Three Traits Of The Christian

1. POWER

• As Christians we have power; this power exists both in the Spiritual and Physical realm and can only be obtained by those who believe in God’s ability to endow it

• One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas. Often, Christians neglect their spiritual maintenance, and though they are "clothed with power" (Luke 24:49) find themselves out of gas.

• Luke 24:49: “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

• Jesus informed the disciples of a ‘supernatural’ power that was coming

• We too, as Christians have this same power; it is the power of the Holy Spirit

• Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

• We see, in this passage, that the power comes after salvation

• We, as Christians must rid ourselves of the defeatist attitude and gain an attitude of overcoming and power

• WE HAVE POWER OVER:

a. DEATH (1 Corinthians 15:55: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”)

• Death for the Christian is the beginning of life, not the end (John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”)

• WE HAVE POWER OVER:

a. SORROW (John 16:20: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”)

• Sorrow is a part of the curse, and God is willing that our sorrow be replaced with his joy

• We can overcome sorrow by placing God in all aspects of our life.

a. Romans 8:6: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

• We see, that in being spiritually minded we find the ‘peace’ of God

• WE HAVE POWER OVER:

a. SIN (1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”)

b. John 5:14: “Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

• God has given us the tools to overcome sin; it is up to us whether or not we take advantage of them

2. LOVE

• This kind of love centers on pleasing God and seeking other’s welfare before one’s own self

• 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

• Our lives and ministry must be based on one thing, that is LOVE

• Christ died for us for no other reason than love

• Love is a fundamental character trait of a Christian

• Galatians 5:13: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

• Freedom is love, and provides the ability to serve God, but Paul said we are to use our freedom to love one another.

• Luke 12:48: “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

• We have an obligation as God has blessed, to reach the our sphere of influence regardless of race, color creed or religious background

• How can we pick and choose whom God would want to be saved or to serve in a church? What is our obligation to God? It is to provide every opportunity to everybody.

• Faith without love is no faith at all, faith without a desire to serve is dead, servant-hood is a must have to the Christian foundation

• John 13:34: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

• “If we discovered that we had five minutes left to say all we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they love them. Why wait until the last five minutes?”