Walking out our Christian Faith

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Walking out our Christian Faith

• Today I will be looking at four important aspects
  of our Christian faith that are crucial to seeing
  our lives making a great impact in this world for
  eternity

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1) The importance of having ongoing intimacy in
our walk with the LORD

• Maintaining intimacy in our walk with the
  LORD is crucial if our lives are to bear much
  fruit and if we are to see all that God has
  planned for our life unfolding.

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Jesus Himself emphasised the importance of
maintaining an intimate walk with the LORD

• Jesus said,
• And you shall love the LORD your God with
  all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
  mind, and with all your strength. This is the
  first commandment. (Mark 1230)

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Jesus also said,

• Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch
  cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in
  the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
  Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who
  abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit for
  without Me you can do nothing. (John 154-5)

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Involving God in all that we do is a great key to
seeing our lives making a great difference in
this world for eternity

• The LORD said to the prophet Jeremiah
• Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show
  you great and mighty things, which you do not
  know. (Jeremiah 333)

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When we involve God in all that we do in life He
promises to direct our paths

• In the book of Proverbs we read,
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And
  lean not on your own understanding In all your
  ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your
  paths. (Proverbs 35-6)

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There are many blessings and benefits that come
from maintaining an intimate walk with the LORD

• i) We can continually have peace in our hearts
  even during the trials of life.
• In the book of Isaiah we read,
• You will keep him in perfect peace, whose
  mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
  Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD,
  is everlasting strength. (Isaiah 263-4)

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ii) We can experience fullness of joy

• King David wrote,
• You will show me the path of life In Your
  presence is fullness of joy At Your right hand
  are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 1611)
• In the book of Nehemiah we read,
• ...Do not sorrow for the joy of the LORD is
  your strength. (Nehemiah 810)

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• In the book of Isaiah we read, I will
  greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be
  joyful in my God For He has clothed me with the
  garments of salvation, He has covered me with the
  robe of righteousness,..., (Isaiah 6110)
• The Apostle Paul wrote,
• Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say
  rejoice! (Philippians 44)

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iii) We can receive wisdom from God to make right
choices in life that are in line with Gods will
for our life. The bible is full of wisdom

• In the book of James we read,
• If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of
  God, who gives to all liberally and without
  reproach, and it will be given to him. (James
  15)
• In the book of Proverbs we read,
• Commit your works to the Lord, and your
  thoughts will be established. (Proverbs 163)

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iv) We will see all that God has planned
for our life coming to pass

• King David wrote,
• Trust in the Lord, and do good Dwell in the
  land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight
  yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you
  the desires of your heart. Commit your way to
  the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring
  it to pass. (Psalm 373-5)

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v) Life will be less complicated and easier to
live as we learn to cast our cares upon the
LORD continually

• Jesus Himself said,
• Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy
  laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke
  upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
  lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
  souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is
  light. (Matthew 1128-30)

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vi) We can be assured that every need that
we have in life shall be met

• Jesus Himself said,
• Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall
  we eat? Or What shall we drink? or What shall
  we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles
  seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you
  need all these things. But seek first the kingdom
  of God and His righteousness, and all these
  things shall be added to you. (Matthew 631-33)
  AND

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vii) We can be assured that with God nothing will
be impossible

• The Angel Gabriel said to Mary the mother of
  Jesus
• For with God nothing will be impossible.
  (Luke 137)
• Jesus Himself said,
• Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and
  you will find knock, and it will be opened to
  you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who
  seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
  opened. (Matthew 77-8)

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So briefly what are some keys to maintaining an
intimate walk with the LORD

• Having a lifestyle of prayer (involving God in
  all that we do in life) Letting Jesus become
  our best friend
• Purposely making time to spend with the LORD in a
  quiet place on a regular basis (Psalm 4611)
• In the book of Isaiah we read,
• He gives power to the weak, And to those
  who have no might He increases strength. Even
  the youths shall faint and be weary, And the
  young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait
  on the Lord Shall renew their strength They
  shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall
  run and not be weary, They shall walk and not
  faint. (Isaiah 4029-31)

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• Mediating on and speaking out the Word of God and
  expecting God to speak to us through His Word (A
  GREAT KEY TO MAINTAINING A STRONG FAITH) The
  Apostle Paul wrote, So then faith comes by
  hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans
  1017)
• Having a lifestyle of worship (John 423-24),
  King David was a worshipper and a man after Gods
  own heart (Acts 1322) and
• Having short accounts with God. Having a
  repentant heart helps to keep our heart soft
  towards God

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Intimacy with the LORD is the key to continually
knowing the will of God for our life It is when
we are in the centre of the Gods will for our
lives that we see His continually favour and
blessing upon all that we do in life

• King David wrote,
• Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He
  shall give you the desires of your heart.
  (Psalm 374)

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Given the unstable times that we are now living
in, more than ever before we need to seek God
daily for His peace, stability, joy and guidance

• King David wrote,
• In God I have put my trust I will not be
  afraid. What can man do to me. (Psalm 5611)
• O GOD, Your are my God Early will I seek
  You My soul thirsts for you My flesh longs for
  You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no
  water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
  To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your
  lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall
  praise You. (Psalm 631-3)

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• Thus I will bless You while I live I will
  lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be
  satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my
  mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I
  remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the
  night watches. Because You have been my help,
  Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will
  rejoice. (Psalm 634-7)
• Maintaining intimacy in our walk with the
  Lord needs to be our primary focus in life. It is
  the key to enjoying the fullness of life that God
  has planned for our life. If we continually
  delight ourselves in the Lord no challenge in
  life will ever overwhelm us

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2) The importance of continually loving others

• As Christians we have the ability to love
  others with the Agape unconditional love of God.
• The Apostle Paul wrote,
• Now hope does not disappoint, because the
  love of God has been poured out in our hearts by
  the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans
  55)

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For some people we are the only bible that they
will ever read It is our unconditional love for
people that will often make the greatest impact
on the lives of others

• THERE IS A SAYING THAT PEOPLE DO NOT CARE HOW
  MUCH WE KNOW BUT THEY DO WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE
  CARE

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Jesus Himself emphasised the importance of loving
others when He said,

• And the second, like it, is this You shall
  love your neighbour as yourself. There is no
  other commandment greater than these. (Mark
  1231)
• And
• A new commandment I give to you, that you
  love one another as I have loved you, that you
  also love one another. By this all will know that
  you are My disciples, if you have love for one
  another. (John 1334-35)

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It is so important that all that we do in life is
undergirded by love

• The Apostle Paul wrote,
• Though I speak with the tongues of men and
  of angels, but have not love, I have become
  sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I
  have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
  mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have
  all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but
  have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow
  all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
  my body to be burned, but have not love, it
  profits me nothing. (1
  Corinthians 131-3)

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In a world which is growing more and more
impersonal, it is our genuine and sincere love
for others that will help to make us shine in
this world for Jesus

• This is why the Apostle Paul wrote,
• Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts,
  but especially
  that you may prophesy.
  (1 Corinthians 141)
• We must simply just choose to love others
  at all times and the Holy Spirit will give us the
  ability to do so In doing this we will truly
  stand out in our Christian witness to others

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3) The importance of flowing in our gifts and
calling and following Gods plan for our life

• The Apostle Paul wrote,
• For we are His workmanship, created in
  Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
  beforehand that we should walk in them.
  (Ephesians 210)
• We are most fulfilled and most anointed
  when we follow Gods plan for our life
• As believers we have been saved for a
  purpose. Every believer has a unique plan and
  purpose for their life

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When we follow Gods plan for our life

• We experience great purpose and meaning in life
• Our lives bear much fruit as God blesses the work
  of our hands
• We help to see others come to Christ and to
  fulfil their God given destiny
• We experience the joy that comes from using our
  gifts and talents for the Kingdom cause
• We see God continually meeting our every need in
  life, and
• We store up treasures in heaven

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Every believer is uniquely gifted. We are most
effective and most fulfilled when we
flow in our own unique gifts and calling

• The Apostle Paul wrote,
• For as we have many members in one body, but
  all the members do not have the same function, so
  we, being many, are one body in Christ, and
  individually members of one another. Having then
  gifts differing according to the grace that is
  given to us, let us use them If prophecy, let us
  prophesy in proportion to our faith or ministry,
  let us use it in our ministering he who teaches,
  in teaching he who exhorts, in exhortation he
  who gives, with liberality he who leads, with
  diligence he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
  (Romans 124-8)

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As we faithfully follow Gods plan for our life
we will see God doing great things through our
life

• The Apostle Paul wrote,
• Now to Him who is able to do
  exceedingly abundantly above
  all that we ask or think,
  according to the
  power that works in us, (Ephesians 320)
• God does not look at our ability, only our
  availability and obedience and willingness to
  take steps of faith He will empower us to great
  things for His glory if we are prepared to live
  for Him

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4) SHARING OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS (Helping to lead
others to Christ)

• The closer we are in our walk with
  the Lord, the more we will have
  Gods heart for the lost
• In the gospel of Matthew we see
  the compassion of Jesus for the lost
• Then Jesus went about all the cities and
  villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
  the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every
  sickness and every disease among the people. But
  when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with
  compassion for them, because they were weary and
  scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
  (Matthew 935-36)

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With the reality of there being a hell to shun
and a heaven to gain sharing our faith with
others should be an important part of our walk
with the Lord

• In the book of Proverbs we read,
• Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
  and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
  If you say, Surely we did not know this, does
  not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who
  keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will
  He not render to each man according to his
  deeds? (Proverbs 2411-12)

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Jesus also emphasised to His disciples the
urgency of preaching the gospel to others

• Jesus Himself said,
• Do you not say, There are still four months
  and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you,
  lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for
  they are already white for harvest! (John 435)
• Before ascending back to Heaven Jesus said to
  His disciples, Go into all the world and preach
  the gospel to every creature. (Mark 1615)

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As believers we all have a mission field, unsaved
loved ones and friends. Helping others come to
Christ should be a big focus in our walk with the
Lord

• I will finish by looking at Proverbs 1130
• The fruit of the righteous is a tree of
  life, And he who wins souls is wise. (Proverbs
  1130)
• How we need to be available to share our faith
  with others as part of our Christian walk

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SO IN CONCLUSION FOUR IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF OUR
CHRISTIAN WALK ARE

• The importance of having ongoing intimacy in our
  walk with the LORD
• The importance of continually loving others
• The importance of flowing in our gifts and
  calling and following Gods plan for our life,
  AND
• SHARING OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS (Helping to lead
  others to Christ)
• It is in the doing of these four things
  that we grow in our faith and
  love for the Lord and that our life makes a great
  difference in this world for eternity