Gtcotr/ss021620
Let’s all just decide that we are going to believe.
· Believe in God and in His Son Jesus.
· Believe He is good and loving and kind.
· Believe God’s Word is true and just and right.
· Believe that God is bigger than my current problem.
· Believe that nothing is impossible with God.
· Believe that if we ask Him, He will hear and answer.
· Believe we can and should make a difference in life for Him.
· Believe that when we don’t understand what happened or why it happened, we can still trust in His love and goodness.
I believe! I’ve made up my mind … I believe … How about you?
Jesus was 30 years old when He preached His first sermon in the synagogue in which He grew up in Nazareth. One of my favorite sites to visit is the Synagogue Church in the old city market in Nazareth. This traditional historic site claims to be built on the foundation of the synagogue which existed during the time of Jesus. Somewhere between 200 to 400 people lived in Nazareth during those days. For the most part they were all construction workers known for their hard lives, hard work, and hard heads. Everyone knew everyone in the village and outside the village it was said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
After being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptists that year, Jesus returned to Nazareth and when He went to the synagogue that next Sabbath, He was asked by the elders to be the one who would read from the Bible that day. After reading, Jesus began to make some commentary which infuriated the listeners and they subsequently seized Him. They drug Him out to the edge of the city and were going to throw Jesus off of a cliff to His death but instead, Jesus turned and passed through the angry crowd and walked about 20 miles down the valley to the city of Capernaum along the northern shore of the Galilee Sea. He picked that city to be His new home and that next Sabbath, Jesus was found once again in the synagogue as was His custom. (Luke 4:16)
After a couple of weeks, teaching in the synagogue and along the shore, people were astonished at His doctrine for He taught as one having authority. Many who were sick were healed and those with unclean spirits were delivered. Jesus’ fame spread quickly throughout the region. It was evident there was something very different, very powerful, and very promising about Jesus. Many of the Jews were looking for the Messiah and there was no small stir among the people thinking that Jesus might just be the One.
This is where we pick up with Luke’s account, in:
Luke 6 KJV
12 ¶ And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
As I said, everyone knew there was something special about Jesus. Verse 19 says, “For there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all.” Of course! That’s what it was … He was full of virtue! After all … He was the Messiah, Jesus the Christ! This morning we are going to take a brief look at:
The Seven Virtues of Christ
1. Salvation
Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (NKJV)
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (NKJV)
2. Restoration
Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. (NKJV)
Not only to save a soul from hell but to restore a soul from the hell they have experienced in this life … that is a virtue of Christ!
Galatians 6:1 ¶ Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. (NKJV)
3. Revelation
1 Corinthians 2 (NKJV)
9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. (NKJV)
Ephesians 1:17 That … the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him … (NKJV)
We can know about God, but we cannot know God without the revelation which only comes through Christ.
4. Healing
1 Peter 2:24 Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (NKJV)
James 5 (NKJV)
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
5. Provision
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)
Provision, like salvation, restoration, healing and revelation, is a virtue of Christ and found only in Christ.
· The fields will not yield their harvest without Christ …
· Cattle will not give their milk but for Christ …
· Trees won’t furnish their fruit if not for Christ …
· Provision comes from the Lord! It’s a gift from God …
6. Empowerment
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (KJV)
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (NKJV)
7. Regeneration
Matthew 19:28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (NKJV)
Salvation; Restoration; Revelation; Healing; Provision; Empowerment; and Regeneration … these are the virtues; these are the powers of Jesus the Christ. Only Jesus has:
· The Power to Save
· The Power to Restore
· The Power to Heal
· The Power to Provide
· The Power to Fill Us with the Power of the Holy Spirit
· The Power of Immortality
John 17:2 You have given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
How can I benefit from the virtues of Christ? How in the world does a person qualify to receive the power of Christ in their life? What can we do so that the virtues of Jesus Christ might prove their reality in our lives?
Only by faith can we receive this grace. The provisions God made for mankind through Jesus cannot be purchased by good deeds, grand gestures or great mountains of gold. The grace of God is free to all who call upon the name of the Lord.
Today you can be saved and receive eternal life.
If you are saved, you can be restored; healed; blessed; and filled with the power of God providing you are willing to believe and receive.
Faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus will begin your journey and faithfulness to Him and His plan for your life will guide you along the path or righteousness. You can receive every good gift of God found in the virtues of Christ as you call upon His name every step of the way.
Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Let’s just believe!
Believe in Him and call upon His name! He will save; restore; heal; provide; empower; and regenerate us.
