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
Showing posts with label Ezekiel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ezekiel. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Who's Responsible?
Ezekiel 18:1-7a, 9b-11,13b-14, 18-32
Who’s Responsible?: Generational Curses & God’s Grace
I. Introduction
-Ill. I have a problem.
1. My wife bought me a bag of jelly beans.
2. I think she’s been giving them to Jacob.
3. "I want beans; I want beans."
-He likes jelly beans, just like me.
-I wonder how much like me, he will be.
1. Will he have my faults?
2. Will he have my strengths?
3. Will he have my mannerisms?
4. Will he be a Christian?
-Long reading this morning, please stay w/ me.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Powerful chapter in the book of Ezekiel.
-Ill. I look like my father.
1. Cheek pinching old ladies.
2. You’re going to be a preacher... just like him.
3. I am, but that’s not why.
-You’ve heard the saying:
1. "Like father, like son."
2. "A chip off the old block."
-How true is that though?
IV. A Non-Proverb
-God is dealing w/ a common proverb among the ppl of Israel that was not a Biblical one.
1. There is a lot of that today.
2. "God helps those who help themselves."
3. Reality: God causes the rain to fall on the just & unjust.
-"The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge."
1. This proverb is saying more than a parent’s actions will influence their children.
2. It is saying that children will pay the consequences [spiritually] for their parents’ actions.
-God says: Don’t say this anymore.
-Preface: Parents have more influence in your life than any other human being.
1. However, they cannot choose for you whether you will serve Christ.
2. They cannot dictate religious experience.
-Let’s look at four major things God is saying to Ezekiel.
V. #1: Righteous Father & Sinful Son
-First scenario includes a parent who is righteous.
1. Avoids evil & pursues righteousness.
2. A godly parent.
3. He shall live.
-But the son is lost in sinfulness.
1. Participates in the world’s sin.
2. Lost w/out Christ.
3. v. 13b "He shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself."
-If your parents are saints of God, that doesn’t automatically include you in the hosts of heaven.
-Your parents relationship with God is theirs. You must establish yours.
-"God has no grandchildren... only children."
- There is no salvation by association.
1. You can be related to 100 preachers, 50 missionaries, and the pope, but that doesn’t guarantee you anything.
2. You can go to a good church where God is at work and ppl seek to serve him, but that doesn’t reserve you a seat in heaven.
-The reason the church drifts away from the God’s Word and into complacency is the next generation didn’t really get "it."
-Some good ppl work to convince their kids they are okay.
1. Your responsibility as a parent is not to convince your child they are a Christian!
2. You responsibility is to help convince them they have a sin problem that only Jesus can solve!
-To 2nd generation Christians: Some of you have never experienced a personal walk w/ God.
1. You life is riding the spiritual momentum of those who have gone before.
2. Seek God for yourself!
VI. #2: Sinful Father & Righteous Son
-Second scenario includes the son from the 1st scenario.
-That sinful son become a sinful father.
-v. 14 "Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:"
-That son will live!
-Good News: Whether your parents choose to live for Christ or not, you still have a choice!
-If your parents are... ...you can still...
1. ...drug addicts ... be sober!
2. ...liars .... tell the truth!
3. ...divorced ... your marriage can last!
4. ...gossips ... speak words that edify & build up.
5. ...sexually immoral ... you can keep sex sacred!
6. ...murderers ... you can preserve life!
7. ...walking on the broad path that leads to destruction ... travel on the narrow path that leads to life!
-Psychological debate between nature vs. nurture.
1. I don’t know anything about all that stuff.
2. All I know is that God’s Word is true and He says you don’t have to continue on in the sinfulness of your forefathers!
-Generational Curses?
God says No.
-Instead: v. 20 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."
-Note: The death and life God is talking about is not physical but spiritual. "The soul that sins shall die."
VII. Blame Game
-Ill. John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor league ball team.
1. He was disgusted w/ the center fielder’s playing & ordered him to the dugout.
2. He assumed the position himself.
3. 1st ball came that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth.
4. 2nd was a high fly ball, he lost in the sun--it bounced off his forehead.
5. 3rd was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; if flew between his hands and smacked his eye.
6. Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted. ’You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!
-We are looking for an out/an excuse for our sins.
-We blame everything on...
1. Our chromosomes/ genes
2. Alcoholism, homosexuality
3. "It’s just my personality."
4. "It was b/c of my raisin’"
-God says you can choose.
-James 1:14-15 "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
VIII. #3: Sinful Person who Repents
-Third scenario, in v. 21, tells of a sinful person who repents of "all his sins."
-Two-Fold Point:
1. Warning: The path of sinfulness leads to death.
2. Good News: If you turn from your wicked ways & embrace righteousness = life!
-If you are lost today & bearing the condemnation of sin know this:
1. If you repent, turn from sin to walk in righteousness, you will live.
2. v. 22 "None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live."
-A life shift is necessary.
1. More than a good cry at an altar.
2. An encounter w/ the living God that always leads to a life change!
-God’s desire is that the lost would find Him! (v. 23)
-Some ppl expect to continue in sin and God ignore it on judgement day.
1. If you continue in your sin you will go to Hell of your own choosing.
2. This is God’s warning & promise.
IX. #4: Righteous Person who turns to sin
-Fourth scenario, in v. 24, tells of a righteous man who turns to the same abominations as the wicked.
-Note: The church has stopped believing in God’s ability to cleanse hearts of all unrighteousness.
-Some of you think, b/c you are a Christian, you can sin and it is okay... not so!
-We’ve opted instead to try & manage sin in our lives.
-As long as I don’t...
1. ...tell big lies, I can tell small ones.
2. ...murder, I can hate.
3. ...lose my job, I can be an addict.
-Let me get a little closer to home for everybody.
-Some of you are trying to manage your sin instead of being cleansed of it.
-You are managing your...
1. ...pornography addiction.
2. ...alcoholism.
3. ...gambling addiction.
4. ...shopping/spending addiction.
5. ...hateful, unforgiving attitude.
6. ...grudge (divorcees?)
-Some of you haven’t opened in your Bible, except on Sunday, in years.
-Some of you haven’t knelt in prayer since the day you were supposedly born-again.
-Ezekiel 18:24 "But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die." (v. 26 says the same thing)
X. Conclusion
-Understanding God’s work in your life is not as complex as you might believe.
1. There is no trickery here.
2. Just this: He only works as you are obedient to Him.
-What about you?
1. Did your parents eat sour grapes?
2. Did life deal you some sour grapes?
3. Are you willing to turn from sin both great & small?
4. Have you slipped back into who you use to be before you knew Christ?
-Here is the truth:
1. The wages/pay of sin is always death.
2. But the gift of God is eternal life.
-Ezekiel 18:30-32 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. [31] Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? [32] For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live."
Response
Who’s Responsible?: Generational Curses & God’s Grace
I. Introduction
-Ill. I have a problem.
1. My wife bought me a bag of jelly beans.
2. I think she’s been giving them to Jacob.
3. "I want beans; I want beans."
-He likes jelly beans, just like me.
-I wonder how much like me, he will be.
1. Will he have my faults?
2. Will he have my strengths?
3. Will he have my mannerisms?
4. Will he be a Christian?
-Long reading this morning, please stay w/ me.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Powerful chapter in the book of Ezekiel.
-Ill. I look like my father.
1. Cheek pinching old ladies.
2. You’re going to be a preacher... just like him.
3. I am, but that’s not why.
-You’ve heard the saying:
1. "Like father, like son."
2. "A chip off the old block."
-How true is that though?
IV. A Non-Proverb
-God is dealing w/ a common proverb among the ppl of Israel that was not a Biblical one.
1. There is a lot of that today.
2. "God helps those who help themselves."
3. Reality: God causes the rain to fall on the just & unjust.
-"The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge."
1. This proverb is saying more than a parent’s actions will influence their children.
2. It is saying that children will pay the consequences [spiritually] for their parents’ actions.
-God says: Don’t say this anymore.
-Preface: Parents have more influence in your life than any other human being.
1. However, they cannot choose for you whether you will serve Christ.
2. They cannot dictate religious experience.
-Let’s look at four major things God is saying to Ezekiel.
V. #1: Righteous Father & Sinful Son
-First scenario includes a parent who is righteous.
1. Avoids evil & pursues righteousness.
2. A godly parent.
3. He shall live.
-But the son is lost in sinfulness.
1. Participates in the world’s sin.
2. Lost w/out Christ.
3. v. 13b "He shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself."
-If your parents are saints of God, that doesn’t automatically include you in the hosts of heaven.
-Your parents relationship with God is theirs. You must establish yours.
-"God has no grandchildren... only children."
- There is no salvation by association.
1. You can be related to 100 preachers, 50 missionaries, and the pope, but that doesn’t guarantee you anything.
2. You can go to a good church where God is at work and ppl seek to serve him, but that doesn’t reserve you a seat in heaven.
-The reason the church drifts away from the God’s Word and into complacency is the next generation didn’t really get "it."
-Some good ppl work to convince their kids they are okay.
1. Your responsibility as a parent is not to convince your child they are a Christian!
2. You responsibility is to help convince them they have a sin problem that only Jesus can solve!
-To 2nd generation Christians: Some of you have never experienced a personal walk w/ God.
1. You life is riding the spiritual momentum of those who have gone before.
2. Seek God for yourself!
VI. #2: Sinful Father & Righteous Son
-Second scenario includes the son from the 1st scenario.
-That sinful son become a sinful father.
-v. 14 "Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:"
-That son will live!
-Good News: Whether your parents choose to live for Christ or not, you still have a choice!
-If your parents are... ...you can still...
1. ...drug addicts ... be sober!
2. ...liars .... tell the truth!
3. ...divorced ... your marriage can last!
4. ...gossips ... speak words that edify & build up.
5. ...sexually immoral ... you can keep sex sacred!
6. ...murderers ... you can preserve life!
7. ...walking on the broad path that leads to destruction ... travel on the narrow path that leads to life!
-Psychological debate between nature vs. nurture.
1. I don’t know anything about all that stuff.
2. All I know is that God’s Word is true and He says you don’t have to continue on in the sinfulness of your forefathers!
-Generational Curses?
God says No.
-Instead: v. 20 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."
-Note: The death and life God is talking about is not physical but spiritual. "The soul that sins shall die."
VII. Blame Game
-Ill. John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor league ball team.
1. He was disgusted w/ the center fielder’s playing & ordered him to the dugout.
2. He assumed the position himself.
3. 1st ball came that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth.
4. 2nd was a high fly ball, he lost in the sun--it bounced off his forehead.
5. 3rd was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; if flew between his hands and smacked his eye.
6. Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted. ’You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!
-We are looking for an out/an excuse for our sins.
-We blame everything on...
1. Our chromosomes/ genes
2. Alcoholism, homosexuality
3. "It’s just my personality."
4. "It was b/c of my raisin’"
-God says you can choose.
-James 1:14-15 "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
VIII. #3: Sinful Person who Repents
-Third scenario, in v. 21, tells of a sinful person who repents of "all his sins."
-Two-Fold Point:
1. Warning: The path of sinfulness leads to death.
2. Good News: If you turn from your wicked ways & embrace righteousness = life!
-If you are lost today & bearing the condemnation of sin know this:
1. If you repent, turn from sin to walk in righteousness, you will live.
2. v. 22 "None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live."
-A life shift is necessary.
1. More than a good cry at an altar.
2. An encounter w/ the living God that always leads to a life change!
-God’s desire is that the lost would find Him! (v. 23)
-Some ppl expect to continue in sin and God ignore it on judgement day.
1. If you continue in your sin you will go to Hell of your own choosing.
2. This is God’s warning & promise.
IX. #4: Righteous Person who turns to sin
-Fourth scenario, in v. 24, tells of a righteous man who turns to the same abominations as the wicked.
-Note: The church has stopped believing in God’s ability to cleanse hearts of all unrighteousness.
-Some of you think, b/c you are a Christian, you can sin and it is okay... not so!
-We’ve opted instead to try & manage sin in our lives.
-As long as I don’t...
1. ...tell big lies, I can tell small ones.
2. ...murder, I can hate.
3. ...lose my job, I can be an addict.
-Let me get a little closer to home for everybody.
-Some of you are trying to manage your sin instead of being cleansed of it.
-You are managing your...
1. ...pornography addiction.
2. ...alcoholism.
3. ...gambling addiction.
4. ...shopping/spending addiction.
5. ...hateful, unforgiving attitude.
6. ...grudge (divorcees?)
-Some of you haven’t opened in your Bible, except on Sunday, in years.
-Some of you haven’t knelt in prayer since the day you were supposedly born-again.
-Ezekiel 18:24 "But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die." (v. 26 says the same thing)
X. Conclusion
-Understanding God’s work in your life is not as complex as you might believe.
1. There is no trickery here.
2. Just this: He only works as you are obedient to Him.
-What about you?
1. Did your parents eat sour grapes?
2. Did life deal you some sour grapes?
3. Are you willing to turn from sin both great & small?
4. Have you slipped back into who you use to be before you knew Christ?
-Here is the truth:
1. The wages/pay of sin is always death.
2. But the gift of God is eternal life.
-Ezekiel 18:30-32 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. [31] Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? [32] For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live."
Response
Monday, March 16, 2009
He Cares About the Spirit
Ezekiel 20:1-3, 6-9, 12-14, 18-22, 31-32, 37-44
He Cares About the Spirit: Don’t Inquire of Him w/out a Life Change
I. Introduction
-At some point you will inquire of the Lord.
1. Times will grow difficult.
2. Desperation for answers will grow to critical mass.
3. You will cry out to Him.
-Some cry out for the wrong things.
1. Stuff, intelligence, ‘bail-out,’ etc.
2. All "me" centered.
-Ill. Bible Professor’s prayer
1. "Lord, help them recall all that they studied."
2. No, I want God to give me the answers!
-But God doesn’t care about a lot of the stuff we think He does.
1. He cares about your soul first & foremost.
2. If you aren’t right with Him, He doesn’t want to talk about anything else.
-Example: the ppl of Israel...
II. Scripture
III. Inquiring of the Lord
-God refused to respond to their inquiries b/c of their sin.
1. The only prayer I can guarantee God will answer is a prayer of repentance/ plea for mercy.
2. Everything before that is trivia, which God is unconcerned about.
-Ill. Ppl call the church for assistance...
1. My 1st question: "Where do you go to church?"
2. Spiritual questions!
3. Some are offended.
4. They don’t realize what is most important.
-Point: If your soul isn’t right with God, it doesn’t matter if you lost your job, can’t pay the water bill, are sick, etc.
-You can pray until you are blue in the face, but if you aren’t living right you are wasting your time!
-Prayer is a privilege.
1. Some view it as an obligation.
2. It is a privilege to the born-again Christian.
3. A blessing to walk & talk w/ God.
4. Don’t take that lightly.
-Ill. Saul’s partial obedience.
1. He was suppose to wipe out the pagan enemy and all their material wealth.
2. He thought God "blessed" him w/ the material possessions.
3. Query: Has it ever occurred to you that God’s action/will for your life may not be to always get you that promotion or material wealth?
4. 1 Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."
5. Obedience is better than sacrifice!
-Ill. We give God a "token holy act" to guarantee our bail out (and put Him "on call").
-Example...
1. Don’t inquire of God w/ finances if you’re buying lottery tickets!
2. Don’t... w/ health if you’re over eating, smoking, drinking, etc.
3. Don’t... w/ family problems if you’re not bringing them to church!
4. Don’t... w/ marriage issues if you’re not following biblical mandates on marriage.
-Reality is inquiring of God is usually just demanding of God our will be done.
-Point: At some point you will have to determine whether you are going to do things your way or His way in your life.
-Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."
-Point: Christ does not give us life, assist in life, or better our life... He is our life!
-Query: My kingdom or His?
1. My will or His?
2. My life or His?
3. My way or His?
IV. Wanting the World
-Real Issue: We’ve never really broken from this world’s values.
-v. 32 "What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, 'Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.'"
-For example...
1. Immoral business practices (lie, cheat, etc.)
2. Divorce rate the same as the world.
3. Sexual immorality
4. Grudges, bitterness, gossip, etc. (sometimes worse in the church).
-Churches all over this nation will be cancelling tonight to watch a football game.
1. Shame, shame, shame!
2. Ppl skipped church this morning to go to the girl’s b-ball game in Richmond.
3. What are we telling our kids?
4. (We’ll panic at some point & inquire of God why they went astray... but too late.)
5. And football... let them cancel for the Lord!
6. For you who are staying home tonight to watch football... I hope the Lord doesn’t come back!
7. "Preacher, you’re making me feel bad."
8. Well, that’s not my goal. My goal is to help you see your values!
V. God Draws the Line...
-v. 39 "As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols."
-Paraphrase: "Do whatever you’re going to do, but don’t claim to be my ppl. (profane my name)"
-Quit claiming to be a Christian but continue to walk in sin.
1. And don’t make excuse for your sinfulness.
2. "I just have a temper."
3. "It’s just how I was raised."
4. Blah, blah, blah.
-Fine, but don’t act all spiritual when you get to church.
VI. What God Wants to do... in You
-v. 41 "I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen."
1. "bring you out"
2. "manifest my holiness"
-The only way He will accept you, is if you allow Him to change you.
-Ill. Change you can believe in."
1. Only change consistent in politics is that at some point they will raise taxes and move farther from God.
2. God alone brings real change!
-He wants to change you for His name’s sake!
-So the world can see the awesome power of God.
1. The power to change the course of a human life.
2. The power to make you new!
-Some of you think you’ve changed enough.
1. Dangerous place to be.
2. God is still working!
3. Don’t be afraid of the altar.
-Ask God to change your heart if there are some things you don’t like.
1. Don’t like to go to church?
2. Don’t like to witness?
3. Don’t like to love your neighbor?
4. God can change that!
-Some things you like that are sinful/ vain/ worldly?
1. God can change your heart about that too!
2. Worldly music won’t be so entertaining anymore!
3. Worldly wealth doesn’t have to entrap you any longer!
4. God can change you!
-God is not interested in a tribute from you... but just you!
-Obedience is better than sacrifice!
VII. Conclusion
-Young ppl/ families: Passionately pursue Christ now!
-v. 44 "And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.""
-Aren’t you glad that God deals w/ you according to His name, and not our evil ways or corrupt deeds?
-His grace, life changing, real grace, is available to you today.
-Why don’t you inquire of that today?
-God wants to deal with your spirit!
Response
He Cares About the Spirit: Don’t Inquire of Him w/out a Life Change
I. Introduction
-At some point you will inquire of the Lord.
1. Times will grow difficult.
2. Desperation for answers will grow to critical mass.
3. You will cry out to Him.
-Some cry out for the wrong things.
1. Stuff, intelligence, ‘bail-out,’ etc.
2. All "me" centered.
-Ill. Bible Professor’s prayer
1. "Lord, help them recall all that they studied."
2. No, I want God to give me the answers!
-But God doesn’t care about a lot of the stuff we think He does.
1. He cares about your soul first & foremost.
2. If you aren’t right with Him, He doesn’t want to talk about anything else.
-Example: the ppl of Israel...
II. Scripture
III. Inquiring of the Lord
-God refused to respond to their inquiries b/c of their sin.
1. The only prayer I can guarantee God will answer is a prayer of repentance/ plea for mercy.
2. Everything before that is trivia, which God is unconcerned about.
-Ill. Ppl call the church for assistance...
1. My 1st question: "Where do you go to church?"
2. Spiritual questions!
3. Some are offended.
4. They don’t realize what is most important.
-Point: If your soul isn’t right with God, it doesn’t matter if you lost your job, can’t pay the water bill, are sick, etc.
-You can pray until you are blue in the face, but if you aren’t living right you are wasting your time!
-Prayer is a privilege.
1. Some view it as an obligation.
2. It is a privilege to the born-again Christian.
3. A blessing to walk & talk w/ God.
4. Don’t take that lightly.
-Ill. Saul’s partial obedience.
1. He was suppose to wipe out the pagan enemy and all their material wealth.
2. He thought God "blessed" him w/ the material possessions.
3. Query: Has it ever occurred to you that God’s action/will for your life may not be to always get you that promotion or material wealth?
4. 1 Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."
5. Obedience is better than sacrifice!
-Ill. We give God a "token holy act" to guarantee our bail out (and put Him "on call").
-Example...
1. Don’t inquire of God w/ finances if you’re buying lottery tickets!
2. Don’t... w/ health if you’re over eating, smoking, drinking, etc.
3. Don’t... w/ family problems if you’re not bringing them to church!
4. Don’t... w/ marriage issues if you’re not following biblical mandates on marriage.
-Reality is inquiring of God is usually just demanding of God our will be done.
-Point: At some point you will have to determine whether you are going to do things your way or His way in your life.
-Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."
-Point: Christ does not give us life, assist in life, or better our life... He is our life!
-Query: My kingdom or His?
1. My will or His?
2. My life or His?
3. My way or His?
IV. Wanting the World
-Real Issue: We’ve never really broken from this world’s values.
-v. 32 "What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, 'Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.'"
-For example...
1. Immoral business practices (lie, cheat, etc.)
2. Divorce rate the same as the world.
3. Sexual immorality
4. Grudges, bitterness, gossip, etc. (sometimes worse in the church).
-Churches all over this nation will be cancelling tonight to watch a football game.
1. Shame, shame, shame!
2. Ppl skipped church this morning to go to the girl’s b-ball game in Richmond.
3. What are we telling our kids?
4. (We’ll panic at some point & inquire of God why they went astray... but too late.)
5. And football... let them cancel for the Lord!
6. For you who are staying home tonight to watch football... I hope the Lord doesn’t come back!
7. "Preacher, you’re making me feel bad."
8. Well, that’s not my goal. My goal is to help you see your values!
V. God Draws the Line...
-v. 39 "As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols."
-Paraphrase: "Do whatever you’re going to do, but don’t claim to be my ppl. (profane my name)"
-Quit claiming to be a Christian but continue to walk in sin.
1. And don’t make excuse for your sinfulness.
2. "I just have a temper."
3. "It’s just how I was raised."
4. Blah, blah, blah.
-Fine, but don’t act all spiritual when you get to church.
VI. What God Wants to do... in You
-v. 41 "I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen."
1. "bring you out"
2. "manifest my holiness"
-The only way He will accept you, is if you allow Him to change you.
-Ill. Change you can believe in."
1. Only change consistent in politics is that at some point they will raise taxes and move farther from God.
2. God alone brings real change!
-He wants to change you for His name’s sake!
-So the world can see the awesome power of God.
1. The power to change the course of a human life.
2. The power to make you new!
-Some of you think you’ve changed enough.
1. Dangerous place to be.
2. God is still working!
3. Don’t be afraid of the altar.
-Ask God to change your heart if there are some things you don’t like.
1. Don’t like to go to church?
2. Don’t like to witness?
3. Don’t like to love your neighbor?
4. God can change that!
-Some things you like that are sinful/ vain/ worldly?
1. God can change your heart about that too!
2. Worldly music won’t be so entertaining anymore!
3. Worldly wealth doesn’t have to entrap you any longer!
4. God can change you!
-God is not interested in a tribute from you... but just you!
-Obedience is better than sacrifice!
VII. Conclusion
-Young ppl/ families: Passionately pursue Christ now!
-v. 44 "And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.""
-Aren’t you glad that God deals w/ you according to His name, and not our evil ways or corrupt deeds?
-His grace, life changing, real grace, is available to you today.
-Why don’t you inquire of that today?
-God wants to deal with your spirit!
Response
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Raging Trickle
Ezekiel 47:1-12
A Raging Trickle: Let the Water Flow
I. Introduction
-These two questions seem unrelated...
1. What kind of impact is God capable of in our world today?
2. What in the world is there to be thankful for?
-May I argue that they are connected.
-Today we have given God thanks for His impact in the life of Eula Lobb and the life of our church.
-Most of our T-giving tends to be self-centered.
1. Very little thanks is offered to God.
2. Mainly to the cook and the football coach, if your team wins.
-Ill. Instilling thanksgiving into my son
1. Bed time prayer...
2. "Thank you for Mommy, Hannah, Cat...."
3. "What about me?"
4. "And me?
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Chapter 1 is all about the fact that God’s glory/presence is what is really relevant... & now this!
-The last chapter (48) ends with "And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is there."
-I want to start at the end of this river and work my way back.
IV. Where the Water Ends Up
-It goes all the way to the Dead Sea.
-Dead Sea
1. aka- Salt Sea
2. Tributaries in bring salt water, but no way for the minerals to leave.
3. Dead- b/c no fish or life can live in such a high salt concentration.
4. The only value during this time was the salt deposits.
-But when the water from the temple hit the Dead Sea... it came alive.
1. Living creatures swarm
2. Dead water is made alive.
3. Salt water is made fresh.
4. In fact it becomes a place where fishermen can earn a living!
-v. 9b "everything will live where the river goes."
-I believe that everywhere God’s presence is, there is life & healing!
1. The dead become alive!
2. The enslaved become free!
3. The wounded become whole!
4. The lost are found.
5. The salty death is made fresh!
V. The Banks of the River
-But even on the way God is at work.
-Before the water even got to the Dead Sea it says...
1. v. 9 "And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live...so everything will live where the river goes."
2. v. 12 "And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, b/c the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."
-I think what we need is this river to run through our lives!
-Ill. Living in Eastern KY.
1. Hills & Hollers
2. A real fast, hard rain = a "gully washer"
3. The rain would land on the hill top and run down into the holler/gully and wash out leaves, dirt, debris, etc.
-We need a gully washer!
-Some of you need God in your...
1. ...marriage, family.
2. ...finances, workplace.
3. ...private place/behind closed doors
4. We’ll try everything but what brings real healing.
-The trees on the side of the river produce fruit every month!
-The leaves of the trees bring healing!
-Some have given God lip- service, when what He wants is your life.
-You can sit in a church on T-giving Sunday and say "thanks."
1. But some of you are thinking about your 401K (don’t you believe that God will take care of you?)
2. Some are thinking about your project at work.
3. Worrying about your grade at school.
4. Whether everyone will like the casserole you brought.
-Some of you won’t be in church next Sunday b/c...
1. ...you’ll be doing something "more important."
2. ..."on vacation"; working on a school assignment;
3. ..."tired" b/c you’re so busy;
4. ...etc.
-But look where this stream starts!
VI. The Door of the Temple
-It starts in the temple!
1. In the house of God.
2. In the sanctuary.
-Point: All healing starts with God.
1. All life begins in Christ!
2. All revival is introduced by the Holy Spirit!
-As short as our time is together, this could be (& is meant to be) the most important hour of your week!
1. Your feet should get wet!
2. The raging river should begin with a trickle right here!
-Someone said: "We need to remember that all renewal in the church or in the world flows by God’s grace from God’s presence and is not something we generate or control."
-Note: The river had no tributaries.. God doesn’t need anything else... So what are we waiting for?
1. No additives needed.
2. No need to add anything!
-It starts as a trickle in the temple and ends by bringing life to the Dead Sea!
VII. The Temple is Only the Beginning
-What happens "in church" is only the beginning!
-The water didn’t stay in the temple!
1. It flows out ward!
2. We are conduits & conductors of it!
-One commentator said it this way: "The imagery tries to state that the appearance of God in His sanctuary in the midst of His ppl does not create a self contained ‘holy place.’ All the preparation of the sacred place... is meant in the last resort to serve God’s intention to allow life & healing to flow out from there into the land. This life & this healing are to be effective precisely where unnatural disease & hostility [death & violence] are most obviously operative."
-The true Spirit of God cannot be contained here!
1. This may be where He starts His work... but it isn’t where it ends!
2. It leaves here with you!
-vv. 2b-5
-It just gets deeper from here.
1. Your walk with God can get deeper & fuller.
2. Broader and more intimate.
3. Richer and more divine!
-Ill. "He got in over His head."
1. Maybe this is one time that is a good thing.
2. Maybe too many are too timid to dive into the holiness of God!
-Point: Maybe sin doesn’t ‘snowball’ rather revival & renewal (from God’s glory) does!
1. In a thankless world...
2. In a world it may be hard to give thanks in...
3. Maybe God still holds His throne!
-Maybe I can truly be thankful!
-I am thankful for...
1. ...material blessings (house to live in, vehicles, bed, couches, food to eat, (but more than that))
2. ...a beautiful, talented, intelligent, Christian wife.
3. ...two healthy, perfect children.
4. ...a church family that truly cares for their pastor.
5. ...perfect health!
6. ...parents who love & pray for me, in-laws who love & pray for me (best in-laws a person could have)
7. ...two brothers who desire to serve the Lord, a grandfather who is a man of God.
8. ...a background/foundation in the church.
9. ...the opportunity to serve my Lord & Savior.
10. ...the ability to do this (take a breath)
11. ...the gift of speech to be able to say: "Hallelujah! Praise be to God!"
12. ...the agent of grace which is the Holy Spirit convicted me in a church service & I responded in obedience w/ repentance and was saved.
13. ...the fact that He has delivered [me] from the domain of darkness and transferred [me] to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Col. 1:13)
14. ...the joy, peace, and hope that wells up in my soul from Christ!
15. ...for the river of healing & cleansing that has washed over my heart, soul, & mind and created something new.
-What are you thankful for?
-This trickle has become a raging river.
1. And it’s bringing healing!
2. And it’s bringing life!
3. And it’s bringing wholeness!
4. It is the living God to who we give thanks this morning.
VIII. Conclusion
-Revelation 22:1-2 "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb [2] through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
-My feet are wet!
-What about yours?
-He is worthy of our praise!
-Let’s give Him thanks this morning!
Response
A Raging Trickle: Let the Water Flow
I. Introduction
-These two questions seem unrelated...
1. What kind of impact is God capable of in our world today?
2. What in the world is there to be thankful for?
-May I argue that they are connected.
-Today we have given God thanks for His impact in the life of Eula Lobb and the life of our church.
-Most of our T-giving tends to be self-centered.
1. Very little thanks is offered to God.
2. Mainly to the cook and the football coach, if your team wins.
-Ill. Instilling thanksgiving into my son
1. Bed time prayer...
2. "Thank you for Mommy, Hannah, Cat...."
3. "What about me?"
4. "And me?
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Chapter 1 is all about the fact that God’s glory/presence is what is really relevant... & now this!
-The last chapter (48) ends with "And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is there."
-I want to start at the end of this river and work my way back.
IV. Where the Water Ends Up
-It goes all the way to the Dead Sea.
-Dead Sea
1. aka- Salt Sea
2. Tributaries in bring salt water, but no way for the minerals to leave.
3. Dead- b/c no fish or life can live in such a high salt concentration.
4. The only value during this time was the salt deposits.
-But when the water from the temple hit the Dead Sea... it came alive.
1. Living creatures swarm
2. Dead water is made alive.
3. Salt water is made fresh.
4. In fact it becomes a place where fishermen can earn a living!
-v. 9b "everything will live where the river goes."
-I believe that everywhere God’s presence is, there is life & healing!
1. The dead become alive!
2. The enslaved become free!
3. The wounded become whole!
4. The lost are found.
5. The salty death is made fresh!
V. The Banks of the River
-But even on the way God is at work.
-Before the water even got to the Dead Sea it says...
1. v. 9 "And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live...so everything will live where the river goes."
2. v. 12 "And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, b/c the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."
-I think what we need is this river to run through our lives!
-Ill. Living in Eastern KY.
1. Hills & Hollers
2. A real fast, hard rain = a "gully washer"
3. The rain would land on the hill top and run down into the holler/gully and wash out leaves, dirt, debris, etc.
-We need a gully washer!
-Some of you need God in your...
1. ...marriage, family.
2. ...finances, workplace.
3. ...private place/behind closed doors
4. We’ll try everything but what brings real healing.
-The trees on the side of the river produce fruit every month!
-The leaves of the trees bring healing!
-Some have given God lip- service, when what He wants is your life.
-You can sit in a church on T-giving Sunday and say "thanks."
1. But some of you are thinking about your 401K (don’t you believe that God will take care of you?)
2. Some are thinking about your project at work.
3. Worrying about your grade at school.
4. Whether everyone will like the casserole you brought.
-Some of you won’t be in church next Sunday b/c...
1. ...you’ll be doing something "more important."
2. ..."on vacation"; working on a school assignment;
3. ..."tired" b/c you’re so busy;
4. ...etc.
-But look where this stream starts!
VI. The Door of the Temple
-It starts in the temple!
1. In the house of God.
2. In the sanctuary.
-Point: All healing starts with God.
1. All life begins in Christ!
2. All revival is introduced by the Holy Spirit!
-As short as our time is together, this could be (& is meant to be) the most important hour of your week!
1. Your feet should get wet!
2. The raging river should begin with a trickle right here!
-Someone said: "We need to remember that all renewal in the church or in the world flows by God’s grace from God’s presence and is not something we generate or control."
-Note: The river had no tributaries.. God doesn’t need anything else... So what are we waiting for?
1. No additives needed.
2. No need to add anything!
-It starts as a trickle in the temple and ends by bringing life to the Dead Sea!
VII. The Temple is Only the Beginning
-What happens "in church" is only the beginning!
-The water didn’t stay in the temple!
1. It flows out ward!
2. We are conduits & conductors of it!
-One commentator said it this way: "The imagery tries to state that the appearance of God in His sanctuary in the midst of His ppl does not create a self contained ‘holy place.’ All the preparation of the sacred place... is meant in the last resort to serve God’s intention to allow life & healing to flow out from there into the land. This life & this healing are to be effective precisely where unnatural disease & hostility [death & violence] are most obviously operative."
-The true Spirit of God cannot be contained here!
1. This may be where He starts His work... but it isn’t where it ends!
2. It leaves here with you!
-vv. 2b-5
-It just gets deeper from here.
1. Your walk with God can get deeper & fuller.
2. Broader and more intimate.
3. Richer and more divine!
-Ill. "He got in over His head."
1. Maybe this is one time that is a good thing.
2. Maybe too many are too timid to dive into the holiness of God!
-Point: Maybe sin doesn’t ‘snowball’ rather revival & renewal (from God’s glory) does!
1. In a thankless world...
2. In a world it may be hard to give thanks in...
3. Maybe God still holds His throne!
-Maybe I can truly be thankful!
-I am thankful for...
1. ...material blessings (house to live in, vehicles, bed, couches, food to eat, (but more than that))
2. ...a beautiful, talented, intelligent, Christian wife.
3. ...two healthy, perfect children.
4. ...a church family that truly cares for their pastor.
5. ...perfect health!
6. ...parents who love & pray for me, in-laws who love & pray for me (best in-laws a person could have)
7. ...two brothers who desire to serve the Lord, a grandfather who is a man of God.
8. ...a background/foundation in the church.
9. ...the opportunity to serve my Lord & Savior.
10. ...the ability to do this (take a breath)
11. ...the gift of speech to be able to say: "Hallelujah! Praise be to God!"
12. ...the agent of grace which is the Holy Spirit convicted me in a church service & I responded in obedience w/ repentance and was saved.
13. ...the fact that He has delivered [me] from the domain of darkness and transferred [me] to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Col. 1:13)
14. ...the joy, peace, and hope that wells up in my soul from Christ!
15. ...for the river of healing & cleansing that has washed over my heart, soul, & mind and created something new.
-What are you thankful for?
-This trickle has become a raging river.
1. And it’s bringing healing!
2. And it’s bringing life!
3. And it’s bringing wholeness!
4. It is the living God to who we give thanks this morning.
VIII. Conclusion
-Revelation 22:1-2 "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb [2] through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
-My feet are wet!
-What about yours?
-He is worthy of our praise!
-Let’s give Him thanks this morning!
Response
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Relevant?
Ezekiel 1:1-5a, 15-16a, 22, 26-28; 2:1-2
Relevant?: Ezekiel #1
I. Introduction
-Why are you here this morning? (Israel History)
-Does what happens here make a difference in your life?
-If you had to tell about one thing God did in your life, or how being a Christian made a difference, could you?
-We would like to believe we are more technologically advanced than ever before, more civil, more wealth, more secure, etc.
1. So how does this book [Bible] have any bearing on our lives?
2. Why & How can it tell us how to live?
3. Or a man [Jesus] who lived 2000 years ago.
-How can these things be relevant?
-Relevant is a buzz word in the church today.
-What is relevant to your life?
II. Scripture
III. Relevant
-Relevant means: having significant bearing on the matter at hand
-You might hear:
1. "That's not relevant to this discussion."
2. "Ask only relevant questions to the topic at hand."
3. Presidential debates: their answers aren't relevant to the questions.
-If you go into a Christian bookstore & into the ministry section you will see the word ‘relevant' in a lot of book titles.
-"Relevant" is a buzz word.
-They say: "The church has to make its ministry relevant to the world."
-In other words: "Ministry must be done in such a way that it has significant bearing on the matter at hand."
IV. Problem 1
-Ministry is geared toward ppl loving the church rather than God.
-If you participate in that kind of ministry you will begin to believe that if ppl like you, your ministry is successful.
-Ministry success is not based on whether ppl like you.
1. It's not based on whether everyone thinks you're cool.
2. It's not based on whether you are best buddies w/ someone.
3. Just b/c you are friends w/ a Christian, doesn't mean you'll make it to heaven.
4. You must be friends w/ Christ.
-Therein lies the problem: We sometimes seek for ppl to like the pastor more than the Savior.
1. The church, pastor, ppl, eclipse the Messiah.
-Then, I leave the church b/c I do not like the pastor.
1. I leave the church if I do not like a member.
2. I leave the church if my feelings get hurt.
-God calls ppl to churches just like He does pastors.
-You can make it to heaven w/out being best friend w/ everyone!
1. Some ppl just meld better than others.
2. I just get along better w/ some ppl than others.
V. Problem 2
-Ministry looks more like the world.
-Ministry is based on disguising the Gospel.
1. Repentance is tucked away.
2. "We look like you!"
-Ministry is not based on whether ppl think you are like them.
1. Point: It's really hinged on whether you are different than them.
2. What do you have to offer if you are the same.
-Some "relevance" based ministry seeks to convince you that it is alright if you stay the same as long as you like what is happening.
-Real ministry says, you cannot remain the same.
1. Truth changes your life... & the way you go about it.
2. Interacting w/ God is a change of heart, a renewing of the mind, a washing of your actions, & a cleansing of pride & motives!
-Sometimes we ask for the preacher's messages to be relevant.
1. Wouldn't we like more self-help kind of sermons.
2. They are all the craze.
-Some pastors preach on nothing but your finances, your human relationships, how to get a good job, how to have your best life now, how to...
1. That seems more relevant.
-But is that more relevant than a message on the Holiness of God?
1. Is that relevant in light of eternity?
2. Is that relevant in light of the glory of God?
VI. What is Relevant?
-You don't really decide what is relevant, you prioritize your life.
1. Truth is truth. It is never irrelevant.
2. Truth is always relevant!
-Ill. Gravity, you cannot really ignore it.
1. You can fight it...parachutes
2. But it doesn't become obsolete, or irrelevant.
-Ill. "This is a youth service, you don't have to wear a tie."
1. I didn't come to fit-in, but to proclaim the Gospel.
2. I didn't come to be cool, I came to lift up Jesus!
3. I didn't come to entertain, I came to preach Christ crucified... a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles!
-Query: To minister to...
1. ...teens do I have to wear frayed jeans, grow a goatee, & fix my hair like I've not combed it?
2. ...those in the nursing home do I have to get a hearing aid, use a walker, and wear glasses?
3. Is my ministry [and yours] limited by our age, our dress, our income, our racial background?
4. Do you have to be black to minister to blacks?
5. Do you have to be rich to minister to the rich?
6. Do you have to be a doctor to minister to a doctor?
7. Do you have to be from KY to minister to those from KY?
8. Do you have to be 20 something to minister to 20 something's?
-O what limitations we have placed on God!
1. What boundaries we have placed around His power.
2. What restrictions we have placed on salvation!
-Lie (Satan): you can minister only to ppl just like you.
-Definition: having significant bearing on the matter at hand
1. So what is the matter at hand?
2. Is it how much money you make?
3. Is it what job you have?
-What about in raising your children? Is the real issue...
1. ...how smart your kids are?
2. ...whether they are popular or not?
3. ...whether they are successful?
4. ...whether they are a sports star?
5. ...whether they are homecoming queen?
6. What has significance/ bearing to the issue at hand? Are they holy/godly?
-What issue trumps all others?
-The world is screaming that God is irrelevant!
1. He has no bearing on anything.
2. Can you see past that?
3. Have you been bogged down in that?
-What about eternity?
-Point: We need a new vision of His glory!
-A desire for "relevance" leads to sin.
1. Learn to be okay w/ being different.
2. "Fitting in" drives/moves toward sin.
-If kids cannot deal w/ being different when it comes to style (adults too) how can they resist the temptation to conform to this world!?
1. I don't want my kids dressing like ball stars b/c they may also conform to their sins!!
2. I want them to be different!
VII. Hard to See How Relevant.
-Even for Christians it is hard to see how relevant God is to us.
-Ill. Time magazine said $20 billion in US for porn movies
1. estimated $57 billion worldwide
2. Is God that relevant or not?
-The world is screaming that God is irrelevant.
-Do you believe that?
-What about when...
1. ...you go to work on Monday, and listen to the profane, vulgar conversations.
2. ...you hear about the immorality running rampant among your co-workers.
3. ...you go on vacation see the loose & lurid behavior of the wicked.
4. ...you walk through your neighborhood and see the hurting families destroyed by divorce, abuse, affairs, & alcohol.
5. ...your kids come home from school talking about what they learned at school, playing vulgar & sinful music, flippantly talking about sex.
6. ...you turn on the TV and watch holly wood blaspheme all that is holy, idolize the wicked & immoral behavior, and dismiss biblical conscience.
7. ...loneliness is oppressive, hopelessness ushers in despair, and the chaos pushes us to the limit...
8. Then the temptation is to think that this [church, Bible, faith, God] is irrelevant.
-And ppl ask:
1. At the point I am dealing w/ a death in the family, why would a man named Jesus dying 2000 years ago have any bearing on my situation?
2. At the point I have lost my job and am unable to pay my bills, what difference does it make that God made a covenant with Abraham?
-The Israelite in captivity w/ Ezekiel asked: What difference does God make now?
VIII. The Real Problem
-This problem is old as time.
1. We are trying to make God relevant to us (bring Him to our level).
2. Rather than trying to be relevant to God.
-Ill. On Judgement day
1. He won't ask us: "Do you know me?"
2. He will say: "Depart from me, for I do not know you."
-The problem is we've diminished His glory.
1. We've rejected it for materialism, lusts of the flesh, and rusted things of this world.
2. The church has accepted a counterfeit!
-Ill. Famous Atheist Richard Dawkins, author of ‘The God Delusion,'
1. ...about his visit to a 12,000 strong evangelical church here in America:
2. "I worry that these ‘born-agains' are being persuaded to return to childish certainties. That the only truth they need is God..."
3. That's it... the atheist got it!
-We all affirm that God is the most important thing in life, but do you live it?
1. Would your calendar be different if you lived that way?
2. ...check book... family... church... be different?
-Ill. It will take more than an hour on Sunday.
1. Commercial: 20 min/day for 3 wks for killer abs.
2. We apply that to spiritual matters
3. To be Christian will take more than 20/min a day 3 days a week!!
IX. God is Relevant
-Ezekiel got a vision of the Glory of God.
1. That vision of glory gave him something worth saying.
2. It gave him a life worth living.
3. ...a purpose worth fulfilling.
4. ...a mission worth accomplishing.
-How relevant is your life?
-To SS teachers: "Point to Jesus!"
-To song leaders: "What is relevant, is not what we sing, what notes we hit, or what style it is; but who we sing to!"
-To preachers: "What is relevant is not the latest fad or popular thing in the church, but Christ and Him crucified. Preach that!"
-To parents: "Christ is the most important thing in your child's life."
-To couples: "Christ is the most important thing in your marriage."
-To teens: "Christ is the most important thing in your life!"
-To children: "Christ is the most important thing in your life!"
-Don't say it, Live it!
X. Conclusion
-Do you see the glory of God?
-Does God eclipse everything else in your life?
-So many ppl are investing their lives in good things, but irrelevant things.
1. They are missing the glory of God!
2. They are missing the most important thing.
-Why are all these other things not relevant?
1. Why is God/ the Gospel so relevant?
2. B/c the most fundamental need of humanity is still a spiritual need.
-Ezekiel fell on his face when he saw the glory of God.
-But the Spirit picked Him up and set him on his feet... and he heard God.
-You can ignore it, or you can live with new relevance.
1. God is relevant.
2. Do you see that?
Response
Relevant?: Ezekiel #1
I. Introduction
-Why are you here this morning? (Israel History)
-Does what happens here make a difference in your life?
-If you had to tell about one thing God did in your life, or how being a Christian made a difference, could you?
-We would like to believe we are more technologically advanced than ever before, more civil, more wealth, more secure, etc.
1. So how does this book [Bible] have any bearing on our lives?
2. Why & How can it tell us how to live?
3. Or a man [Jesus] who lived 2000 years ago.
-How can these things be relevant?
-Relevant is a buzz word in the church today.
-What is relevant to your life?
II. Scripture
III. Relevant
-Relevant means: having significant bearing on the matter at hand
-You might hear:
1. "That's not relevant to this discussion."
2. "Ask only relevant questions to the topic at hand."
3. Presidential debates: their answers aren't relevant to the questions.
-If you go into a Christian bookstore & into the ministry section you will see the word ‘relevant' in a lot of book titles.
-"Relevant" is a buzz word.
-They say: "The church has to make its ministry relevant to the world."
-In other words: "Ministry must be done in such a way that it has significant bearing on the matter at hand."
IV. Problem 1
-Ministry is geared toward ppl loving the church rather than God.
-If you participate in that kind of ministry you will begin to believe that if ppl like you, your ministry is successful.
-Ministry success is not based on whether ppl like you.
1. It's not based on whether everyone thinks you're cool.
2. It's not based on whether you are best buddies w/ someone.
3. Just b/c you are friends w/ a Christian, doesn't mean you'll make it to heaven.
4. You must be friends w/ Christ.
-Therein lies the problem: We sometimes seek for ppl to like the pastor more than the Savior.
1. The church, pastor, ppl, eclipse the Messiah.
-Then, I leave the church b/c I do not like the pastor.
1. I leave the church if I do not like a member.
2. I leave the church if my feelings get hurt.
-God calls ppl to churches just like He does pastors.
-You can make it to heaven w/out being best friend w/ everyone!
1. Some ppl just meld better than others.
2. I just get along better w/ some ppl than others.
V. Problem 2
-Ministry looks more like the world.
-Ministry is based on disguising the Gospel.
1. Repentance is tucked away.
2. "We look like you!"
-Ministry is not based on whether ppl think you are like them.
1. Point: It's really hinged on whether you are different than them.
2. What do you have to offer if you are the same.
-Some "relevance" based ministry seeks to convince you that it is alright if you stay the same as long as you like what is happening.
-Real ministry says, you cannot remain the same.
1. Truth changes your life... & the way you go about it.
2. Interacting w/ God is a change of heart, a renewing of the mind, a washing of your actions, & a cleansing of pride & motives!
-Sometimes we ask for the preacher's messages to be relevant.
1. Wouldn't we like more self-help kind of sermons.
2. They are all the craze.
-Some pastors preach on nothing but your finances, your human relationships, how to get a good job, how to have your best life now, how to...
1. That seems more relevant.
-But is that more relevant than a message on the Holiness of God?
1. Is that relevant in light of eternity?
2. Is that relevant in light of the glory of God?
VI. What is Relevant?
-You don't really decide what is relevant, you prioritize your life.
1. Truth is truth. It is never irrelevant.
2. Truth is always relevant!
-Ill. Gravity, you cannot really ignore it.
1. You can fight it...parachutes
2. But it doesn't become obsolete, or irrelevant.
-Ill. "This is a youth service, you don't have to wear a tie."
1. I didn't come to fit-in, but to proclaim the Gospel.
2. I didn't come to be cool, I came to lift up Jesus!
3. I didn't come to entertain, I came to preach Christ crucified... a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles!
-Query: To minister to...
1. ...teens do I have to wear frayed jeans, grow a goatee, & fix my hair like I've not combed it?
2. ...those in the nursing home do I have to get a hearing aid, use a walker, and wear glasses?
3. Is my ministry [and yours] limited by our age, our dress, our income, our racial background?
4. Do you have to be black to minister to blacks?
5. Do you have to be rich to minister to the rich?
6. Do you have to be a doctor to minister to a doctor?
7. Do you have to be from KY to minister to those from KY?
8. Do you have to be 20 something to minister to 20 something's?
-O what limitations we have placed on God!
1. What boundaries we have placed around His power.
2. What restrictions we have placed on salvation!
-Lie (Satan): you can minister only to ppl just like you.
-Definition: having significant bearing on the matter at hand
1. So what is the matter at hand?
2. Is it how much money you make?
3. Is it what job you have?
-What about in raising your children? Is the real issue...
1. ...how smart your kids are?
2. ...whether they are popular or not?
3. ...whether they are successful?
4. ...whether they are a sports star?
5. ...whether they are homecoming queen?
6. What has significance/ bearing to the issue at hand? Are they holy/godly?
-What issue trumps all others?
-The world is screaming that God is irrelevant!
1. He has no bearing on anything.
2. Can you see past that?
3. Have you been bogged down in that?
-What about eternity?
-Point: We need a new vision of His glory!
-A desire for "relevance" leads to sin.
1. Learn to be okay w/ being different.
2. "Fitting in" drives/moves toward sin.
-If kids cannot deal w/ being different when it comes to style (adults too) how can they resist the temptation to conform to this world!?
1. I don't want my kids dressing like ball stars b/c they may also conform to their sins!!
2. I want them to be different!
VII. Hard to See How Relevant.
-Even for Christians it is hard to see how relevant God is to us.
-Ill. Time magazine said $20 billion in US for porn movies
1. estimated $57 billion worldwide
2. Is God that relevant or not?
-The world is screaming that God is irrelevant.
-Do you believe that?
-What about when...
1. ...you go to work on Monday, and listen to the profane, vulgar conversations.
2. ...you hear about the immorality running rampant among your co-workers.
3. ...you go on vacation see the loose & lurid behavior of the wicked.
4. ...you walk through your neighborhood and see the hurting families destroyed by divorce, abuse, affairs, & alcohol.
5. ...your kids come home from school talking about what they learned at school, playing vulgar & sinful music, flippantly talking about sex.
6. ...you turn on the TV and watch holly wood blaspheme all that is holy, idolize the wicked & immoral behavior, and dismiss biblical conscience.
7. ...loneliness is oppressive, hopelessness ushers in despair, and the chaos pushes us to the limit...
8. Then the temptation is to think that this [church, Bible, faith, God] is irrelevant.
-And ppl ask:
1. At the point I am dealing w/ a death in the family, why would a man named Jesus dying 2000 years ago have any bearing on my situation?
2. At the point I have lost my job and am unable to pay my bills, what difference does it make that God made a covenant with Abraham?
-The Israelite in captivity w/ Ezekiel asked: What difference does God make now?
VIII. The Real Problem
-This problem is old as time.
1. We are trying to make God relevant to us (bring Him to our level).
2. Rather than trying to be relevant to God.
-Ill. On Judgement day
1. He won't ask us: "Do you know me?"
2. He will say: "Depart from me, for I do not know you."
-The problem is we've diminished His glory.
1. We've rejected it for materialism, lusts of the flesh, and rusted things of this world.
2. The church has accepted a counterfeit!
-Ill. Famous Atheist Richard Dawkins, author of ‘The God Delusion,'
1. ...about his visit to a 12,000 strong evangelical church here in America:
2. "I worry that these ‘born-agains' are being persuaded to return to childish certainties. That the only truth they need is God..."
3. That's it... the atheist got it!
-We all affirm that God is the most important thing in life, but do you live it?
1. Would your calendar be different if you lived that way?
2. ...check book... family... church... be different?
-Ill. It will take more than an hour on Sunday.
1. Commercial: 20 min/day for 3 wks for killer abs.
2. We apply that to spiritual matters
3. To be Christian will take more than 20/min a day 3 days a week!!
IX. God is Relevant
-Ezekiel got a vision of the Glory of God.
1. That vision of glory gave him something worth saying.
2. It gave him a life worth living.
3. ...a purpose worth fulfilling.
4. ...a mission worth accomplishing.
-How relevant is your life?
-To SS teachers: "Point to Jesus!"
-To song leaders: "What is relevant, is not what we sing, what notes we hit, or what style it is; but who we sing to!"
-To preachers: "What is relevant is not the latest fad or popular thing in the church, but Christ and Him crucified. Preach that!"
-To parents: "Christ is the most important thing in your child's life."
-To couples: "Christ is the most important thing in your marriage."
-To teens: "Christ is the most important thing in your life!"
-To children: "Christ is the most important thing in your life!"
-Don't say it, Live it!
X. Conclusion
-Do you see the glory of God?
-Does God eclipse everything else in your life?
-So many ppl are investing their lives in good things, but irrelevant things.
1. They are missing the glory of God!
2. They are missing the most important thing.
-Why are all these other things not relevant?
1. Why is God/ the Gospel so relevant?
2. B/c the most fundamental need of humanity is still a spiritual need.
-Ezekiel fell on his face when he saw the glory of God.
-But the Spirit picked Him up and set him on his feet... and he heard God.
-You can ignore it, or you can live with new relevance.
1. God is relevant.
2. Do you see that?
Response
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Lord is Here
Ezekiel 48:30-35
The Lord is Here: The Greatest Description
I. Introduction
- God is here this morning!
- But what does that mean?
1. Why is that significant?
2. Why does it matter?
- Did you know you can have "church" w/out God?
- Churches do it all the time.
- Maybe we've been guilty of it.
1. Maybe I'm guilty of "church" w/out God.
2. Maybe you're guilty of it.
- I wonder if we might even "feel blessed" and yet God never even be here.
- We need God to be here.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-The word of this scripture can be both...
1. Text & test.
2. Conviction & consolation
3. Hope & Challenge
-I think, as always, God's word is relevant to where we are as a church and as individuals.
-18,000 cubits circumference = 6 miles (1.5 m per side)
-Ezekiel was written about the same time as Daniel.
1. Both were in exile in Babylon.
2. Ezekiel wrote to those in captivity, but also to those who were allowed to stay in Israel.
-He warns/ rebukes those still in the ‘promised land.'
-In Ezekiel 10 & 11 he prophesied about God leaving/departing from the temple/sanctuary area. -You have to understand what that meant to them.
1. Was God going back on His promises?
2. Was he forfeiting His covenant w/ Abraham?
-The first half of the book of Ezekiel is gloom, doom, & despair.
-But then Ezekiel looks forward to God's redemptive work.
-And v. 35 says Yahweh-Shammah "The Lord is there.' (Jerusalem)
IV. God's Omnipresence & Presence
-At some level you cannot find a place where God is not.
-In other words, you cannot hide from God.
-Jeremiah 23:23-24 "Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God afar off? [24] Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord."
-You cannot run away from God.
-Jonah 1:3 "But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord."
-We read Psalm 139 this morning.
-But there is also a concept in Scripture that God can be absent from places & ppl's lives.
1. Moses to God soon after the golden calf incident...
2. Exodus 33:15 "And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.'"
-There is also a concept of God's presence being revealed in a special way in a particular places.
1. Exodus 25:8 "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst."
2. Moses & the burning bush.
3. Solomon at the dedication of the temple.
4. Jesus & the transfiguration.
5. Pentecost ‘mighty rushing wind.'
6. Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus.
7. All tied to a revelation of His glory.
-Don't make the mistake and believe that He is only glorious when His glory is revealed or He is only present when it is known.
-Jacob, while running away from home to his Uncle's house, stops for the night and dreams about a staircase from heaven w/ angels on it.
1. The next morning...
2. Genesis 28:16 "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.""
V. The Lord is Not Here
-There are some places God does not reside.
-God is not where there is chaos.
1. 1 Corinthians 14:40 "But all things should be done decently and in order."
2. Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley..
3. Real sermon series titles (of chaos)...
...Spiritual Life is like a box of Krispy Kremes
...Lessons from Dr. Seuss
...Sex and the City and You
...Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Ringo and George
...Dates of Our Lives: How to keep your love life from being a soap opera
... Meet at church naked.
... The Power of Positive Thinking
4. At a Nazarene Church: "Pimp my Bride" [off MTV's pimp my ride]
...Pastor Mike recounts the moment of inspiration."At that moment, I realized... this is what God wants to do to His Church. He wants to take our old and busted stuff and turn it into new hotness."
5. Churches resort to chaos.
6. Pastor said: "If so & so amount of ppl come to church on such & such a Sunday I'll preach from the roof of the church in my pajamas."
...Barring unforseen circumstances, you'll never catch me preaching from the roof of the church in my pajamas!
-God is not where there is disobedience.
1. Genesis 6:3 (time of Noah): "My Spirit shall not abide[strive] with man forever."
2. Note: Don't take it for granted.
-God is not where there is a quenching of the Spirit.
1. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 "Do not quench the Spirit."
2. If you quench, He leaves!
-God is not where there is sin
1. Proverbs 15:8-9 "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. [9] way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but he loves him who pursues righteousness."
2. Proverbs 11:20 "Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are His delight."
3. On the cross Jesus took on all the sins of the world, then said: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
VI. Yahweh Shammah
-I believe the Lord is here.
1. May we ever protect that claim with all that is w/in us as a church.
2. May we fight for the presence of God.
3. ...hold tight to our God.
4. ...seek so to find Him.
5. ... hunger & thirst for it.
6. ... call out to Him in desperation!
-Isaiah 57:15 "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite."
-Paul preaching in Athens at the Areopagus...
-Acts 17:26-27a "And He [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him."
VII. God is Not Confined Here
-Solomon about building a temple for the Lord...
1. 2 Chronicles 2:6 "But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?"
2. 1 Kings 8:27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!"
-After Jesus was crucified...
-Matthew 27:51 "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split."
-Since the lamb was slain to take away the sins of the world things are different.
-1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
-Thus is the power of the church, the body of Christ.
1. God's Spirit dwells w/in us.
2. We are born-again in and of the Spirit of the living God!
-Matthew 18:18-20 "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [19] Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
-Ill. Beulah land...
1. Isaiah 62... married land
2. Heaven on Earth.
3. If you can't experience the presence of God here on Earth, you probably won't make Heaven.
VIII. Glory Comes With Presence
-After the triumphal entry...
1. Some Greeks want to see Jesus... (hear where our church is, in this)...
2. John 12:23-28 "And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. [27] "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. [28] Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.""
-There can be no greater description of a church or a people or a city or a home than this: "The Lord is there." (Yahweh Shammah)
-There is nothing worse than God's presence departing a place.
-Ill. Eli, Samuel's mentor, died and along w/ his three wicked sons and the ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines.
1. Eli's daughter-in-law gives birth...
2. 1 Samuel 4:21a "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!""
-The absence of God in a church or in a life is a terrifying thing!
1. We tend to be flippant about it.
2. "It's not a big deal that I am sinning."
IX. Conclusion
-Yahweh Shammah
1. God is there.
2. God is here.
-As ordinary or extraordinary as it may seem.
-Hebrews 13:5b "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
-Maybe you just need to be reminded of the presence of the Lord in your life.
-Maybe you've never experienced the presence of the Lord in your life.
-Maybe you need to know He is especially close to you this morning.
-Whatever your need... The Lord is Here.
Response
The Lord is Here: The Greatest Description
I. Introduction
- God is here this morning!
- But what does that mean?
1. Why is that significant?
2. Why does it matter?
- Did you know you can have "church" w/out God?
- Churches do it all the time.
- Maybe we've been guilty of it.
1. Maybe I'm guilty of "church" w/out God.
2. Maybe you're guilty of it.
- I wonder if we might even "feel blessed" and yet God never even be here.
- We need God to be here.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-The word of this scripture can be both...
1. Text & test.
2. Conviction & consolation
3. Hope & Challenge
-I think, as always, God's word is relevant to where we are as a church and as individuals.
-18,000 cubits circumference = 6 miles (1.5 m per side)
-Ezekiel was written about the same time as Daniel.
1. Both were in exile in Babylon.
2. Ezekiel wrote to those in captivity, but also to those who were allowed to stay in Israel.
-He warns/ rebukes those still in the ‘promised land.'
-In Ezekiel 10 & 11 he prophesied about God leaving/departing from the temple/sanctuary area. -You have to understand what that meant to them.
1. Was God going back on His promises?
2. Was he forfeiting His covenant w/ Abraham?
-The first half of the book of Ezekiel is gloom, doom, & despair.
-But then Ezekiel looks forward to God's redemptive work.
-And v. 35 says Yahweh-Shammah "The Lord is there.' (Jerusalem)
IV. God's Omnipresence & Presence
-At some level you cannot find a place where God is not.
-In other words, you cannot hide from God.
-Jeremiah 23:23-24 "Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God afar off? [24] Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord."
-You cannot run away from God.
-Jonah 1:3 "But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord."
-We read Psalm 139 this morning.
-But there is also a concept in Scripture that God can be absent from places & ppl's lives.
1. Moses to God soon after the golden calf incident...
2. Exodus 33:15 "And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.'"
-There is also a concept of God's presence being revealed in a special way in a particular places.
1. Exodus 25:8 "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst."
2. Moses & the burning bush.
3. Solomon at the dedication of the temple.
4. Jesus & the transfiguration.
5. Pentecost ‘mighty rushing wind.'
6. Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus.
7. All tied to a revelation of His glory.
-Don't make the mistake and believe that He is only glorious when His glory is revealed or He is only present when it is known.
-Jacob, while running away from home to his Uncle's house, stops for the night and dreams about a staircase from heaven w/ angels on it.
1. The next morning...
2. Genesis 28:16 "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.""
V. The Lord is Not Here
-There are some places God does not reside.
-God is not where there is chaos.
1. 1 Corinthians 14:40 "But all things should be done decently and in order."
2. Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley..
3. Real sermon series titles (of chaos)...
...Spiritual Life is like a box of Krispy Kremes
...Lessons from Dr. Seuss
...Sex and the City and You
...Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Ringo and George
...Dates of Our Lives: How to keep your love life from being a soap opera
... Meet at church naked.
... The Power of Positive Thinking
4. At a Nazarene Church: "Pimp my Bride" [off MTV's pimp my ride]
...Pastor Mike recounts the moment of inspiration."At that moment, I realized... this is what God wants to do to His Church. He wants to take our old and busted stuff and turn it into new hotness."
5. Churches resort to chaos.
6. Pastor said: "If so & so amount of ppl come to church on such & such a Sunday I'll preach from the roof of the church in my pajamas."
...Barring unforseen circumstances, you'll never catch me preaching from the roof of the church in my pajamas!
-God is not where there is disobedience.
1. Genesis 6:3 (time of Noah): "My Spirit shall not abide[strive] with man forever."
2. Note: Don't take it for granted.
-God is not where there is a quenching of the Spirit.
1. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 "Do not quench the Spirit."
2. If you quench, He leaves!
-God is not where there is sin
1. Proverbs 15:8-9 "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. [9] way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but he loves him who pursues righteousness."
2. Proverbs 11:20 "Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are His delight."
3. On the cross Jesus took on all the sins of the world, then said: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
VI. Yahweh Shammah
-I believe the Lord is here.
1. May we ever protect that claim with all that is w/in us as a church.
2. May we fight for the presence of God.
3. ...hold tight to our God.
4. ...seek so to find Him.
5. ... hunger & thirst for it.
6. ... call out to Him in desperation!
-Isaiah 57:15 "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite."
-Paul preaching in Athens at the Areopagus...
-Acts 17:26-27a "And He [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him."
VII. God is Not Confined Here
-Solomon about building a temple for the Lord...
1. 2 Chronicles 2:6 "But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?"
2. 1 Kings 8:27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!"
-After Jesus was crucified...
-Matthew 27:51 "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split."
-Since the lamb was slain to take away the sins of the world things are different.
-1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
-Thus is the power of the church, the body of Christ.
1. God's Spirit dwells w/in us.
2. We are born-again in and of the Spirit of the living God!
-Matthew 18:18-20 "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [19] Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
-Ill. Beulah land...
1. Isaiah 62... married land
2. Heaven on Earth.
3. If you can't experience the presence of God here on Earth, you probably won't make Heaven.
VIII. Glory Comes With Presence
-After the triumphal entry...
1. Some Greeks want to see Jesus... (hear where our church is, in this)...
2. John 12:23-28 "And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. [27] "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. [28] Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.""
-There can be no greater description of a church or a people or a city or a home than this: "The Lord is there." (Yahweh Shammah)
-There is nothing worse than God's presence departing a place.
-Ill. Eli, Samuel's mentor, died and along w/ his three wicked sons and the ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines.
1. Eli's daughter-in-law gives birth...
2. 1 Samuel 4:21a "And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!""
-The absence of God in a church or in a life is a terrifying thing!
1. We tend to be flippant about it.
2. "It's not a big deal that I am sinning."
IX. Conclusion
-Yahweh Shammah
1. God is there.
2. God is here.
-As ordinary or extraordinary as it may seem.
-Hebrews 13:5b "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
-Maybe you just need to be reminded of the presence of the Lord in your life.
-Maybe you've never experienced the presence of the Lord in your life.
-Maybe you need to know He is especially close to you this morning.
-Whatever your need... The Lord is Here.
Response
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