OceanSide church of Christ
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IN
SPITE OF… (1)
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
Many, many lessons are
preached to those who are less than faithful. It is hoped that something can be said
to prick their hearts and move them to more dedicated
living.
B.
Those who are faithful
tolerate these lessons. They
understand their importance. These
lessons also encourage the faithful to continue in faithful
living.
C.
The faithful within a
congregation are a unique group of people.
1.
They often do things
“in spite of” the obstacles, challenges, and opposition.
2.
“In spite of” means
“in defiance of.”
3.
This morning we have
entitled the lesson: “In Spite
Of…” Let’s focus upon some of the
things the faithful do “in defiance of…”
I.
THE FAITHFUL OBEY GOD INSPITE OF A LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING
A.
Jesus said: If ye love me,
keep my commandments (John 14:15).
B.
Some of God’s commands
are simple to understand (I Peter
1:15).
But as he
which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation.
C.
Some of God’s commands
are not as understandable to the human mind (Acts 22:16).
And now
why tarriest thou? Arise, and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the
Lord.
D.
When the faithful do
not fully understand one of God’s commands, they still
obey.
1.
Noah built an ark of
gopher wood (Gen. 6:14, 22; Heb. 11:7).
2.
Abraham left his home
and began a journey to an unknown destination (Gen. 12:1, 4; Heb.
11:8).
3.
Abraham offered his
only begotten son Isaac even though he was the child of promise (Gen. 22:1-3,
10; Heb. 11:17-19).
4.
5.
Naaman dipped seven
times in the
6.
The blind man washed
the muddy paste from his eyes in the pool of Siloam (John
9:1-7).
II.
THE FAITHFUL INSPIRE IN SPITE OF DISCOURAGEMENT
A.
The word “courage”
literally means “to take heart.”
B.
Thus, when one is
being discouraged, he is being tempted to lose heart.
1.
Discouragement
destroys faith.
2.
Discouragement breeds
fear.
3.
Discouragement leads
to disobedience.
C.
The example of the
report of the twelve spies.
1.
Of the twelve spies
who searched out the
2.
Their report
discouraged the hearts of the Israelites (Deut. 1:28).
Whither
shall we go up? Our brethren have
discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the
cities are great and walled up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of
the Anakim there.
3.
In spite of the
discouragement of the ten, three faithful men sought to inspire the Israelites
to go forward into the Promised Land.
a.
Two of them had been spies of the land, Joshua and Caleb (Num.
14:6-9)
And Joshua
the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched
the land, rent their clothes: and
they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land,
which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will
bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and
honey. Only rebel not ye against
the Lord, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and
the Lord is with us: fear them
not.
b.
The other encourager was Moses (Deut. 1:29-31).
D.
Many things will bring
discouragement:
1.
Lack of participation
from some.
2.
Lack of strong
leadership.
3.
Tolerance of
sin.
4.
Those who constantly
criticize.
5.
People who
quit.
6.
The presence of
obstacles in the fulfillment of a goal.
7.
Plans that do not come
to pass.
8.
Rejection by the
world.
E.
The faithful do not
let these things get them down.
They inspire and move forward in defiance of discouragement (Heb.
10:38-39).
Now the
just shall live by faith: but if
any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back
unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the
soul.
III. THE
FAITHFUL CONTINUE TO TEACH IN SPITE OF REJECTION
A.
Christianity is a
taught religion.
1.
John
6:44-45
No man can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me, draw him: and I will raise him up at the last
day. It is written in the prophets,
And they shall be all taught of God.
Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father
cometh unto me.
2.
Matthew
28:19-20
Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world.
B.
The message of the
gospel is sometimes referred to as light (Ps. 119:105). It shines into the darkness of the
world. Men, however, love the
darkness more than the light. Thus,
they refuse to come to the light (John 3:19-20).
And this
is condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be
reproved.
C.
When the faithful
preach, they will be rejected by those who love the darkness. This, however, does not deter them. They continue to preach the good news of
Jesus Christ (Acts 14:44-47).
And the
next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of
God. But when the Jews saw the
multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which
were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and
said, It was neces-sary that the word of God should first have been spoken to
you: but seeing ye put it from you,
and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us,
saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be
for salvation unto the ends of the world.
D.
The faithful know
there is always one more: one more
soul to teach, one more door to knock, one more city to visit, one more child
that has been born into the world.
CONCLUSION
A.
On the Day of
Judgment, the Lord will pronounce a blessing upon the faithful (Matt.
25:21).
His lord
said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord.
B.
One of the reasons
they will be blessed is because they persevere in spite of the
opposition.
1.
They obey God in spite
of a lack of understanding.
2.
They inspire others
and move forward in spite of discouragement.
3.
They continue to teach
others in spite of being rejected over and over again.
IN SPITE OF…
(1)
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
Many, many lessons are preached to those who are less than faithful. It is hoped that something can be said
to prick their hearts and move them to more dedicated
living.
B.
Those who are faithful tolerate these lessons. They understand their importance. These lessons also encourage the
faithful to continue in faithful living.
C.
The faithful within a congregation are a unique group of
people.
1.
They often do things “in spite of” the obstacles, challenges, and
opposition.
2.
“In spite of” means “in defiance of.”
3.
This morning we have entitled the lesson: “In Spite Of…” Let’s focus upon some of the things the
faithful do “in defiance of…”
I.
THE FAITHFUL OBEY GOD INSPITE OF A LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING
A.
Jesus said: If ye love me, keep my commandments (John
14:15).
B.
Some of God’s commands are simple
to understand (I Peter 1:15).
C.
Some of God’s commands are not as understandable to the human mind (Acts
22:16).
D.
When the faithful do not fully understand one of God’s commands, they
still obey.
1.
Noah built an ark of gopher wood (Gen. 6:14, 22; Heb.
11:7).
2.
Abraham left his home and began a journey to an unknown destination (Gen.
12:1, 4; Heb. 11:8).
3.
Abraham offered his only begotten son Isaac even though he was the child
of promise (Gen. 22:1-3, 10; Heb. 11:17-19).
4.
5.
Naaman dipped seven times in the
6.
The blind man washed the muddy paste from his eyes in the pool of Siloam
(John 9:1-7).
II.
THE FAITHFUL INSPIRE IN SPITE OF DISCOURAGEMENT
A.
The word “courage” literally means “to take heart.”
B.
Thus, when one is being discouraged, he is being tempted to lose
heart.
1.
Discouragement
destroys faith.
2.
Discouragement breeds
fear.
3.
Discouragement leads
to disobedience.
C.
The example of the report of the twelve spies.
1.
Of the twelve spies who searched out the
2.
Their report discouraged the hearts of the Israelites (Deut.
1:28).
3.
In spite of the discouragement of the ten, three faithful men sought to
inspire the Israelites to go forward into the Promised
Land.
a.
Two of them had been spies of the land, Joshua and Caleb (Num.
14:6-9)
b.
The other encourager was Moses (Deut. 1:29-31).
D.
Many things will bring discouragement: 1) Lack of participation by some, 2)
Lack of strong leadership, 3) Tolerance of sin, 4) Constant criticism, 5) People
who quit, 6) Obstacles before a goal, 7) Plans that do not come to pass, and 8)
Rejection by the world.
E.
The faithful do not let these things get them down. They inspire and move forward in
defiance of discouragement (Heb. 10:38-39).
III.
THE FAITHFUL CONTINUE TO TEACH IN SPITE OF
REJECTION
A.
Christianity is a taught religion (John 6:44-45; Matthew
28:19-20).
B.
The message of the gospel is sometimes referred to as light (Ps.
119:105). It shines into the
darkness of the world. Men,
however, love the darkness more than the light. Thus, they refuse to come to the light
(John 3:19-20).
C.
When the faithful preach, they will be rejected by those who love the
darkness. This, however, does not
deter them. They continue to preach
the good news of Jesus Christ (Acts 14:44-47).
D.
The faithful know there is always one more: one more soul to teach, one more door to
knock, one more city to visit, one more child that has been born into the
world.
CONCLUSION
A.
On the Day of Judgment, the Lord will pronounce a blessing upon the
faithful (Matt. 25:21).
B.
One of the reasons they will be blessed is because they persevere in
spite of the opposition.
1.
They obey God in spite of a lack of understanding.
2.
They inspire others and move forward in spite of
discouragement.
3.
They continue to teach others in spite of being rejected over and over
again.
IN SPITE OF…
(1)
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
Many, many lessons are preached to those who are less than faithful. It is hoped that something can be said
to prick their hearts and move them to more _________________
living.
B.
Those who are faithful tolerate these lessons. They understand their importance. These lessons also
________________________ the faithful to continue in faithful
living.
C.
The faithful within a congregation are a ______________ group of
people.
1.
They often do things “in ____________ of” the obstacles, challenges, and
opposition.
2.
“In spite of” means “in ____________________ of.”
3.
This morning we have entitled the lesson: “In Spite Of…” Let’s focus upon some of the things the
faithful do “in defiance of…”
I.
THE FAITHFUL OBEY GOD INSPITE OF A LACK OF
___________________________
A.
Jesus said: If ye love me, keep my commandments (John
14:15).
B.
Some of God’s commands are ______________________ to understand (I Peter
1:15).
C.
Some of God’s commands are not as understandable to the human mind (Acts
22:16).
D.
When the faithful do not fully understand one of God’s commands, they
still ___________.
1.
___________ built an ark of gopher wood (Gen. 6:14, 22; Heb.
11:7).
2.
Abraham left his home and began a journey to an unknown destination (Gen.
12:1, 4; Heb. 11:8).
3.
Abraham ____________ his only begotten son Isaac even though he was the
child of promise (Gen. 22:1-3, 10; Heb. 11:17-19).
4.
5.
Naaman dipped __________________ times in the
6.
The blind man washed the muddy paste from his eyes in the pool of Siloam
(John 9:1-7).
II.
THE FAITHFUL ____________________ IN SPITE OF
DISCOURAGEMENT
A.
The word “courage” literally means “to take
_____________________.”
B.
Thus, when one is being discouraged, he is being tempted to
_______________ heart.
1.
Discouragement destroys ________________.
2.
Discouragement breeds fear.
3.
Discouragement leads to _____________________.
C.
The example of the report of the twelve
_________________.
1.
Of the twelve spies who searched out the
2.
Their report discouraged the hearts of the Israelites (Deut.
1:28).
3.
In spite of the discouragement of the ten, ___________ faithful men
sought to inspire the Israelites to go forward into the Promised
Land.
a.
Two of them had been spies of the land, Joshua and Caleb (Num.
14:6-9)
b.
The other encourager was ________________ (Deut.
1:29-31).
D.
Many things will bring discouragement: 1) Lack of participation by some, 2)
Lack of strong leadership, 3) Tolerance of sin, 4) Constant criticism, 5) People
who quit, 6) Obstacles before a goal, 7) Plans that do not come to pass, and 8)
Rejection by the world.
E.
The faithful do not let these things get them down. They inspire and ___________ ___________ in defiance of
discouragement (Heb. 10:38-39).
III.
THE FAITHFUL CONTINUE TO TEACH IN SPITE OF
_______________________
A.
Christianity is a taught religion (John 6:44-45; Matthew
28:19-20).
B.
The message of the gospel is sometimes referred to as _________ (Ps.
119:105). It shines into the
darkness of the world. Men,
however, __________ the darkness more than the light. Thus, they refuse to come to the light
(John 3:19-20).
C.
When the faithful preach, they will be rejected by those who love the
darkness. This, however, does not
deter them. They continue to preach
the good news of Jesus Christ (Acts 14:44-47).
D.
The faithful know there is always ____________ more: one more soul to teach, one more door to
knock, one more city to visit, one more child that has been born into the
world.
CONCLUSION
A.
On the Day of Judgment, the Lord will pronounce a ____________ upon the
faithful (Matt. 25:21).
B.
One of the reasons they will be blessed is because they ____________ in
spite of the opposition.
1.
They obey God in spite of a lack of understanding.
2.
They inspire others and move forward in spite of
discouragement.
3.
They continue to teach others in spite of being rejected over and over
again.