Through and Through

1 Thessalonians 5:15-24

Through and Through: Made Entirely Holy

I. Introduction
-Thessalonians could be the oldest book of the NT.
-It was written by the hand of a man who encountered Christ on a road to Damascus.
-Within the NT is the roots of all that we are as Christians
-When we step away from who we are, why do we think the results would be the same as those in the NT?

II. Scripture

III. Background
-This is not just some other doctrine, this is the Word of God.
1. Has it made a difference in your life?
2. Is it a reality in your life?
-Let's get the context.
-1 Thess. 1:1 "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
1. From Paul, Silas, & Timothy
2. To the church (called out... assembly) of Thessalonica.
3. "in God" (not ‘of God')
4. He is speaking to those who don't simply come to church, but those who are the church.
5. Paul is saying: "I want to talk to you who are really in God!"
-1 Thess 1:4 "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,"
1. "chosen you" = not a verb, but a noun.
2. It is not talking about what God did, but what you have become.
3. Paul: "I want to talk to you about your election."
4. Not about ‘the act' but about the ‘state of being.'
-I'm not making a doctrinal statement here.
-I'm trying to point out who Paul is writing to...
1. Not people who simply attend church or perform religious duties, but ppl who have become the possession of God.
2. Ppl in whom God exists.
3. Not to people who have declared that God has elected them w/out basis.
4. Those who become the chosen of God, by His son's sacrifice.
-1 Thess 3:9 "For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God"
1. Different from Corinthians, these are good people!
2. No need for rebuke, b/c they are good Christians!
3. This is a good church, where God is working!
-1 Thess 3:10 "...as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?"
1. What!?
2. "lacking in your faith?"
3. Paul is saying: "You are such a blessing! And I am losing sleep at night praying for what you are lacking in your faith."
4. These people are in God, salvation is sure, farther along than most churches today, but they are lacking something in their faith.
-This church had a reputation b/c of what God had done in their midst.
-1 Thess 1:8-9 "For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God"
1. People w/ a real born-again experience.
2. A testimony of what God had done.
3. People serving the Lord.
4. They were exemplary Christians.

IV. What is Lacking?
-1 Thess 3:11-13 "Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, [12] and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, [13] so that he may establish your hearts faultless [blameless] in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."
1. May God do a work in your heart that cleanses everything that might be between you & Him.
2. May He establish your heart so that you will have an absolute cleansing.
-Ill. Car Wash Options
1. First few are only partial.
2. Number five is a full body wash, waxing, & detailing.
-What are we lacking?
1. Forgiveness of our sins.
2. We've "cleaned up our act."
3. We're living for God.
-1 Thess 4:7-8 "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. [8]There-fore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit [in]to you."
1. Not impurity, but in holiness.
2. You are not disregarding a man (preacher, etc.), but God.
-Ill. What is God doing in Salvation?
1. Ill. Your life = a room.
2. Born again = God coming in and cleaning out the room.
3. He chases the Devil out of the room.
4. Then you take over managing the room & keeping the Devil out.
5. And it is a pushing match w/ the Devil on one side of the door & you on the other.
6. You're just trying to repress sin, to manage/ control it.
7. So as you fight the Devil, you don't get to vacuum or dust or clean up the clutter.
8. What we need is to remove "me" from the room so that the Spirit of God can fill it completely & thus make it completely holy.
-The Church of the Nazarene has gotten away from preaching the holiness that God calls us to.
1. If in the name of church growth & relativity we, as a church, we will fail to prepare ppl for eternity.
2. God's work in ppls lives doesn't change!
3. The problem that has always existed still is the problem today (sin).
4. And the solution is much deeper than forgiveness (the 1st step), it is a cleansing of the heart.
-The day you seek Him w/ your whole heart, He will be found.
-1 Thess 4:3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality."
1. "will of God, that you would be made holy"
2. And abstain from the filth of this world.
3. That regardless of what goes on in this present age w/ it's trends & fads & sinfulness, you would maintain a holy purity.
-Point: I want to speak to those who are in God and are the church.
1. ...about the God you serve, who is holy,
2. ...and about the faith you have embraced, that is not complete.

V. To the Original Scripture
-1 Thessalonians 5:15
1. Jesus said: "Turn the other cheek."
2. How is the world going to change if we act the same way it does?
3. Ill. "Nazarene Nazi"
4. All of our human order, government, civility comes from punishment.
5. Lawsuits, wars, courts, punishments, prisons, fines, etc.
6. Jesus died for something different.
7. He wants a ppl who will live differently.
8. Doing good to everyone; always!
-v. 16
1. Sorrow, depression, misery of our world.
2. Ever told about the reason for your joy?
3. Ever showed your joy?
-v. 17
1. Live in the Spirit.
2. Cannot physically/mentally pray always.
3. This is possible.
-v. 18
-v. 19
1. That happens more in the sanctuary than anywhere else.
2. It could happen anywhere.
-v. 20
1. Do not reject anointed preaching.
-v. 21
1. Test for spiritual falsehood
2. So many false prophets, b/c no one tests the Spirit.
3. Hold fast to the good.
-v. 22
1. Abstain from every form of evil!
2. There is a right & wrong.
3. Stay away from the wrong.

VI. The Main Point
-v. 23 "Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy; and may your spirit, soul, & body be kept [preserved] faultless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes."
1. Preserved sounds like jars of fruit preservatives.
2. There may be Christians like that... or pickled.
-Body - Soma
1. Physical- Carnal- fleshly
2. Jesus in the flesh = incarnate
3. Baby ultrasounds = view of the Soma (physical)
4. Ultrasound look like weather report (partly cloudy)
5. Sometimes we have twins.
6. Identical twins = genetically the same.
7. When they are born they have the same Soma
8. Hard to tell apart, but not for the mother.
9. Why? B/c they are not alike.
10. B/c inside the Soma is the psyche.
-Psyche - Soul
1. Soul; not a good translation
2. Psyche = personality.
3. Psyche is expressed through the Soma/flesh.
4. Talk w/ your hands, way you move, way you dress is all expression of your Psyche through your Soma
5. Soma limits pysche at times
6. Jesus died not to save your Soma, but your Psyche.
7. Soma made holy so that your flesh will glorify God, by being His ambassador.
8. Flesh is a tool, given temporarily for us to use.
9. But he also wants to make holy our psyche.
10. The unmeasurable, unseen essence of who we are.
11. Our thoughts, our imagination, our desires, our priorities, all brought into a singular focus upon Christ.
-Pneuma - Spirit
1. Paul, in the Spirit, goes further.
2. W/in your pyche is the pneuma, where the breath of God is.
3. There is no way for us to articulate/communicate this part of us so we use physical lanugage.
4. "I feel God." "I hear God."
5. Not true, b/c God is way beyond the flesh.
6. That God's Holy Spirit would breathe upon me.
7. That the Spirit given to me when I was born-again would shape my psyche and ultimately my soma.
8. That God's Will would govern all of me, flesh, soul, spirit.
-What would it be called if this were true in my life?
1. That my spirit, soul, & body be made completely holy.
2. It would be called peace that passes all understanding.
-The conflict between soul & spirit, spirit & body, body & soul,... would be over!

VII. Soma in the Way of Pneuma!
-That's why Paul said it this way: "Now may the God of peace himself..."
-"Preacher, that's impossible."
1. Now we're on the same page
2. It is humanely impossible.
-Ill. How do we defend our beliefs?
1. Like 6 day creation- we fight like crazy!
2. The ESV is the best translation of the Bible- b/c you're stupid & unspiritual. (I did that in the Spirit of Jesus.)
3. How do we defend what we believe about God... fight, destroy, punish.
4. Why? B/c we are still living in the Soma/ flesh.
5. But it is totally out of line w/ the pneuma/ Spirit.
D. We do it b/c we really love God
-How can we be so in love with God yet so out of step with His Spirit?
-And why is it when we're trying our best to stand for/with God that we are so guilty!

VIII. Conclusion
-v. 23
-What if we just allowed God to make us holy?
1. Not through your effort.
2. Not through what you do.
-Just surrendering the conflict between Soma/flesh & Pneuma/spirit and allowing Him to make them all holy.
-"Preacher, I cannot do that."
1. That's why v. 24 says: "He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."
2. Zechariah 4:6b "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
-That takes the struggle out of the church.
-Nazarene Nazis... it's the way we do everything... even in the church (force, punish...)
-But God's Word says: He just wants us to open up to His Holy Spirit.
-So that He might adopt not only the title of Savior in your life, but also of Lord. (Spirit, Soul, & Body)
-I talk w/ Christians every week who are in love with Jesus, but have never come into the peace of God.
-The real sign of holiness is something like peace, not something like 'speaking in tongues'.
-This peace, is worth dying for...
-Could you lay all of the things that make you, you on the altar? (Spirit, soul, & body)
-Could you allow God to make you completely holy?

Response

Have You Been With God Lately?

Exodus 34:27-35

Have You Been With God Lately?: Revival & God

I. Introduction
-What brings revival?
-As much as we'd like to believe it, we do not.
1. No formula/ no 10-steps to revival
2. "Drink a Ski!"??
-God's presence brings revival/renewal

II. Scripture

III. Getting With God
-Moses fasted 40 days & nights w/ God on the Mt.
-Fasting in the Bible....
1. Esther & Mordecai
2. Jesus, Paul, Anna (prophetess)
3. Cornelius, John's disciples.
-Fasted for 40 days...
1. Elijah, Jesus, Moses...
2. Daniel (3 weeks)
-Fasted during...
1. ...public/private calamities.
2. ...approaching danger.
3. ...ordaining/commissioning.
4. ...in times of sorrow.
5. ...before major decisions.
-But Fasting isn't the solution.
-But Moses, in v. 28, fasted
1. He fasted and communed w/ God
2. The focus was on God
-We don't believe God can handle revival anymore.
1. That's why churches have gotten away from it.
2. "It doesn't work."
3. Like it's an old beat up car.
-We are more focused on being good singers, entertaining preachers, & enlightening teachers, that we are no longer spirit filled.
1. We spend less & less time in the presence of God.
2. Communing w/ God?
-Bring in the right preacher/ singer/ program, etc. & we'll have revival.

IV. Our Focus
-Our focused is dominated with our reputation in the community.
-We want to accomplish what we want to do and what is best for us.
-We have a worldly preoccupation (not spiritual).
-There is very little difference between what we want & what the world wants.
-Query: Do you remember when we still thought "worldly" was a bad thing?
-How do we get the worldliness out of the church?
1. "Beat the Devil out of ‘em."
2. Do good to cancel out evil?
3. No, only the Savior can cleanse.
-Point: The only solution for worldliness and sinfulness in the church is being with God on the mountain of intimacy!

V. Worldly
-In Ch. 32 Moses is up on the Mt. w/ God and he comes back down to see the ppl dancing around the golden calf.
1. Aaron was dumb-founded!
2. Moses was angry.
-Point: If you spend a little time on the mt. w/ God you'll come back down and view things differently!
-How do I know that intimacy w/ God is a problem in the church today?
1. If it weren't I might see it in your face!
2. Being w/ God is powerful.
3. You cannot be the same.
-Biblical illiteracy is an epidemic in the church.
1. "Preacher, I know about Moses, Esther, & the Passion of Christ."
2. "No, you just saw the movie!"
-Parties, picnics, & potlucks have taken the place of prayer meeting!
-Sports, clubs, pageants, jobs, vacation, etc. have all taken precedent over church attendance.
-Feasting has replaced fasting
-Sin has become irrelevant.
1. Last I checked sin was still the problem!
2. We've turned sin into a mistake...
-Ill. A young girl once confessed to her priest that she thought she was guilty of the sin of pride.
1. "When I look in the mirror, I think I am beautiful."
2. Priest: "That's not a sin, that's a mistake."
-My goal is not to get you to read the Bible more or pray more...
1. That's another sermon.
2. You are missing the point.
-Query: Can the world tell you've been with God?
1. No: Have you been with God?
2. The world will be able to tell.

VI. Running from Intimacy
-I think we're running from intimacy.
1. TV, radio, computer, job, family, chores, ‘to-do' list, etc.
2. "So much to do; so little time."
-We are church shopping rather than God seeking.
-Seeker friendly church?
1. We are to seek the lost.
2. They don't care about God.
3. Problem: we're too friendly w/ sin and to foreign to holiness.
-Seeker friendly church = a church where you will be at home if you are seeking God.
-Ill. Somewhere in Acts after Pentecost the Bible says:
1. "One of the members saith unto Peter after the 3000 were baptized: ‘As surely as the Lord liveth thou hast not fed me today. Thou hast not encouraged me and my feelings are sorely oppressed because I have felt the Spirit of the Living God and He hath called me unto repentance. Therefore I have set my face to findth a church where by I might grow strong in the Lord without having to repent or worketh in the harvest."
2. "I'm not being fed."
3. You don't complain about that at the potlucks!
-Lots of churches are built around big personalities, charismatic leaders, gifted preachers, popular/ prestigious people.
1. It's hard to run a PR campaign for God.
2. Fewer & fewer churches are bringing people to Mt. Calvary to look upon the crucified Lord.

VII. Been with God?
-Being w/ God always makes you more like Him.
-v. 29b Moses didn't realize how different he really was b/c he was still focused on God
-Every service, every time God comes, we should leave reflecting the glory of God.
-Conviction is a good thing to us, b/c we want to be as close to God as we possibly can get!
-Some like to hear preaching on murder and homosexual, but do not talk about unsanctified attitudes and w/ words instigating hurt feelings.
1. Don't be proud about the fact you have hurt someone.
2. Ill. Board meeting fist fights
3. Note: "that's just the way I am" is the same excuse homosexuals use!
-Growing in grace does not make you more cranky & hard to get along with!
1. Closer to God = more loving.
2. Growing in grace is not becoming more prideful.
3. It is more humility.
-No sanctified person keeps track of their ‘holiness factor.'
1. Moses was not aware of the skin on his face shining.
2. He was still focused on God!
-Query: What has God done in your life lately?
1. B/c you're not doing a lot of things bad, doesn't mean you're growing/reflecting His glory.
2. Has anyone made a not of how much like Christ you look?

VIII. Cost of Discipleship
-We need to get back to the place where being a Christian cost you something!
-D. Bonhoeffer "Cost of Discipleship"
1. "Well, what's the draw in that?"
2. Hard to market Christianity as it is!
3. The HOLY SPIRIT is the draw!
-Virginia Owens: "Bible bookstores are now papered with announcements of Christian concerts instead of revival meetings."
1. Why is that?
2. B/c we can put on a concert ourselves, but a revival requires a coming of the Holy Spirit!
-Dr. G. Campbell Morgan: "The church patronized is the church paralyzed , therefore the church in peril. The church persecuted is the church prayerful, and thus powerful."
1. Why is that?
2. B/c they have had to be with God.
-Free, free, free salvation?
-It is free, but it will cost you everything!

IX. Christianity Isn't Easy...
-If we continue to proclaim that, we will continue to produce wimpy Christians! (delusion)
-There is peer pressure to conform to the world:
1. Reporters interviewing a 104 year-old woman:
2. "And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked.
3. "No peer pressure," she said
-Just b/c you're a Christian doesn't mean you won't...
1. ...ever get fired, you will have perfect health,
2. ...or your business will be successful, or you will be rich.
-That's not why you sacrifice and commit to God.
-Point: You commit to Him b/c He is God!
-Ill. From Moses' perspective, the glamor of the world faded.
1. He turned his back on the shallow/easy/worldly but chose desert trial/ wandering with God.
2. He chose reproach of Christ over all the world had to offer. (Heb. 11)
3. It's called sacrificial.

X. Conclusion
-The sin of the church is not...
1. ...that we murdered, lied, committed adultery,
2. ...coveted, stole, worshiped an idol, gossipped, looked at pornography, slandered, cussed, etc.
-Point: The sin of the church today is that we have not been with God!
-2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
1. That's not a formula for revival.
2. Those are all about getting into the presence of God!
-Leonard Ravenhill: "The more men pray the less worldly the become. The less men pray the more worldly they become."
-The sin of the church is that we have never (or rarely ever) been so close to God that it was reflected in our daily lives.
-The preacher preaches Sunday after Sunday... no change.
1. SS. Teacher... no change.
2. Service after service.
3. Bible study after bible study.
-v. 30 others were afraid of Moses b/c of how close he was to God.
1. The world does not know what to do with someone who has been w/ God.
2. Neither does the Devil!
-I fear that most of us have never experienced the kind of spiritual power at work in Moses.
-A real church service has lasting effect on our lives and lives of pppl we come in contact with!
-Point: Getting closer to God isn't preparation for revival... it is revival!

Response:

Faith?

Hebrews 11:1-2,6

Faith?: Faith Defined

I. Scripture

II. Introduction
-Problem of faith = multi-faceted definitions.
-Hard to grasp something so simple as faith.
-Definitions are prevalent.
-Faith can mean a positive attitude.
1. "We have faith it will turn out all right."
2. Emphasis = optimism.
-Faith as a particular religion.
1. Christian faith, Jewish faith,
2. Muslim faith, etc.
- Faith sometimes means a blind leap in the dark.
1. To believe in something w/out reason or evidence.
2. Biblical faith does not abide well with biblical ignorance. (Why?)
-1 Peter 3:15 "but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you."
-Our culture values faith.
1. Atheists have a strong faith.
2. I am amazed at their faith.
-Point: It is not faith that is significant, but the object of faith.
-Everyone has some degree of faith in something.
1. Who cares?
2. What do you have faith in?
-What you believe in/ have faith in is what matters!

III. Two Kinds of Faith
-1st kind of faith is Belief
-v. 6 "...whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists...."
-Ppl in our post-modern culture have decided that belief is unessential.
1. It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe in something.
2. Sincere or sincerely wrong?
-Of course that is only applied in the realm of religion & moral values.
1. But not math.
2. No math teacher wants you to sit down & be broad minded about the rules of math.
3. Math requires precision.
4. What if your CPA was figuring your taxes arbitrarily?
-Physics, geometry, chemistry, etc. require narrow-mindedness.
-Real-life work....
1. Pharmacist, need precision.
2. Surgeon cannot decide where the heart is, it is already set!; etc.
-But our culture has decided we can pick whatever we want to believe b/c it does not matter.
-What you believe matters!
-We should be tolerant (& loving) of people who believe differently, but not tolerant of their beliefs.

IV. Basis for Faith/Belief
-Real faith/belief is bases on reasonable reason.
1. Not a hunch, not an impulse
2. Not a feeling, a fortune cookie, an inclination, etc
-If you believe that the Bible is God's Word, you need to have a reason for your belief.
1. Not just ‘in my heart I know' (that might be assurance of faith)
2. Reasonable reason why.
-If you have no reason, just ‘blind faith' you will land just as easily at Islam's Koran or Book of Mormon.
- I am not saying you have to have proof, just adequate evidence.
-Ill. Professor & student
1. Student: "Evidence of God"
2. Prof: "Don't give me evidence, give me proof!"
3. Most of what we believe is by evidence, not proof.
4. Ill. Sitting in chair w/out proof that it would hold him.
5. Ill. Eating a meal w/out proof that the food his wife fixed was not poisoned.
-Ill. I cannot prove ‘kindness.'
1. I cannot touch it, taste it, see it, heart it, etc.
2. I still believe in it.
3. Why? B/c there is evidence of it!
4. I have found that there are a few ppl who are kind in the world.
-Ill. secularist: "There is no God b/c of how evil the world is."
1. That's like saying:
2. "There are no doctors in the world b/c ppl sick."
-Ill. Atheist Doctor to patient.
1. "Can you hear God [no], can you inhale God [no], can you taste Him [no], can you see God, can you feel Him?"
2. Patient: "Oh yes, I can feel Him."
3. Dr. "Well, I have you 4 to 1, that there is no God."
4. P: "You prescribe medicine for patients in pain. Can you hear pain, can you inhale pain, can you taste pain, can you see pain, can you feel pain."
5. Dr: "Yes, I can feel pain."
6. P: "Well, I have you 4 to 1, there is no such thing as pain."
-Ill. I believe in love.
1. I cannot understand it, explain it or prove it.
2. I can demonstrate it.
3. But that is not proof?
4. Just b/c you cannot prove something does not make it unreal.
5. I can show you evidence of love.
-Ill. "I am in love."
1. "Prove to me that you are in love."
2. There is no math equation, litmus test, or physics formula that will prove it.
3. "You'll just have to take my word for it."
4. You cannot take a drop of blood and find the chemistry.
-Ill. Understand how a plane weighing tons can lift up in the air?
1. But you believe it will!
2. Why? You have evidence that it will, but not proof.
-Point: I believe in God!
1. I cannot understand God, I cannot prove God, I cannot control God, but He does exist.
2. You cannot put the omniscience of God into the human mind any more than you could put all the ocean into a coffee cup.
3. But there is evidence that there is a God!
-Evidence for God:
1. Changed lives!
2. The order of the universe (vs. randomness begets more randomness not order)!
3. As well as scientific, mathematical, physiological, etc.
-Evidence is overwhelming.
1. You would have to forfeit reason & evidence to doubt God's existence.
2. Not talking about proof, but evidence.
3. There is no proof either way (God vs. no God).
-Ill. You see, w/ a coffee cup of the ocean I would have evidence that the ocean exists, but not proof.

V. The Choice
-There is no proof that God exists or that he doesn't, but you must make the step of faith/ your decision.
-Faith must take the next step, by believing.
-The object of your faith is what is important.
-Ill. Spark plug = faith
1. Small part to start the engine
2. Faith ignites your spiritual life!
-Point: We sometimes believe faith holds us to God against reason.
1. Just the opposite is true.
2. Inner ‘feelings' can drive us away from God.
3. Faith coupled with reason helps us through.
4. Difficulty, frustration, grief, sorrow, depression, trial... can lead away from God.
5. Faith thwarts the Devils attacks.
-Ill. Has God ever failed you?
1. But our feelings dictate differently than what reason tells us.
2. Faith is not to keep you with God against the evidence, but to keep you with the evidence against the feelings that would lead you away!

VI. Faith #2: Trust
-Belief alone is inadequate for a definition of faith.
1. It requires Trust.
2. Trust = belief in action.
-Ch. 11 those with faith all did something!
1. By faith Noah built the ark.
2. ...Abraham went into a strange country.
3. ...the ppl of Israel crossed the Red Sea.
-Trust = activated faith!
-Ill. I may believe that a ladder can hold me, but I do not trust that until I get onto the ladder!
-Ill. Trust says let me hold the nail while you hammer.
1. I believe you will not hit my finger.
2. I trust you will not hit my finger.
3. Together they are faith!
4. Belief accepts the evidence.
5. Trust acts on the evidence.
-Hebrews 11:13 "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth."
1. I not only believe in Heaven.
2. I trust in that fact, b/c I live my life like I'm going there
-Many ppl go through life just believing in God, but never trusting in Him.
-Faith (belief + trust) in God leads us to repentance b/c if we really believe in God we trust in Him!
1. That means we believe he is truth & what he says is too.
2. For example: the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.
3. If you are living in sin you do not really have faith in God.
-Trust side of faith becomes more personal.
1. Would you really risk eternity by not forgiving your enemy?
2. ...by gossiping & slandering others?
3. ...by sexual immorality?
4. ...by refusing to support the work of God on earth?

VII. Faith for Eternity & Earth
-Faith not only has to do with our heavenly home...
-It also has to do w/ the way we live our lives!
-Faith trusts in Christ as Savior & Lord.
-We trust in Him to get eternal life.
-But do we trust in Him enough to give to Him?
1. "Don't have enough money to tithe."
2. "Don't have enough time to come to church."
3. "Don't have enough time to participate in ministry."
-Ch. 11 Faith "Hall of Fame"
-Ill. Noah had faith w/ his reputation.
1. Faith to do the ridiculous.
2. Neighbors thought Noah was crazy!
3. Poor reputation in the community.
4. We need to be less concerned about what others think about us and more concerned about what God knows about us!
-Ill. Abraham had faith w/ his future & ambition.
1. Agenda, plans, programs
2. We want to write our own script for life.
3. It's why we validate our plans by claiming they are God's will.
4. A strong faith makes obedience look easy.
-Ill. Moses had faith to be sacrificial.
1. Lifestyle, values, to God.
2. He was a prince in the royal family.
3. Ch. 11 gives four verbs to describe his sacrifice...
4. Refused- princely title
5. Chose- to suffer w/ the ppl of God
6. Considered the approach of Christ greater than the wealth of Egypt
7. Endured- by seeing him who is invisible.
8. Two options: Egypt or God.

VIII. Conclusion
-Faith = belief & trust
-Do you have faith this morning?
-Is what you have the real thing?
-Ill. You hear a lot about "death bed conversion."
1. Something we don't like to talk about is "death bed doubters."
2. Why do ppl live their whole lives, sometimes in the church, but never experience faith in God?
3. Would you be afraid of eternity?
-Maybe it is time that you took the step of faith.
-I am too much of a coward to not have Faith in Him!
1. There is too much at stake.
2. There is too much to lose.
-Maybe you have been trying to live for God w/ no avail.
1. Would you like to settle the question by faith?
2. Would you like to unite belief & trust in your life today?

Response

A Piece of Peace

Isaiah 26:1-9a, 12-13

A Piece of Peace: God's Peace

I. Introduction
-Got peace?
-Ppl like to talk about peace!
-But not everyone has it!

II. Scripture

III. What is Peace?
-Peace is another one of those words that we use, but don't really know what it means.
-Excessive use leads to excessive definitions.
-I'm concerned about a Biblical definition this morning.
-Dictionary definitions:
1. The absence of war
2. An agreement or treaty to end hostilities
3. Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmony
4. Serenity
-We use it...
1. Financial Peace = no struggles financially.
2. Peace of mind = no troubles/ worries or stressors.
3. Peace in the Middle East = cease fire that lasts; no more terrorists.
4. Rest in Peace = RIP
5. Peace at home = no fighting
6. Find my inner peace = self actualization.
-Peace seems to be elusive.
-It seems to be fragile.
1. Rare.
2. Easily lost/ damaged.
-Maybe b/c most definitions of peace have to do w/ ‘ego' rather than God.
1. You expected me to say that didn't you?
2. Think about it.
-Maybe more than you need peace of mind, you need peace in your soul.
1. Maybe more than in your soul, you need peace w/ God!
2. A spiritual peace.

IV. What Brings Peace?
-Everyone is always proposing something to bring peace.
1. Commercials make their claim.
2. "Soothing Peace bubble bath."
3. "Soft relaxing music."
4. These things won't do it.
-Jimi Hendrix: "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
1. Do I have to say: ‘boo'?
2. I hope Hendrix isn't your spiritual advisor!
-Peace is not found in a treaty that is signed.
1. That's meaningless.
2. They can be broken, lost, or forgotten.
3. Peace is deeper than that.
-Money does not bring peace.
1. If just a little more...
2. Peace of mind!?
-Family doesn't bring peace.
1. Kids can take from peace.
2. Romance does not bring peace.
-Government doesn't bring peace!
1. $700 billion dollar bailout!?
2. Corrupt, wicked, immoral, confused, conflicted, etc.
3. Don't rely on the government!
4. Social security? Welfare? Education?
5. And we want to put them in charge of health care?
6. Hope you're not looking for peace in the government!
-Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."

V. What Takes Away Peace?
-They take away peace:
1. Worry, stress, anxiety...
2. The rush of life.
3. Money problems.
4. Job problems.
5. Family problems.
6. Spiritual laziness.
7. Disobedience and sin
-Peace thieves:
1. Conflict with others (family, church, neighbors)
2. Failing to forgive
3. Bitterness.
4. Worry.
5. Sin.

VI. What is Peace?
-Someone said: "I don't feel at peace about that."
1. What's that mean?
2. Your decision isn't making a connection with what you know is right.
3. Sometimes you can't put your finger on it.
4. You are never at peace about a decision you know is wrong or sinful.
-Peace is a deep abiding "rightness" inside.
1. It's not about external circumstances.
2. It's about being right with God... righteousness.
C. You cannot have peace outside of a relationship with God!
-He is the...
1. ...Prince of Peace.
2. ...giver/orchestrator of peace.
3. ...creator/author of peace.
4. ...one who brings peace.
-Point: Peace is found in right relationship with God/ righteousness!

VII. Where Are You Looking?
-Ill. Danny Simpson, 24 year old Canadian, in jail for robbing a bank, in Ottawa.
1. The gun he used is in a museum.
2. He robbed a bank and got $6,000.
3. When caught, he went to jail for six years.
4. In the robbery he used a .45 caliber Colt semi-automatic.
5. It turned out to be an antique made by the Ross Rifle Company, Quebec City, in 1918.
6. Value of the pistol= $100,000
7. If Danny had known what he already had in his possession he wouldn't have felt the need to rob a bank.
-There are some Christians searching for peace, not realizing it is already available to them!
1. It's not elusive, concealed,...
2. ...secret, obscure, or hidden.
-Jesus told His disciples in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
-Jesus is talking to them about trials & temptations that they will have (he promised those too).
1. But the peace of God is not dependant upon everything else!
2. It's not dependant upon whether or not the Devil wants to harass you this week.
3. Not dependant upon whether or not you'll have a good week!
4. God's peace is dependant upon Him!
-Do we need to understand it to have it? No.
1. Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which surpasses [transcends/ passeth] all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
2. If you have this peace, you probably couldn't explain it.
3. If you have never had this peace you may not realize what you're missing.

VIII. Peace In Christ Jesus!
-The Hebrew word for peace is shalom.
1. Jews use it as a greeting.
2. Some churches will use it as a greeting too.
3. It's not trivial or superficial, but a deep peace.
-The Greek word for peace literally means to bind together or to weave together.
1. Peace w/ God is a weaving together of you w/ Him!
2. A binding that is inseparable.
-Point: Disjunction, separation, & conflict in your life steals peace.
1. That's why conflict can steal it.
2. Hypocrisy wipes it out.
-KEY: Though some have been born-again [forgiven of their sins], they have never allowed their affections to be changed.
1. Their desires/priorities/ dreams are still their former ones.
2. Same as sinners.
-1 John 2:16-17 "For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
-James 1:14-15 "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
-Ill. "Don't you think God wants me to be happy?"
1. Making a sinful decision.
2. Leaving a spouse that they "just don't love anymore."
3. How would you answer their question? No? Yes?
-Query: Is God more concerned about you being holy than He is you being happy?
-Query: Does your holiness and your happiness have to be mutually exclusive/ in competition?

IX. Surrender!
-We have limited God to forgiveness of sins and various assigned tasks we give Him.
-Query: What if the work of salvation God wanted to do in your life can make your desires holy?
1. So that you would desire to be holy.
2. So that God's will for you wasn't burdensome or unwanted... but desired by you.
-What if your peace could be perfect?
-Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
-What if peace was found in absolute surrender to Him?

X. Conclusion
-Helen Steiner Rice wrote:
"Whenever I am troubled and lost in deep despair,
I bundle all my troubles up and go to God in prayer;
I tell Him I am heartsick and lost and lonely too,
That I am deeply burdened & don't know what to do.
But I know He stilled the tempest & calmed the angry sea,
And I humbly ask if in His love He'll do the same for me.
Then I just keep quiet and think on thoughts of peace,
And as I abide in stillness my restless murmurings cease."
-Ill. Submarine deep under water is not aware of the storm blowing on the surface.
-If you allow Him, He'll give you His peace!
-Maybe today you desire a deep inner peace.
1. Not asking all your problems to go away.
2. Not asking for a signed treaty.
-Just God to stand up in your inner most being and say: "Peace, Be still!"
-Where can we find peace?

In Him, only in Him!

G. Response: Haven of Rest

Closing Blessing:

God gave this blessing to Moses and Aaron for the priests to bless the people who assembled together...
Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; [25] the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; [26] the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."

Can You See It?

Matthew 13:10-17

Can You See It?: Seeing What God is Doing

I. Introduction
-Have you heard from God lately?
-Have you seen his fingerprints in your life?
-Have you witnessed His handiwork?
-God is hard to understand!

II. Scripture

III. I See Something...
-Jesus is in the middle of a number of parables.
-The problem is people have ears, but do not hear.
1. They have eyes but do not see.
2. They're missing it.
-Jesus walked among the people and they missed Him!
1. They missed the Messiah.
2. They missed the Savior.
-We do that today.
-Jesus spent all His earthly ministry trying to get people to see something!
-Do you see something?

IV. Pastoral Pause
-Do you see something around here?
-Ministry is hard to measure.
1. We try to measure it in human ways.
2. Numbers, attendance, averages, line graphs, programs, participation.
3. Only God knows the heart.
-When ppl lay out of church they are moving in the wrong direction!
1. Not coming like they use to... wrong direction.
2. Detached, uncaring... wrong direction.
-Right now, in our church you can see visible signs of God's work.
1. Increased church attendance.
2. Sunday Night, SS, Wednesday night.
-Financial situation.
1. We are about to be out of debt!
2. No more mortgage payment.
3. Nursery.
-There is a sense of burning in my heart that God is about to do something we aren't ready for.
1. Visions & Dreams when the Spirit comes upon them.
2. Expectancy.

V. I See Something!
-Elijah & Ahab
1. "No rain until I say so."
2. Mt. Carmel Baal challenge.
3. Elijah prayed, servant looked seven times.
4. I see a cloud the size of man's hand.
5. Go tell Ahab rain is coming!
6. Doubt the cloud?
7. It may be a little cloud, but rain is coming!
8. Proactive! Pre-emptive praise.
-Acts 2... Pentecost
1. "The Sound of a mighty rushing wind."
2. See: "Tongues of fire above their heads."
3. Equipped with power!
-Elisha
1. 2 Kings 6
2. Assyrians surround the city.
3. Servant panics to Elisha.
4. Elisha's prayer: "Open his eyes Lord!"
5. "Those that are for us are greater than those against us!"
6. Sometimes we only see the Devil's work... open our eyes to see God's.
-Jacob "lost" his son Joseph
1. Years later his sons go to Egypt for food and find him.
2. Joseph sends a caravan full of food & many blessings.
3. Jacob's sons try to explain that Joseph is still alive.
4. He doesn't want to have a false hope.
5. But... Genesis 45:27 "But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived."
6. Don't focus on God's blessings and miss Him!
7. Jacob was more interested in Joseph than the caravan!
8. I'm not nearly as concerned w/ the earthly blessings as being in His presence one day!
a. Missionary spent over 50 years in mission field on a boat back to the states.
b. On the same boat was a movie star.
c. As the pulled into port a great crowd of ppl cheered the movie star.
d. No one there for the missionary.
e. He said: "I've been saving souls, what has the movie star ever done. Why don't I get a big reception when I get home."
f. God tapped him on the shoulder and said: "You aren't home yet."
g. I'm not looking for human acclamation, just God's Words: "Well done thy good and faithful servant."
-Ill. Rolls Royce
1. Owner wrote company.
2. Good car, smooth car, comfortable car.
3. But how much horse power does it have?
4. Enough.
-Ill. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
1. Uncle Bud Robinson: "He owns the taters too!"
2. Nothing is impossible with God!
3. Do we believe that yet?
-Saul/Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus
1. It changed his life.
2. You'll never be the same.
-Elijah & Elisha
1. Elisha, I want a double portion of your Spirit.
2. If you see me when I am taken away, you will have what you ask.
3. The fiery chariot separated them and then a whirlwind took Elijah into heaven.
4. Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah.
5. "Let they mantle fall on me."
-Isaiah
1. Isaiah 6:1 "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple."
2. Needing another touch.
-John the Baptist sees Jesus.
1. Look the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World!
2. He saw his salvation!

VI. What About Me?
-Now, I want you to look not at others, but at yourself.
1. Introspection.
2. Am I growing?
3. Can I see God working in my life?
-Can you see what God has done?
1. Is it the same old thing?
2. Do you even desire it?
-Let God work.

VII. Conclusion
-Jesus healing a blind man.
1. Mark 8:22-25 "And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. [23] And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" [24] And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." [25] Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly."
2. Do you need a second touch from Him?
-In a little town called Greensburg.
1. Some are skeptical. Tolerating the ravings of a young preacher.
2. I've never seen anything like it in my life!
-I'm waiting... with expectancy.

Response

Relevant?

Ezekiel 1:1-5a, 15-16a, 22, 26-28; 2:1-2

Relevant?: Ezekiel #1

I. Introduction
-Why are you here this morning? (Israel History)
-Does what happens here make a difference in your life?
-If you had to tell about one thing God did in your life, or how being a Christian made a difference, could you?
-We would like to believe we are more technologically advanced than ever before, more civil, more wealth, more secure, etc.
1. So how does this book [Bible] have any bearing on our lives?
2. Why & How can it tell us how to live?
3. Or a man [Jesus] who lived 2000 years ago.
-How can these things be relevant?
-Relevant is a buzz word in the church today.
-What is relevant to your life?

II. Scripture

III. Relevant
-Relevant means: having significant bearing on the matter at hand
-You might hear:
1. "That's not relevant to this discussion."
2. "Ask only relevant questions to the topic at hand."
3. Presidential debates: their answers aren't relevant to the questions.
-If you go into a Christian bookstore & into the ministry section you will see the word ‘relevant' in a lot of book titles.
-"Relevant" is a buzz word.
-They say: "The church has to make its ministry relevant to the world."
-In other words: "Ministry must be done in such a way that it has significant bearing on the matter at hand."

IV. Problem 1
-Ministry is geared toward ppl loving the church rather than God.
-If you participate in that kind of ministry you will begin to believe that if ppl like you, your ministry is successful.
-Ministry success is not based on whether ppl like you.
1. It's not based on whether everyone thinks you're cool.
2. It's not based on whether you are best buddies w/ someone.
3. Just b/c you are friends w/ a Christian, doesn't mean you'll make it to heaven.
4. You must be friends w/ Christ.
-Therein lies the problem: We sometimes seek for ppl to like the pastor more than the Savior.
1. The church, pastor, ppl, eclipse the Messiah.
-Then, I leave the church b/c I do not like the pastor.
1. I leave the church if I do not like a member.
2. I leave the church if my feelings get hurt.
-God calls ppl to churches just like He does pastors.
-You can make it to heaven w/out being best friend w/ everyone!
1. Some ppl just meld better than others.
2. I just get along better w/ some ppl than others.

V. Problem 2
-Ministry looks more like the world.
-Ministry is based on disguising the Gospel.
1. Repentance is tucked away.
2. "We look like you!"
-Ministry is not based on whether ppl think you are like them.
1. Point: It's really hinged on whether you are different than them.
2. What do you have to offer if you are the same.
-Some "relevance" based ministry seeks to convince you that it is alright if you stay the same as long as you like what is happening.
-Real ministry says, you cannot remain the same.
1. Truth changes your life... & the way you go about it.
2. Interacting w/ God is a change of heart, a renewing of the mind, a washing of your actions, & a cleansing of pride & motives!
-Sometimes we ask for the preacher's messages to be relevant.
1. Wouldn't we like more self-help kind of sermons.
2. They are all the craze.
-Some pastors preach on nothing but your finances, your human relationships, how to get a good job, how to have your best life now, how to...
1. That seems more relevant.
-But is that more relevant than a message on the Holiness of God?
1. Is that relevant in light of eternity?
2. Is that relevant in light of the glory of God?

VI. What is Relevant?
-You don't really decide what is relevant, you prioritize your life.
1. Truth is truth. It is never irrelevant.
2. Truth is always relevant!
-Ill. Gravity, you cannot really ignore it.
1. You can fight it...parachutes
2. But it doesn't become obsolete, or irrelevant.
-Ill. "This is a youth service, you don't have to wear a tie."
1. I didn't come to fit-in, but to proclaim the Gospel.
2. I didn't come to be cool, I came to lift up Jesus!
3. I didn't come to entertain, I came to preach Christ crucified... a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles!
-Query: To minister to...
1. ...teens do I have to wear frayed jeans, grow a goatee, & fix my hair like I've not combed it?
2. ...those in the nursing home do I have to get a hearing aid, use a walker, and wear glasses?
3. Is my ministry [and yours] limited by our age, our dress, our income, our racial background?
4. Do you have to be black to minister to blacks?
5. Do you have to be rich to minister to the rich?
6. Do you have to be a doctor to minister to a doctor?
7. Do you have to be from KY to minister to those from KY?
8. Do you have to be 20 something to minister to 20 something's?
-O what limitations we have placed on God!
1. What boundaries we have placed around His power.
2. What restrictions we have placed on salvation!
-Lie (Satan): you can minister only to ppl just like you.
-Definition: having significant bearing on the matter at hand
1. So what is the matter at hand?
2. Is it how much money you make?
3. Is it what job you have?
-What about in raising your children? Is the real issue...
1. ...how smart your kids are?
2. ...whether they are popular or not?
3. ...whether they are successful?
4. ...whether they are a sports star?
5. ...whether they are homecoming queen?
6. What has significance/ bearing to the issue at hand? Are they holy/godly?
-What issue trumps all others?
-The world is screaming that God is irrelevant!
1. He has no bearing on anything.
2. Can you see past that?
3. Have you been bogged down in that?
-What about eternity?
-Point: We need a new vision of His glory!
-A desire for "relevance" leads to sin.
1. Learn to be okay w/ being different.
2. "Fitting in" drives/moves toward sin.
-If kids cannot deal w/ being different when it comes to style (adults too) how can they resist the temptation to conform to this world!?
1. I don't want my kids dressing like ball stars b/c they may also conform to their sins!!
2. I want them to be different!

VII. Hard to See How Relevant.
-Even for Christians it is hard to see how relevant God is to us.
-Ill. Time magazine said $20 billion in US for porn movies
1. estimated $57 billion worldwide
2. Is God that relevant or not?
-The world is screaming that God is irrelevant.
-Do you believe that?
-What about when...
1. ...you go to work on Monday, and listen to the profane, vulgar conversations.
2. ...you hear about the immorality running rampant among your co-workers.
3. ...you go on vacation see the loose & lurid behavior of the wicked.
4. ...you walk through your neighborhood and see the hurting families destroyed by divorce, abuse, affairs, & alcohol.
5. ...your kids come home from school talking about what they learned at school, playing vulgar & sinful music, flippantly talking about sex.
6. ...you turn on the TV and watch holly wood blaspheme all that is holy, idolize the wicked & immoral behavior, and dismiss biblical conscience.
7. ...loneliness is oppressive, hopelessness ushers in despair, and the chaos pushes us to the limit...
8. Then the temptation is to think that this [church, Bible, faith, God] is irrelevant.
-And ppl ask:
1. At the point I am dealing w/ a death in the family, why would a man named Jesus dying 2000 years ago have any bearing on my situation?
2. At the point I have lost my job and am unable to pay my bills, what difference does it make that God made a covenant with Abraham?
-The Israelite in captivity w/ Ezekiel asked: What difference does God make now?

VIII. The Real Problem
-This problem is old as time.
1. We are trying to make God relevant to us (bring Him to our level).
2. Rather than trying to be relevant to God.
-Ill. On Judgement day
1. He won't ask us: "Do you know me?"
2. He will say: "Depart from me, for I do not know you."
-The problem is we've diminished His glory.
1. We've rejected it for materialism, lusts of the flesh, and rusted things of this world.
2. The church has accepted a counterfeit!
-Ill. Famous Atheist Richard Dawkins, author of ‘The God Delusion,'
1. ...about his visit to a 12,000 strong evangelical church here in America:
2. "I worry that these ‘born-agains' are being persuaded to return to childish certainties. That the only truth they need is God..."
3. That's it... the atheist got it!
-We all affirm that God is the most important thing in life, but do you live it?
1. Would your calendar be different if you lived that way?
2. ...check book... family... church... be different?
-Ill. It will take more than an hour on Sunday.
1. Commercial: 20 min/day for 3 wks for killer abs.
2. We apply that to spiritual matters
3. To be Christian will take more than 20/min a day 3 days a week!!

IX. God is Relevant
-Ezekiel got a vision of the Glory of God.
1. That vision of glory gave him something worth saying.
2. It gave him a life worth living.
3. ...a purpose worth fulfilling.
4. ...a mission worth accomplishing.
-How relevant is your life?
-To SS teachers: "Point to Jesus!"
-To song leaders: "What is relevant, is not what we sing, what notes we hit, or what style it is; but who we sing to!"
-To preachers: "What is relevant is not the latest fad or popular thing in the church, but Christ and Him crucified. Preach that!"
-To parents: "Christ is the most important thing in your child's life."
-To couples: "Christ is the most important thing in your marriage."
-To teens: "Christ is the most important thing in your life!"
-To children: "Christ is the most important thing in your life!"
-Don't say it, Live it!

X. Conclusion
-Do you see the glory of God?
-Does God eclipse everything else in your life?
-So many ppl are investing their lives in good things, but irrelevant things.
1. They are missing the glory of God!
2. They are missing the most important thing.
-Why are all these other things not relevant?
1. Why is God/ the Gospel so relevant?
2. B/c the most fundamental need of humanity is still a spiritual need.
-Ezekiel fell on his face when he saw the glory of God.
-But the Spirit picked Him up and set him on his feet... and he heard God.
-You can ignore it, or you can live with new relevance.
1. God is relevant.
2. Do you see that?

Response

What Believers Need...

Acts 15:4-9

What Believers Need: Holy Spirit Purity

I. Introduction
-What more do you need?
-...as a Christian?

II. Scripture

III. Background
-Peter's vision
1. Sheet w/ unclean animals comes down from heaven.
2. Kill & eat.
3. It's unclean, I've never done that, I will never do that.
4. God said: "What God has made clean do not call common."
5. This happened three times.
-As Peter was trying to figure it out, a knock on the door.
1. Cornelius, a centurian, had also had a vision from God.
2. Note: God will bring true seekers to our church if we will truly seek God.
3. He sent three men to find Peter.
4. The Spirit told Peter to go w/ the men.
-These were Gentiles! (Non-Jews)
-You see how God works things out?
-Can you see God's fingerprints in your life?
-I want to point out a few things about the passage we read in Acts 15 referring to 10.

IV. A Specific People
-The Holy Spirit doesn't just fall on anybody.
-This wasn't just a group of ppl pulled in off the street.
-Cornelius "pastor"
1. Acts 10: he brought his relatives & friends together.
2. They were having church.
-Who is He?
-Acts 10:1-2 "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, [2] a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God."
-Note a few things about him:
-First, He was a devout man.
1. Definition of devout: devoted to God.
2. He worshiped the true God.
3. He did not worship all the Roman gods.
4. Lived for the Lord.
5. He was an earnest seeker.
-Second, He feared God.
1. We don't have any fear of God.
2. We treat Him like a Teddy Bear.
3. No awe, reverence, or fear of the Lord anymore.
4. Always remember you are unworthy for everything God has done in your life.
5. You don't deserve someone dying for you, you haven't earned heaven, you're not good enough for God.
6. Fear Him!
7. Fear of God reduces fear of other things. (Death, humanity, poverty, etc.)
-Third, that fear was in his whole house.
1. Cornelius was a spiritual leader in his home.
2. Men, you have a responsibility!
3. This is the most effective preaching that can take place: your family says you live out your faith in Christ.
4. That is a testimony!
-Fourth, he gave alms.
1. He gave from a large heart, liberally.
2. Stingy, self-centered spending rules today.
3. Debt, economic crisis, all spending on self.
4. Giving is an act of worship.
5. Not only to God/church, but to other ppl.
6. Be a spender on other people.
7. Give stuff away to others. (Not junk, but valuable stuff to you.)
-Finally, he prayed continually.
1. Ppl would find him on his knees in prayer.
2. At lunch hour, on breaks, in the morn, in the evening, before meals, in the midst of decisions.
3. He was continually in the "spirit of prayer."
4. Times I'm w/ Sarah, but not talking to Sarah, but we are still constantly communicating & enjoying the bond we have.
-These were ppl, though lacking much knowledge about Christ, were Christian.
-Only Christians receive the Holy Spirit, not sinners.

V. How They Received the Spirit
-First, it was instantaneous.
1. It was not something they grew into.
2. The Spirit fell on them.
3. This is not a spiritual discipline or an issue of maturity.
4. It is an issue of purity.
5. This is not something worked for, it is something sought for.
6. It is not something earned, it is something received.
-There are no degrees of Spirit baptism; you either have received or haven't.
-Second, God knew their hearts. (15:8)
1. When the heart is ready, the Spirit is given.
2. You will never be on a waiting list.
3. You will never be stalled or delayed.
4. God knows your heart & knows when it is ready!
5. Genesis 6:5 "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
6. 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.""
7. Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."
-Your heart is either a catalyst or a road block for God's work in your life.
1. Hearts are hard to judge.
2. "Is your heart in it?"
3. "Close to my heart."
4. "What does your heart tell you?"
-Apply the perception of the heart to spiritual matters.
1. Your heart might tell you that things aren't right.
2. Listen to it.

VI. The Effects of the Spirit
-Hebrews 10:14-16 "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. [15] And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, [16] "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
1. Law on hearts is in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Romans, & Hebrews.
2. There is something about your heart that God wants.
3. Hosea 6:6 "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
-Acts 15:9b "...having cleansed their hearts by faith."
1. God wants your heart.
2. If He has that, He has all of you.
-We would rather give God things...
1. Time, money, work in the church.
2. But heart is different.
-Even if we give our heart, God cannot accept it like it is.
1. It loves you.
2. We are our own greatest lovers.
3. Me, my way, what I want, vying for power, demanding our own way, insisting on my preferences, fighting for my reputation/ rights.
4. All that must be cleansed.
-Point: I find that among Nazarene, a "holiness" people, we have failed to allow God to cleanse our hearts.
1. "Preacher, I don't believe that's possible."
2. ...cleansed their hearts by faith...
3. You don't believe, it will never happen (just like justification).

VII. Conclusion
-In the last few years we have had a number of new ppl begin attending our church.
1. For the first time, in a long time, we have began baptizing ppl who have been born-again.
2. It's time for us to be a holiness church.
3. To you new Christians... seek a pure heart.
-After becoming a Christian you will feel the pull.
1. The love of self/world.
2. Conflict spiritually.
3. "I need something more."
-You need to be forgiven, and then to have a heart cleansing.
1. It comes in what Jesus promised as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
2. Nazarenes sometimes call it what Paul does in the epistles to the Thessalonians... entire sanctification.
-1 Peter 1:16 "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
1. God does not say we are to be holy as He is.
2. God says we are to be holy b/c He is.
-Ill. Witnessing models...
1. Often ask: "Have you been forgiven?"
2. That's a good question for someone who has not been born-again to think about.
-Ill. Holiness question...
1. Let me ask you a question.
2. Has your heart been purified by the Holy Spirit?

Response

The King is Coming #2

Revelation 19:11-21

The King is Coming #2: Are You Ready?

I. Introduction
-We are troubled by how big God is.
1. Maybe I should just say ‘I.'
2. He is too big to comprehend.
-We cannot understand His vastness.
1. His glory is too immeasurable.
2. His holiness is too far removed from our existence.
3. His righteousness is too right when we have been bent, influenced & warped.
4. His narrow path is too straight for our crookedness & perversion.
-God is complex.
1. "How can a loving God send ppl to Hell?"
2. How can he be merciful & yet just?
3. ...love yet hate?
4. ...holy vs. vengeful?
5. ...glorious vs. jealous?
6. ...vulnerable (Jesus wept) vs. omnipotent?
-Like salvation or sanctification, God is more complex than the often simplistic descriptions of Him (though they have a place).

II. Scripture

III. Christ's Description
-v. 11 "called Faithful & True"
1. Won't let you down.
2. Ppl yes, God no!
3. "Great is Thy Faithfulness"
4. What He says He will accomplish!
-Faithful and True
1. The only thing you can bank on.
2. Truth pierces circumstances.
3. "That might be true for you, but not for me."
4. Not The Truth!
5. Everybody needs the True one!
-v. 12 "...eyes are like a flame of fire..."
1. Conviction.
2. Christ can see through all the fluff!
3. Rich young ruler.
4. Who do men... you say that I am?
5. You cannot hide in a crowd.
-v. 12 "on His head are many crowns"
1. He rules.
2. He has complete authority.
3. He only allows things to happen.
4. He is sovereign King of all.
5. Some serve a weak God!
-v. 12 "a name written that no one knows but himself"
1. Ill Jesus Seminar
2. Everyone wants to tell you about God.
3. Few really know Him.
4. His name, his identity, to most are lost.
5. Politicians talking about God.
6. "God bless you."
7. Do you really know Him?
8. Is it just hear-say?
-v. 16 "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

IV. On That Day...
-He has come in the past... He is here now... He is coming again.
-He will reveal Himself as He has never revealed Himself to Humans before.
-It will be unmistakable who He is.
1. It will be undeniable.
2. It will not be able to misinterpreted!
-He will be King of kings and Lord of lords.
-Who will He be?
1. To atheists he will be the King they have denied.
2. To humanists he will be the King they have ignored.
3. To the agnostic we will be the King they have doubted.
4. To the sinner he will be the Lord rejected.
5. To the lost he will be the Lord to be feared.
6. To the earthly power he will be King of kings and Lord of lords!
-To Christians he will the King we have heralded!
1. He will be the Lord we have already bowed/submitted to.
2. He will be the Savior we have adored & worshiped.

V. The Great Struggle
-And while He will be revealed in all his glory & power there will still be some that rebel.
-v. 19 "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army."
1. the beast- Devil or anti-Christ?
2. Deceiver (even some of you)
-Query: Why would they still wage war against God?
1. He is God?
2. He cannot be defeated!
3. Why did the Devil?
-Point: Because they presuppose on only one aspect of who God is... His mercy.
1. But in so doing, they ignore his justice, his holiness, & his righteousness.
2. God cannot allow sin to dwell with him throughout eternity... b/c he is holy.
-But they will believe that God, out of mercy & love, would not destroy them.
-Point: People today are presupposing on the grace of God.
-Some of the people w/in ear shot of me today believe that.

VI. Nothing Else Matters!
-When He comes everything will be known for what it's value really is.
-Nothing else matters!
1. What you wear to prom!
2. Who your girlfriend/boyfriend is.
3. Your bills. Your home/car.
4. Football game.
5. Job requirements.
6. Insignificant things we argue about.
7. How big your pension check is.
8. How long your resume is.
9. How many outfits you have in your closet.
10. What the community thinks about you.
-When the White Rider comes...
1. Wall street will freeze (& crash instantly).
2. The factory where you work will become silent except for the automated machines.
3. The restaurant food will grow cold.
4. Traffic will stop.
5. "Live" tv will go dead.
6. Concerts will be interrupted.
7. Ball games will cancelled.
8. Political campaigns will be suspended.
9. Paparazzi will cease to look for celebrities and eye the sky.
10. Every eye will be to the sky.
-Oh that the church could see it!... no LIVE IT!
-Ill. Pastor's meeting.
1. Lamenting low salaries, carnal Christians, retirment packages, moral, etc..
2. Church owes me...!?
3. I wonder if even preachers could see beyond the temporal?

VII. The Real Problem
-The problem for Christians is not knowledge... it is obedience.
-I know it, but don't want to live it.
1. I know what I should be doing Sunday night.
2. ...doing at work.
3. ....doing in my neighborhood
4. ...doing on Sunday during the altar call.
5. ...saying in my family
6. ...doing at school.
-But I don't want to live that way!
-Query: What will happen when the one called Faithful & True comes riding on a White Horse?
1. What are you going to do?
2. What excuse will you have?
-Query: What will you do when He comes and battles all that you have lived for?
1. All the world holds dear?
2. All that you believe so strongly in?
3. All that you have sworn allegiance to?
4. All that we believe is unshakeable/unstoppable?
-Ill. Spiritual Russian Roulette!
1. We play this with our soul?
2. An eternal soul.
-Ill. Shot gun chair art.
1. ppl want to sit in the chair w/ the gun pointed at their head & a timer that says the gun will fire sometime in the next 100 years
2. The thrill of the risk.
-Would you gamble with your eternal soul?
-Do you believe that you can continue to sin w/out consequence?
-1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10] nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
-Galatians 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

VIII. Conclusion
-There is a moment in every day when it's just you and God.
1. My prayer is that it would be right now.
2. No more putting it off.
3. No more delaying the inevitable.
4. No more close calls.
-Today is the day of salvation.
-I'm not asking you to make a decision between being a good person and a great person.
-I'm asking you to make a decision between being a good person (worldly defined) and a person set apart for God's work!
-Ill. Elementary school field day
1. Last week of school every year
2. Relay races, etc.
3. Parents would come.
4. Kid had fallen and was crying.
5. His knee was skinned and he was hurt.
6. Then his mom stepped out of the crowd of parents and said: "You can make it!"
7. "You can make it!"
-Can I tell you as your pastor this morning: "You can make it!"
-It's not that you don't want to be a Christian... it's just that it is so hard.
-"You can make it!"
-Revelation 22:20 "He who testifies to these things [Jesus] says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"

Spiritual Recession

2 Peter 2:17-22

Spiritual Recession: Going the Wrong Way

I. Introduction
-One month from revival.
-Revival is upon us.
-The opposite of revival is recession.
-Are you in the midst of spiritual recession?
-What direction are you heading with God?
1. Forward, deeper, higher?
2. Backward, shallowness, weakness?
-Peter describes a frightening spiritual condition...

II. Scripture

III. Disconcerting State
-The politicians are talking about economic recession.
1. Economy is troubled.
2. Jobs, taxes, money.
3. Since they know everything, I won't deal w/ that this morning.
-There is a state even more disconcerting: spiritual recession.
-What is spiritual recession?
1. Spiritual recession = spiritual retreat.
2. It is spiritual sickness.
3. It leads to spiritual lostness/ death.
4. It is moving in the wrong direction.
5. Sometimes called backsliding.
-I'm not talking about those who have never been saved
1. Their's is a sad state.
2. Spiritual recession is worse.
-More prevalent than we realize today.
-Maybe you are affected.

IV. Spiritual Sickness
-Ill. There are observable things that happen when Jacob gets sick.
1. He doesn't act the same (being still & sitting in lap).
2. Take his temperature (high)
3. Vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
4. Excessive crying.
5. When older; he can tell me something is wrong.
-From a pastor's heart let me share with you some indicators of spiritual recession.
-Drop in Attendance
1. Are you in the house of the Lord less than you have been?
2. Are you consistent in your attendance?
3. Hit & miss?
-Drop in enthusiasm/passion
1. You use to be passionate about serving the Lord.
2. You loved to talk about God.
3. You use to do all you could to live for Him.
4. Study your Bible, pray, devotional time w/ Him.
5. Ppl commented about how much you loved the Lord.
-Drop in involvement
1. You use to be involved in God's Work through His church.
2. You did things in the church, you might have been a leader, you helped do things.
3. You were more involved than you are today.
-Drop in priority
1. The thing that usually proceeds the rest is a drop in priority.
2. The things of God use to be important to you.
3. Being at church, involved in church, and passionate about the Lord's Work use to be at the forefront of your list of priorities.
4. It just isn't important like it use to be.
-Have you taken your spiritual temperature lately?
-Jerry Vines said: "Are you back slidden now? I'm going to help you answer that question. A backslidden Christian is any Christian who is not as close to Jesus as he use to be. Was there ever a time in your life when you were closer to the Lord than you are now? Was there ever a period in your life when you felt the presence of God more than you feel it now? Was there a moment in your life when your love for Jesus Christ was more real than it is this minute? If so you need a revival!"

V. Immunity to the Holy Spirit
-There is a way to mask this sickness from yourself.
-There is a vaccine against the Holy Spirit, many have.
-Ill. Many years ago small pox was a scary thing.
1. For most it was a death sentence.
2. Maybe some of you remember those times.
3. They eventually developed a vaccine against it.
4. They noticed that many individuals who had cow pox (a similar disease) did not contract small pox.
5. They started giving an injection of cow pox to individuals and found out it built up their immunity against small pox.
-Have you found yourself immune to the Holy Spirit?
1. That isn't b/c you are a mature Christian.
2. You might be in recession.
3. Have you spoken intimately with Christ of late?
-Or have you taken a vaccine?
1. Have you injected yourself with religion & religious stuff?
2. So that the Holy Spirit is drowned out.
-I fear we have become so religious that we have ceased to be holy!
1. We have "In God We Trust" on our money, but we don't.
2. Our constitution speaks of God, but our conscious has closed Him out.
3. Oprah, Dolly Parton, presidential candidates all speak of their service to God, but they have missed him.
-I fear we have become too religious for God!
-I fear our hearts have led us astray!
-Hebrews 3:12 "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God."

VI. Counterfeit Christianity
-Have we settled for a counterfeit?
-I sometimes wonder as I read God's Word: Have we missed it?
1. Have we made Christianity a sedative to help us sleep at night?
2. Have we deceived ourselves into thinking everything is okay?
-Have we bought into some kind of cheap therapeutic Christianity?
-Have we reasoned God out of the equation?
-Someone said: "We have been so deprived of real and true Christianity that we cannot identify the holy from humanistic; we cannot differentiate God's glory from the world's garbage; we cannot tell righteousness from rottenness!"
-v. 20 "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first."
-Ill. Mike Yaconelli in "The Wittenburg Door"
1. He writes of his upbringing in a small rural town.
2. Lot's of cattle farmers.
3. Asked a farmer how the cows would get lost.
4. "See a nice green patch of grass and go to nibble on it."
5. "Then they'd see another patch and go to it, then another. Before long they would look around and realize they were lost."
6. So it is with the church today.
7. We have wandered away from the truth of God, it has become foreign to us.
-I know there are some things you just cannot preach on in today's church w/out offending or shocking ppl.
1. Hell, Sex, Gossip,
2. Tithing, Divorce, etc.
3. I know it. "Lord Help Me"

VII. Retreat or Revival!
-Christians are in spiritual retreat.
-We are giving up ground to the forces of darkness.
1. We are surrendering to defeat.
2. We are signing treaties of surrender to the evil one.
-We are in spiritual recession.
-Ill. The African impala can jump more than 10 ft high & a distance of over 30 ft.
1. But they can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall.
2. Why? They will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.
-Many Christians in spiritual recession are that way.
1. They cannot see the solution to the problem.
2. They cannot see it so they will not jump.
-Retreat or Revival?
-The answer to spiritual recession is spiritual revival!

VIII. Conclusion
-Ill. Robert Robinson the author of "Come Thou Fount"
1. He was saved out of a life of deep sin through George Whitfield's ministry in England.
2. Shortly afterwards at the age of 23 he wrote the hymn.
3. At some point Robinson became a prodigal son, who wondered away from the Lord.
4. One day he was traveling by stagecoach w/ a young woman engrossed in her book.
5. She came across a verse she thought was beautiful and asked what he thought of it.
6. She read: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love."
7. Crying he said: "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."
-vv. 21-22 "For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. [22] What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in th mire.'"
-Are you were you use to be?
-Some......are affected.
1. ...couples...
2. ...families...
3. ...churches...
4. ...individuals...
-Some of us are in recession b/c we've never really been shown what true Christianity looks like.
-The only response to spiritual recession is spiritual revival!

Response

Another Mountain

Genesis 22:1-5

Another Mountain: Pass the Test?

I. Introduction
-How far along are you?
-Where are you spiritually?

II. Scripture

III. Background on Abraham
-v. 1a "After these things..."
-Abraham's journey from Ur to Haran.
1. Haran was halfway between Ur and his destination.
2. Half-way is a dangerous place to be, especially if it is comfortable.
3. Ill. People call out to the Lord until things get a little better.
4. Ill. Ppl passionate about following Christ, until shortly after revival.
5. Ill. Go to church when times are tough. (They aren't seeking God, they're seeking an easy fix.)
6. You have to finish the race!
7. Something to: perseverance!
8. See your faith through.
-Ill. God doesn't give details, just directions.
1. God does not run mapquest.com!
2. Details negate faith.
3. Simply walking in obedience is walking by faith.
-Don't settle for halfway.
-In Egypt Abraham lied about his relationship w/ his wife.
1. Egyptian ruler cursed though unaware.
2. He had to clean up that mess.
-Abraham tried to fulfill the promise of God himself.
1. Through Ishmael.
2. Don't try to "help" God.
3. No sense in defending Him.
4. Apologetics are for sincere believers benefit.

IV. In the Rearview Mirror
-v.1a "After these things..."
1. He had to deal with Ishmael.
2. He had to clean up the mess with the Pharaoh & his wife.
3. He had to rescue lot.
4. He had to submit to God's plan.
-And now, in Ch. 22, he finally ‘arrives.'
1. He finally feels like he is on top!
2. "I've reached the place where everything is all right."
-But God says there is one more mountain you have to climb.
-Ever felt like you've arrived and then God shows you one more mountain.
-Ill. Older saints still seeking the Lord.
1. Bro. Costa, 92 years old, used the altar.
2. Sis Whittaker, 88 years old, uses the altar.
3. Saints seek the Lord.
-God's not through with you.
1. We want to Plateau!
2. We get tired of being molded.
3. We grow weary in well doing.
4. Refining fire wants to get out the small blemishes and impurities.
5. Too spiritual for God?

IV. Time & Purpose
-v. 4 "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar."
-Took three days to get where they were going.
1. Three days can seem like 1000 years!
2. Three days can seem like three seconds!
-v. 5a "Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey...'"
-There will be some times when you have to go on alone.
1. Some things you have to go through by yourself.
2. No one can accompany you.
3. It's not that you have been abandoned.
-Alone...
1. Ill. Interview @ Tasty Freeze in Nancy, KY.
2. Ill. Marriage vows.
3. Ill. Chronic Illness.
4. Ill. Deepest pit of loneliness
5. Ill. First day at college.
-But through any of those things, the Spirit of the Living God will be there with you!
-Point: Some need to be babied!
1. We care for people (& want to help).
2. But we can't carry you into heaven!
3. Preacher cannot hold your hand at the judgement.
4. You are going to have to rely on Christ.
5. Ill. Drop out of church b/c the pastor comes/goes.
6. You aren't serving the pastor!
-Note: Some people haven't made the journey up the last mountain b/c they aren't willing to go on by themselves!
1. New Parents: don't allow babies to hinder you spiritually.
2. Parents of teens: don't allow busy schedules to dictate your god.
3. Married couples: don't allow love for one another to eclipse love of God.
4. You cannot love your family until God is first!
-If something is holding you back, leave it at the base of the mountain.
1. Friend, job, hobby, sport...
2. Debt, reputation, etc...

V. Sacrifice or Worship?
-Let me get to the main point of my message today...
-Abraham is suppose to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to the Lord.
-That sounds like a sacrifice to me!
-Look at v. 5 "Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.'"
-Christians today view a walk w/ God as a sacrifice.
1. Everything is a sacrifice.
2. I read a few verses from the Bible... what a sacrifice.
3. I prayed for ten minutes... what a sacrifice.
4. I went to church... what a sacrifice.
5. I loved my neighbor... what a sacrifice.
6. I gave a few bucks in the offering... what a sacrifice.
-Church, we need our view to change from sacrificing to worshiping.
-Ill. Cain & Abel & offerings.
1. Abel gave God what God wanted.
2. Cain gave God what Cain wanted God to have.
-Sometimes it is hard to do.
1. It's not what we want, but allowing God to have what He wants.
2. And loving Him enough to trust Him with that.
-Ill. Awarding saints of the Lord.
1. We talk about all their sacrifices.
2. They talk about
3. "Dog eat dog" world.
4. Death, despair, heartache.
-Personal struggle and trial...
1. I don't enjoy being attacked.
2. I don't like being slandered.
3. I don't get a thrill from being gossiped about around town.
4. I don't like being rejected.
5. I don't like going through hardship.
6. I don't like enduring sickness.
7. I don't like wading through the darkness of this world.
-BUT, I love the Lord enough to endure, by grace, everything the Devil could ever attack me with.
-You may see sacrifices, I only have worship to Him!
-Psalm 96

VI. Love for God
-Point: You can serve the Lord, but not love Him; but you cannot love the Lord, and not serve Him.
-You will never understand about giving to the Lord.
1. Tithing out of love & worship.
2. It ceases to be a sacrifice.
3. I've never regretted anything I've given to God... only that I haven't given more.
-Ill. My testimony.
1. All I could see were the sacrifices!
2. I was the son of a preacher!
3. I knew part of what it entailed!
4. I didn't want that for my life, my family, my spouse!
5. Sacrifice or Worship?
6. Surrender & Obedience are the most beautiful forms of worship.

VII. Conclusion
-You know the rest of the story...
1. Isaac was spared.
2. There was a sacrifice provided.
-Christ made the sacrifice... not you!
-Jesus paid it all for you.
-Wouldn't you rather worship the Lord from a heart of love?

Response

Prelude to Revival

Acts 4:21-31

Prelude to Revival: Four ‘C's of Revival

I. Introduction
-There is only one expert on revival.
-There are vast libraries of books written on the subject.
1. We read them as prescription.
2. Do this, do that, and you will have revival.
-But revival has to do with the heart.
1. Revival does not begin with an evangelist, program, or schedule.
2. It begins in the hearts of real people.
-It is not what you create, but what you are.
-Revival is best summed up in the early church.

II. Scripture

III. Background
-Pentecost in Ch. 2 (revival)
-Ch. 3- Peter & John heal lame beggar
1. They commence to preachin'
2. Revival service!
-Ch. 4- they are arrested.
1. Trial before the High Priest
2. Threatened never to speak of Jesus again or further punishment.
3. Revival! (v. 21)
-It would seem like Revival is over.
1. Everyone goes home.
2. They talk for weeks/years afterwards of the great revival they had.
-No, revival breaks out again!
-Let me share with you four scary words that I believe are a prelude to revival...

IV. Change
-Change, Conversion, etc.
-Scary Word!
-Not change for the sake of change.
-Conversion will bring revival.
1. There is nothing that brings the presence of God and blessings of the Spirit more than someone becoming a Christian.
2. Conversion can set the church on fire!
-The Church is a living organism, b/c it is the body of Christ.
-Ill. Sometimes we over-spiritualize ourselves.
1. If you don't like me, it's b/c you don't like God.
2. If you don't like the way I preach, it's b/c you don't like God.
3. ...or could it be that I am ineffective?
-Ill. Dying churches point their fingers at the world and claim the problem lies with the world.
1. They say: "People just aren't the same anymore."
2.Sin is the problem.
3. But maybe some churches are not willing to do what it takes to minister to people.
4. They are not willing to change.
-We believe b/c we are saved, now everyone else must do the changing.
1. So we're not open to God doing anymore in our lives.
2. We are not finished products!
3. Maybe we're too at home in the world.
4. Too many Christians living in sin!
-Maybe we're too busy changing the wrong things.
1. Even in the church we tend to make spiritual things second-rate.
2. God is always plan B.
3. Don't talk prayer, talk programming!
-Before revival happens there are spiritual changes that must occur.
1. Peter & John go back to pray for more boldness!
2. Never content with the good of the present.
-Leonard Ravenhill in ‘Why Revival Tarries' says: "The church began with these men in the ‘upper room' agonizing– and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah, brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!"
-Why is there no difference between the church & the world?
1. Families are the same.
2. Lifestyles are the same.
3. Choice of entertainment the same!
4. Where is the difference?
5. Is the church not the "called out"?
6. Are believers not to be "set apart"?
7. The world doesn't want/ need what it already has!
-Ill. Prayer in school
1. "In God We Trust" in the pledge & on the new gold dollars
2. We throw a fit about the Bible & prayer being taken out of schools
3. But you can't find those things being used in Christian's homes!
4. You can even go into some churches and find that those things are not being used!
-Change is going to have to come to the church before revival ever gets here!
-"Change my heart O God."

V. Commitment
-This one is almost a bad word in the church: commitment.
-I believe before revival will ever occur in the church today we must have ppl committed to the Lord & His work!
-Scary ‘C' word!?
-I'm not really asking whether you are committed.
1. You are committed.
2. What I am asking is, are you committed to the right things?
-Ill. We are committed to all kinds of things.
1. Our Job- that's okay, but is placed above our heavenly father?
2. Our family- that's great, but is it placed above God?
3. Our money, our stuff, etc.
4. All comes down to my commitment to myself.
-Psalm 37:5 "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."
-Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."
-Christians today are not committed.
1. Example: Going over time in church vs. ball game.
2. Everything comes before church. (More important?)
3. Committed to so many things we don't have time for devotions or prayer.
4. Can't do anything for they body of Christ, but you can do everything else?
5. Sick, so I skip church, but back to work on Monday.
6. Involved in so many things, that we rarely mention God.
7. You will be known for what you are committed to!
-Americans spend more money than any other nation in the world on entertainment.
1. Movie stars, sports stars, musicians, & entertainers = millionaires!
2. Entertainment is the substitute for Christian joy!
-Bob Pierce said: "My single greatest concern is the growing inertia I see, inertia born out of our luxury and materialism. People are fooling themselves when they say the job is done... The vast body of people in the world today have never been given enough information to know if they accept or reject Jesus... Most people think what the gospel needs is more clever, skilled people, when what it needs is more people who are willing to bleed, suffer, and die in a passion to see ppl come to Christ."
-Are you really committed to Jesus Christ and His Work?
-We need some to commit to...
1. ...prayer, witness, inviting,
2. ...His Word, holiness, etc.
-Peter & John committed their lives to the cause of Christ!
-We don't like it, but we must respond to it!
-If we want revival, I think we're going to need to see commitment!

VI. Calling/Commission
-Before revival ever becomes a reality there is a calling.
-Peter & John had the calling.
1. They had been commissioned.
2. They received a calling from the Lord!
C. But we're talking more than a mission statement!
D. Ill. Blakemore board meeting
1. Honest about our situation.
2. DS wanted to close the church
3. I don't want to invest in a losing project.
4. A board member said: "I was called to this church."
5. Even in this difficult time he maintained his call.
-Ill. We talk about ppl being called to preach.
1. What are you called to do?
2. We rarely ask anyone else that important question!
-Ill. Board member with a God-given vision for Blakemore.
1. "Open, free sanctuary"
2. It became a reality.
3. I walked home from church, he said: ‘I saw our pastor walking the sidewalks in our community.'
-Ill. Samuel the prophet.
1. He heard the voice of God.
2. God called Him!
-Do you know that what you are doing has been commissioned by God?
1. What is your calling?
2. Have you heard the voice of God?
-Too many churches have no calling/purpose/meaning!

VII. Consecration
-Consecration is another prelude ro revival.
-Do not confuse this with commitment.
-Commitment has to do with things.
1. Time, talents, treasures.
2. They are impersonal.
-Consecration has to do with you
1. It's about who you are.
2. It's a living sacrifice.
3. (Consecration includes commitment, but is not limited to commitment.)
-Sometimes it may be difficult to put some stuff on the altar, but the most difficult thing you will ever do is put yourself on the altar!
-Why is consecration so difficult for us today?
1. Consecration = ownership in the church
2. More than attending, participating, or witnessing.
3. ownership = responsibility
4. ownership = Putting yourself on the line.
-Committing your resources, services, etc. is safer than consecration.
1. Military general can send troops into battle.
2. Its different to make the decision to enter the battle yourself.
-Is your all on the altar?
1. That's commitment
2. Are you on the altar?
3. That's consecration.

VIII Conclusion
-Prelude to Revival...
1. Change/Conversion
2. Commitment
3. Calling/Commission
4. Consecration
-What is the church to you?
1. Some say it should be like a refrigerator.
2. The church should seek to preserve the saints.
3. We have a lot of formaldehyde Christians!
4. Cold, stiff, & dead; but they sure are preserved!
-Some say the church should be like a fire burning stove.
1. A fire burning stove is used to prepare the meal.
2. They believe the church should seek to prepare ppl for eternal life!
3. That kind of church needs fire (the Holy Spirit) and fuel for the fire (you & I).
-Are you ready for revival?
-Query:
1. Are there any changes you need to make?
2. What is your level of commitment?
3. Do you have a calling from God?
4. Have you consecrated all to God?

Response:

A Real Church Service #3

Ephesians 5:15-21

A Real Church Service 3: Thanksgiving

I. Introduction
-Ill. Two men walking through a field spotted a charging bull.
1. They raced for the nearest fence but realized they would not make it in time.
2. ‘A' said: "Put up a prayer, b/c we're in for it!"
3. ‘B' said: "I can't, I've never prayed in public!"
4. ‘A' "Just do it the bull is about to catch us!"
5. ‘B' "All right, I'll say the only prayer I know, the one my father use to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.'"
-Thanksgiving- Be Thankful!
-Ill. "There is always somebody worse off than you!"
1. Good reason to give thanks?
2. What if you are the one person in the world that is worse off than the whole rest of the planet? 3. Could that person give thanks?
-What really is thanksgiving?

II. Scripture

III. Blessed?
-What can I say new about thanksgiving?
1. Probably nothing!
2. Be thankful, some are not.
-We are blessed!
1. America is the richest nation to ever exist.
2. We enjoy more freedom than any other country has ever known!
3. We have bigger homes, bigger cars, more cars, more money, and greater prosperity!
4. How many have a ‘spare' bedroom? Unheard of in the rest of the world!
5. Grocery store choices! Half an aisle of beans!
6. Green, white, kidney beans, northern, garbanzo, etc.
-It's hard for us to imagine what it means to be in need!
1. Our government even takes care of the poor, the disabled, the unemployed.
2. Universal Health care is already in existence, just go to the hospital w/ or w/out health insurance!
-It would seem we have more to be thankful for than the rest of the world.
-Yet we have more cases of depression, despair, and suicide.
1. The world around us seeks to drive us toward some ‘new need'.
2. Commercials, ‘keeping up with the Jones,' and a desire to be a step above others drives us.
-Money says: "In God we trust"
1. In my lifetime, I don't think I've ever witnessed our world living that out.
2. "One nation under God" has never been a reality in my lifetime.
-God is not a communist.
1. But neither is He a republican nor democrat.
2. U.S. is not a Christian country, but a secular country with a strong Christian presence.
3. We have bonded our faith in Christ w/ patriotism.
-Ill. Nazi soldiers wore on belt buckle "God is with us"
1. Holocaust (6 million Jews)
2. Abortion (47 million babies)
-Please don't miss my point.

IV. Analytical Worship
-I fear in the church, we may have become analytical worshipers.
-Ill. Pastor stayed w/ a young couple overnight.
1. In the morning he woke to hear a soprano voice singing "Nearer My God to Thee"
2. At breakfast he thanked the wife for the beautiful song and told her of the blessing it was as he woke in the morning.
3. "Oh, well, it's an old song my mother used to sing. I sing it b/c I've found it's a good one to boil eggs by. Just repeat the 1st verse 5 x's for soft-boiled, and 8 x's for hard-boiled."
-We've analyzed the divine out of the picture!
1. Music gifted: wrong note, tempo, poor blending, etc
2. Organizationally gifted: Order of worship was not followed closely enough, over time, that testimony was scheduled, etc.
3. Theologically gifted: theological correctness, incorrect song lyrics, incorrect testimony, etc.
-So our praise & thanksgiving becomes an issue of solely the intellect.
1. Mark 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
2. But v. 19b "singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart."
3. I'm not promoting emotionalism.
4. But I am promoting worship from the heart!
-We have so much, we do not know what gratitude is!

V. Foolishness
-Paul says foolishness is not knowing God's will for our lives.
-Ill. Budapest a man asks his pastor: "Life is unbearable. I have a family of 9 in one room. What can I do?"
1. Pastor; "Take your goat into the room w/ you & come back in a week."
2. Next week man says: "It cannot stand it any longer, the goat is filthy and unbearable!"
3. Pastor: "Let the goat out."
4. The next day the man said: "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat- only the nine of us."
-Ill. H.A. Ironside in a crowded restaurant
1. Man wanted to sit with him, and Ironside bowed to pray.
2. The other man asked, are you okay?
3. "Yes, I was just giving thanks before eating."
4. "Oh, you're one of those? Well, I never give thanks for what I eat, b/c I earn it by the sweat of my brow. I don't bow my head I just start right in!"
5. Ironside responded: "My dog does that too!"
-I'm not arguing for or against a prayer before meals.
1. I'm arguing for a thankful heart.
2. v. 20 "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"
-What do you really believe is God's Will for your life?
1. Wealth, picture perfect life, perfect health, fame, fortune, popularity?
2. Or just being grateful for what you have?
3. Thanksgiving is the foundation for contentment!

VI. Worse Off?
-So what are some of the reasons to give thanks?
1. "There is always somebody worse off than you."
2. "Do not grumble because you do not get what you want; be thankful you do not get what you deserve!"
-But what if you are the one worst off by the world's standards?
-Maude Royden "When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough."
-C. S. Lewis "He who has God and many other things has no more than he who has God alone."
-In our quest to accumulate we have grown cold in gratitude!
-There is no one worse off than that person who does not know Christ.
-There is no one more blessed than that person who knows Christ as savior!
-If God never gave another ‘blessing' we would still be blessed beyond imagination
-If you are a Christian this morning, you have all the reason you will ever need to give God thanks!

VII. Scriptural Thanks!
-The Bible Says...
-1 Chron. 16:34-35 "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Say also: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.'"
-Psalm 7:17 "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."
-Daniel 6:10 "When Daniel knew that the [law against prayer] document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."
-1 Cor. 15:57 "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
-2 Cor. 2:14 "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere."
-2 Cor. 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"
-When the Lord returns:
Rev. 11:17 "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign."

VIII. Conclusion
-Have you worshiped today?
-Ill. Gene & Joyce Williams
1. Pastor of Wichita, KA 1st Nazarene & prolific author.
2. All his children were Christians but one (Pat).
3. Pat came into their room and said: "Mom & Dad, I love you."
4. Pat shot himself at the foot of their bed.
5. He survived and told his dad years later: "During the closing hymn we sang ‘Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus' and that's what I did this morning."
-In our ‘culturally informed' way of thinking, we come to church looking for more blessings.
1. Prosperity gospel/ get rich quick
2. Maybe we should come willing to give to Him.
3. Give thanks to Him.
-Maybe that's a real church service!
1. Maybe that's real worship.
2. Maybe that's what we're all about.
-Different response:
1. Stand from your position.
2. Say: "I give God thanks."
3. Will you stand and give thanks to God today?