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This sermon – Abounding In The Works Of The Lord – was originally preached 2013.08.11 by Leon Yoder.
Scriptures used: 1 Corinthians 15, Jeremiah 33:3, James 2:14, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 16:10, Philippians 2:19, Luke 21, 2 Corinthians 8, James 1:27, 1 Peter 2, Mathew 7:21, Philippians 4, Colossians 2:7.
We begin in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church.
Here at the end of chapter 15 Paul speaks to his “beloved brethren.” He then encourages them to be steadfast.
What are we to be steadfast and unmovable about?
To be steadfast means to be firmly fixed in place. In James we are told that we are to ask for things in faith, nothing wavering. A double minded man is unstable, he is not steadfast.
Something that is steadfast are not easily “knocked off course,” or “shaken loose.”
Paul wanted the Corinthians to be steadfast – to be unmovable. We are called to be steadfast as well. Unmovable in the Gospel. Keep the message.
The gospel is this, “Christ died for our sins and was buried and then he rose again on the third day.” This is where salvation comes from. A savior offered, buried, and resurrected.
The importance of Jesus rising from the dead should not be missed. He is alive. He is working with His children today.
Every day we need to choose to believe in Jesus, He who died and was buried and rose for us – for you – for me.
We are to be steadfast in our faith in Jesus. Our belief in the Gospel.
What is the work of the Lord that we are to be always abounding in?
After feeding the 5,000 Jesus was speaking to the crowd that was following him. The crowd asked Jesus. “what shall we do that we may work the works of God?” Jesus told them that the work of God was to believe on Him whom God has sent.
Life. Deeds. Service. All can be pleasing to God but it all begins with faith and trust in God. There must be a relationship with Him. A relationship with the one who was sacrificed, buried, and who rose from the dead.
Surrendering in faith and trusting in His lordship is the beginning. But there is a second part to it.
James tells us that Abraham followed his faith with an obedience. His life bore fruit. There were “works” that were a result of his faith in God.
When we are converted we are “reconstructed” to be good and faithful workers. This is an important part of doing the “works we are to be abounding in.” Kingdom service is produced as a result.
We see in scriptures that there are many people who were not living selfishly but were seeking the things of Christ before themselves.
Are many of us in the “wrong work?” Or are the things we are doing part of the work of Lord as well? Certainly if God calls us to change what we are doing, we should. But for many of us God is simply calling for us to change our focus to Him and His kingdom.
We are to do everything that we do as servants of Christ. For the sake of Christ. From the heart. Pure. Honest.
All that we do, if it is done from a heart of faith, is a part of our mission.
How do we abound in this work of the Lord?
Abounding means to have something in great quantity. This would indicate that there should be an abundance of our good works.
Before we can abound in the work of the Lord we must abound in Life with the Lord. This is why Paul asks the Corinthians to be steadfast and unmovable first. Then he asks them to abound in the work of the Lord.
It is possible to be convinced about the importance of mission work and still miss the meaning of “abounding in the work of the Lord.”
We and our works are not acceptable to God unless they are born out of a heart of faith and trust and relationship with God.
Maybe at times we lack zeal. Maybe at times we lack faith in Him. We are to serve where we are and with the opportunities that we have.
Let us abound in the Works of the Lord.