’t want the boat rocked.

                                                (2)       “Can’t we just somehow get along?”

                                    c.         And so in the name of peace, they will a satisfactory compromise.

                                    d.         The problem is that right and wrong are not considered. If you are in the right, any compromise compromises the integrity of truth

                                    e.         Governments saw this lesson with Hitler.

                                                (1)       The more the European nations tried to reach a compromise, the more Hitler took.

                                                (2)       It took the strong leadership of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt to conquer

                                    f.         Ronald Reagan illustrated this principle when he bluntly took a stand that communism and the Soviet Union were evil.

                                                (1)       Oh, the horrors of it all! People were certain that World War III would begin any moment.

                                                (2)       But strangely, his strong stand directly led to the Soviet Union’s collapse and communism as an economic system became unpopular for decades.

                        6.         It is not just strength in you position, but a firm confidence that you are doing what is right - Ephesians 6:10

                                    a.         We need to be naive about sin, but knowledgeable and confident about what the Lord want from us - I Corinthians 14:20

                                    b.         Have a faith that is acceptable to God and live it without doubting yourself - Romans 14:22-23

                        7.         You do not have to compromise what is right to succeed in life.

                                    a.         People will be appalled.

                                    b.         You’ll be seen as a trouble maker

                                    c.         But in the end, you will still be right

            B.        Be very courageous

                        1.         What better illustration of courage than Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego? - Daniel 3:12-18

                        2.         Or Daniel? - Daniel 6:3-10

                        3.         Christians were told - II Peter 1:5

                                    a.         Just what is virtue?

                                    b.         Greek: arete means manliness in doing what is right

                                    c.         It is taking a stand that is worthy of praise - Philippians 4:8

                                    d.         It is the courage to do what is right.

                        4.         When it comes to moral principles, ethics, and religion, we have a lot of nervous Nellies

                                    a.         The cowardly will not reach heaven - Revelation 21:8

                                    b.         God did not give us the spirit of timidity - II Timothy 1:7-14

            C.        Observe to do according to all the law

                        1.         Taking a firm stand is useless if you are not standing up for what is right

                        2.         The apostles showed this courage - Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-29

                        3.         And it cannot be a partial obedience. We have to do it all. - Matthew 28:19-20

                        4.         Colossians 3:17 - Everything with God’s approval, with God’s authority behind it.

                        5.         Partial obedience is not obedience, Saul found out - I Samuel 15:20-23

                        6.         Partial truth is not truth - Psalm 119:160

            D.        Do not turn from it to the right or to the left

                        1.         Oh, that the world would see this! People build religions to suit themselves and not God - Galatians 1:6-10

                        2.         Romans 16:17-18 - Change is a deception, serving man and not our Lord

                        3.         II John 8-11 - Not staying within the bounds set is call an evil deed!

            E.        Meditate in it day and night

                        1.         How do you get to be a good piano player? You practice, practice, practice and then you practice more. You think about it constantly. It haunts your dreams.

                        2.         How do you succeed in staying with the Truth and thereby serving God? You practice it, practice it, practice it, and then you practice it more. You think about it constantly until you even dream about it - Hebrews 5:13-14

                        3.         Psalm 1:1-3 - The blessed man mediates on God’s law day and night.

                        4.         It pays off - Psalm 119:97-99

                        5.         Think! - Philippians 4:8

            F.        Do not be afraid

                        1.         If we must fear anyone, it ought to be God - Matthew 10:28

                        2.         Fearful people do not work - Matthew 25:24-29

                        3.         Right cannot be stopped - Hebrews 13:5-6

            G.        Do not be dismayed

                        1.         In other words: Don’t give up! Don’t quit!

                        2.         Quitters don’t succeed. They don’t make it to the finish line - Hebrews 3:11-12; 4:1

                        3.         Steadfast, immovable - I Corinthians 15:58

III.       Does this mean that following these rules will give us fame and fortune here on this earth?

            A.        No; but then, who wants temporary fortune? - II Peter 3:10-14

            B.        Paul’s example - II Timothy 4:6-8

            C.        Will you be able to say the same?

]]> 29954 Mighty Men https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/mighty-men/ Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:40:00 +0000 https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/?p=63060

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Genesis 10:8-9

 

I.         What makes a man stand out among his peers?

            A.        What makes him noteworthy?

            B.        What is the source of his strength?

II.        Men mighty in wickedness

            A.        Genesis 6:4-6

                        1.         When the righteous intermarried with the wicked, the results were mighty men, not in stature, but in wickedness.

                        2.         Every thought of men was on evil and it was these men who held some in renown.

                        3.         They were so renown for their evil that God cleansed the earth with a year-long flood.

            B.        In Isaiah’s time there were men renowned for their drinking - Isaiah 5:22

                        1.         These are the men who boast they can drink anyone under the table

                        2.         Regular alcohol was not enough, they mixed in drugs to increase their potency

                        3.         What strength! I can fry my brain and ruin my body longer than you can!

III.       Men mighty in strength and character

            A.        Judges 6:11-12 - Gideon was selected because of his great strength.

                        1.         It is not necessarily physical strength.

                        2.         God saw a strength of character within Gideon.

                        3.         I find this fascinating because the stories of Gideon’s battles would lead you to believe he was full of self-doubts.

            B.        Much like David - I Samuel 16:18

                        1.         It was the mighty David who slew the physically strong Goliath

            C.        One can be physically strong, but cowardly.

            D.        Or, one can be brave of heart in spite of physical weakness.

            E.        Or, one can be graced with both - II Samuel 1:17-27

IV.      The Bible also speaks of men mighty in wealth and influence

            A.        Boaz was a man of great wealth - Ruth 2:1

                        1.         He had other great qualities as well

            B.        Unfortunately, there are many with the power of wealth but lacking in character.

                        1.         Mighty people tend to trust themselves and their wealth.

                        2.         As a result they cannot humble themselves even to enter heaven - I Corinthians 1:26

                        3.         Think about it, how many millionaires, kings, governors, presidents, rulers of high rank according to the world’s standard accept the call of the gospel?

                        4.         Perhaps they are so used to giving orders, they cannot follow the commands of God.

V.        Men mighty in word and in deed

            A.        Stephen gave tribute to Moses - Acts 7:22

                        1.         Here again is a fascinating statement because Moses did not see himself as an eloquent man - Exodus 4:10

                        2.         Moses’ words were powerful because the words were the words of God

                        3.         It is not the presentation, but what is said which makes it notable.

                        4.         The deeds of Moses were the marvels of God – the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the many signs given in the wilderness.

            B.        Jesus too was described as mighty in word and deed - Luke 24:18-20

                        1.         When Jesus taught, he taught with authority - Matthew 7:29

                        2.         When the Jewish leaders sent men to arrest Jesus, they came back empty handed - John 7:45-46

                        3.         The works that accompanied Jesus were like no other. They showed the might and glory of God - Luke 9:42-43a

VI.      Men mighty in conviction and faith

            A.        Abraham showed the strength of his faith - Romans 4:16-20

            B.        The amazing thing is that such strength comes when we truly see our physical weakness - II Corinthians 12:9-10

VII.     Men mighty in Scriptures

            A.        Apollos was described as such a man - Acts 18:24, 27-28

            B.        Apollos knew his Bible and knew it well.

                        1.         It comes only by deep study - Psalm 119:97-104

                        2.         To use it properly requires knowing how to divide it rightly - II Timothy 2:15

            C.        We are not talking about simply memorizing passages.

                        1.         We are talking about knowing the facts, reasoning with the information, so that you can apply it to your life.

                        2.         I Timothy 4:6-16

VIII.    It is not might alone that we should seek. We need to be mighty in righteousness.

            A.        The Lord desires for men to step up to the tasks.

            B.        There are great works to be done, works that cannot be done by solely sitting in a pew.

            C.        Do you desire to serve the Lord with all your might? - Mark 12:29-30

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