Lord's Day morning worship service sermon OUTLINE - 11 February 2018, Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210. Your speaker is Russ McCullough. The ACOC is a congregation of the undenominational church of Christ found exclusively in the New Testament. "We preach Christ and Him crucified." You will find presented "100% Organic Christianity - Nothing added, nothing deleted, nothing artificial." Worship services are held at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Lord's Day. We also meet for Bible study at 9 a.m. on Lord's Day and at 7 p.m. Wednesday evenings. YOU are always welcome!
LISTEN! to this entire sermon on: SOUNDCLOUD:
https://soundcloud.com/archdale-church-of-christ/sermon-am-021118-ephesians-312-boldness-access-and-confidence-acoc-russ-mccullough
Russell H. McCullough / Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210
CONCLUSION:
Through Christ we have faith to be BOLD,
to have ACCESS and to be CONFIDENT.
The
Meaning of the Text in It’s Theological, Historical & Cultural Context:
The
power of God’s Will is not in our power but in the power of Christ whose faith
was perfect and blazed a trail for each of our weak souls.
The
Challenge of the Text for Christians Today:
In our weakness we find the power of Christ and in His power, we find
faith. With God everything is possible
but with man, nothing at all is ever possible.
LISTEN! to this entire sermon on: SOUNDCLOUD:
https://soundcloud.com/archdale-church-of-christ/sermon-am-021118-ephesians-312-boldness-access-and-confidence-acoc-russ-mccullough
“The Faith of Christ Gives Boldness, Access, and
Confidence”
“From Ulster Plantation to the Carolina’s with the Gospel!” *
Russell H. McCullough / Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210
Text: Ephesians 3.7 - 12
Thesis: It’s not the
power of our human faith but the Holy and Righteous faith of Christ in which we
have DARING boldness, A DOOR of access, and DETERMINENT confidence!
Introduction – Today, many American
theologians focus on the faith, or lack thereof, of individuals. It is an ego centric rather than a God
centric approach. Man has the power if
he just has enough faith to say the right words to God who then will be
obligated to do the will of what man desires.
We call this the Word of Faith movement.
Kenneth and Gloria Copeland are two of the more prominent leaders of
this movement. Recently she said this
regarding the flu:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=gloria+copeland+video+of+the+flu&view=detail&mid=D7F03A161609C458FA24D7F03A161609C458FA24&FORM=VIRE
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=gloria+copeland+video+of+the+flu&view=detail&mid=D7F03A161609C458FA24D7F03A161609C458FA24&FORM=VIRE
Quote from Gloria Copeland as
reported by Anna Sheffer on February 6, 2018 @ 10:45 a.m. per her blog; “Hello
Giggles”
Thankfully, none of us has to rely on
our faith, our imagination, or our own “power of positive thinking” for
salvation for no man could ever have such faith…but Jesus Christ DOES have a PERFECT
faith!
For He, as John Gill once said, is
“both the author and object of our faith.”
The key verse in this passage is vs.
12: “in whom we are having the boldness and the access in confidence through
the faith of Him.” – Literal Greek to English translation from the Textus
Receptus
Today, let’s look at the 3 blessings
we have which Paul describes as “through the faith of Him.”:
·
DARING or “boldness” of faith in
Christ
·
DOOR or “access” to God Himself
through Christ
·
DETERMINATION or “confidence” in the
faith of Christ
I
Our Faith in Christ is DARING
a. Boldness
is directly connected to Jesus – Acts 4.13
b. Boldness
is one thing for which we must pray – Acts 4.23 – 31
c. Example
of the Boldness of George Washington at Princeton on January 2 and 3, 1777.
II
Our Faith in Christ gives us ACCESS to God Himself through prayer
a. By
one Spirit unto the Father – Ephesians 2.18
b. I
John 1.9 – 10
c. Psalms
80.3 – 7
1. The
Congregation stands:
III
Our Faith in Christ gives us CONFIDENCE
a. All
confidence comes from God – Psalms 65.5
b. Confidence
is a “refuge, a secure place, a fortress”
c. Proverbs
3.26
d. Proverbs
14.26
CONCLUSION:
Through Christ we have faith to be BOLD,
to have ACCESS and to be CONFIDENT.
The
Meaning of the Text in It’s Theological, Historical & Cultural Context:
The
power of God’s Will is not in our power but in the power of Christ whose faith
was perfect and blazed a trail for each of our weak souls.
The
Challenge of the Text for Christians Today:
In our weakness we find the power of Christ and in His power, we find
faith. With God everything is possible
but with man, nothing at all is ever possible.
“The Gospel
Call” – “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” =
Acts 2.38
·
My fifth great uncle was Hugh Gaston who was
rector at the Ballywillan Presbyterian Church (pictured above left) in County
Antrim, Ulster Plantation (Northern Ireland) and wrote the most dangerous book
of his time; Gaston’s Collections. It
allowed “the ploughman to know more Bible than his clergyman.” Hugh fled to South Carolina where he died
prematurely of the measles. He is buried
just one hour south of Charlotte in Chester County, S.C. in “Burnt Meeting
House Cemetery.” Uncle Hugh continues
to inspire my ministry to this very day.
You can read more about Uncle Hugh here: http://www.ballywillanpci.org/rev-hugh-gaston
Ruins photo courtesy of:
ballywillanpci.org.
