Overflow: Risk and Reward
2017-02-19
Pastor Jonathan Falwell
Memory Verse:
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:1
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. 4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. 5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
Living our lives in the overflow means we can…
1. Truly love one another
v1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.
– philadelphia – brotherly love is encouraged here
– What does brotherly love look like?
– relationship (not helicopter relationships)
– genuine care and concern
– provision of needs
2. Have room to help others
v2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
– When we are not “bogged down” by the burdens of life, we are free to help others, care for others, spend time with others
– These two verses focus on the importance of kindness to all and the importance of helping those who are less fortunate
– Service, Missions, Outreach
3. Have the marriages we’ve always dreamed about
v4a Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.
– honor = timios (TEAM-eeh-os = valued, costly, prized)
v4b God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
4. Have the right attitudes about “stuff”
v5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
– encouragement to “not be greedy, selfish” about money
– 1 Corinthians 4:2 calls us to be “stewards” over what God gives us
– 1 Timothy 6:10 says the “love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”
– Money not that important. Why? Because He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us
5. Have the right attitude about God
v6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
– This is reference to Psalm 118
– Our dependence is on Him, not ourselves, not our money, not our status, not our power, not our job
– Therefore, nothing to fear. No one can destroy us.
Application:
1. Get rid of pride
– If it is a struggle, pray for deliverance
(If it’s all about you, it’s all about over)
2. Look for the opportunities to bless others
– Don’t just wait for the random opportunities, go make those opportunities
3. Look at your spouse as a gift from God, not a burden
– And treat and respect them as such
4. Stop caring so much about things
– There are scores of marriages and families that have been destroyed because they are so focused on “having” rather than “being”
5. Start caring about your relationship with Him
– Take it seriously
– A haphazard faith leads to a hazardous future
– Word/prayer/group/service/sharing