Run With Endurance, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.

What's happening to us today is difficult but not even close to not even God is use pain and suffering in our life to think first. That's how he saved our people say because of the pain and suffering, so people could be seen and then to help his people grow spiritually by strengthening them to endure in the terrible circuit. We don't know much about it when and where any new and everything became going out today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhart now again he shows us how God's word meets our that's how you what is the one he said we get proven character. Net brings about hope is that hope doesn't disappoint, because the love of God is been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Notice that connection, enduring change, character, hope. He said that's the way this works is an amazing thing why I say that is this and I want to think about this how you go through these days. Right now may be the most maturing time in your life as a Christian, your opportunity does spiritually mature during this may be the greatest time in your life to mature as a believer you need to think about that instead of we want to whine and complain about when we want solutions right away and always Temple is always the government needs to do something a medical doctors need to do some that's what we need, but maybe what we really need a spiritual.

We may need to grow and this as we endure, it will make us grow.

That's what it says notice and five. He says that endurance is connected to hope is a direct connection between what you endure and how you hope.

Our hope allows us to endure to.

That's the whole point versus like all things work together for the good are designed to give you and me. Hope Paul said in the Philippians I run the secret of contentment is what you mean.

I run to be content in a palace or a person. I've learned to be content with much or nothing. I've learned to be content when I'm healthy or not healthy.

I've learned to be content, and any and every circumstance. Why I have hope.

See I have hope for when you have that in your life.

The maturity level you have. You and I become impervious to the trials and tribulations of life.

Just imagine that your to appoint spiritually in your life and when the trial come up comes up you view it as an opportunity. All great Lord this give me a chance to really mature. That's hard for us to think that way when we want Lord make it go away. Make it go away.

That's with the lie when I just want to go away. That's not enduring the question is do I have the strength to do this seat.

I think for all of us what we keep thinking is that all sounds good but I know me I don't have the strength for this. I don't and I want to tell you of course not. Why is anybody that's not the way this works you see is not a matter how I muster up enough strength to be able to endure this is not the way it works.

Go with me to Ephesians chapter 3 Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14. The apostle Paul says, for this reason I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name from.

He says that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with the power through his Spirit in the inner man. Was he telling you who's going to strengthen you. Scott, he says, yeah, I'm praying you understand this deposit. I would pray you get this. I would pray that you would understand that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory. How many riches are in the glory of God infinite pieces member.

This comes from the infinite glories and power of God to you and me, to be strengthened with power minimus power to great word love this work power we get the word dynamite. That's what we call dynamite dynamite has a lot of power doesn't you see an explosion like the one we saw last week and brewed whole power. That's a grain of sand on all the oceans compared to the power of God. God says that's a power I have for you. I just don't feel very strong. I don't know if I'll hold up pieces.

Now I give you the power think about how the power of God has worked in your life. The power of God is what saved you. Romans 116 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone how are you saved by the power of God, the power of God empowers us to witness Jesus said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses when I get the power to witness other people's I give it to you. I was saved by the power of God eyewitness by the power of God. He said the power of God makes his overflow with joy and peace moments 1513 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit where I get my joy from the Holy Spirit. When I get my hope from Holy Spirit. That's it. That's my power I give you that power the power of God gives us confidence for everything it comes to our life, he said to Timothy for the spirit of God does not make us timid. He gives us power, love and self-discipline.

The power of God provides everything we need a lovely Peter wrote his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Key phrase everything you need everything you need.

Who knows everything you need God who gives you the power for everything you need done. Sadly, what's the only thing that can stop this. You you don't believe it on your say you believe because I read the Scripture to that's not believing member Tony heaven sent. Believing is acting on the fact that you believe God is telling the truth, you have to act upon what God says yes act like he's telling you the truth or that's what gives us the power you see when you read these verses you come to this conclusion. You never can say you know I can't do this. I can't look that's get this straight. Every good thing spiritual in your life.

You can't do any of this. You can't do any of it. You can get saved except for God. You can grow except for God. You can't serve except for God you can't you can't you can't but he can. That's the Christian life, and more importantly it's not only you can. He can but he will.

That's what he sent and I will do this I will give you my power to go through something like this strengthens us. Notice how that he would grant you, according the riches of the glory to be strengthened with the power through his Holy Spirit in the inner man, where we get the power where's the power reside the inner man. That's where it resides. What is the inner man. Well I give you 44 words are used in Scripture the inner man is the interbeing the inner man is the heart the inner manager soul that part of your gotchas. Yeah that's right put the power I put the power in that inner man, that being that's what he does for Samuel 16 seven people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart I want to see the hard Psalm 139, you created my innermost being. Search me a God, and know my heart. That's where the issue is second Corinthians 416, though the outer self is wasting away our inner life are inner self is being renewed and that a great thing about life, though the outer man is decaying in my engine start realizing this, the inner man's being renewed Gus's yeah I got that that's on talking about the inner man. Hebrews 412 tells us how it works. The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, appearances, and division. The soul and the spirit.

The word of God speaks to my heart. You want to not grow as a Christian, just fill your head with the word of God and never let it make that journey to your heart, you'll know a whole lot and all you will be is a smart center. It's gonna be in my soul and my being. First Thessalonians 523. May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless to the coming of the Lord is concerned about the inner man. This melodic you hear a lot now about this whole newfangled thing of how were trying to worship and I hate to say but many Christians are viewing worship as an outward manifestation. When you got to be in the building. You have to be have to have a praise team up there doing this. That's what that's worship is not conscious. I see your hard you could come in here every single week dutifully and never worship God wants it, your heart, that's what this is about. You see, that's what he saying that's where the emphasis is we are not flesh and blood, we are not even since Sigmund Freud psychological beings we are spirit beings that's a makes is the image of God. We are spirit beings, eternal beings from a spiritual perspective to see why do we need our inner man.

Why do we need him so strengthened. Notice verse 17 so that he tells you why. So let me tell you why I'm telling you this so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

I love what the living Bible paraphrase. Says here, I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him.

What a great way to say is Christ at home in your heart is he at home in your heart that's a question all this have to answer you see that such an important thing. I love the way he says that he may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, what becomes the motive of your life. Love. If he's really at home in your life. That's the motive of your life. Everything in my life comes down to just two things Jesus said in both.

If Christ is at home in my life. I love the Lord my God with what all my right all my heart all my strength always all of it. I I love them with everything I have and I love you too. I love my neighbor as myself.

Jesus said the whole law depends on this.

That's why love is the issue is love.

See I have a love for God, who I worship. I have a love for my brothers and sisters in Christ are part of the body of Christ and Evelyn for the lost. Jesus takes it further and before my Jesus, I love my enemies.

See you on the how far you are wrong them the love measurement.

Don't you know what usually like force what you'd say you love God and you love people love you, and then the word tolerance comes in and then the word anger comes in me.

We can love our enemies know you can.

Jesus That he loved you when you were an enemy. You see, that's what he says happens to us in this. That's what the Holy Spirit strengthens us to do the more we get of Christ in our heart.

The more we become like him. The more we can endure because were like him, and he endured the cross, which is more than any human being is ever endured. So what does difficult circumstances require of us endurance. What does it take to endure strength, who gives us the strength God spirit. What happens when we utilize that strength. We become more like Jesus. And what happens when we become more like Jesus we become consumed by love. Notice what he says then he said that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath, the length and the-the depth and to know the love of Christ.

What a great way to describe this how wide is the love of Christ.

I can tell you how wide this wide as he hung on a cross. And guess who comes between all of us. That's how wide that love is how long is the love of Christ is an everlasting love from eternity past return in the future. It never fails. Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. Paul says how high is the love of Christ is above all created things.

It's higher than the highest are. It's a heavenly love it's agape it's higher than anything on earth. How deep is ago one goes deeper than all of our failures.

All of our problems. All of our pains. It's deeper than our sin.

It's deeper than our circumstances right now.

That's the depth of the love of Christ that love fills us with his fullness. He send that you may know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. That's God's goal for you one day when you are absent in the body and present with the Lord out of your realization. But every day until that moment God is trying to continue to have you spiritually mature and become more conformed to the image of Christ. Every day, and of all the things God uses to do that. The thing he does that.

Does it more than anything else of the trials and tribulations of living as a sinner in a fallen world employee when you endure. He said that's when you grow she that's when you grow. That's when I drove I love. He said it surpasses knowledge how goods are going to be for you and I I can tell you I don't have that knowledge, no windows. That's why when I hear people talk about what heaven is going to be like almost always it's pitiful somewhat more pitiful than others on heavens going to be crawfish boil last all really that's what you think. Paul says I can even does I can.

I can describe them. Then words forward. There's nothing I can do to describe it. So what does Paul do I love this. He does what we should do.

Verse 20 and 21 he falls into a doxology. He says now to him who is able to do more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Break send a doxology. Any idea you see it's a matter of perspective to have any idea how good the circumstances could be for you. Any idea I don't think we can look at it that way very often we run a race. He said you gotta run with endurance were following people living on a cursed planet terrible stuff is happening turtle stuff will happen in the future. Terrible stop is happened in the past terrible stuff always happened. It's a cursed planet for sinful people what's happening to us today is difficult but not even close to what other people going through in the history of man. Not even close to that type of suffering. But God is use pain-and-suffering in our life to do two things. First, that's how he saves people how are people saved because of the pain-and-suffering of Jesus Christ, and he endured so people could be saved like you and me and then to help his people grow spiritually by strengthening them to endure in the terrible circumstances we don't know much about endurance when one endure anything we want everything to be payments. I may not all be guilty. I've ask a dentist or two just going to hurt really because I don't want to endure anything. We have young couples that don't want to endure problems in marriage. I want to endure a mile. I don't want one door just don't miss it. How important this is the glorious result is that we can become conformed to the image of Christ to be filled with the love of God I am for you. Don't waste these difficult circumstances.

Don't waste them.

These been sent to us by God. This is for our good get from God what he intends for you to have through this pandemic were because this could be spiritually the most important time of your life spring father were conditioned and never see difficulty this way were always always father take the perspective that the key is just relieve us of the circumstances, so everything will be good but father that's not the way of this earth, trials, tribulations, pain-and-suffering the part of being a fallen person living on this cursed planet. Thank you father that you use all this for our benefit.

You use this to help us become conformed to the image of our Savior to become full of the love of God to become full of joy and peace and hope because we have grown so much like our Lord. Father, you use the circumstances, to whatever degree you degree for as long as you decide, but I pray for us. We don't waste leasing. This is great opportunity for each and every to grow in his new and pastor Bill Gebhardt.

The radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time. Remember the good of a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online that website you will find on today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as well at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible.

We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word.

4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at fellowship monitored visit our website FVC Nola.org that SBC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sensors are looking for, or you can search by title.

Once you find the method you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listening room.

And remember, you can do all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is FVC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt and Jason Gebhardt you for listening to fellowship in order