Sermon - Keep On, Keeping On! - Crossroads Cowboy Church - June 4, 2017
Going to start by reading a few verses.
Galatians 5:13-14
“13 For you were called to be
free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an
opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For
the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as
yourself.”
Romans 12:10
“10 Love one another deeply as
brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Colossians 3:17
“17 And whatever you do, in word or
in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God
the Father through him.”
As I read these verses recently I was reminded of what I
have seen here at Crossroads Cowboy Church.
Galatians 5:13 told us to ‘serve one another in love.’
Romans 12:10 said ‘Love one another deeply as brothers and
sisters.’
Colossians 3:17 reminds us to ‘do everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus’
Over the last 5 months I have seen these verses lived by the
actions of this church. You serve others, whether they are part of this church,
another church, or don’t even go to church. The event at New Florence is a
perfect example of serving others in the Lord’s name, showing your love for
your brothers and sisters, all in the hope that the lost will be reached.
I want to encourage each one of you to Keep On, Keeping On.
Keep moving forward, loving others with your actions, and doing what you do in
service to our Lord Jesus.
Luke 12:35-38
“35 “Be ready for service and
have your lamps lit. 36 You are to be like people
waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that
when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.37 Blessed
will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes. Truly I tell
you, he will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve
them. 38 If he comes in the middle of the night, or
even near dawn, and finds them alert, blessed are those servants.”
Since we don’t know when Jesus is coming back, we don’t know
how long we have left on this planet, and we don’t know when will be that
persons last chance to hear about the love of Christ we need to Keep On,
Keeping On. We need to keep focused on the things that the Lord wants us to do.
We need to keep Loving God and Loving Others. No matter where we are or what we
are doing we need to be ‘ready for service’.
We do not have ‘fire insurance’ because we said a prayer and
we are not guaranteed a slot in heaven just because we attend church. We are called
to be active servants.
Matthew 7:21
“21 “Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does
the will of my Father in heaven.”
James 1:22
“22 But be doers of the word and
not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
We were created by God with a purpose, and that purpose is
to carry out God’s will for our lives. That means we do our best to follow
Jesus, live according to the commandments found in the Bible, and caring for
others. As followers of Jesus we need to live our faith.
Matthew 25:14-18
“14 “For it is just like a man about
to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his
possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five
talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on
each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the
man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five
more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned
two more. 18 But the man who had received one
talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.”
Each servant was given a task according to their ability or
we could say according to their gifting. Like each one of us are called to
serve according to our abilities, skills, and gifts.
The first servant who was given five talents did what he was
supposed to do, and heard ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ The second
servant who was given two talents went out and did was his master expected and
he too heard ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’
The third servant hid his talent in a hole in the ground and
did not do what he was supposed to do.
Matthew 25:26-30
“26 “His master replied to him, ‘You
evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and
gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then you
should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my
money back with interest when I returned. 28 “‘So take
the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For
to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But
from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from
him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant
into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
If you take your faith, live it openly, share it with
others, and be a doer, you will hear the phrase ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant!’. Which is exactly what each one of us want to hear when we meet our
Lord Jesus. So, we need to Keep On, Keeping On.
It may get frustrating at times as your trying to figure out
what you need to be doing. You may get discouraged as you keep trying and
nothing seems to be working. You may wonder where the energy is going to come,
where you are going to start, or what to do next. No matter how hard it may
seem at times, do not bury your faith. Live It.
When it gets hard we need to remember that we are not to it
all on our own. If we try to, we will fail. We simply do not have the wisdom,
knowledge, resources, and strength to do it all by ourselves.
First, we need to remember where our strength comes from.
Ephesians 6:10
“10 Finally, be strengthened by the
Lord and by his vast strength.”
Psalms 118:14
“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my
salvation.”
Our strength, our endurance, our ability to follow Jesus,
the gifts we are given… all come from God. We cannot do what we are called to
do on our own, we need to depend on God. We need to let the Holy Spirt work in
our lives. He is our Helper, our Comforter, our Guide, our Teacher… the Holy
Spirit equips us to carry out the tasks that God created us for.
If we are to Keep On, Keeping On we need to depend on God
but we also need to remember that it is not a one man show.
1 Corinthians 12:4-12
“4 Now there are different
gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are
different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And
there are different activities, but the same God produces each gift in each person. 7 A
manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common
good: 8 to one is given a message of
wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same
Spirit, 9 to another, faith by the same Spirit, to
another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to
another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to
another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of
tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues. 11 One
and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he
wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many
parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is
Christ.”
Every person who believes that Jesus is Lord, is filled with
the Holy Spirit, and gifted according to their calling. It does not matter what
your background is, it does not matter if you have been following Jesus for
decades or days, it does not matter if you are rich, poor, black, white, male,
female, short, or tall.
You, every single one of you, are uniquely gifted to Love
God and Love Others. The Body of Christ is not complete without you. This group
of believers here at Crossroads Cowboy Church is not complete without you. It
takes everyone one of you to accomplish the tasks God has laid before you.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
“9 Two are better than one because
they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For
if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls
without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie
down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep
warm? 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two
can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”
If we try to accomplish everything on our own, we are bound
to slip and fall. If each of us work together, our unique gifts will allow us
to depend on each other, build off each other, support each other, and as more
and more Christ Followers work together the cord gets stronger and stronger. When
one strand is stretched and strained the others are there to help carry the
load.
You may have heard it said that ‘many hands make light work’.
It is true, the more that help to plow a field, build a shed, run a rodeo, or
just about anything else the easier it is. Now when the Holy Spirit is involved
and everyone is doing what they have been gifted to do, the yoke is easy and
the burden is light.
As a group I want to encourage you to Keep On, Keeping On.
Keep doing what God has uniquely gifted Crossroads Cowboy Church to do. Keep
loving God, keep loving others, keep pushing your boundaries, keep utilizing
your gifts… Keep sharing the gospel and reaching the lost through your love of
horses.
Don’t let anything interfere with carrying out your mission
of Being a Witness and Making Disciples.
As individuals, if you are not involved, I want to encourage
you to get involved. ‘Be ready for service’, you are a part of the Body of
Christ and a part of this body of believers. You have been gifted by the Holy
Spirit to meet a specific need, and you and your gift are needed.
Every one of you is a strand in this ministry. The more
strands that come together, the stronger the cord will become. The stronger the
cord is, the more it can accomplish. If you pull together the work is light.
Remember, Follow Jesus, Love God, work together to Love
Others, and Be a Witness When it is all said and done you will hear the message
‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’
Final message at Crossroads Cowboy Church for a while. Pray as they look for a Pastor and pray for an open pulpit for me closer to home.
God Bless,
Robert
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