Vindicating His Holiness: Glorified in You

Vindicating His Holiness: Glorified in You

Ezekiel 36: 16-27, 31-32

I. Introduction
-Never let the sacred become common.
-Your life is a reflection of who God is.
-Does it reflect the true nature of God.
-New Christians base their lives on the "Christian" lives they see modeled before them.
-Don't let God's holiness become watered down or common in your life.

II. Scripture

III. Profaning of God's Name
-The church has faltered in the proclamation of the truth.
1. She has replaced the power of the Holy Spirit with charisma, programs, & human talents.
2. Being a holy people just didn't seem very practical (or appealing).
-Sermons being preached all over the nation today are being used to justify/ excuse sin rather than solve the problem of sin.
1. Ppl have perverted the love of God to approve of their sins.
2. Ppl have disgraced the blood of Jesus/forgiveness b/c of their wickedness.
-Problem of self - love
-The greatest abomination in the church is the gross infatuation w/ self.
-Know why Christians won't forgive Christians? B/c pride won't allow it.
-Know why there is division in church? B/c...
1. I can't understand why you don't love me just as much as I love me!
2. I think my way is the best way!
3. We don't work that way... we're looking for God's way!
-We are all consumed w/ our needs, wants, schedules, etc... and if the church doesn't support that (meet me needs) then I'll leave!
-Point: You may have seen nasty church splits, scandalous church fights, self-centered & ego-driven agendas, hateful board members, two-faced hypocritical members, divisive/ gossiping/ back-biting/ slanderous church goers...
1. ...but don't accept that as the work of the Spirit.
2. ...that is the failing of the flesh!
-Billy Graham said: "The church has almost lost her moral authority to speak to the world."
-If you are lost/in sin then you are profaning His Holy name.
1. Why? B/c you are part of His creation.
2. He intends for his creation to be holy.
-v. 21 "But I had a concern for my holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came."

IV. Ideal of the Lord
-When the disciples finally moved past self-love... then came Pentecost!
-Idea of not shaming Christ as Christian standard.
1. No, standard is glorifying Christ.
2. Not just abstain from sin, but do good!
-Paul said: "I die daily."
-"Crucified with Christ."
-Live beyond yourself.
1. Live with some inconvenience for the sake of others.
2. Be willing to put your comforts behind God's Will!
3. "The Cost of Discipleship"
-In the church we want God to be glorified/ make His name Holy!
1. You may have heard sermons saying otherwise (testimonies, ‘Bible' studies, lessons, etc.)
2. We preach the humanely impossible.
3. What is impossible w/ man is possible with God!
-Psalm 94:14 "For the Lord will not forsake his people; He will not abandon his heritage."

V. The Lord's Plan to Vindicate His Name
-vv. 22-23, 25-27
-The plan involves God working in your life!
-Every once in a while there is an individual who's very life brings glory to God.
1. Not a defect or error that the church produces (the defect is the shallow weak Christian we produce)
2. Seeking to glorify God (and actually doing it) in our lives is suppose to be the normal Christian experience!
3. Occasionally some seeking soul breaks through the form, programs, false/weak/shallow preaching, complacency , etc. and finds the Christ who formed the world!
4. Some push through the crowds of religious patrons, false doctrines, & sinful hypocrites to the cross of Jesus that has been tucked away in a corner!
-You must die on that cross!
1. You must die to self, to live for Him!
2. Live for His glory, not your earthly desires!
-v. 36b "I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it."

VI. Real Examples...
-Our singers (Mike & Tonia Ward)...
-Larry P. & family
-David H. & family
-Richard & Linda T.
-Sammy L. & family
-Ernest D. & family
-Regena J.
-Ill. Return to Maysville
1. Friday went to Camp meeting.
2. Saw grandparents.
3. Went into the tabernacle.
4. This is where I made a decision to glorify God with all my life!
-The world will know that God reigns b/c of what He is doing in His people!

VII. Conclusion
-Will you glorify God in all your life?
-Your decision to live for the Lord, is your own; but it is not made in a vacuum. It affects everyone around you!
-God wants to use you to show who He is to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, & church family.

Response: Lord, Be Glorified

Dramatic Intervention: Evangelism

Dramatic Intervention: Evangelism

Luke 5:17-26

I. Introduction
- Title is Dramatic Intervention
1. Could also be extreme measures
2. Or even desperate measures
- "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
1. People will do amazing/ crazy things in intense/ stressful situations.
2. Adrenaline, shock,
-What situations would lead you to dramatic intervention?
-Ill. TV show of a dramatic intervention
1. Family was worried about their loved one's drug addiction.
2. Gathered the family and talked to the family member about the addiction.
3. My family often had "family talks."
-What about a spiritual dramatic intervention?

II. Scripture

III. Barriers
-Some friends were bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus.
-Note: Oh that we might have friends like these!
-But the problem was that there were some barriers to getting to Jesus.
1. The crowd was too large.
2. Jesus was in a home teaching.
3. Couldn't just walk up to Him.
-Note: How many of us would have given up at that point?
-Point: Persistence pays off!
1. Barriers, deterrent, discouragement will not quench our resolve.
2. We are a people who have been commissioned by God himself!
-Scripture...
1. Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
2. 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
3. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 "As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good."
4. God commending the church in Ephesus...
Revelation 2:3 "I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary."
-Pray without ceasing, but don't stop witnessing either!
1. Don't stop talking about Jesus.
2. You just keep sowing the seed!
3. Don't grow weary or discouraged!
-2 Corinthians 9:6 "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

IV. Regardless of Costs
-It took the paralyzed man's friends a long time to do all this.
1. They risked rejection by Jesus, lawsuit for a damaged roof, social embarrassment, etc.
2. Don't put a price on the human soul!
-Calling of Saul/Paul
1. Acts 9:15 [to Ananias] "Go, for he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."
2. Paul was stoned, ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned, chained up, shipwrecked, snake bit, hated, etc. 3. But they couldn't stop him or silence him or keep him from carrying people to Jesus.
-v. 20a "when He [Jesus] saw their faith"
1. The faith of the friends made the difference.
2. It led to the paralyzed man's forgiveness.
-Query: Could your faith be holding back your spouse/ child/friend/neighbor?
-Ill. It's easy to tell when something is on fire.
1. If you put it close to something flammable it too will catch ablaze!
2. Any fire that does not spread will go out!
-Point: We are not the church, if the fire of the Spirit doesn't catch other hearts ablaze!

V. How Extreme is the Need?
-This is not some suggestion God has made to us.
1. It is not a hobby or past-time we do ‘on the side.'
2. It is not a secondary objective or a optional goal.
3. It is the primary thrust of who we are in Christ!
-Jesus said to Nicodemus that His mission/purpose was to seek and to save the lost.
1. So if we're Christian...
2. We adopt that mission/purpose!
-The greatest act of worship is ‘carrying' someone to Jesus!
-We're talking about eternity here!
1. The difference between Heaven & Hell.
2. The difference between being lost in sin and redeemed by the blood!
-Jesus' call to the disciples was: "Come with me and I'll make you fishers of men."
-Point: Some people are.... they need someone to...
1. ...so lost, they need more than directions to Jesus... escort them back to Him.
2. ...so blind...take them by the hand!
3. ...so weak...lean on all the way to Jesus.
4. ...so much pain....help them focus on the Savior.
5. ...wandering in the wilderness & ... lead them into the promised land.
6. ...tossed to & fro in the storms of life &... be the lighthouse that they might find Christ.
7. ...so busy...stop them and point to Christ!
8. ...living in so much hypocrisy... show them the truth of Christ.
9. ...so disoriented by worldly things... help them re-order life around Christ!
10. ...so paralyzed by sin... carry them to Jesus.
-These ppl might articulate it like this...
-Psalm 69:1-3, 13-15, 29
"Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. [2] I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. [3] I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. [13] But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. [14] Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. [15] Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. [29] But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!"
-There are some ppl in need of a dramatic intervention.
1. Something extreme.
2. B/c if it doesn't happen they may end up in Hell.

VI. Urgency
-Ill. A missionary coming home from a journey of about three days.
1. His son, John, comes running to meet him across a field with tall prairie grass.
2. As he ran, he suddenly fell out of sight.
3. At first the missionary thought it was a game, but then remembered there was an abandoned well in the field.
4. In a panic he ran to the spot and pulled his son out of the well.
5. His son's first words as he hugged his father were: "O Papa, why didn't you hurry?"
-Ill. When Jacob or Hannah fall & hurt themselves they will cry.
1. You'll never see a parent run faster than when their baby is in danger or hurting.
2. It is instinctual!
-Point: The ‘paralyzed' won't cry out in the same way a baby does, but they are hurting in a much deeper way!
1. Suicide... on the rise.
2. Depression... on the rise.
3. Addiction (alcohol/ drugs/etc.)... on the rise.
4. Despair, defeat, spiritual depravity, etc.... on the rise.
-Ill. Gen William Booth (founder of Salvation Army) was walking through London w/ his son, Bramwell.
1. His son was 12 or 13 and was surprised by his father when he took him by the hand and took him into a saloon.
2. The place was crowded w/ men & women participating in all kinds of evil.
3. Some were passed out, some were making passes at ppl other than their spouses, some were gambling, etc.
4. Gen. Booth said: "Willie, these are our people. These are the ppl I want you to live for and bring to Christ."
-May I suggest that some of the celebrity gossip shows wouldn't be so entertaining if you viewed them in light of eternity?
1. Maybe some of the worldly music you listen to wouldn't be so entertaining in light of a message echoed in Hell.
2. Maybe your heart would be broken if you measured your success not by worldly standards but by the measure of a soul!
-There are some ppl in need of a dramatic intervention.
-It's urgent that something be done!

VII. Whom Shall I Send?
-Query: What if God calls you?
1. What if you're the one to intervene in a dramatic way in someone's life?
2. What if you are the one with the call?
-Ill. Maybe today will be to you what Isaiah experience in Isaiah 6.
1. He experienced the glory of God!
2. Isaiah 6:8 "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I [Isaiah] said, "Here am I! Send me.""
-Ill. Maybe your call to work for the Lord has been coming for some time.
1. Maybe you're like Samuel.
2. Samuel was lying in bed and heard God call to him three times.
3. Each time he ran into Eli.
4. Finally Eli realized what was happening...
5. 1 Samuel 3:9-11 "Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. [10] And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears." [11] Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.""
-Let me ask again: Could your faith be the ‘lynch-pin' for revival?
-This paralyzed man went home "glorifying God."
-v. 26 "And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen extraordinary things today.'"
-Sounds like something I want to be a part of.
-A dramatic intervention.

Response: "Here I Am, Lord"

A Living Stone: The Living Church

A Living Stone: The Living Church

1 Peter 2:4-12

I. Introduction
-What the church should be vs. what it is!
1. It falls far short of the NT church.
2. In power!
3. Maybe we have derived our power from human sources.
-Personality, charisma, talents have driven the church.
1. We tend to look for talented ppl to recruit.
2. I think we should look for Holy ppl to recruit.
-The church in our society has become mediocre.
1. Complacent & weak!
2. Sickly & shallow.
-The church doesn't stand for anything or proclaim anything worth hearing.
-Pardon my pessimism.
-Let me get to the Good News...

II. Scripture

III. The Rejected Stone
-Let me talk about some of the different stones mentioned in the scripture.
-First a stone that the builder's rejected.
1. Your life is built on something.
2. Some philosophy directs your life.
3. It determines your actions, your values, even your thinking.
-Most often we debate that w/ the nature vs. nurture idea
1. Nature: You are born pre-disposed to be a certain way.
2. Nurture: Your raisin' determines the way you will be.
-But we don't always consider what Christ is able to do...
1. Transform your personality.
2. Some things are A-spiritual.
-We often reject what God wants to do!
-A rejected stone becomes a stumbling block.
1. v. 8
2. To oppose God is a poor decision.
-Ill. "I Don't Believe in Holiness!"
1. Perfect holiness w/out which no man shall see Christ!

IV. The Cornerstone
-v. 6
-Ill. Cornerstone as a starting point for building.
1. Everything is set to the cornerstone.
2. Everything is measured back to the cornerstone.
3. Most important piece.
4. Standard-setter.
-C.S. Lewis: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
-Christ informs all the rest of life.

VII. The Living Stone
-v. 4
-Each generation of the church is a fragile thing.
-Could the church breathe it's last in our generation?
-AW Tozer from Keys to the Deeper Life: "‘The deeper life' is deeper only b/c the average Christian life is tragically shallow."
-The viability of the church is dependant upon the Spirit!
1. Not programs, money,
2. Attendance, preacher, etc.
3. (All those can influence the life of the church.)
-Necessity of the Spirit.
-Living things grow.
1. Individually & corporately!
2. Numerically & Spiritually

VIII. The Remnant
-vv 9-10 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [10]Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
-In the darkest generation there is always a remnant! (Difficult place to be!)
-At some point, God will cut away all the dead, diseased, & decaying!
-He will breathe on his true disciples again.
-If God be for us who could be against us?
-The remnant are the building blocks of the true church. (v. 5)

IX. Conclusion
-The Church
1. A Rejected Stone
2. A Cornerstone
3. A Living Stone
4. The Remnant
-God's People, the called out, the body of Christ, the church, etc.
-What a task we have!

Response

Hard or Blood Washed: What's Your Heart Condition?

Hard or Blood Washed?: What's Your Heart Condition?

Zechariah 7:4-14

I. Introduction
-What is good preaching?
1. Presentation of truth
2. Application of truth (partly my job, but partly yours)
3. The "rubber has to meet the road."
4. James 1:22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
-Point: Christian truth is designed to lead us to God, not serve as a substitute for God.
-Point: Live by the Word!
1. Christian= Christ like
2. What is Christ like? We only know from the Word!
3. You can't be sure of a lot of things, but you can be sure of the Word!
-Live the Word no matter what!
1. Regardless of personal cost.
2. ...who tells you otherwise.
3. ...what the world is advising
-Stay true to Christ & His Word!

II. Scripture Background
-We will be in Zechariah today.
-Israelites have just come out of Babylonian captivity.
-Haggai calls the ppl of God to rebuild the temple.
-Zechariah's call is to rebuild the covenant w/ God.

III. Scripture

IV. Back to Right
-For the ppl of Israel things were returning to the way they should be.
-B/c of previous sin they had been taken into captivity under the Babylonians (and others).
1. Ezekiel, Daniel, and others during this time.
2. But that was drawing to a close.
-They were in a ‘rebuilding' time in their lives.
-One thing they had neglected was God.
1. In difficulty God gets moved to the back burner.
2. Too busy? Skip church, devotions, etc.
-Haggai the prophet came to encourage them to rebuild the temple.
1. It was the center of worship.
2. Where God's name dwelt.
-Note: Restoring religious imagery does not restore relationship.
1. Wearing a cross around your neck does not mean you know Christ.
2. Having Christian decor around your home does not mean you know Christ.
-Note: Neither does going to back to church.
1. It had been a long time since they had been in church.
2. But re-building/ going back wasn't going to change them spiritually.
-But it was a step in the right direction.
1. Looking to get right?
2. Seek the presence of God.
3. You won't find Him in your sinfulness or same ways!

VII. Full Restoration
-But a full restoration needed to take place!
-A restoration that went beyond religious practice!
1. ...beyond habit & even actions.
2. ...beyond surface.
-A restoration of the heart.
-No one comes to God through an automatic or unconscious process.
-Being born-again is an intentional, purposeful step you take.
1. Ppl are not accidently born-again.
2. They do become Christians by mistake or chance.
3. There is a drawing of the Holy Spirit and our response of obedience.
-Point: If you don't seek Christ with all your heart, you won't find Him.
-The path of least resistance does not lead to God!
1. Loving enemies, denying self, fasting, crucifying the flesh, etc.
2. The way of Christ is taking up your cross.
-God's desire was to restore not only a proper lifestyle to His ppl, but also a right heart/desires/etc!

VIII. The Problem
-The Heart!
-God had sought to direct their path, but they had rejected it.
1. They had "stopped up their ears" (lit- ears grown heavy)
2. They had "pulled away their shoulder" (stubbornness)
-v. 10 says God warned them against devising "evil in their heart[s]"
-v. 12a "They made their hearts {diamond hard}, lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets."
1. Hearts were...
2. ESV- diamond hard
3. KJV- as adamant stone
4. NIV- hard as flint
5. HCSB- like a rock
-You can leave here the same as you arrived this morning by hardening your heart.
1. You can pray, read Scripture, go to church, sing praise, etc. and never change by hardening your heart.
2. What a tragedy that would be
-What are you going to do?
-Side Note: A Good worship= when someone softens their heart and is obedient to Him.

IX. Something More
-Innate w/in us is the need to kneel in reverence before something bigger than ourselves.
1. ...to live for/worship something beyond ourselves.
2. ...seek to understand what more there is.
-Note: People do not walk away from God b/c they do not want God– but b/c they have found something they want more than God.
1. No one wants to go to Hell!
2. Few would say they hate God!
3. Few would actually work against God.
4. But many have found something they value more than God.
-You can harden your heart, but hear this: Until you love him w/ your heart... you will never know Him in all His fullness!
-Not love enough to go to church, but to be the church.
1. Not... seem Christian, but to be Christian.
2. Not... do good, but be good
3. Not... portray holiness, but to live out holiness.
-A heart that loves God invites cleansing!
1. Of habits, of sins, of desires, of things contrary to the Word & His Spirit!
2. A Cleansing from Him!

X. Israel's Fate?
-In between chapters condensed version....
1. Hear the promise of a Messiah named Jesus.
2. Foreshadowing
-Ch. 8:13 "And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong."
-Ch. 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
-Ch. 10:9 "Though I scattered them [Israelites] among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return."
-Ch. 11:17a "Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!" [to me the preacher; desert = does not care for the flock but for their own welfare]
-Ch. 12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn."
-And when the ppl finally come to a place of mourning [hearts softened & pliable]
1. Repentant hearts willing to obey Him!
2. Hearts inviting God to dwell in them!
-Ch. 13:1 "On that day there shall be a fountain [Jesus' blood] opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness."

VIII. Conclusion
-Ill. Spirit vs. GPS
1. "Make a U-turn." when you miss your road.
2. Eventually it will re-figure a new route from your current position to the original location.
-Maybe you have missed a number of turns you should have made.
1. The Spirit has been saying: "Make a U-turn."
2. But your heart was diamond hard; you stopped up your ears, you pulled away your shoulder.
-And at some point you realized you were lost.
-This morning, if you will be obedient, God can re-figure a path to wholeness from where you are at right now.

Response: "There is a Fountain"

Don't Look Back: Lingering in Destruction

Don't Look Back: Lingering in Destruction

Genesis 19:1-8, 11-29

I. Introduction
-The difficulty of the Christian life is the allurement w/ things of this world.
1. Call it distractions.
2. Call it temptations.
-A Worldly Allurement
1. insidious infection
2. Plague in the church today
-A cancerous growth w/ only one solution- cleansing of the Holy Spirit.
-Resist temptation
1. It will come.
2. It destroys.
-No victory w/out resistance.
-Learn from others, like Lot...

II. Scripture

III. Sodom
-Infamous city (w/ Gomorrah)
-A city wiped out of existence
-Root of our word: sodomite
1. Known for it's perverse sexual sin
2. known for it's intense wickedness
-Query: Why was Lot able to settle in Sodom?

IV. Our World
-Our world will be destroyed too.
-God's grace & mercy move/transition to His truth & judgement.
-Don't think God will ignore sin forever.
-There will be a day of judgement.
-This world is headed for destruction... don't be on that train!
-No one wants to, but some may find themselves on that path...

V. Appeasement
-It begins with a policy of appeasement.
-Ill. Lot's appeasement...
1. Men of Sodom surround house.
2. Lot offers daughters instead of rape of male visitors.
3. Appease sodomites & God!?
-A mixed morality
1. The world might accept some of God's morality.
2. As Christians we are to accept all of God's morality.
-You cannot be a Christian & practice appeasement.
1. Jesus says: You cannot serve two masters.
2. Elijah: "Choose this day whom you will serve."
-The church embraces God's Word... it is the standard for truth, morality, and living!
1. We accept nothing less.
2. We cannot choose a partial obedience.

VI. Lingering
-v. 16 "But he lingered."
-Too many Christians are lingering in destructive ways.
-God has provided a way out.
1. ...a way of redemption.
2. ...a way of salvation.
3. And all out of his mercy!
-Take God's way!
-Ill. Eve & Serpent
1. Her defeat came not when she bit into the fruit.
2. Defeat came when she debated w/ the devil.
-The angels grabbed Lot's hand and ran them out of the city.
-Problem of Lot wanting Zoar
1. Lot didn't want to leave!
2. There was still a love of Sodom in his heart!
-Zoar means ‘little' in Hebrew.
1. It's the little things that destroy us.
2. The little habits that the world encourages.
3. The little things we say, do, or think.
-Song of Solomon 2:15 "Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom."

VII. Our Defeat
-Too many Christians lead defeated lives today, not b/c they are murderers or rapists.
1. But b/c their hearts are still in love w/ this present age.
2. Their affections are tied up in the temporary.
-What is so valuable in this world that you are willing to pay w/ your soul?
-What worldly possession, attitude, or action has merit enough to equate to eternity?
-Some of you think b/c the preacher doesn't know about your sin that God doesn't know.
-Don't take my ignorance to be blindness on God's part.
1. He does know!
2. God is aware of your lingering in Sodom.
3. He is aware of your appeasement.

VIII. Abraham & Lot
-Lot's uncle was Abraham
-There are some similarities between the two.
-But they are not the same!
-Note the difference...
-The promise, possibility, & lingering.
-Lot never had a direct encounter w/ God.
1. The blessings he enjoyed were only b/c of his association w/ Abraham.
-Many in the church today enjoy the blessings of being a part of a Spirit filled church... but have never known it personally.

IX. Looking Back
-v. 26
-Jesus said: "No man who puts His hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God."
-Revelation 2:4 "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first."

-Sodom is calling.
1. You have left Sodom.
2. But there is something that still entices you about that place.
-And now you find yourself looking back.
-Ill. Ppl go to the altar.
1. First thing they do is tell God what they won't give him.
2. Get up and declare they've given everything to God, but...
-We expect a great revival & movement of the Holy Spirit w/out being fully committed to Him.
1. God won't work miracles in your life if you are lingering in Sodom.
2. You won't know all He could do if you are abiding in little sins.
3. You'll never see what God has in store for you if you are looking back!

X. Conclusion
-"Run and never look back."
1. Don't stop. Don't hesitate.
2. Don't look back!
-Make a decision today that your life is wholly dependant upon God's will.
-Commit all to Him.
-Resolve to bring all of your life under His Lordship.
-Determine to correct anything in your life that does not promote the Holiness of God to dwell in your richly!
-Will you make up your mind to serve Christ with all this morning?

Response: "I Am Resolved"

At the Gate: In or Out?

At the Gate: In or Out?


Acts 3:1-6

I. Introduction
-What do you expect here?
-What are you looking for here?
-Maybe what you seek, is all you will find?
1. How far you're willing to go is all the farthest you'll ever get!
2. You are the church!
-Different Question: What do you want to be spiritually?
1. What do you want God to make you?
2. Are you content where you are at?
3. What would you be willing to do to grow in the Lord? (Give up sin.)
-Ill. Song: "Somewhere between Jesus & John Wayne."
1. I hate that song (on Christian radio).
2. Is that all you have?
3. Is that all you ever will be?
4. If so, I'd say you were a spiritual lame beggar.

II. Scripture

III. Peter & John Together
-Unity
-The greatest battle of the church today is for unity.
1. I'm not talking about disagreement &/or difference of opinion.
2. I'm addressing unity.
-At the hour of prayer... there must be unity.
-The greatest battle of the church today is a unity of spirit.

IV. Background
-They took him to the gate to beg for alms.
-Never expected to go into the sanctuary.
1. I'd say he knew what went on in the sanctuary, but never really participated.
2. But he did beg for change from those coming & going.
-He hoped for a little ‘over flow' blessing.
1. Some left-overs.
2. Some scraps.
-Query: I wonder why we settle for left-overs?

V. New to Church
-Sinners/ Lost/ New to church kind of enjoy the gate.
-Sinners at the gate experience the leftovers/ crumbs and think it is wonderful.
-Compared to the world, the gate is a great place!
-Problem: But for many, years from now, if they settle for the gate, they'll be in the same place... a lame beggar living off crumbs.
1. And they'll still think its great.
2. And they'll think they great with God.
-Just b/c you get blessed at church doesn't make you a Christian.
1. That just means you have a soul!
2. That just means you still have a spirit w/in your body!
-You're living off the blessings of others.
1. You're living off the spirituality of the preacher.
2. You're living off the walk of your parents.
-Ill. Wedding clean up.
1. Rice, napkins, cake, confetti
2. You can tell what happened in the place, but that's much different than being in the wedding!
-Don't settle for crumbs at the gate, when our Savior has prepared a banquet table/ a feast!
-Ill. Prodigal Son
1. He was eating pig slop.
2. He was happy to come back and be a servant in his Father's house [at the gate].
3. But his Father was ready to make him a son again!
-Don't you dare...
1. ...stop at the gate!
2. ...settle for spare change!
3. ...be content with a good service!
4. ...adjust to spiritual begging
5. ...get use to God working around you!
-Not when God wants to work in you!

VI. "Regular Attenders"
-People in the church, but not "in the sanctuary."
-Some here this morning are just barely surviving spiritually.
-It's hard to describe where you're at spiritually.
-When ppl talk about where you are at, what might they say?
-Might they say...
1. Out and out sinner.
2. Godly saint.
3. ...or maybe: I don't know.
-"Some are too saved to be lost, but too lost to be saved."
1. Who knows?... only God?
2. They've got it! They've not.
3. Maybe! Maybe not!
4. And if you're there, you're trying to figure out where you're at too!
-You don't have to set an alarm on Sunday morning, you just wake up, but your ears have dulled to the voice of the Spirit.
1. If God sat right next to you and screamed in your ear you wouldn't hear it.
2. You know when to sit, when to stand, & when to sing.
3. But you don't know how to get to the banquet table.
-You're barely surviving spiritually & you're content with that.
1. You've done just enough to feel like you'll make it.
2. Just enough to seem deep.
3. Just enough to appease the preacher.
-You're at the gate.
-You're keeping God at arm's length.
1. That tension is not normal, it's you fighting God trying to move you past the gate!
2. God never intended to be kept at arms length.
-The Bible only once tells you to go to church; but over & over again it commands us to be the church.
1. What if you stopped coming here and started belonging here; had a calling here?
2. The more spectators we have (ppl at the gate) the weaker we are as a church!
-Where are you at spiritually?
-You'll never know what you're missing if you never make it past the gate!
-When the lame man finally got into the sanctuary (praising God), the crowd saw him...
1. v. 10b "...And they were filled w/ wonder & amazement at what had happened to Him."
2. You "get in" and ppl will be amazed.

VII. Continued...
-"At the gate" ppl are the least ministered to.
1. You might come to church often, and b/c you do you fade into the background.
2. Regular attendance does not = heaven.
-You might be "regular" but you need to move beyond the gate.
1. Don't sit there Sunday after Sunday unresponsive.
2. Say "Yes, Lord" more than just when we sing.
-Ill. We talk a lot about "being fed" in a church.
1. What we don't talk about is helping prepare the food.
2. We treat this place like a restaurant... we want to be served.
-Ill. Evangelist & a "gate man"
1. "I didn't get anything out of your preaching."
2. "That's b/c you didn't put anything into my preaching."
-But that attitude will leave you begging at the gate.
1. It won't take you into the holy place!
2. It will leave you a spiritually lame beggar!
-But oh if you would move past the gate... into the presence of God!

VIII. Past the Gate
-Examples of people going past the gate.
-Ill. Geneva Penick, Larry P's mother.
1. Mother of 4 boys & 2 girls.
2. Gathered them every night around her feet and read from the Word.
3. Getting past the gate.
-Peter in the boat.
1. "Lord if it's you ask me to come to you on the water."
2. He stepped out of the boat and walked to Jesus. (He did risk a lot!)
-Ill. Edi Burton
1. Naomi Nazarene
2. Breast cancer, lived 4 weeks after moving there.
3. "Come morning we'll meet by the river."
4. They carried her into the sanctuary that morning, but only physically.
-Ill. Willard W. Metz
1. Kneeling around the couch.
2. I can still remember the smell.
3. They passed the gate every day, but never paused to beg for crumbs.
-You'll never know all God wants to do if you stand at the gate and look in.
-You'll never be in the middle of what God is doing... only catching the run-off.
1. You'll never be a 1st hand witness to the work of the Spirit... only through hear-say will you be privy to the work of the Lord.
2. You'll never experience Christian fullness... only scraps from off the floor.

VII. Conclusion
-I was asked one time if I went to a full Gospel church.
1. "No a half Gospel church."
2. "No a 2% Gospel church."
3. YES!?
-We teach the whole message of God's Word.
1. You've got to do more than like Jesus.
2. You've got to do more than love Jesus.
3. He must be everything to you.
4. He must be your Lord & Savior.
5. All your life must glorify Him!
-Ill. Eating at parishner's homes growing up.
1. For dessert... cherry pie!
2. Every time!
3. Meals included onions, peppers, etc.
4. #1 Rule: You have to try it.
5. "If you don't try it you'll never know if you like it."
-Problem: The Devil will make you believe that you're okay at the gate.
1. Are you okay with someone else's leftovers?
2. Are you content with spare change?
-Or are you looking for a healing?
-If you came seeking alms this morning, I hope you're disappointed.
-If you've grown comfortable at the gate; I hope you're uncomfortable this morning.
-I don't want you to stay at the gate.
-May I say to you like Peter said to this lame beggar: "Rise up, and walk [on into His presence]." -Come for a healing today, get past the gate.

Response: "Rise & Be Healed"

Wait for the Vision

Wait for the Vision

Habbakuk 2:2-4

I. Introduction
-Franklin Field "Poor eyes limit your sight; poor vision limits your deeds."
-E. Paul Hovey "A blind man's world is bound by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man's world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man's world by the limits of his vision."
-Dictionary defines vision as...
1. The faculty of sight.
2. Something that is, or has been seen.
3. Discerning perception.
-Vision has to do more w/ seeing things from a spiritual angle.
1. Not about business acumen.
2. Not about sense of style.
3. Rather a sense for the Spirit.
-Can you perceive the movement of the Spirit in the most dire of situations?
-Habbakuk 1
1. The prophet's complaint...
2. God's response...
3. Spiritual intimacy of this conversation.
-Ill. "Can't see the forest for the trees."
-Ill. Chess game observer
-Habakkuk witnessed the collapse of the kingdom, rise of Babylon, reign of injustice/wickedness.
II. Scripture

III. God does have a purpose...
-He does want to use you.
-He does want to work in your situation/circumstance.
-He does want to sinners to come to repentance.
-He does want to move among us!
-God wants to work!
-God has a plan/a will/ an agenda!
-God has a plan that is unfolding.
1. From Genesis to Revelation.
2. From your conception to your last breath.
-Psalm 139:13-17 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. [14] I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. [15] My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. [16] Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. [17] How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
-Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
-Proverbs 29:18a "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

IV. Do you Have Vision?
-I'm not asking if you can see.
-I'm asking if you have begun to see things as God sees things.
-I'm not gauging your spiritual maturity.
1. I'm not asking if you are more spiritual than others here.
2. I'm not asking if you are hyper spiritual.
-False distinction of super-Christians and ordinary Christians.
-What I'm talking about is something for the normal Christian.

V. Why No Vision?
-Some are not looking for it...
-We simply do not want to see things from God's perspective.
-Some are not looking in the right direction...
-Ill. Farming w/ grandpa Henry
1. Difficulty of making straight rows on the tractor.
2. Look behind? No.
3. Look to the side? No.
4. Fix your eyes on the destination.
-Luke 9:62 "Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
-We're looking to our job, our possessions, HollyWood, relationships, reputations, etc. to give us vision.
-It must be Christ centered.
-Query: Ask yourself if Christ is honored in these areas of your life...
1. Job... if not... quit it.
2. Possessions... if not get rid of them.
3. HollyWood/entertainment
4. Relationships... if not dissolve them.
5. Reputation... if not, then reject it.
6. Credit card statement... do the purchases glorify God?
7. Etc...
-Note: We often see things the way we want to see them.
-We have vision, but will not act on it.
-Ill. Rosebud going to the carrier to see the vet.
1. As soon as she sees the cat carrier she panics.
2. Even though it is what is best for her!
3. Did you get in a fight w/ a barb wire fence?

VI. The Vision
-Try this on...
-...a life in which God is working.
1. Growing closer to him everyday.
2. Becoming more like him.
3. Learning to delight in him more.
4. Trusting him more.
5. Committing all your ways to him.
-...a place where God is working.
1. The lost are being born-again.
2. People are being delivered from their sin (forgiven & delivered= salvation)
3. People are finding victory over despair, depression, addictions, attitudes, etc. in Christ Jesus!
4. Believers are being baptized in the Spirit.
5. Christians are being equipped by the Spirit!
6. People of God are going out of this place in power! (Spiritual weakness comes from sinfulness.) 7. Spirit-filled Christians are growing & maturing.
8. People are seeking God, crying out to God, and waiting on God.
-...a people in whom God is working.
1. What does it mean to be Christian?
2. What does it look like in your life?
-So much hypocrisy breeds more hypocrisy.
1. It also breeds a skepticism of what God is able to do in people.
2. Don't allow the sinfulness of other professing Christians to deter you from victory in your life!
3. Don't allow the hypocrisy of others to cause you to forfeit what you seek for in Christ!

VII. Conclusion
-I'm not talking about imagination.
1. You cannot imagine what you cannot conceive of.
2. You can only have a vision for that.
-I'm not asking you to be creative, I'm asking you to step into the holiness of God and catch His vision.
-I may not have been helpful this morning.
1. I haven't told you the ‘how-to'
2. I can tell you how to pray, how to witness, how to get to church, how to read your Bible...
-I cannot tell you how to receive a vision from God.
-Few ppl receive a vision from God.
-Around steps = no one else
-Around altar = others to pray with you.
-Only God can give you what I am talking about.

Response

Called By a New Name: In Need of a Name Change

Called by a New Name: In Need of a Name-Change

Isaiah 62:2-12

I. Introduction
-Names are fascinating.
-The Variety of names.
1. Especially across cultures.
2. All over the world.
-They help us distinguish among one another.
-Ill. Jared K. Henry
1. Klayton vs. Kyle
2. Psychology together.
3. Receiving his e-mails from his girlfriend.
4. I was worried he would be receiving mine!
-When you first meet another person you exchange names
1. Sometimes before you meet you inquire about one's name.
2. Names hold significance.
-You can sometimes know something about someone by their name.
1. Like their background
2. Gonzalez- Hispanic
3. O'Malley- Irish
4. Rolff- Germany
5. Turcotte- French
6. Use to tell your vocation (carpenters= wood workers; brewers= brewery; etc.)
-Your name may have meaning attached to it.
1. Jr, II, III, etc.
2. Named after a grandparent, aunt/uncle, etc.
-Ill. Sean John Combs
1. Puff Daddy
2. Then- P. Diddy
3. Now just Diddy
4. Going to be a father? Then Diddy Daddy!?
-I've been thinking about names.
-Ill. Pastor's family in IN w/ four boys.
1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, & Roy
2. I don't know.
-Ever ‘google' your name?
1. I did.
2. It's scary what you can find on the Internet!
-If you could change your name what would you change it to?
1. Someone who changed their name... what do you call them?
2. Ladies transition to new last name.

II. Scripture

III. Biblical Names
-Naming a child was significant
1. It was more than sentimental or family meaning.
2. The name described who you were or something you had done.
3. Even places had names that were significant.
-For example...
1. Genesis 28:19 "He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first." (Bethel = house of God)
2. Joshua 5:9 "And the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day."
(Gilgal = to roll)
3. Matthew 27:33 "And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)."
-The names of people...
1. Genesis 17:5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations."
a. Abram- exalted Father
b. Abraham- Father of a multitude
2. Genesis 17:15 "And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name." (Both = princess)
3. Genesis 32:28 "Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.""
a. Jacob= deceiver/
heel grasper
b. Israel= he strives w/ God
-Point: There's something about an encounter w/ God that changes names.
1. When God moves or works in a place... the name changes.
2. When God comes into relationship with a human being... their name changes

IV. Has Your Name Been Changed?
-Query: Have you received a new name from the Lord?
-How to...
1. Acknowledge a need for something more that you cannot attain alone.
2. Acknowledge you do not presently have it.
3. Acknowledge you must reject lifestyle & values up to that point and adopt new ones!
4. Believe in your adoption into a new family!
-A new name is not something you claim it is something that you are given.
-v. 2 "and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give."
-Wouldn't you like that kind of name?

V. Your Name
-Your reputation is attached to your name.
1. If you are not well liked your name can bring an unpleasant response.
2. If you are well like it can bring a pleasant response.
-There's something of who you are attached to your name.
-I wonder what people will say about you at your funeral as they remember your name?
1. "What name did you make for yourself?"
2. A great preacher?
3. Made a lot of money?
4. An intelligent person?
5. Wise? Foolish? Religious?
6. Church attender? Church worker? (There is a difference.)
7. Loving? Judgmental? Hateful? Kind?
-Your name is not created by what you wish you were, but what you truly are!
1. Everyone wishes they had a good name in the community.
2. But that doesn't decide how everyone views you.
3. Who are you really?
-Query: What would make you the Christian you wish you were?
-Note: What you desperately need spiritually will not come w/out cost (resources, time, focus, energy, etc).
1. An investment in spiritual things is always well worth it!
2. It's what you really want... are you willing to pay the price for it?

VI. A New Name
-Some of you have had the kind of encounter w/ God I am referring to.
1. A name changing encounter.
2. A Born-Again experience.
-But you've denied your birthright.
-You've shamed your new name.
-Discouragement & defeat and chained you again to your past.
-Point: Remember the new name you are called by!
1. Remember who you are in Christ Jesus.
2. Remember the freedom that Jesus paid for!
3. That's not who you are any more!
-Ill. Israelite Forgetfulness
1. Shame the Name
2. Took the name of forsaken & desolate.
-v. 4 "You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called ‘My Delight Is in Her,' [Hephzibah] and your land Married; [Beulah] for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married."
-O the joy of a life lived that God delights in!
1. Sin = shame!
2. Hephzibah = joy & freedom
-Face temptation w/ new name!
1. That's now who I am!
2. I cannot shame the name of Christ!
3. I'm apart of the family of God now!

VII. Conclusion
-1 Corinthians 9-11 "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. [11] [GOOD NEWS] And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified [made holy], you were justified [made right] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1. I was a liar, thief, gossip, self-centered, sexually immoral, drunk, hateful, boastful, prideful, arrogant, impatient, adulterer, etc.
2. My name was forsaken & desolate.
-But then I came to Jesus.
1. My name was changed from Jacob [deceiver] to Israel [he strives w/ God].
2. From Forsaken to Hephzibah.
3. From Desolate to Beulah!
4. From sinner to Christian!
5. Lost to Found!
6. From Darkness to Light!
7. From Slave to Son!
-I've received a new name from the mouth of God.
-v. 12 "And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken."

Response

Commandment #10

Commandment #10: Sanctity of Contentment

Exodus 20:17

I. Introduction
-Ill. Saturday AM cartoons.
1. Early on Saturday morn sneaking into the tv room.
2. Cartoons!
3. Commercials of toys!
4. They always seemed so appealing.
5. You remember those toy commercials when going to Wal-Mart!
6. Throwing a fit as you walk by the candy aisle?
-But we're adults... we don't do that do we?
-Ill. Man finds a genie's lamp at the beach.
1. Genie comes out & says you get three wishes, but your worst enemy gets twice what you get!
2. "One million dollars."
3. His enemy got two million.
4. "I want the biggest diamond in the world."
5. He got it but his enemy got two!
6. Genie: "What is your final wish?"
7. "Scare me ½ to death!"
-We are driven by stuff!
1. We bow at the idol of materialism.
2. But no matter how much we have, we want more.
-Ill. Someone asked Rockefeller "How much does the average person need to survive?"
1. "Just a little bit more!"
2. What do you need?

II. Scripture

III. Background
-Catholics combine the first two commandments and divide this one into two.
1. Coveting your neighbor's wife.
2. Coveting their stuff.
-Coveting is based on greed.
-Our society is so prevalent with this that it takes a careful eye to spot it.
-Defined: To ‘covet' is to strongly desire something (person, place, thing, or idea) that belongs to someone else.
-With the exception of the first commandment this is the only commandment that deals with the heart.
1. Not dealing w/ outward, visible things.
2. Motive, heart issue.
-So why does God use this time to deal with something that seems so harmless?

IV. Coveting vs. Contentment
-Ever seen a TV commercial?
-Most of them are tempting you w/ coveting.
-Their desire is to convince you life isn't complete w/out their product!
-That's the fundamental problem w/ coveting!
-Coveting is more than a passing temptation.
1. In a store: "Oh, I'd like to have that."
2. It is a nurtured desire for something that does not belong to you.
-Today, Rene Descartes: "I shop therefore I am."
-The modern Latin conquered might say: "I came...I saw... I shopped."
-Consumerism has become our new religion!
-People in our society today have a negative net value b/c of debt.
1. Home, car, credit card, etc.
2. More, more, more...
-We view luxuries as necessities b/c coveting has twisted our values.
-As rich as our nation is we live in the discontent capitol of the world.
-No one is content with life anymore.

V. Coveting & Idolatry
-Coveting is worshiping someone else's stuff.
-It displaces the Lordship of Christ.
-It is idolatry.
-It is consuming.
-It is destructive.

VI. Thinking Temporary
-Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
-Coveting brings our thoughts to go no higher than our selves.
-Don't store up treasures here on earth.

VII. Infiltrated the Church
-Coveting says your "wants/needs" are more important than others.
-It has infected the church.
-Prosperity Gospel!
-Name & Claim!
-Healing demands (What is the greatest healing?)
-Self-centeredness driven by greed.
-Also can covet talents, spiritual gifts, and skills other Christians have.
-You do what God wants you to do & stop coveting what He wants them to do.


VIII. What Do You Need?
-Ill. Curly haired ppl want straight hair and straight haired ppl want curly hair.
1. Singer wants to preach.
2. Preacher wants to teach.
3. Teacher wants to sing.
-And no one accomplishes anything good for the Kingdom.
-Do you need anything more than what you have right now?
-Is God enough for you?
-Ephesians 5:5 "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."

IX. Conclusion
-1 Timothy 6:6 "For Godliness with contentment is great gain."
-Ill. Businessman telling about receiving a gold coin as a child.
1. It was rare in those days and his sister would do anything to hold it for a few moment.
2. She would do his chores, serve him, etc.
3. The man was telling another group of men who were laughing at it.
4. One man said: "Sounds like laugh all we work for and toil for is only to be able to hold onto a gold coin for a just a few moments."
-This life will eventually pass away, what will you be left holding?

Response

Commandment #9

Commandment #9: Sanctity of Speech

Exodus 20:16

I. Introduction
-"Liar, liar, pants on fire; nose as long as a telephone wire." (Anyone burnt?)
-Truth is a commodity in today's culture.
-Ill. A store manager hears his clerk say, "No, ma'am, we haven't had any for a while, and it doesn't look as if we'll be getting any soon."
1. The manager ran over & said: "Of course we'll have some soon. We placed an order last week." 2. Then he took the clerk aside & said: "Never, never, never say we're out of anything-- say we've got it on order and it's coming. Now, what was it she wanted?"
3. "Rain," the clerk said.
-Ill. A preacher told the church to read Mark 17 for next Sunday's sermon.
1. Next Sunday he asked how many had read Mark 17.
2. Most of the congregation raised their hands.
3. The pastor said: "Good, I am preaching on Liars, and there is no Mark 17."

II. Scripture

III. Background
-It was not too long ago that a man's word was his bond.
1. Yes was yes.
2. No was no.
-High School English teacher: "If a man's word isn't good, then what is good about him."
-Ill. Boston a minister sees a group of boys around a stray dog.
1. "What are you doing, boys?"
2. "Telling lies. The one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog."
3. "Why, when I was your age, I never ever thought of telling a lie."
4. The boys looked and said, "I guess he wins the dog."
-Deception is prevalent!
-Notice this commandment is more than about just lying.
1. It is about bearing false witness.
2. You can bear false witness w/out ever saying a word.
3. You can bear false witness by telling the truth.
-Query: What is the big deal about bearing false witness?

IV. Truth is Truth
-Truth is not subjective.
-Ill. Lincoln arguing with a stubborn man.
1. Lincoln said: "How many legs does a cow have?"
2. "Four, of course."
3. Lincoln agreed, "That's right. Now, suppose you call the cow's tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?"
4. "Why, five, of course."
5. Lincoln: "Well, that's where you're wrong. Calling a cow's tail a leg doesn't make it a leg!"
-Truth is not open for debate.
1. It is either true or it is not.
2. There is no ‘gray' area or ‘middle' ground between truth and deception!
-Truth cannot be changed.
1. It cannot be bent!
2. It cannot be stretched!
-At the moment it is altered it become deceit!
-John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.""
-So if Jesus is truth, where does deceit have relationship with truth?
1. It DOESN'T!
2. He takes no part in lying.

V. Deception & Relationships
-Deceit destroys relationships we have with God & man.
-Words are the primary connection & communication with others, why would we compromise that, through deceit?
-Deceit is the poison to gossip!
-Half-truths can do full damage.
-Victor Hugo: "Men hate those to whom they have to lie."
1. If you lie about someone, or to someone you will begin to despise them.
2. Lies are corrosive to relationships, b/c they break down trust.
3. Relationships need trust.
-John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
-Satan is the father of lies.
1. Do you speak truth or lies?
2. Maybe that would be an indicator of who your father!

VI. Prevalence of Deceit!
-Deception is accepted in our culture & often in the church.
-Ill. Listen to these quotes...
1. Matthew Lesko: "A degree of lying - you know, white lies - seems to be inherent in all languages and all forms of communication."
2. Clare Boothe Luce: "Lying increases the creative faculties, expands the ego, and lessens the frictions of social contacts."
3. Susan Sontag: "Lying is the most simple form of self-defense."
4. Mark Twain: "Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it."
-Ill. "The Day American Told the Truth" says that 91 percent of those surveyed lie routinely about matters they consider trivial
1. 36% lie about important matters
2. 86% lie regularly to parents
3. 75% to friends, 73% to siblings, & 69% to spouses.
-Ill. A USA Today poll found that only 56% of American teach honesty to their children
1. A Louis Harris poll showed that 65% of high school students would cheat on an important exam.
2. A physician appeared on a network news-&-talk show and said: "Lying is an important part of social life, and children who are unable to do it are children who may have developmental problems."
-Lying is everywhere so we have accepted it as a fact of life!
-Politicians
1. Bill Clinton: "I did not have sexual relations w/ that woman."
2. Campaign promises!
3. Political debates!
-Ill. Fuller Warren ran for FL governor in 1948
1. Wet/Dry debate came up.
2. He was asked about banning alcohol and he said:
3. "If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I'm against it. But if you mean the elixir of Christmas cheer, the shield against winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers to comfort little crippled children, then I'm for it. This is my position, and I will not compromise."
4. Ambiguity = deceit.
-Ill. Two men worked on a ship.
1. One day the mate, who normally did not drink, became drunk.
2. The captain, who hated him, entered in the daily log: "Mate drunk today."
3. He knew this was his first offense, but he wanted to get him fired. The mate was aware of his evil intent and begged him to change the record.
4. The captain, however, replied, "It's a fact, and into the log it goes!"
5. So, a few days later the mate was keeping the log, and concluded it with: "Captain sober today."
6. Captain tried to get him to remove it, but the mate said: "It's a fact, and in the log it stays!"
-Mate told the truth, but was still bearing false witness.
-A half-truth is a full lie!
-Lying comes in many forms...
1. White lies.
2. Austin O'Malley: "Those who think it's permissible to tell white lies soon become color-blind."
3. Flattery, false excuses, propaganda, advertising, pleading the fifth amendment, etc.
-Revelation 21:8 "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

VII. The Greatest Lie: Hypocrisy
-Hypocrisy= saying you are one thing and living something different!
-Some here today are living in sin but have continued to deceive everyone around them into believing they are a Christian (when it suits them).
-Sad thing is you have even resorted to lying to yourself.
-Maybe you believe your own lie; that you can continue to sin and be ‘okay' with God.
-You are living a life of hypocrisy. (The lie we hate so much in others.)
-And the world looks at the hypocrisy of the "church" and says: why would I want that?

VIII. Conclusion
-John 8:31-32 "Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
-If you live in deception, you live in bondage.
-Why do we live that way?
1. Why do we try so hard to convince the pastor we are "religious"?
2. I'm slow, but not stupid!
-What if you could be who you claim to be?
1. What if, what you wish you were, you were?
2. What if, the words of your mouth matched the intent of your heart and acts of your hands?
-Truth = freedom!
-Freedom comes from Truth (Jesus)
-This ninth commandment is not about lying.
-This commandment is about the sanctity of truth!
-Are you real?
1. You can be real in a world of cheap imitations!
2. Will you be real with me?
-Are you a person of truth?
-Do you want to be?
-First, you must embrace The Truth!

Response

Commandment #8

Commandment #8: Sanctity of Stuff

Exodus 20:15

I. Introduction
-Ill. "Jesus is watching you."
1. A burglar heard when robbing a house.
2. He froze for a long time and then heard it again.
3. He realized it was coming from a parrot in a bird cage.
4. "What's your name?"
5. "Moses"
6. "What kind of person names their bird Moses?
7. "Same kind that names their Rottweiler ‘Jesus'!"
-Associated Press (Seattle)
1. Young man tried to siphon gas out of Dennis Quigley's camper.
2. Unfortunately for him he put his hose in the wrong tank.
3. He siphoned from the sewage tank.
4. Mr. Quigley said he would not prosecute the 14 year old b/c he suffered enough.
-Stealing: we all know it's wrong, but it sure is prevalent!
-Ill. Locking your doors.

II. Scripture

III. Background
-Everything you have has been given to you by God.
-You are a steward of what you have been given.
1. Be careful when talking about ownership.
2. What really is mine?
-In all of the commandments God is trying to communicate His order to things.
1. His way of doing things.
2. And His way is different than ours!
-This commandment is probably one of the most universal.
-Ill. Some cultures do not have taboos about immoral lifestyle.
1. Sex between two single, consenting adults is permissible.
2. But they would about adultery, not b/c it was sexual immorality, but b/c you would be ‘stealing' someone else's spouse.
-As in any sin you are assuming the role of God in deciding who has what.
1. Stealing is claiming you are a better decision maker on what you and the person you are stealing from should be stewards of.
2. Therefore it is sin.

IV. Stealing in the Church
-Of course the world steals, just like it murders, takes God's name in vain, commits adultery, etc. 1. Martha Stewart & Enron
2. Movie stars.
-But I am concerned with the church today.
-A recent Gallop Poll shows that ppl are no more likely to trust Christians than they are sinners when it comes to business & money transactions that require ‘honesty.'.
1. In the world's eyes, there is no difference between church & world.
2. There is something wrong w/ that picture!
-Why is that?

V. We've Compromised in the Little Things
-The little things always defeat the church.
-Let me ask you...
1. McDonald's gives you too much change & you keep it
2. You find money and don't try to find who lost it.
3. You take supplies from work home w/ you.
4. You do personal work while on the clock at work.
5. You browse the Internet while you're on the job.
6. You buy the special and your spouse buys the buffet and you eat food off their plate.
7. You have an expense account at work of $30 per day. You spend $15 and pocket the other $15.
8. You take a sick day when you are not sick.
9. You do not report all of your income on your taxes.
10. Purposely writing bad checks.
-This is where compromise begins!

VI. We've justified stealing...
-Ill. Robin Hood is not a hero, but a villain!
1. Stealing is never a virtue in God's book!
2. Of course the Sheriff isn't righteous either!
3. Two wrongs, don't make a right!
4. This is to justify it in our minds.
5. Ill. The government is stealing from me, I have a right to cheat on my taxes.
6. Motive does not determine morality.
-"Finder's keepers, loser's weepers."
1. If you find money, it is your responsibility to do your best to find the owner of that money!
2. Ill. W/ Dad @ Columbia, KY hospital.
3. He made me turn in the money I found.
-"It was a steal..."
1. Maybe it was...
2. Maybe taking advantage of someone's ignorance or desperation is stealing from them.
3. Just because someone isn't a good steward of what God has given them, doesn't mean you can deceive them out of it.
4. Ill. Jacob & Esau birthright.
-Misdemeanor vs. Felon
1. God doesn't distinguish.
2. There is only stealing!
-See how we justify stealing?

VII. Are We Too Attached?
-If we really believed God would take care of us would it be so great a temptation to steal?
1. If we really believed we couldn't take it with us?
2. If we really believed it wasn't worth comparing with knowing Christ?
-Is five bucks worth eternity?
1. Is $5 billion bucks worth eternity?
2. Then what drives us?
-We love our earthly treasures!
-Matthew 5:40 "And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well."
1. Why is that so hard for us to swallow?
2. B/c we are so in love with our ‘things.'
-Ill. Lady in Dyersburg, TN
1. Man jumped in her car to rob her.
2. Elderly lady named Pauline Jacobi told him ‘No, I won't give you any money.'
3. "As quick as you kill me, I'll go to heaven, but you'll go to hell."
4. "Jesus is right here in this car with me and he goes w/ me everywhere I go."
5. He began to cry & she ministered to him for 10 minutes!
6. He said: "I'll go home & pray tonight."
7. "You don't have to wait until tonight, we can pray right here."
8. She gave him all the cash she had... about $10.
9. "Don't you spend it on whiskey either."
10. He kissed her on the cheek and walked away.
-What will love of earthly treasures drive us to?
-Ill. Norman Rockwell picture from Sat. Evening Post.
1. Butcher & lady smiling at each other w/ turkey on scaled in between.
2. Butcher has his thumb on the scales & lady has her finger pushing up.
3. Both seeking to steal.
-Proverbs 20:23 "Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good."
-Ill. Statistics say that 1 of 52 shoppers will steal.
-Ill. USA Today said 48% of employees stole something from their employer last year.
-Not using what God has placed you in charge of for His glory, is stealing from Him.

VIII. Introspection
-Let me ask two questions:
-First, are you content?
1. Not going to deal in depth w/ this today.
2. Has God provided for all your needs or are you on an endless pursuit for more?
-Second, do you trust God?
1. Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
2. Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

IX. What Do I Do If Guilty?
-First confess to God & repent!
1. Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."
-Second, make restitution.
1. Ill. Zacchaeus.
-Third, be a giver.
1. Ephesians 4:28 "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."
2. John Wesley's classic sermon on money: "Earn all you can, save all you can, & give all you can."

X. Conclusion
-Everything you have is a gift from God.
1. It's temporary.
2. You are the steward of it.
3. It is to be used for His glory!
-Really theft, in any form, is ironic.
-Ill. Taxi driver would wrap up his garbage in a paper bag and leave it in the back seat.
1. By the end of the day someone would steal it.
2. Imagine their surprise.
-Ill. Thief walked into a convenient store.
1. Threw down a $20 bill and asked for change.
2. When the cashier opened the drawer he grabbed at the cash and ran.
3. Later he realized he only got about $15.
-If you steal, you'll always be short changed and end up with garbage.

Response

Commandment #7

Commandment #7: Sanctity of Sex

Exodus 20:14

I. Introduction
-Our world seeks to influence us... and it does at times.
1. It desires to push its ethic on us.
2. To shape our way of thinking.
-So when we come to the ten commandments they seem odd.
1. Many ppl never move beyond the idea they are only ‘rules.'
2. In reality they are a holiness code.
-They have to do with how to live a holy life.
1. The first two have to do with the holiness of God.
2. The 3rd one has to do with the sanctity/ holiness of His name.
3. The 4th has to do with the sanctity of the Sabbath.
4. The 5th has to do w/ the sanctity of the family.
5. The sixth: the sanctity of life.
6. And now we come to the seventh.
-Let's see what is says...

II. Scripture

III. Sanctity of Marriage/ Sex
-This commandment has to do w/ the sanctity of marriage/ sex.
-"Sanctity of Marriage"
1. Marriage amendment.
2. The enemy of marriage has never been homosexuality.
3. They can't marry.
4. It's been heterosexuals in the context of marriage.
-We need to re-evaluate what marriage is!
1. How easy it is to get married!
2. Ill. Nashville call on Wed. to wed on Sat.
3. I will not marry a Christian and sinner.
4. Marriage is not legalization of sex/ validating lifestyle.
5. God has been taken out of marriage and replaced with some cheap notion of romanticism.
-But God, who created marriage, says it is sacred and not to be desecrated by adultery.

IV. Adultery's Damage
-Adultery is destructive thing.
1. Just as much as murder destroys physically...
2. ...so adultery can destroy w/ in marriage.
-Someone who has an adulterous spouse is hurt deeply!
1. It destroys trust.
2. It destroys intimacy.
3. It destroys identity.
-It hurts the whole family.
1. The children are always innocent victims of adultery.
2. They carry the scars of their parent's sins.
-But even the one who commits adultery ultimately suffers.
1. In doing research, the lie from Satan, is that you will be more happy in your affair.
2. That is a lie!
3. Proverbs 6:32-33 "He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. [33] Wounds and dishonor will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away."
-The lie of our society is that you should be happy at all costs.
1. But the true cost of happiness is obedience to God's Word!
2. Disobedience brings heart ache, guilt, and death!
-Ill. Fox News.com
1. Article titled: "Art of Teaching"
2. Description: "Author shares tips and tricks to avoid getting tangled in a web of lies in adultery."
-Ill. "Radio expert" said:
1. "Just do it [adultery]."
2. "What about guilt?"
3. "Guilt is a product of society pressuring you!"
4. No, it's the Holy Spirit convicting you!!
-Our society may accept it, but God never will!
1. We use the word affair instead of adultery, b/c it sounds nicer.
2. You can call it whatever you want it is still sin!

V. Unhappy Marriage?
-Nothing ever gives you a right to commit adultery!
-Even if they don't make you ‘happy.'
1. Your spouse is not responsible for your happiness!
2. If you are not happy before you're married you won't be happy after you're married!
-"I'm just not happy."
1. That's no reason to cause so much hurt in ppl's lives!
2. Adultery is self-centered!
-Robert C. Shannon: "Adam and Eve had the world's only perfect marriage. She couldn't talk about the man she might have married and he couldn't complain that his mother was a better cook."
1. You're gonna have problems.
2. And you're gonna have to work them out!
3. You've made a covenant w/ God, and He is part of keeping the marriage together!
-"We don't have sex enough!"
1. That's no reason either!
2. Marriage is about giving more than it is receiving.
3. Adultery is self-centered!
-1 Corinthians 7:2-6 "Because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. [3] The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights [KJV- due benevolence; NIV- marital duty; literally- marriage debt], and likewise the wife to her husband. [4] For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. [5] Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. [6] Now as a concession, not a command, I say this."
1. Do I need to be more clear than that?
2. Ask your parents if you don't know what conjugal rights are.

VI. Leading to Marriage
-As parents we need to do more about equipping our children for a faithful marriage.
-Talk about sex & marriage.
1. We have allowed the government to dictate to our children.
2. Do we not remember that the world has a different philosophy?
3. The church needs to address these issues.
4. Ill. A father asked his 8-yr-old son at dinner, ‘‘What did you learn at school today?"
5. His son said: "We learned how to make babies."
6. Mom & Dad looked at each other and Dad asked: "And how do you make babies?"
7. The boy said, ‘‘Oh, it's easy, you just drop the Y and add I-E-S."
8. Why are we so awkward when it comes to talking about the truths of God.
-If you don't tell your children about it, the Devil will.
-Today it's prevalent to "try out" your future mate before marriage.
1. It is sin.
2. It is destructive to any possible future marriage.
3. Psychologists & studies agree living together before marriage is always detrimental to future marriage.
4. Don't fall to the lie that this will help prevent a mistake.
5. It is the mistake!
-C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity writes: "The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude does not mean there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to get the pleasures of taste w/out swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out again."
1. Sex outside of Biblical marriage is sinful.
2. Can I be any more clear?
-Unmarried folk: don't just accept the first guy that shows any interest.
1. If he wants to paw all over you in the back seat in a dark alley, get rid of him.
2. If you are patient God will bring you a Christian man who will truly love you!
-The most valuable thing you have to give to marriage is your virginity.
1. Do not take that lightly.
2. B/c the Christian potential spouses are going to want someone like that to marry.
3. Ill. Sarah & I were virgins.
4. We wanted to get that in the clear before we started dating.

VII. Where Does Adultery Begin?
-Some define it only at the sexual act.
-Jesus defines it Matthew 5:27-30 "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' [28]But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [29]If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. [30]And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." 1. Lust is adultery.
2. Oldies song: "Standin' on the corner watchin' the girls go by... You can't go to jail for what you're thinkin'."
3. Maybe not, but you can go to hell for it.
4. Pornography
-Jesus is not trying to define a point on a relational line though.
1. He's making this an issue of the heart.
2. I wonder how many wives are unfaithful to the husband b/c they live in a fantasy land of their romance novel or movies.
3. What about spending late hours in the office away from your spouse.
-Martin Luther: "Let the wife make her husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave."
-There are a few issues that we must be a 'feminist' on:
1. Pornography: makes women objects.
2. Immodest apparel: make women objects.
3. Ladies: our society wants to make you into objects rather than ppl.
4. To combat that: take a little extra time to use discretion when you are shopping.
5. Rule of Thumb: "If you've gotta keep pulling your shirt up and pulling your skirt down, get something w/ more material!"
-Hollywood drives our fashion
1. But look at the sorrow & despair in their lives!
2. Do you really want to live that kind of a life?
3. Article I read: "It is no wonder that our society is inundated with messages about sex that is contrary to God's 7th commandment ‘You shall not commit adultery.' Our divorce rate b/c of adultery and the number of married couples in counseling over extra marital affairs has never been higher. It is time we stop listening to Hollywood and listen to God's Holy Will!"

VIII. There is Hope
-There is hope, even if you have committed adultery.
-In John 8 we have the story of the woman caught in adultery.
1. The scribes & Pharisees are trying to test Jesus.
2. But what I want to point out is Jesus' interaction with the woman.
3. He forgives her and says: "Go & sin no more."
4. There is forgiveness in Christ (male or female)!
-That doesn't mean everyone will trust you right away.
1. But it does mean you have established a good place to begin rebuilding w/ the Lord.
2. Wholeness in Christ!

IX. Conclusion
-Adultery is a devastating thing.
-Life is too short & eternity is too long to take part in such a thing.
-Marriage & sex in the right context is a holy thing.
-I'll leave you with God's Word.
-Hebrews 13:4 "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."

Response

Commandment #6

Commandment #6: Sanctity of Life

Exodus 20:13

I. Introduction
-We come to the sixth commandment today.
-One of the more memorable standard commands.
-One that we often relegate to the very worst sinners.
1. But this command is frequently broken.
2. Especially from the heart's perspective.
-Let's read the commandment

II. Scripture

III. Murder
-Ill. A SS teacher was discussing the 10 commandments w/ her kindergarten class
1. After ‘honor dad & mom' she asked if there was any command that dealt with siblings.
2. One of the children blurted out: "Thou shall not kill."
-KJV says ‘kill'
1. Most modern translations say murder.
2. B/c there is a difference.
-Nearly every form of civilization in history has had some kind of prohibition against murder.
-Here we have one.
-But an important distinction is that this command is more than a "no-no" rule.
1. God is trying to instill a way of thinking.
2. Talking about a heart condition.
-To the Israelites, life was a gift from God.
1. Life was given and ultimately taken by God.
2. From creation when God breathed into the soil that created Adam to the present, God is the giver of life.
-Ill. Scientists cannot create life even on a simple level.
1. Frankenstein
2. God is the giver of life.
-God created life in his image.
1. Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
2. He is the not only the author and giver of life, but the human life He gives is in his image.
-The Point: For a human to take life, would be to presume upon the role of God.
1. To seek to displace God.
2. To break the first commandment.
-"Sanctity of Life"
1. More than a cliche.
2. It is the foundation this command builds upon.

IV. Life is Not Mine
-But it goes deeper.
-This command seeks to show us that life is not ours.
1. Not even our own.
2. We are stewards of our life.
-Suicide
1. If your last act is murdering yourself, you will go to hell.
2. You are not to decide when your life is over.
3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
4. Never allow yourself to be deceived into believing that suicide makes things better... it doesn't.
-Life is not our own, we are stewards.

V. Murder, Killing, Etc.
-This Hebrew word for murder is used only 40 times in the OT.
1. The usage of the word does not include just war or capitol punishment.
2. It does include what we would call manslaughter.
3. Negligent behavior leading to someone's death.
4. Drunk driver kills someone, going 105 mph in a 25 school zone, etc.
5. Ill. TDOT company that put in sub-quality guard rails.
-It can also include negligent behavior on leading to your own death.
1. Unhealthy habits & behaviors.
2. Be a good steward of life.
-Abortion
1. Babies are not just a mass of tissue that a woman can get rid of.
2. They have life.
3. I'm pro-choice, I believe your choice is at the point of sexual intercourse.
-Euthanasia
1. We want to play God with others lives.
2. Nazi's felt they could decide who was worthy to live or die.
3. Our culture is close to that.
4. We claim it in the name of mercy.
5. Dr. Kevorkian is no social hero, he is a murderer.
-What about capitol punishment & just war?
-Let's redefine the real issue.
1. The real issue is not whether they are permissible, that is obvious in Scripture.
2. Real issue is whether or not our government has a right to do them.
3. In other words, do we have Biblical right to do wage war or have capitol punishment when our government participates in things like abortion?
-Abortion Clinic bombers?
1. God is not an anarchist.
2. In the OT the government, not individuals, were to institute the death penalty.
3. God does not approve of vigilantes.

VI. Murder & the NT
-God is trying to deal w/ issues of the heart.
-Unfortunately ppl took this command and made is the bare minimum.
1. It became: You shall not murder, but you can treat them like a dog.
2. So while they may not have ‘pulled the trigger' their hearts were murderous.
-Jesus clarifies in the NT:
-Matthew 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' [22] But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. [23] So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."
-Jesus was concerned about the condition of your heart!
1. Murder occurs in the heart before a physical act occurs.
2. Murder sprouts from the heart.
-A murderous heart...
1. ...is full of hate and anger.
2. ...it hurts others but ultimately is self-destructive.
3. It will destroy you!
-Love sprouts from the heart.
-A heart of reconciliation...
1. ...if full of love.
2. ...is not a natural thing.
3. ...is from a divine work of God.
-Ill. A class on loving others won't give you a heart of love
1. A heart of love is not a learned behavior.
2. A heart of love is a work of God.
3. Yes, love is a decision, but a decision you cannot make until God has done a work in your heart!
4. All else is artificial love.

VII. Conclusion
-What are you trying to say?
-In a world of murder, violence, hate, & the wrong kind of anger we are called to be a ppl of love.
-Ill. 1st of Dec. 1997 in Paducah KY
1. HS student, Michael Carneal walked into Heath HS and began shooting teens who assembled every day for prayer.
2. Benjamin Strong, from the prayer group walked toward Michael as he was shooting and said: "Mike, what are you doing?"
3. After firing his 22 ten times he dropped his gun and Benjamin hugged him while urging him to calm down.
4. Three died and 5 were wounded that day.
5. Usually the group has no more than 25 students. The next day there were over 250 students.
6. Melissa "Missy" Jenkins was wounded in the shooting. She was paralyzed for life.
7. She was the first victim of the shooting to get a message to the shooter.
8. She said: "Tell Michael, I forgive him."
-That's not natural!
1. That's the power of God.
2. That's the power of His love born in our hearts.
-The world wants you to believe that a heart of hate & murder is okay.
1. The Bible says in 1 John 3:15 "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
2. Contradictory
-You can move from a murderous heart to a heart of reconciliation.
-I'm not giving an altar call today.
1. Reconciliation does not begin at the altar.
2. Remember Jesus' words?
3. Matt. 5:24 "Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, an then come and offer your gift."
-Maybe there is someone...
1. ...you need to go talk to.
2. ...in another church you need to talk to.
3. ...in a place you left or someone that is left here.
4. ...you work with/ a neighbor/ etc.
-God wants to give you a heart of reconciliation instead of hate & murder!

Response

Commandment #5

Commandment #5: Honoring Parents


Exodus 20:12

I. Introduction
-The first four commandments deal directly w/ our relationship w/ God.
1. No other gods before Him.
2. No carved image or idols.
3. Don't take His name in vain
4. Keep the Sabbath Holy.
-But a relationship w/ God has affect on all other relationships.
-Christianity is not something that works half-way.
1. You can't partially obey God & expect everything to work out.
2. You can't sometimes honor God and be okay w/ that.
-You can't live in sin, but go to church and think you are okay!
-That's why there is no aspect of your life that God does not deal with.
-Let's look at the fifth commandment...

II. Scripture

III. Background
-This is an odd commandment.
1. Children were property.
2. They were not considered people until they came of age (Bar Mitzvah/Mitzah)
3. So why would God speak to someone considered sub-human?
4. B/c they are not.
-But this commandment has to do w/ more than traditional interpretation...
1. It is about more than: Obey your mommy & daddy!
2. It's about honoring them.
-It speaks to more than just children.
1. Teens, young adult, middle aged, & even senior adults.
2. It crosses generations and age groups.

IV. More than Obey
-It has to do with more than obedience.
-You should obey your parents.
-Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.' Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
-What about sinful parents?
1. You must obey them unless they tell you to do something wrong.
2. Ill. Nashville Dillards family: Father using child to shoplift.
-The emphasis is on honoring your parents.
1. Not respect, that is earned.
2. Honor comes out of your role or title.
3. It is not earned & it cannot be forced.
-Mark Twain said: "It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them."
-Parents, be worthy of the honor you receive.
1. Just b/c you have the title of mother or father doesn't make you one.
2. I'm tired of hearing about dead-beat dads & messed up moms.
3. Being a parent requires a lot of work and the grace of God.

V. To Teens
-Teens must honor their parents.
-There is something about this age that makes it difficult to honor parents.
1. You're getting closer to the age of independence.
2. You're wanting to try out your wings.
-But you must still honor your parents.
-Sinful: a teenager that treats their parents disrespectful and rude.
1. Disobeys this command.
2. Or a child or a young adult or a middle aged adult that does the same.
3. The older you get the more you ought to honor your parents!
-I know teenagers think they know everything.
1. You don't.
2. Neither do your parents.
3. But they know a whole lot more than you!
4. [Parents will be quoting this sermon for some time to come.]
-You don't pay the bills, have a job that pays the bills, or pay taxes...
1. This world is a whole lot bigger than you think it is.
2. And parents have your best interest in mind.
-Ill. Mark Twain said the older he got the more surprised he was at all his Dad knew.

VI. Aging Parents
-Honoring your parents also has to do with taking care of them when they get old.
-In Biblical times there was no Social Security.
1. No retirement benefits.
2. You only had your children.
-Today we live in an age that is getting closer & closer to euthanasia.
1. The idea that we kill off the elderly is sinful.
2. There is no honor in that!
-The ppl that raised you and provided for you when you were defenseless children are to be honored and not scorned.
-We are called to take care of our parents in their sickness or old age.

VII. Honor Parents in Life
-Honor your parents in the life you live.
-Some Jews had an idea of eternal life being through your children.
1. So if you had no children, it was considered a curse.
2. You lived on through your children.
-Your children would honor you by living for God.
-"He's a good man, but his kids are wicked."
1. Ever heard that?
2. Ever heard of Eli's (Samuel's mentor) sons Hophni & Phineas?
3. They were wicked priests that God killed.
4. Eli was shamed, b/c his sons did not honor him in the way they lived their lives.
-Note: you should live for the Lord, b/c that's the right thing to do.
1. Not to just "honor your parents."
2. Parents, don't just bring your kids to church b/c you know you should.
3. The life has to come along!

VIII. Honor In Spite of Them
-Maybe you have parents that aren't worthy of honor.
-It's a reality today.
-God says to honor them in spite of themselves.
1. It doesn't mean they were good parents, or even tried to be.
2. It doesn't mean that you have to approve of the things they did.
-But God says you must honor them if only out of their biological tie to you.
-Why? B/c you might win them to the Lord.

IX. To Parents
-A good parent desires their children to be more than they are.
1. Go farther, deeper spiritual life, accomplish more, etc.
2. We're too busy making the perfect lives for ourselves when we should be investing in our kids.
-Parenthood is self-sacrifice.
1. It's expensive.
2. It takes up time.
3. It requires emotional energy
4. You'll lose some sleep.
5. You'll miss your favorite TV show.
6. You won't be able to run around & do the things you use to.
-Self-sacrificing parents are ones that are easy to honor.
-Parents, children learn from your example.
1. Not only what you say, but what you do.
2. Actions speak louder than words?
3. Actions mute your words.
-Ill. Warren Mueller conducted a study
1. Results: if both Mom & Dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful.
2. If only Dad, 55% remain
3. If only Mom, 15%.
4. If neither attended regularly, only 6% remain faithful.
-The deciding factor in the spiritual life of your children is not going to be...
1. ...the preacher
2. ...the SS teacher.
3. ...the youth leader.
4. It is the parent's example!
-Ill. Farmer lost his crop of grain to a hail storm just before harvest.
1.The entire crop was demolished.
2. After the storm, the farmer, with his son went out on the porch to see the crop.
3. The little boy looked at the destroyed field and began to cry while looking to his father.
4. He expected his father to give words of despair.
5. Instead he began to sing softly: "Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee."
6. That little boy went on to be a great preacher and was quoted as saying: "That was the greatest sermon I ever heard."
7. The father lost a grain crop, but gained an eternal inheritance.
-It doesn't matter if your child is...
1. ...the smartest in their class.
2. ...the best ball player.
3. ...the most talented.
4. ...a college graduate.
5. ...making a lot of money.
6. ...in a good job.
7. ...successful by the world's standards.
-What matters is where they will spend eternity.

X. Conclusion
-Maybe you want to be a better parent...
-Maybe you need help honoring your parents...
-Come receive a touch from God this morning...
-This is the only commandment with an explicit promise.
-...that you may live long[er] in the land the Lord your God gives you."

Response