Text: 1 John 3:1-7
“If we want to make a difference in our world—as individuals or as a church—we, too, must be committed to walking the talk.” -Steve May
Introduction:
Illustration: There was a rowdy prison where there were lots of rowdy prisoner. One day there was a revival meeting in the prison cell and one of the rowdy prisoners who gave his life to Christ, but kept the respect of his peers because after his conversion he lived out his new beliefs—he “walked the talk.”
If we want to make a difference in our world—as individuals or as a church—we, too, must be committed to walking the talk. When what we say doesn’t measure up to what we do, people find it difficult to take us seriously. Unless we live holy lives, we cannot make a difference
Ø Get serious about living up to your potential: Our greatest limitation is our unwillingness to try to do more.
Illustration: a FARMER had a mule who was blind. He uses to make a sound of another mule when he was ploughing the field or carrying a load. The farmer fooled his blind mule into thinking it’s not alone because the mule won’t even try to work by itself.
Many people are afraid to believe in themselves. They find them inadequate and not living up to the potential
1 John 3:2 “ Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But when we know that when He appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see as He is”
We must say, “I will not settle for mediocrity—in my spiritual life or any other area of my existence. I am God’s child and I am going to live up to my potential.”
Ø Spend time alone with Jesus
1 John 3:5
When you spend time with Jesus, you literally lose your ability to sin.
Illustration: Jacob, a 6 year old boy migrated to USA with his parents as his parents got a scholarship to go into a prestigious college to pursue further studies. On the first day at school he could not speak English but after three months he took on a new accent when he moved to a new part of the country.
Likewise when we spend time with Jesus you take on a new accent & nature of Jesus.
Psalm 1:2,1…………………..
Ø Look for the chance to do good.
Illustration: John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
1 John 3:7
Matt 5:16
Illustration: May tells of an Amish man that told an inquirer to ask others if he was a Christian, knowing that only by his deeds would he be known.
Good works aren’t going to get us into heaven, but they will help us make a lasting impact on our world, and that is why we were created.
If we really want to make a difference, it can only happen in the day-in, day-out reality of our lives that flows out of who we really are.
Ø Conclusion:
The early church changed the world because so many of its members were committed to round-the-clock radical holiness—they were always looking for the chance to do good.
Illustration: May illustrates the power of integrity in the face of adversity (“walking the talk”) through the story of a man who was so impressed by Christians under persecution that he willingly joined them.
That’s what happens when we walk the talk. The world can’t help but listen, and we truly make a difference.
Words! Words! Words! I am tired of words. Show me! i.e Walk the Talk!
Walk The Talk
I'd rather see a sermonThan hear one any day.I'd rather once you walk with meThan merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupilAnd more willing than the ear.Fine counsel is confusingBut the example's always clear.
I soon can learn to do itIf you let me see it done.
I can see your hands in actionBut your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliverMay be very fine and true.But I'd rather get my lessonBy observing what you do.
For a person must understand youAnd the high advice you give.But there's no misunderstandingHow you act and how your live.
-Edgar Guest
Introduction:
Illustration: There was a rowdy prison where there were lots of rowdy prisoner. One day there was a revival meeting in the prison cell and one of the rowdy prisoners who gave his life to Christ, but kept the respect of his peers because after his conversion he lived out his new beliefs—he “walked the talk.”
If we want to make a difference in our world—as individuals or as a church—we, too, must be committed to walking the talk. When what we say doesn’t measure up to what we do, people find it difficult to take us seriously. Unless we live holy lives, we cannot make a difference
Ø Get serious about living up to your potential: Our greatest limitation is our unwillingness to try to do more.
Illustration: a FARMER had a mule who was blind. He uses to make a sound of another mule when he was ploughing the field or carrying a load. The farmer fooled his blind mule into thinking it’s not alone because the mule won’t even try to work by itself.
Many people are afraid to believe in themselves. They find them inadequate and not living up to the potential
1 John 3:2 “ Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But when we know that when He appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see as He is”
We must say, “I will not settle for mediocrity—in my spiritual life or any other area of my existence. I am God’s child and I am going to live up to my potential.”
Ø Spend time alone with Jesus
1 John 3:5
When you spend time with Jesus, you literally lose your ability to sin.
Illustration: Jacob, a 6 year old boy migrated to USA with his parents as his parents got a scholarship to go into a prestigious college to pursue further studies. On the first day at school he could not speak English but after three months he took on a new accent when he moved to a new part of the country.
Likewise when we spend time with Jesus you take on a new accent & nature of Jesus.
Psalm 1:2,1…………………..
Ø Look for the chance to do good.
Illustration: John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
1 John 3:7
Matt 5:16
Illustration: May tells of an Amish man that told an inquirer to ask others if he was a Christian, knowing that only by his deeds would he be known.
Good works aren’t going to get us into heaven, but they will help us make a lasting impact on our world, and that is why we were created.
If we really want to make a difference, it can only happen in the day-in, day-out reality of our lives that flows out of who we really are.
Ø Conclusion:
The early church changed the world because so many of its members were committed to round-the-clock radical holiness—they were always looking for the chance to do good.
Illustration: May illustrates the power of integrity in the face of adversity (“walking the talk”) through the story of a man who was so impressed by Christians under persecution that he willingly joined them.
That’s what happens when we walk the talk. The world can’t help but listen, and we truly make a difference.
Words! Words! Words! I am tired of words. Show me! i.e Walk the Talk!
Walk The Talk
I'd rather see a sermonThan hear one any day.I'd rather once you walk with meThan merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupilAnd more willing than the ear.Fine counsel is confusingBut the example's always clear.
I soon can learn to do itIf you let me see it done.
I can see your hands in actionBut your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliverMay be very fine and true.But I'd rather get my lessonBy observing what you do.
For a person must understand youAnd the high advice you give.But there's no misunderstandingHow you act and how your live.
-Edgar Guest
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