- Get Infected
- Incubation
- Outbreak!
Read at beginning of service:
Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
INTRODUCTION
Last week I introduced a series of messages I am speaking on called Contagious Faith. Now some of you may remember me making the statement I made about contagious faith ? Every person can realize the potential to have a heavenly impact on this world when they are filled with a faith birthed in a hunger for God, and empowered by His response.
Certainly, when you read through the book of Acts and the letters of Paul and other writers in the New Testament you discover the accounts of many people who made a heavenly impact in their world ? in our world ? because of their faith.
Possibly relate about Peter and John in the Temple on their way to prayer when the healed a lame man and then were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (Acts 3-4) and what the Priests observe about Peter and John when they replied to the accusations made against them,
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Acts 4:13 (NIV)
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
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Acts 8:6 (NIV)
6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
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Acts 8:13 (NIV)
13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
It is a catching kind of faith, which is what gives it the label contagious! People saw something in these early believers that astonished them and puzzled them and yet also attracted them. What they saw was the power of and presence of the Holy Spirit at work in the believer?s lives ? God?s response to their hunger for Him.
points from last message:
Contagious faith is caught from hanging around a carrier.
Contagious faith is caught when the Kleenex is kept in the box.
Contagious faith is caught in the midst of personal weakness.
So contagious faith is caught ? it comes by being infected. Today we?re going to talk about another important aspect of contagious faith but before we begin I?d like to read from Paul?s letters to the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 (NIV)
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. 11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote these letters to a church that was experiencing much persecution for their faith. At one point he talks about how he was concerned about them that they may be doubting and falling away from their faith because of the persecution but then how he rejoices to hear the news that their faith has increased and is growing. And this is another aspect of contagious faith ? this kind of faith increases and grows.
There is a law in physics called the second law of thermodynamics (entropy). It says that everything in the physical universe left to itself moves toward disorganization. Anybody who is into gardening will see this principle at work. When I was growing up, one of my least favorite chores was weeding my parent?s vegetable garden. I just couldn?t understand why I had to up and down those aisles digging up those weeds. I mean, if they?re growing there, maybe they should be there! But of course, my parents understood, that if the garden was left to itself ? it would be less fruitful as the weeds choked out the healthy plants. The natural state is a state of deterioration, if left to itself and not given attention. You see it in the rust on your car. We discover it relationships. And sadly many of us of felt it in our faith.
Contagious Faith, if left to itself will entropy and begin to deteriorate. Some of you may have experienced the symptoms of this principle at work in your lives: the Bible becomes dry, boring; your prayer life (when you pray) is rote and mechanical and lifeless; when Sunday rolls around you agonize over the fact you have to go to church; when the conversation turns toward spiritual things at work or at school you?re almost embarrassed that you are a Christian. Sound familiar? What happened? What happened to the faith you had when first were saved? How many of you remember the vibrancy of your Christian life when you were born again? How many of you miss it?
You see, Contagious faith is caught, yes, but unless attention is given this same faith will wane and dry up and deteriorate to the place where we even begin to question the point of it all. Contagious faith should be increasing, it should be growing! Clearly this is something that Paul observed of the Thessalonian church as he wrote,
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2 Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV)
3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
It seems that this something important to Paul ? so much so that he gave thanks to God for the increase in the Thessalonians faith!
Now in keeping with the analogy I?ve been making between contagious faith and a contagious sickness or disease, there?s an observation I?d like to make.
Share illustration of growing bacteria in a petri-dish in biology class in high school.
definition of incubation ? the time between infection and the outbreak of disease (Webster?s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, Cdn Edition) or Maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for its development.
- during this period development takes place because: 1. Right temperature (environment) 2. Right Food
“Contagious faith must always be incubating if it is to remain contagious!!”
What is the environment in which contagious faith incubates?
Contagious faith incubates (is developed and maintained) in a life-giving, vibrant, sustained relationship with God!
Now some of you may immediately be saying, “Well, duh! That?s a given!”. Yet how many of you can lay a hold of this claim? How many of you in your heart wish for it but don?t see it present in your life?
The importance of this truth cannot be understated. People are infected by others with contagious faith because those people have and are incubating in the presence of God. Contagious Faith and the presence of God go hand in hand. As I?ve said before, contagious faith is contagious because of the presence of God in a person?s life. And the only way to know the presence of God in your life is to have a relationship with Him!
When Paul writes about God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in his letters it isn?t as the result of an afterthought or because he should (after all if I?m a Christian I should talk about Him right?) no, Paul wrote so much about Jesus Christ and God and the Holy Spirit because God meant so much to him! Paul?s life was an outflow of his relationship with God! And it is in this incubator that Paul?s faith grew and remained contagious!
Now there are some things I want to point out about Paul and the Thessalonian church?s relationship with God in the next few moments.
Our relationship with God is fostered by the knowledge and reception (belief) in God?s grace.
The meaning of grace is unmerited favor and that?s exactly what it means! It is favor given that is not deserved.
Paul began both his letters to the Thessalonians and nearly all of his other epistles with the phrase, “Grace and peace to you” and then ended with a similar statement, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” This isn?t just some catchphrase in Paul?s writings ? he wrote it because God?s grace is at the core of every single one of Paul?s writings and messages. The message that even though we didn?t deserve it God sent His only son Jesus Christ to die as a penalty for our sins (which separate us from God) so that He could extend His mercy to us and forgive all of our sins and have a restored relationship with Him!
Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That is the grace of God! And indeed this is the message Paul preached to the Thessalonians,
Acts 17:2-3 (NIV)
2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said.
So the people in Thessalonica received knowledge about God?s grace but that wasn?t enough. It is important to note that our relationship with God is not just fostered by knowing His grace. His grace must be received! Paul commented on the reception that was given to God?s grace by some of the Thessalonica people in his letters to them:
1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NIV)
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
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1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NIV)
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
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2 Thess. 2:13-15 (NIV)
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
And yet we know that there were those who heard the message given by Paul in Thessalonica and did not receive it. Paul tells us it was because they were jealous of the fact that the Gentile (non-jewish) people were recipients of Gods? grace. They had trouble getting their minds around the fact that God?s favor could be bestowed upon the undeserving. This is the same kind of thinking that trips us up in our relationship with God. God?s grace is a gift!
It?s like, well, let?s say _______________ came to visit Kerryanne and I around Christmas time and they knocked on the door and when we go to answer it they present a gift. Then they say, oh and here?s the bill ? it cost $55.95 I?ll take cash or a check but no credit cards! It wouldn?t be a gift would it! That?s why God?s grace is a gift! When you?re around the Christmas tree at Christmas or sitting at the table on your birthday, do you look at the gifts and say, “Sorry folks, you can keep the present you got for me!” No! You open the gifts and receive them and hopefully showing your gratitude! Or would you open your gifts and then go to a catalogue and start pricing your gifts and writing out checks to each one of your friends and family for the value of what you received? NO! Then why do so many people view the grace of God this way! God?s grace is unmerited favor ? it is a gift that can never, never be bought or earned. It is received by confessing before God that you are a sinner and recognizing that it is your sins that separate you from a relationship with Him (one that He so desperately wants with you). And then believing that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross ? that in fact our sins were “laid on Him” as He hung on the cross. Then believe that Jesus rose to life signifying His victory over death and sin and finally believing that God?s favor is upon you!
Our relationship with God is enriched by love.
One of the most important characteristics of healthy relationships is the presence of love. Without love a relationship quickly deteriorates into an acquaintance. Do you understand what I?m saying? The environment which maintains and increases contagious faith is found in the presence of our loving relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is our love for Him that prompts us to worship God, to spend time with Him, to seek out His presence, to labor for Him. Doesn?t Paul write to the Thessalonians?
1 Thess. 1:3 (NIV)
3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul refers to the love God has for the believers many times in His letter to the Thessalonians:
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1 Thess. 1:4 (NIV)
4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
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2 Thess. 2:13 (NIV)
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
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2 Thess. 2:16 (NIV)
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
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2 Thess. 3:5 (NIV)
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
There is the reassurance here and all through the scriptures that God?s love is extended in our relationship with Him but of equal importance is our love for Him. God can love us all He wants but if we don?t love Him or allow our love to wane and diminish then so too will our faith!
We often sing the song, “I love to be in His presence” ? do you really mean it? Paul meant it, the Thessalonian church meant it! How do I know ? well let?s look once again at these letters:
1 Thess. 2:4-6 (NIV)
4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed–God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
Paul writes here about their desire not to please men but to please God! Clearly, it was their love for God that produced this desire!
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1 Thess. 1:9-10 (NIV)
9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
The Thessalonian believers love for God led them to forsake the idols of their past and serve the love of their life Jesus Christ!
Do you love God! Now I?m not talking about the things God does ? I?m not talking about loving the blessings of His hands ? I?m asking you ? Do you love Him!
Now, many of you might be able to answer the question I just asked by saying ? “Yeah, I loved God. But I?m not so sure now. I mean, I don?t know what happened but it doesn?t seem to have the same intensity it once had. But I want to love Him! At least I know I should?” Have you ever felt that way? Do you feel that way now? If so, then you?re probably wondering what happened? I?d like to tell you a story penned by Jim Cymbala in his book, “Fresh Power”. He writes?
Picture in your mind a new Christian ? let?s call him Alan ? who has just come to believe in the Lord Jesus. He has finally realized that he will never be good enough on his own to go to heaven. His good works have not been adequate; he has fallen into sin time an again. Only the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can settle the moral debts of his past.
A voice in his heart has said, “Alan, you can?t earn salvation. It?s a gift! Jesus died for you. Reach out your hand and accept his love!” With joy he has received the wonderful gift of eternal life. He knows he doesn?t deserve it, but he gratefully accepts it from the hand of a gracious God.
He lives for a while in the euphoria of forgiveness. But very soon, it seems to him that a similar voice is saying, “Alan, you?ve been reading your Bible right? There are a lot of things you?re not doing for the Lord. You?re supposed to love people the way Christ loves them. Are you doing that? You know you?re not. You need to try harder, pal. What?s wrong with you, anyway?”
Alan starts to fret about his shortcomings. He knows he?s impatient at times. On busy days he forgets to have his devotions. At other times he acts in an un-Christlike way. Oh, God, I?m gonna try harder, he prays. You were so kind to save me, and I?m gonna show you I really love you. I?m going to get up earlier in the morning so I can pray more, I really am. I promise to be more of the man you want me to be.
He keeps his promise for a few days. But by the next Sunday, he is back at the altar confessing his slipups. God, forgive me ? I messed up, but I?m really going to get my act together this week. I know I can do this if I just put my mind to it. I?m really going to try my best. I really promise to be different this time.
Alan?s life settles into a wearisome rhythm of promises, breakdowns, repentance, more promises, more vows, followed by more breakdowns, more confessions?until the devil, who comes as an angel of light but is really the great accuser of Christians, whispers, “You know, Alan, you really are a hypocrite. You?re not doing what you promised at all. Maybe you ought to just quit the whole race. Why go to church anymore? Why waste your time reading the bible? You just don?t love Jesus enough, and your life shows it.
What is desperately needed in Alan?s life is the remembrance of how he started the Christian life in the first place. He didn?t earn salvation. He merely opened his hand and received God?s free gift
Can there be a different road now than the one he began? No! Never!
Everything we will ever do or will ever be must come from God, and it comes the same way we started our spiritual walk. (Fresh Faith pp. 195-196, by Jim Cymbala with Dean Merril)
Galatians 3:3-5 (NIV)
3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing–if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
In other words, having started with a powerful work of God in our life, are we now going to live for him on our own power? Which leads me to the next point,
Our relationship with God is empowered by dependence on the Holy Spirit.
You see, the reason why our love tends to wane and deteriorate for God is not because of anything we don?t do but because of what we do! It is love for God that gives us the desire to live for Him but the problem is that it is impossible to live for God by human effort! We need the power of the Holy Spirit. God, who began the work in us, must continue it himself. Just as there is no salvation without Jesus, there can be no Christian living and witness without the Holy Spirit! Do you hear me?
That is why Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,
1 Thess. 1:5-6 (NIV)
5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
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1 Thess. 2:2 (NIV)
2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
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1 Thess. 5:19a (NIV)
19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire?
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2 Thess. 1:11 (NIV)
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
Our relationship with God is fueled by our dependence on the power and person of the Holy Spirit. You can hear all the messages, and read all the books you want about forgiving someone who has sinned against you but unless God the Holy Spirit shed?s His love in your heart you will never find the ability in yourself to forgive!
Now I say our relationship with God is empowered by dependence on the Holy Spirit because when you are dependent on God for everything he becomes everything to you. Do you understand what I?m saying? When someone means everything to you, you naturally want to get to know that person a bit better! How dependent are you on God? How dependent are you on the Holy Spirit? Your dependency on Him will determine the intimacy of your relationship with Him!
Now, I?ve mentioned how our relationships with God is fostered by a knowledge and reception of His grace, enriched by love, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, but there is something else that Paul emphasizes in his letter to the Thessalonians that we really can?t ignore. This “something else” is a common theme that runs throughout all the New Testament and is something that every believer in the early church held on to.
Our relationship with God endures through hope in the glorious return of Jesus Christ.
You see, Jesus warned His disciples and the early apostles never neglected to mention that those who follow Christ will experience trials, and persecution. It was never a matter of if, but when. There are times that will come and have come in our lives where we?ll ask ourselves ? is it really worth it? I?m sure some of the first believers in the infant Thessalonian church questioned that when their mentor and teacher was driven out of town after only being with them about three weeks. I?m sure they asked that question when they faced ridicule and trumped up charges by those who opposed their fresh belief. Yet they endured, they persevered. Paul writes,
1 Thess. 1:3 (NIV)
3 We continually remember ? your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Paul writes about the Lords? return in 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11, 2 Thess. 2:1-11
1 Thess. 4:18 (NIV)
18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
1 Thess. 5:11 (NIV)
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
2 Thess. 1:4-10 (NIV)
4 Therefore, among God?s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God?s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
It is this hope, that one day we will be caught up with Jesus Christ when He returns and that all accounts will be settled that gives endurance for the tough road we travel now! Our relationship with God endures because of the hope in the certainty of coming face to face with Jesus Christ at His return!
CONCLUSION
Have you caught contagious faith? The next question is it incubating? Is the environment of your life suitable for the development and growth of your faith? It incubates and grows in the presence of God. Get in the incubator!!