Dealing with Difficulty (Part 2) by Dr. Rod Mattoon

About this sermon

1 Timothy1:5-Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: The goal or purpose of Timothy’s instruction, preaching, or teaching is three-fold. These three areas should play an important part of any preacher or Sunday School teacher as well as the person who comes to church and listens to the messages. These are areas where we all should be growing in the Lord when we go to church to worship as well as the time that you spend alone with the Lord each day, reading His Word and praying. The first area we will examine is Growth in COMPASSION or Love. This word “charity” is from the word agape {ag-ah'-pay}. It is a godlike love. * Agape is the power to love those whom we do not like and who may not like us. * Agape love is a determination of the mind, whereby we achieve this unconquerable goodwill even to those who hurt and injure us. Our attitude toward the unlovely is, "Whether you like it or not, I am going to love you." The only way we can have this kind of love is with the power and help of the Holy Spirit who enables us to conquer our disdain for our enemies and gives us compassion for them. Our love is to be genuine, not hypocritical. Hypocrisy and love cannot co-exist. They are directly opposite. Hypocrisy focuses on self and love upon others. If you are uncaring, unloving, or hypocritical, then you need an attitude adjustment. So let me ask, “Are you growing in the area of love for others? How strong is your love for Christ?” A good way to start your day is to tell Jesus, “Good morning Lord. Thank you for this day. I love you.” You can’t hug and kiss Him yet, but you can spend time with Him at His feet, talking to Him in prayer and let Him speak to your heart by reading His Word. He would love that, I’m sure. I like what David said in Psalm 5 as he focused on the Lord and saw Him who is invisible. * Psalm 5:1-3.... Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. 2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. William Featherston adequately wrote about love for Christ during the Civil War in 1864. I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me, And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree; I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. May each day be characterized by growth in our love for Christ and for other people. This 30-minute message was preached on Wednesday night, October 26, 2022, at Lincoln Land Baptist Church.