INTRODUCTION:
Mission Statement:
The Redeeming River Church is a family of believers committed to preaching the cross with conviction, reaching the lost with compassion, and equipping the saints with the Word!
Three results of not understanding the Mission.
1. Plateaued Growth - growth seems to reach a certain level and then drop back down
2. Internal Conflict - constant infighting caused by an ignorance of what should be happening
3. Low Moral - leaders become discouraged when structure or bureaucracy stymies their vision for growth
Definitions
1. Preaching - to make a public proclamation, to commission others
2. The Cross – man’s gateway to God through Jesus Christ
3. With Conviction - driven by strong belief
I. EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT QUALITIES
A. WE WILL HAVE WEAKNESSES
1. If someone in here made a mistake this week, I want you to give me an amen.
2. If someone put their foot in their mouth this week, can I get an amen
3. Do you wish you could do something over that you really did a whopper on this week?
4. Everyone of us makes mistakes
5. Saved people make mistakes
6, Sinners make mistakes
7. God is perfected in our lives through our mistakes
8. God can show His power through our weakness
9. 2 Corintians 12:8-9
8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
B. BULLETIN BLUNDERS
1. “bulletin bloopers” actual mistakes made in actual bulletins:
2. The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
3. Evening massage - 6 PM
4. Thursday night - Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.
5. The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.
6. The choir will meet at the Larsen house for fun and sinning.
7. Ushers will eat latecomers.
C. GOD CAN’T MAKE MISTAKES
1. Numbers 23:19
19God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
2. Can God make a mistake? We can answer with a resounding...NO!
3. Did you choose where you were born?
4. Did you choose who your parents were?
5. Did you choose the values you were taught?
6. Did you choose where you lived?
7 Did you choose where you went to school?
8. There are things in your life you did not choose
9. Why beat yourself up and try to be someone else that God has not purposed you to be?
10. God allowed certain things to happen in your life so that you can be YOU!
11. Stop trying to compare your talents to someone elses
12. BE THE PERSON GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO BE!
13. You have a purpose and God has placed you now, “What are you going to do about it?”
14. James 1:2-4
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
D. GOT IS MAKING A SYMPHONY OUT OF YOUR LIFE
1. Have you ever watched a symphony.
2. Every instrument adds to the picture that is being painted by the whole musice piece
3. You may hear different interpretations of the same piece
4. There is only one original
5. God authored the symphany
6. Jesus paid for the tickets
7. The Holy Spirit is the conductor
5. Many times you may see what God is doing and think you have a better interpretaion
6. How many of you know that with God’s symphany for your life you don’t want any interpretaions
7. You want the real deal!
II. BUT WHEN WE SPEAK WE WANT RESULTS
A. EXCELLENCY OF SPEECH CAN’T DO IT
1. I Corinthians 2:1
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2. Words cannot replace conviction
3. Sometimes someone can get up and sing a song and it sounds so beautiful, and you are entertained.
4. But sometimes someone can get up and wail a song from the depths of their soul and you are not entertained, you are moved.
5. What is the difference?
6. One has conviction
7. One has talent
8. Would you rather have talent or conviction?
B. KNOWLEDGE CAN’T DO IT
1. I Corinthians 2:2
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified
2. Knowledge cannot replace conviction
3. Just because you memorize the whole Bible will not give you the annointing
4. Just because you know how to witness to someone it will not bring results
5. But when you sit down next to someone and tell them what the Lord has done for you...
6. When you love the Lord with all of your heart
7. When you know Him
8. Conviction brings conviction!
C. SELF CONFIDENCE CAN’T DO IT
1. I Corinthians 2:3
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
2. Just because you think that you can get results will not even bring results
3. You have got to know that God gets results and that you are just a vessel
4. It’s what you call God confidence
5. How many of you know that there are a lot of proud people who have self conficence?
6. But how many of you know that pride comes before a fall?
7. Today the church has placed self confident people in positions who have no conviction
8. I’d take someone who had God confidence over self confidence any day
D. POPULARITY CAN’T DO IT
1. I Corinthians 2:4a
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom...
2. We have a lot of politicians in the pulpit
3. They have made it to the top because they made the right phone calls
4. They have shook the right hands
5. But popularity will not bring the power of God
6. Matter of fact if you get too worried about being popular with man, God might take you out of the year book!
7. Do you love me? Feed my sheep....
E. CONVICTION MUST ACCOMPANY THE MESSAGE
1. I Corinthians 2:4b-5
...but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
2. God is not pleased when you don’t speak with conviction
3. Man is not moved when you don’t speak with conviction
4. The Devil’s kingdom is not bothered when you don’t preach with conviction
4. Conviction in the truth brings conviction about the truth
III. PREACHING WITH CONVICTION DEMANDS RESULTS
A. SPEAKING WITH CONVICTION BRINGS DEMONSTRATION
1. Mark 16:15-18
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
2. Whenever the gospel is preached there should be demonstration
3. Jesus told the church that miracles would come so that when we speak we could speak with assurance and with CONVICTION!
4. If you don’t speak
5. If you don’t have conviction about the truth
6. The enemies plans will have more hold on the people God loves
7. Demonstration builds expectancy and expectancy or hope is needed for faith
B. SPEAKING WITH CONVICTION BUILDS FAITH
1. Peter had just been in the upper room
2. He had just experienced the demonstration Jesus had promised
3. Acts 2:37-41
37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
4. When you speak with conviction it sets the stage
5. When the atmosphere is one where words of faith and life are spoken
6. When the atmosphere is one where expectancy is filling the air
7. Faith begins to do her perfect work!
C. SPEAKING WITH CONVICTION BINDS THE DEVIL
1. When faith does her perfect work the devil starts losing ground
2. When the devil tries to utter you are going to lose everything
3. Faith says, “ It wasn’t mine in the first place”
4. Whe the devil says you aren’t going to be able to pay those bills
5. Faith says, “This money isn’t mine anyhow...this care..not mine...this house..it’s the Lords”
6. The devil says, you are going to die
7. Faith says, “I died 2,000 years ago with my saviour, and to be absent from this body is to be present with my Lord!”
8. In Genesis God spoke with conviction when He said you will bruise his heel but your head is about to be stepped on!
9. In The NT Jesus came and defeated death and the devil...
10. How many of you know that God speaks with conviction
11. I got news for the devil this morning
12. Revelation 20:7-10
7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
CONCLUSION:
1. It is all about the cross of Jesus Christ
2. The power is in the cross
3. God’s love is in the cross
4. Your healing is in the cross
5. Your deliverance is in the cross
6. Your answers are in the cross
7. I believe beyond the shadow of any doubt that the cross is the connector from God to man
8. Look to the cross
9. Our message is found in...
10. John 3:16-17
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
