2 Peter 2:17-22
Spiritual Recession: Going the Wrong Way
I. Introduction
-One month from revival.
-Revival is upon us.
-The opposite of revival is recession.
-Are you in the midst of spiritual recession?
-What direction are you heading with God?
1. Forward, deeper, higher?
2. Backward, shallowness, weakness?
-Peter describes a frightening spiritual condition...
II. Scripture
III. Disconcerting State
-The politicians are talking about economic recession.
1. Economy is troubled.
2. Jobs, taxes, money.
3. Since they know everything, I won't deal w/ that this morning.
-There is a state even more disconcerting: spiritual recession.
-What is spiritual recession?
1. Spiritual recession = spiritual retreat.
2. It is spiritual sickness.
3. It leads to spiritual lostness/ death.
4. It is moving in the wrong direction.
5. Sometimes called backsliding.
-I'm not talking about those who have never been saved
1. Their's is a sad state.
2. Spiritual recession is worse.
-More prevalent than we realize today.
-Maybe you are affected.
IV. Spiritual Sickness
-Ill. There are observable things that happen when Jacob gets sick.
1. He doesn't act the same (being still & sitting in lap).
2. Take his temperature (high)
3. Vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
4. Excessive crying.
5. When older; he can tell me something is wrong.
-From a pastor's heart let me share with you some indicators of spiritual recession.
-Drop in Attendance
1. Are you in the house of the Lord less than you have been?
2. Are you consistent in your attendance?
3. Hit & miss?
-Drop in enthusiasm/passion
1. You use to be passionate about serving the Lord.
2. You loved to talk about God.
3. You use to do all you could to live for Him.
4. Study your Bible, pray, devotional time w/ Him.
5. Ppl commented about how much you loved the Lord.
-Drop in involvement
1. You use to be involved in God's Work through His church.
2. You did things in the church, you might have been a leader, you helped do things.
3. You were more involved than you are today.
-Drop in priority
1. The thing that usually proceeds the rest is a drop in priority.
2. The things of God use to be important to you.
3. Being at church, involved in church, and passionate about the Lord's Work use to be at the forefront of your list of priorities.
4. It just isn't important like it use to be.
-Have you taken your spiritual temperature lately?
-Jerry Vines said: "Are you back slidden now? I'm going to help you answer that question. A backslidden Christian is any Christian who is not as close to Jesus as he use to be. Was there ever a time in your life when you were closer to the Lord than you are now? Was there ever a period in your life when you felt the presence of God more than you feel it now? Was there a moment in your life when your love for Jesus Christ was more real than it is this minute? If so you need a revival!"
V. Immunity to the Holy Spirit
-There is a way to mask this sickness from yourself.
-There is a vaccine against the Holy Spirit, many have.
-Ill. Many years ago small pox was a scary thing.
1. For most it was a death sentence.
2. Maybe some of you remember those times.
3. They eventually developed a vaccine against it.
4. They noticed that many individuals who had cow pox (a similar disease) did not contract small pox.
5. They started giving an injection of cow pox to individuals and found out it built up their immunity against small pox.
-Have you found yourself immune to the Holy Spirit?
1. That isn't b/c you are a mature Christian.
2. You might be in recession.
3. Have you spoken intimately with Christ of late?
-Or have you taken a vaccine?
1. Have you injected yourself with religion & religious stuff?
2. So that the Holy Spirit is drowned out.
-I fear we have become so religious that we have ceased to be holy!
1. We have "In God We Trust" on our money, but we don't.
2. Our constitution speaks of God, but our conscious has closed Him out.
3. Oprah, Dolly Parton, presidential candidates all speak of their service to God, but they have missed him.
-I fear we have become too religious for God!
-I fear our hearts have led us astray!
-Hebrews 3:12 "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God."
VI. Counterfeit Christianity
-Have we settled for a counterfeit?
-I sometimes wonder as I read God's Word: Have we missed it?
1. Have we made Christianity a sedative to help us sleep at night?
2. Have we deceived ourselves into thinking everything is okay?
-Have we bought into some kind of cheap therapeutic Christianity?
-Have we reasoned God out of the equation?
-Someone said: "We have been so deprived of real and true Christianity that we cannot identify the holy from humanistic; we cannot differentiate God's glory from the world's garbage; we cannot tell righteousness from rottenness!"
-v. 20 "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first."
-Ill. Mike Yaconelli in "The Wittenburg Door"
1. He writes of his upbringing in a small rural town.
2. Lot's of cattle farmers.
3. Asked a farmer how the cows would get lost.
4. "See a nice green patch of grass and go to nibble on it."
5. "Then they'd see another patch and go to it, then another. Before long they would look around and realize they were lost."
6. So it is with the church today.
7. We have wandered away from the truth of God, it has become foreign to us.
-I know there are some things you just cannot preach on in today's church w/out offending or shocking ppl.
1. Hell, Sex, Gossip,
2. Tithing, Divorce, etc.
3. I know it. "Lord Help Me"
VII. Retreat or Revival!
-Christians are in spiritual retreat.
-We are giving up ground to the forces of darkness.
1. We are surrendering to defeat.
2. We are signing treaties of surrender to the evil one.
-We are in spiritual recession.
-Ill. The African impala can jump more than 10 ft high & a distance of over 30 ft.
1. But they can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall.
2. Why? They will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.
-Many Christians in spiritual recession are that way.
1. They cannot see the solution to the problem.
2. They cannot see it so they will not jump.
-Retreat or Revival?
-The answer to spiritual recession is spiritual revival!
VIII. Conclusion
-Ill. Robert Robinson the author of "Come Thou Fount"
1. He was saved out of a life of deep sin through George Whitfield's ministry in England.
2. Shortly afterwards at the age of 23 he wrote the hymn.
3. At some point Robinson became a prodigal son, who wondered away from the Lord.
4. One day he was traveling by stagecoach w/ a young woman engrossed in her book.
5. She came across a verse she thought was beautiful and asked what he thought of it.
6. She read: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love."
7. Crying he said: "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."
-vv. 21-22 "For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. [22] What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in th mire.'"
-Are you were you use to be?
-Some......are affected.
1. ...couples...
2. ...families...
3. ...churches...
4. ...individuals...
-Some of us are in recession b/c we've never really been shown what true Christianity looks like.
-The only response to spiritual recession is spiritual revival!
Response
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Another Mountain
Genesis 22:1-5
Another Mountain: Pass the Test?
I. Introduction
-How far along are you?
-Where are you spiritually?
II. Scripture
III. Background on Abraham
-v. 1a "After these things..."
-Abraham's journey from Ur to Haran.
1. Haran was halfway between Ur and his destination.
2. Half-way is a dangerous place to be, especially if it is comfortable.
3. Ill. People call out to the Lord until things get a little better.
4. Ill. Ppl passionate about following Christ, until shortly after revival.
5. Ill. Go to church when times are tough. (They aren't seeking God, they're seeking an easy fix.)
6. You have to finish the race!
7. Something to: perseverance!
8. See your faith through.
-Ill. God doesn't give details, just directions.
1. God does not run mapquest.com!
2. Details negate faith.
3. Simply walking in obedience is walking by faith.
-Don't settle for halfway.
-In Egypt Abraham lied about his relationship w/ his wife.
1. Egyptian ruler cursed though unaware.
2. He had to clean up that mess.
-Abraham tried to fulfill the promise of God himself.
1. Through Ishmael.
2. Don't try to "help" God.
3. No sense in defending Him.
4. Apologetics are for sincere believers benefit.
IV. In the Rearview Mirror
-v.1a "After these things..."
1. He had to deal with Ishmael.
2. He had to clean up the mess with the Pharaoh & his wife.
3. He had to rescue lot.
4. He had to submit to God's plan.
-And now, in Ch. 22, he finally ‘arrives.'
1. He finally feels like he is on top!
2. "I've reached the place where everything is all right."
-But God says there is one more mountain you have to climb.
-Ever felt like you've arrived and then God shows you one more mountain.
-Ill. Older saints still seeking the Lord.
1. Bro. Costa, 92 years old, used the altar.
2. Sis Whittaker, 88 years old, uses the altar.
3. Saints seek the Lord.
-God's not through with you.
1. We want to Plateau!
2. We get tired of being molded.
3. We grow weary in well doing.
4. Refining fire wants to get out the small blemishes and impurities.
5. Too spiritual for God?
IV. Time & Purpose
-v. 4 "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar."
-Took three days to get where they were going.
1. Three days can seem like 1000 years!
2. Three days can seem like three seconds!
-v. 5a "Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey...'"
-There will be some times when you have to go on alone.
1. Some things you have to go through by yourself.
2. No one can accompany you.
3. It's not that you have been abandoned.
-Alone...
1. Ill. Interview @ Tasty Freeze in Nancy, KY.
2. Ill. Marriage vows.
3. Ill. Chronic Illness.
4. Ill. Deepest pit of loneliness
5. Ill. First day at college.
-But through any of those things, the Spirit of the Living God will be there with you!
-Point: Some need to be babied!
1. We care for people (& want to help).
2. But we can't carry you into heaven!
3. Preacher cannot hold your hand at the judgement.
4. You are going to have to rely on Christ.
5. Ill. Drop out of church b/c the pastor comes/goes.
6. You aren't serving the pastor!
-Note: Some people haven't made the journey up the last mountain b/c they aren't willing to go on by themselves!
1. New Parents: don't allow babies to hinder you spiritually.
2. Parents of teens: don't allow busy schedules to dictate your god.
3. Married couples: don't allow love for one another to eclipse love of God.
4. You cannot love your family until God is first!
-If something is holding you back, leave it at the base of the mountain.
1. Friend, job, hobby, sport...
2. Debt, reputation, etc...
V. Sacrifice or Worship?
-Let me get to the main point of my message today...
-Abraham is suppose to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to the Lord.
-That sounds like a sacrifice to me!
-Look at v. 5 "Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.'"
-Christians today view a walk w/ God as a sacrifice.
1. Everything is a sacrifice.
2. I read a few verses from the Bible... what a sacrifice.
3. I prayed for ten minutes... what a sacrifice.
4. I went to church... what a sacrifice.
5. I loved my neighbor... what a sacrifice.
6. I gave a few bucks in the offering... what a sacrifice.
-Church, we need our view to change from sacrificing to worshiping.
-Ill. Cain & Abel & offerings.
1. Abel gave God what God wanted.
2. Cain gave God what Cain wanted God to have.
-Sometimes it is hard to do.
1. It's not what we want, but allowing God to have what He wants.
2. And loving Him enough to trust Him with that.
-Ill. Awarding saints of the Lord.
1. We talk about all their sacrifices.
2. They talk about
3. "Dog eat dog" world.
4. Death, despair, heartache.
-Personal struggle and trial...
1. I don't enjoy being attacked.
2. I don't like being slandered.
3. I don't get a thrill from being gossiped about around town.
4. I don't like being rejected.
5. I don't like going through hardship.
6. I don't like enduring sickness.
7. I don't like wading through the darkness of this world.
-BUT, I love the Lord enough to endure, by grace, everything the Devil could ever attack me with.
-You may see sacrifices, I only have worship to Him!
-Psalm 96
VI. Love for God
-Point: You can serve the Lord, but not love Him; but you cannot love the Lord, and not serve Him.
-You will never understand about giving to the Lord.
1. Tithing out of love & worship.
2. It ceases to be a sacrifice.
3. I've never regretted anything I've given to God... only that I haven't given more.
-Ill. My testimony.
1. All I could see were the sacrifices!
2. I was the son of a preacher!
3. I knew part of what it entailed!
4. I didn't want that for my life, my family, my spouse!
5. Sacrifice or Worship?
6. Surrender & Obedience are the most beautiful forms of worship.
VII. Conclusion
-You know the rest of the story...
1. Isaac was spared.
2. There was a sacrifice provided.
-Christ made the sacrifice... not you!
-Jesus paid it all for you.
-Wouldn't you rather worship the Lord from a heart of love?
Response
Another Mountain: Pass the Test?
I. Introduction
-How far along are you?
-Where are you spiritually?
II. Scripture
III. Background on Abraham
-v. 1a "After these things..."
-Abraham's journey from Ur to Haran.
1. Haran was halfway between Ur and his destination.
2. Half-way is a dangerous place to be, especially if it is comfortable.
3. Ill. People call out to the Lord until things get a little better.
4. Ill. Ppl passionate about following Christ, until shortly after revival.
5. Ill. Go to church when times are tough. (They aren't seeking God, they're seeking an easy fix.)
6. You have to finish the race!
7. Something to: perseverance!
8. See your faith through.
-Ill. God doesn't give details, just directions.
1. God does not run mapquest.com!
2. Details negate faith.
3. Simply walking in obedience is walking by faith.
-Don't settle for halfway.
-In Egypt Abraham lied about his relationship w/ his wife.
1. Egyptian ruler cursed though unaware.
2. He had to clean up that mess.
-Abraham tried to fulfill the promise of God himself.
1. Through Ishmael.
2. Don't try to "help" God.
3. No sense in defending Him.
4. Apologetics are for sincere believers benefit.
IV. In the Rearview Mirror
-v.1a "After these things..."
1. He had to deal with Ishmael.
2. He had to clean up the mess with the Pharaoh & his wife.
3. He had to rescue lot.
4. He had to submit to God's plan.
-And now, in Ch. 22, he finally ‘arrives.'
1. He finally feels like he is on top!
2. "I've reached the place where everything is all right."
-But God says there is one more mountain you have to climb.
-Ever felt like you've arrived and then God shows you one more mountain.
-Ill. Older saints still seeking the Lord.
1. Bro. Costa, 92 years old, used the altar.
2. Sis Whittaker, 88 years old, uses the altar.
3. Saints seek the Lord.
-God's not through with you.
1. We want to Plateau!
2. We get tired of being molded.
3. We grow weary in well doing.
4. Refining fire wants to get out the small blemishes and impurities.
5. Too spiritual for God?
IV. Time & Purpose
-v. 4 "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar."
-Took three days to get where they were going.
1. Three days can seem like 1000 years!
2. Three days can seem like three seconds!
-v. 5a "Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey...'"
-There will be some times when you have to go on alone.
1. Some things you have to go through by yourself.
2. No one can accompany you.
3. It's not that you have been abandoned.
-Alone...
1. Ill. Interview @ Tasty Freeze in Nancy, KY.
2. Ill. Marriage vows.
3. Ill. Chronic Illness.
4. Ill. Deepest pit of loneliness
5. Ill. First day at college.
-But through any of those things, the Spirit of the Living God will be there with you!
-Point: Some need to be babied!
1. We care for people (& want to help).
2. But we can't carry you into heaven!
3. Preacher cannot hold your hand at the judgement.
4. You are going to have to rely on Christ.
5. Ill. Drop out of church b/c the pastor comes/goes.
6. You aren't serving the pastor!
-Note: Some people haven't made the journey up the last mountain b/c they aren't willing to go on by themselves!
1. New Parents: don't allow babies to hinder you spiritually.
2. Parents of teens: don't allow busy schedules to dictate your god.
3. Married couples: don't allow love for one another to eclipse love of God.
4. You cannot love your family until God is first!
-If something is holding you back, leave it at the base of the mountain.
1. Friend, job, hobby, sport...
2. Debt, reputation, etc...
V. Sacrifice or Worship?
-Let me get to the main point of my message today...
-Abraham is suppose to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to the Lord.
-That sounds like a sacrifice to me!
-Look at v. 5 "Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.'"
-Christians today view a walk w/ God as a sacrifice.
1. Everything is a sacrifice.
2. I read a few verses from the Bible... what a sacrifice.
3. I prayed for ten minutes... what a sacrifice.
4. I went to church... what a sacrifice.
5. I loved my neighbor... what a sacrifice.
6. I gave a few bucks in the offering... what a sacrifice.
-Church, we need our view to change from sacrificing to worshiping.
-Ill. Cain & Abel & offerings.
1. Abel gave God what God wanted.
2. Cain gave God what Cain wanted God to have.
-Sometimes it is hard to do.
1. It's not what we want, but allowing God to have what He wants.
2. And loving Him enough to trust Him with that.
-Ill. Awarding saints of the Lord.
1. We talk about all their sacrifices.
2. They talk about
3. "Dog eat dog" world.
4. Death, despair, heartache.
-Personal struggle and trial...
1. I don't enjoy being attacked.
2. I don't like being slandered.
3. I don't get a thrill from being gossiped about around town.
4. I don't like being rejected.
5. I don't like going through hardship.
6. I don't like enduring sickness.
7. I don't like wading through the darkness of this world.
-BUT, I love the Lord enough to endure, by grace, everything the Devil could ever attack me with.
-You may see sacrifices, I only have worship to Him!
-Psalm 96
VI. Love for God
-Point: You can serve the Lord, but not love Him; but you cannot love the Lord, and not serve Him.
-You will never understand about giving to the Lord.
1. Tithing out of love & worship.
2. It ceases to be a sacrifice.
3. I've never regretted anything I've given to God... only that I haven't given more.
-Ill. My testimony.
1. All I could see were the sacrifices!
2. I was the son of a preacher!
3. I knew part of what it entailed!
4. I didn't want that for my life, my family, my spouse!
5. Sacrifice or Worship?
6. Surrender & Obedience are the most beautiful forms of worship.
VII. Conclusion
-You know the rest of the story...
1. Isaac was spared.
2. There was a sacrifice provided.
-Christ made the sacrifice... not you!
-Jesus paid it all for you.
-Wouldn't you rather worship the Lord from a heart of love?
Response
Monday, October 6, 2008
Prelude to Revival
Acts 4:21-31
Prelude to Revival: Four ‘C's of Revival
I. Introduction
-There is only one expert on revival.
-There are vast libraries of books written on the subject.
1. We read them as prescription.
2. Do this, do that, and you will have revival.
-But revival has to do with the heart.
1. Revival does not begin with an evangelist, program, or schedule.
2. It begins in the hearts of real people.
-It is not what you create, but what you are.
-Revival is best summed up in the early church.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Pentecost in Ch. 2 (revival)
-Ch. 3- Peter & John heal lame beggar
1. They commence to preachin'
2. Revival service!
-Ch. 4- they are arrested.
1. Trial before the High Priest
2. Threatened never to speak of Jesus again or further punishment.
3. Revival! (v. 21)
-It would seem like Revival is over.
1. Everyone goes home.
2. They talk for weeks/years afterwards of the great revival they had.
-No, revival breaks out again!
-Let me share with you four scary words that I believe are a prelude to revival...
IV. Change
-Change, Conversion, etc.
-Scary Word!
-Not change for the sake of change.
-Conversion will bring revival.
1. There is nothing that brings the presence of God and blessings of the Spirit more than someone becoming a Christian.
2. Conversion can set the church on fire!
-The Church is a living organism, b/c it is the body of Christ.
-Ill. Sometimes we over-spiritualize ourselves.
1. If you don't like me, it's b/c you don't like God.
2. If you don't like the way I preach, it's b/c you don't like God.
3. ...or could it be that I am ineffective?
-Ill. Dying churches point their fingers at the world and claim the problem lies with the world.
1. They say: "People just aren't the same anymore."
2.Sin is the problem.
3. But maybe some churches are not willing to do what it takes to minister to people.
4. They are not willing to change.
-We believe b/c we are saved, now everyone else must do the changing.
1. So we're not open to God doing anymore in our lives.
2. We are not finished products!
3. Maybe we're too at home in the world.
4. Too many Christians living in sin!
-Maybe we're too busy changing the wrong things.
1. Even in the church we tend to make spiritual things second-rate.
2. God is always plan B.
3. Don't talk prayer, talk programming!
-Before revival happens there are spiritual changes that must occur.
1. Peter & John go back to pray for more boldness!
2. Never content with the good of the present.
-Leonard Ravenhill in ‘Why Revival Tarries' says: "The church began with these men in the ‘upper room' agonizing– and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah, brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!"
-Why is there no difference between the church & the world?
1. Families are the same.
2. Lifestyles are the same.
3. Choice of entertainment the same!
4. Where is the difference?
5. Is the church not the "called out"?
6. Are believers not to be "set apart"?
7. The world doesn't want/ need what it already has!
-Ill. Prayer in school
1. "In God We Trust" in the pledge & on the new gold dollars
2. We throw a fit about the Bible & prayer being taken out of schools
3. But you can't find those things being used in Christian's homes!
4. You can even go into some churches and find that those things are not being used!
-Change is going to have to come to the church before revival ever gets here!
-"Change my heart O God."
V. Commitment
-This one is almost a bad word in the church: commitment.
-I believe before revival will ever occur in the church today we must have ppl committed to the Lord & His work!
-Scary ‘C' word!?
-I'm not really asking whether you are committed.
1. You are committed.
2. What I am asking is, are you committed to the right things?
-Ill. We are committed to all kinds of things.
1. Our Job- that's okay, but is placed above our heavenly father?
2. Our family- that's great, but is it placed above God?
3. Our money, our stuff, etc.
4. All comes down to my commitment to myself.
-Psalm 37:5 "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."
-Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."
-Christians today are not committed.
1. Example: Going over time in church vs. ball game.
2. Everything comes before church. (More important?)
3. Committed to so many things we don't have time for devotions or prayer.
4. Can't do anything for they body of Christ, but you can do everything else?
5. Sick, so I skip church, but back to work on Monday.
6. Involved in so many things, that we rarely mention God.
7. You will be known for what you are committed to!
-Americans spend more money than any other nation in the world on entertainment.
1. Movie stars, sports stars, musicians, & entertainers = millionaires!
2. Entertainment is the substitute for Christian joy!
-Bob Pierce said: "My single greatest concern is the growing inertia I see, inertia born out of our luxury and materialism. People are fooling themselves when they say the job is done... The vast body of people in the world today have never been given enough information to know if they accept or reject Jesus... Most people think what the gospel needs is more clever, skilled people, when what it needs is more people who are willing to bleed, suffer, and die in a passion to see ppl come to Christ."
-Are you really committed to Jesus Christ and His Work?
-We need some to commit to...
1. ...prayer, witness, inviting,
2. ...His Word, holiness, etc.
-Peter & John committed their lives to the cause of Christ!
-We don't like it, but we must respond to it!
-If we want revival, I think we're going to need to see commitment!
VI. Calling/Commission
-Before revival ever becomes a reality there is a calling.
-Peter & John had the calling.
1. They had been commissioned.
2. They received a calling from the Lord!
C. But we're talking more than a mission statement!
D. Ill. Blakemore board meeting
1. Honest about our situation.
2. DS wanted to close the church
3. I don't want to invest in a losing project.
4. A board member said: "I was called to this church."
5. Even in this difficult time he maintained his call.
-Ill. We talk about ppl being called to preach.
1. What are you called to do?
2. We rarely ask anyone else that important question!
-Ill. Board member with a God-given vision for Blakemore.
1. "Open, free sanctuary"
2. It became a reality.
3. I walked home from church, he said: ‘I saw our pastor walking the sidewalks in our community.'
-Ill. Samuel the prophet.
1. He heard the voice of God.
2. God called Him!
-Do you know that what you are doing has been commissioned by God?
1. What is your calling?
2. Have you heard the voice of God?
-Too many churches have no calling/purpose/meaning!
VII. Consecration
-Consecration is another prelude ro revival.
-Do not confuse this with commitment.
-Commitment has to do with things.
1. Time, talents, treasures.
2. They are impersonal.
-Consecration has to do with you
1. It's about who you are.
2. It's a living sacrifice.
3. (Consecration includes commitment, but is not limited to commitment.)
-Sometimes it may be difficult to put some stuff on the altar, but the most difficult thing you will ever do is put yourself on the altar!
-Why is consecration so difficult for us today?
1. Consecration = ownership in the church
2. More than attending, participating, or witnessing.
3. ownership = responsibility
4. ownership = Putting yourself on the line.
-Committing your resources, services, etc. is safer than consecration.
1. Military general can send troops into battle.
2. Its different to make the decision to enter the battle yourself.
-Is your all on the altar?
1. That's commitment
2. Are you on the altar?
3. That's consecration.
VIII Conclusion
-Prelude to Revival...
1. Change/Conversion
2. Commitment
3. Calling/Commission
4. Consecration
-What is the church to you?
1. Some say it should be like a refrigerator.
2. The church should seek to preserve the saints.
3. We have a lot of formaldehyde Christians!
4. Cold, stiff, & dead; but they sure are preserved!
-Some say the church should be like a fire burning stove.
1. A fire burning stove is used to prepare the meal.
2. They believe the church should seek to prepare ppl for eternal life!
3. That kind of church needs fire (the Holy Spirit) and fuel for the fire (you & I).
-Are you ready for revival?
-Query:
1. Are there any changes you need to make?
2. What is your level of commitment?
3. Do you have a calling from God?
4. Have you consecrated all to God?
Response:
Prelude to Revival: Four ‘C's of Revival
I. Introduction
-There is only one expert on revival.
-There are vast libraries of books written on the subject.
1. We read them as prescription.
2. Do this, do that, and you will have revival.
-But revival has to do with the heart.
1. Revival does not begin with an evangelist, program, or schedule.
2. It begins in the hearts of real people.
-It is not what you create, but what you are.
-Revival is best summed up in the early church.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Pentecost in Ch. 2 (revival)
-Ch. 3- Peter & John heal lame beggar
1. They commence to preachin'
2. Revival service!
-Ch. 4- they are arrested.
1. Trial before the High Priest
2. Threatened never to speak of Jesus again or further punishment.
3. Revival! (v. 21)
-It would seem like Revival is over.
1. Everyone goes home.
2. They talk for weeks/years afterwards of the great revival they had.
-No, revival breaks out again!
-Let me share with you four scary words that I believe are a prelude to revival...
IV. Change
-Change, Conversion, etc.
-Scary Word!
-Not change for the sake of change.
-Conversion will bring revival.
1. There is nothing that brings the presence of God and blessings of the Spirit more than someone becoming a Christian.
2. Conversion can set the church on fire!
-The Church is a living organism, b/c it is the body of Christ.
-Ill. Sometimes we over-spiritualize ourselves.
1. If you don't like me, it's b/c you don't like God.
2. If you don't like the way I preach, it's b/c you don't like God.
3. ...or could it be that I am ineffective?
-Ill. Dying churches point their fingers at the world and claim the problem lies with the world.
1. They say: "People just aren't the same anymore."
2.Sin is the problem.
3. But maybe some churches are not willing to do what it takes to minister to people.
4. They are not willing to change.
-We believe b/c we are saved, now everyone else must do the changing.
1. So we're not open to God doing anymore in our lives.
2. We are not finished products!
3. Maybe we're too at home in the world.
4. Too many Christians living in sin!
-Maybe we're too busy changing the wrong things.
1. Even in the church we tend to make spiritual things second-rate.
2. God is always plan B.
3. Don't talk prayer, talk programming!
-Before revival happens there are spiritual changes that must occur.
1. Peter & John go back to pray for more boldness!
2. Never content with the good of the present.
-Leonard Ravenhill in ‘Why Revival Tarries' says: "The church began with these men in the ‘upper room' agonizing– and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah, brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!"
-Why is there no difference between the church & the world?
1. Families are the same.
2. Lifestyles are the same.
3. Choice of entertainment the same!
4. Where is the difference?
5. Is the church not the "called out"?
6. Are believers not to be "set apart"?
7. The world doesn't want/ need what it already has!
-Ill. Prayer in school
1. "In God We Trust" in the pledge & on the new gold dollars
2. We throw a fit about the Bible & prayer being taken out of schools
3. But you can't find those things being used in Christian's homes!
4. You can even go into some churches and find that those things are not being used!
-Change is going to have to come to the church before revival ever gets here!
-"Change my heart O God."
V. Commitment
-This one is almost a bad word in the church: commitment.
-I believe before revival will ever occur in the church today we must have ppl committed to the Lord & His work!
-Scary ‘C' word!?
-I'm not really asking whether you are committed.
1. You are committed.
2. What I am asking is, are you committed to the right things?
-Ill. We are committed to all kinds of things.
1. Our Job- that's okay, but is placed above our heavenly father?
2. Our family- that's great, but is it placed above God?
3. Our money, our stuff, etc.
4. All comes down to my commitment to myself.
-Psalm 37:5 "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."
-Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."
-Christians today are not committed.
1. Example: Going over time in church vs. ball game.
2. Everything comes before church. (More important?)
3. Committed to so many things we don't have time for devotions or prayer.
4. Can't do anything for they body of Christ, but you can do everything else?
5. Sick, so I skip church, but back to work on Monday.
6. Involved in so many things, that we rarely mention God.
7. You will be known for what you are committed to!
-Americans spend more money than any other nation in the world on entertainment.
1. Movie stars, sports stars, musicians, & entertainers = millionaires!
2. Entertainment is the substitute for Christian joy!
-Bob Pierce said: "My single greatest concern is the growing inertia I see, inertia born out of our luxury and materialism. People are fooling themselves when they say the job is done... The vast body of people in the world today have never been given enough information to know if they accept or reject Jesus... Most people think what the gospel needs is more clever, skilled people, when what it needs is more people who are willing to bleed, suffer, and die in a passion to see ppl come to Christ."
-Are you really committed to Jesus Christ and His Work?
-We need some to commit to...
1. ...prayer, witness, inviting,
2. ...His Word, holiness, etc.
-Peter & John committed their lives to the cause of Christ!
-We don't like it, but we must respond to it!
-If we want revival, I think we're going to need to see commitment!
VI. Calling/Commission
-Before revival ever becomes a reality there is a calling.
-Peter & John had the calling.
1. They had been commissioned.
2. They received a calling from the Lord!
C. But we're talking more than a mission statement!
D. Ill. Blakemore board meeting
1. Honest about our situation.
2. DS wanted to close the church
3. I don't want to invest in a losing project.
4. A board member said: "I was called to this church."
5. Even in this difficult time he maintained his call.
-Ill. We talk about ppl being called to preach.
1. What are you called to do?
2. We rarely ask anyone else that important question!
-Ill. Board member with a God-given vision for Blakemore.
1. "Open, free sanctuary"
2. It became a reality.
3. I walked home from church, he said: ‘I saw our pastor walking the sidewalks in our community.'
-Ill. Samuel the prophet.
1. He heard the voice of God.
2. God called Him!
-Do you know that what you are doing has been commissioned by God?
1. What is your calling?
2. Have you heard the voice of God?
-Too many churches have no calling/purpose/meaning!
VII. Consecration
-Consecration is another prelude ro revival.
-Do not confuse this with commitment.
-Commitment has to do with things.
1. Time, talents, treasures.
2. They are impersonal.
-Consecration has to do with you
1. It's about who you are.
2. It's a living sacrifice.
3. (Consecration includes commitment, but is not limited to commitment.)
-Sometimes it may be difficult to put some stuff on the altar, but the most difficult thing you will ever do is put yourself on the altar!
-Why is consecration so difficult for us today?
1. Consecration = ownership in the church
2. More than attending, participating, or witnessing.
3. ownership = responsibility
4. ownership = Putting yourself on the line.
-Committing your resources, services, etc. is safer than consecration.
1. Military general can send troops into battle.
2. Its different to make the decision to enter the battle yourself.
-Is your all on the altar?
1. That's commitment
2. Are you on the altar?
3. That's consecration.
VIII Conclusion
-Prelude to Revival...
1. Change/Conversion
2. Commitment
3. Calling/Commission
4. Consecration
-What is the church to you?
1. Some say it should be like a refrigerator.
2. The church should seek to preserve the saints.
3. We have a lot of formaldehyde Christians!
4. Cold, stiff, & dead; but they sure are preserved!
-Some say the church should be like a fire burning stove.
1. A fire burning stove is used to prepare the meal.
2. They believe the church should seek to prepare ppl for eternal life!
3. That kind of church needs fire (the Holy Spirit) and fuel for the fire (you & I).
-Are you ready for revival?
-Query:
1. Are there any changes you need to make?
2. What is your level of commitment?
3. Do you have a calling from God?
4. Have you consecrated all to God?
Response:
Monday, September 29, 2008
A Real Church Service #3
Ephesians 5:15-21
A Real Church Service 3: Thanksgiving
I. Introduction
-Ill. Two men walking through a field spotted a charging bull.
1. They raced for the nearest fence but realized they would not make it in time.
2. ‘A' said: "Put up a prayer, b/c we're in for it!"
3. ‘B' said: "I can't, I've never prayed in public!"
4. ‘A' "Just do it the bull is about to catch us!"
5. ‘B' "All right, I'll say the only prayer I know, the one my father use to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.'"
-Thanksgiving- Be Thankful!
-Ill. "There is always somebody worse off than you!"
1. Good reason to give thanks?
2. What if you are the one person in the world that is worse off than the whole rest of the planet? 3. Could that person give thanks?
-What really is thanksgiving?
II. Scripture
III. Blessed?
-What can I say new about thanksgiving?
1. Probably nothing!
2. Be thankful, some are not.
-We are blessed!
1. America is the richest nation to ever exist.
2. We enjoy more freedom than any other country has ever known!
3. We have bigger homes, bigger cars, more cars, more money, and greater prosperity!
4. How many have a ‘spare' bedroom? Unheard of in the rest of the world!
5. Grocery store choices! Half an aisle of beans!
6. Green, white, kidney beans, northern, garbanzo, etc.
-It's hard for us to imagine what it means to be in need!
1. Our government even takes care of the poor, the disabled, the unemployed.
2. Universal Health care is already in existence, just go to the hospital w/ or w/out health insurance!
-It would seem we have more to be thankful for than the rest of the world.
-Yet we have more cases of depression, despair, and suicide.
1. The world around us seeks to drive us toward some ‘new need'.
2. Commercials, ‘keeping up with the Jones,' and a desire to be a step above others drives us.
-Money says: "In God we trust"
1. In my lifetime, I don't think I've ever witnessed our world living that out.
2. "One nation under God" has never been a reality in my lifetime.
-God is not a communist.
1. But neither is He a republican nor democrat.
2. U.S. is not a Christian country, but a secular country with a strong Christian presence.
3. We have bonded our faith in Christ w/ patriotism.
-Ill. Nazi soldiers wore on belt buckle "God is with us"
1. Holocaust (6 million Jews)
2. Abortion (47 million babies)
-Please don't miss my point.
IV. Analytical Worship
-I fear in the church, we may have become analytical worshipers.
-Ill. Pastor stayed w/ a young couple overnight.
1. In the morning he woke to hear a soprano voice singing "Nearer My God to Thee"
2. At breakfast he thanked the wife for the beautiful song and told her of the blessing it was as he woke in the morning.
3. "Oh, well, it's an old song my mother used to sing. I sing it b/c I've found it's a good one to boil eggs by. Just repeat the 1st verse 5 x's for soft-boiled, and 8 x's for hard-boiled."
-We've analyzed the divine out of the picture!
1. Music gifted: wrong note, tempo, poor blending, etc
2. Organizationally gifted: Order of worship was not followed closely enough, over time, that testimony was scheduled, etc.
3. Theologically gifted: theological correctness, incorrect song lyrics, incorrect testimony, etc.
-So our praise & thanksgiving becomes an issue of solely the intellect.
1. Mark 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
2. But v. 19b "singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart."
3. I'm not promoting emotionalism.
4. But I am promoting worship from the heart!
-We have so much, we do not know what gratitude is!
V. Foolishness
-Paul says foolishness is not knowing God's will for our lives.
-Ill. Budapest a man asks his pastor: "Life is unbearable. I have a family of 9 in one room. What can I do?"
1. Pastor; "Take your goat into the room w/ you & come back in a week."
2. Next week man says: "It cannot stand it any longer, the goat is filthy and unbearable!"
3. Pastor: "Let the goat out."
4. The next day the man said: "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat- only the nine of us."
-Ill. H.A. Ironside in a crowded restaurant
1. Man wanted to sit with him, and Ironside bowed to pray.
2. The other man asked, are you okay?
3. "Yes, I was just giving thanks before eating."
4. "Oh, you're one of those? Well, I never give thanks for what I eat, b/c I earn it by the sweat of my brow. I don't bow my head I just start right in!"
5. Ironside responded: "My dog does that too!"
-I'm not arguing for or against a prayer before meals.
1. I'm arguing for a thankful heart.
2. v. 20 "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"
-What do you really believe is God's Will for your life?
1. Wealth, picture perfect life, perfect health, fame, fortune, popularity?
2. Or just being grateful for what you have?
3. Thanksgiving is the foundation for contentment!
VI. Worse Off?
-So what are some of the reasons to give thanks?
1. "There is always somebody worse off than you."
2. "Do not grumble because you do not get what you want; be thankful you do not get what you deserve!"
-But what if you are the one worst off by the world's standards?
-Maude Royden "When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough."
-C. S. Lewis "He who has God and many other things has no more than he who has God alone."
-In our quest to accumulate we have grown cold in gratitude!
-There is no one worse off than that person who does not know Christ.
-There is no one more blessed than that person who knows Christ as savior!
-If God never gave another ‘blessing' we would still be blessed beyond imagination
-If you are a Christian this morning, you have all the reason you will ever need to give God thanks!
VII. Scriptural Thanks!
-The Bible Says...
-1 Chron. 16:34-35 "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Say also: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.'"
-Psalm 7:17 "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."
-Daniel 6:10 "When Daniel knew that the [law against prayer] document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."
-1 Cor. 15:57 "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
-2 Cor. 2:14 "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere."
-2 Cor. 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"
-When the Lord returns:
Rev. 11:17 "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign."
VIII. Conclusion
-Have you worshiped today?
-Ill. Gene & Joyce Williams
1. Pastor of Wichita, KA 1st Nazarene & prolific author.
2. All his children were Christians but one (Pat).
3. Pat came into their room and said: "Mom & Dad, I love you."
4. Pat shot himself at the foot of their bed.
5. He survived and told his dad years later: "During the closing hymn we sang ‘Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus' and that's what I did this morning."
-In our ‘culturally informed' way of thinking, we come to church looking for more blessings.
1. Prosperity gospel/ get rich quick
2. Maybe we should come willing to give to Him.
3. Give thanks to Him.
-Maybe that's a real church service!
1. Maybe that's real worship.
2. Maybe that's what we're all about.
-Different response:
1. Stand from your position.
2. Say: "I give God thanks."
3. Will you stand and give thanks to God today?
A Real Church Service 3: Thanksgiving
I. Introduction
-Ill. Two men walking through a field spotted a charging bull.
1. They raced for the nearest fence but realized they would not make it in time.
2. ‘A' said: "Put up a prayer, b/c we're in for it!"
3. ‘B' said: "I can't, I've never prayed in public!"
4. ‘A' "Just do it the bull is about to catch us!"
5. ‘B' "All right, I'll say the only prayer I know, the one my father use to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.'"
-Thanksgiving- Be Thankful!
-Ill. "There is always somebody worse off than you!"
1. Good reason to give thanks?
2. What if you are the one person in the world that is worse off than the whole rest of the planet? 3. Could that person give thanks?
-What really is thanksgiving?
II. Scripture
III. Blessed?
-What can I say new about thanksgiving?
1. Probably nothing!
2. Be thankful, some are not.
-We are blessed!
1. America is the richest nation to ever exist.
2. We enjoy more freedom than any other country has ever known!
3. We have bigger homes, bigger cars, more cars, more money, and greater prosperity!
4. How many have a ‘spare' bedroom? Unheard of in the rest of the world!
5. Grocery store choices! Half an aisle of beans!
6. Green, white, kidney beans, northern, garbanzo, etc.
-It's hard for us to imagine what it means to be in need!
1. Our government even takes care of the poor, the disabled, the unemployed.
2. Universal Health care is already in existence, just go to the hospital w/ or w/out health insurance!
-It would seem we have more to be thankful for than the rest of the world.
-Yet we have more cases of depression, despair, and suicide.
1. The world around us seeks to drive us toward some ‘new need'.
2. Commercials, ‘keeping up with the Jones,' and a desire to be a step above others drives us.
-Money says: "In God we trust"
1. In my lifetime, I don't think I've ever witnessed our world living that out.
2. "One nation under God" has never been a reality in my lifetime.
-God is not a communist.
1. But neither is He a republican nor democrat.
2. U.S. is not a Christian country, but a secular country with a strong Christian presence.
3. We have bonded our faith in Christ w/ patriotism.
-Ill. Nazi soldiers wore on belt buckle "God is with us"
1. Holocaust (6 million Jews)
2. Abortion (47 million babies)
-Please don't miss my point.
IV. Analytical Worship
-I fear in the church, we may have become analytical worshipers.
-Ill. Pastor stayed w/ a young couple overnight.
1. In the morning he woke to hear a soprano voice singing "Nearer My God to Thee"
2. At breakfast he thanked the wife for the beautiful song and told her of the blessing it was as he woke in the morning.
3. "Oh, well, it's an old song my mother used to sing. I sing it b/c I've found it's a good one to boil eggs by. Just repeat the 1st verse 5 x's for soft-boiled, and 8 x's for hard-boiled."
-We've analyzed the divine out of the picture!
1. Music gifted: wrong note, tempo, poor blending, etc
2. Organizationally gifted: Order of worship was not followed closely enough, over time, that testimony was scheduled, etc.
3. Theologically gifted: theological correctness, incorrect song lyrics, incorrect testimony, etc.
-So our praise & thanksgiving becomes an issue of solely the intellect.
1. Mark 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
2. But v. 19b "singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart."
3. I'm not promoting emotionalism.
4. But I am promoting worship from the heart!
-We have so much, we do not know what gratitude is!
V. Foolishness
-Paul says foolishness is not knowing God's will for our lives.
-Ill. Budapest a man asks his pastor: "Life is unbearable. I have a family of 9 in one room. What can I do?"
1. Pastor; "Take your goat into the room w/ you & come back in a week."
2. Next week man says: "It cannot stand it any longer, the goat is filthy and unbearable!"
3. Pastor: "Let the goat out."
4. The next day the man said: "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat- only the nine of us."
-Ill. H.A. Ironside in a crowded restaurant
1. Man wanted to sit with him, and Ironside bowed to pray.
2. The other man asked, are you okay?
3. "Yes, I was just giving thanks before eating."
4. "Oh, you're one of those? Well, I never give thanks for what I eat, b/c I earn it by the sweat of my brow. I don't bow my head I just start right in!"
5. Ironside responded: "My dog does that too!"
-I'm not arguing for or against a prayer before meals.
1. I'm arguing for a thankful heart.
2. v. 20 "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"
-What do you really believe is God's Will for your life?
1. Wealth, picture perfect life, perfect health, fame, fortune, popularity?
2. Or just being grateful for what you have?
3. Thanksgiving is the foundation for contentment!
VI. Worse Off?
-So what are some of the reasons to give thanks?
1. "There is always somebody worse off than you."
2. "Do not grumble because you do not get what you want; be thankful you do not get what you deserve!"
-But what if you are the one worst off by the world's standards?
-Maude Royden "When you have nothing left but God, then you become aware that God is enough."
-C. S. Lewis "He who has God and many other things has no more than he who has God alone."
-In our quest to accumulate we have grown cold in gratitude!
-There is no one worse off than that person who does not know Christ.
-There is no one more blessed than that person who knows Christ as savior!
-If God never gave another ‘blessing' we would still be blessed beyond imagination
-If you are a Christian this morning, you have all the reason you will ever need to give God thanks!
VII. Scriptural Thanks!
-The Bible Says...
-1 Chron. 16:34-35 "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Say also: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.'"
-Psalm 7:17 "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."
-Daniel 6:10 "When Daniel knew that the [law against prayer] document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."
-1 Cor. 15:57 "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
-2 Cor. 2:14 "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere."
-2 Cor. 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"
-When the Lord returns:
Rev. 11:17 "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign."
VIII. Conclusion
-Have you worshiped today?
-Ill. Gene & Joyce Williams
1. Pastor of Wichita, KA 1st Nazarene & prolific author.
2. All his children were Christians but one (Pat).
3. Pat came into their room and said: "Mom & Dad, I love you."
4. Pat shot himself at the foot of their bed.
5. He survived and told his dad years later: "During the closing hymn we sang ‘Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus' and that's what I did this morning."
-In our ‘culturally informed' way of thinking, we come to church looking for more blessings.
1. Prosperity gospel/ get rich quick
2. Maybe we should come willing to give to Him.
3. Give thanks to Him.
-Maybe that's a real church service!
1. Maybe that's real worship.
2. Maybe that's what we're all about.
-Different response:
1. Stand from your position.
2. Say: "I give God thanks."
3. Will you stand and give thanks to God today?
Friday, September 26, 2008
The Unpardonable Sin
Matthew 12:22-32
The Unpardonable Sin: Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
I. Introduction
-Is there a sin that is unpardonable.?
-Scary two words: unpardonable sin.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Jesus heals a demon possessed man who was blind & mute.
1. It is a triple miracle of restoring sanity, sight, and speech
2. The man is made whole.
-But the Pharisees begin their accusations.
-They said it was only by Satan he was able to do it.
-Jesus response to the accusations of the Pharisees:
1. v. 25-26 Are demons fighting demons? (Can you see humor in this.)
2. v. 27 Who do your people cast out demons by then?
3. v. 29 Jesus work is liberating those in bondage (what does bondage mean?)
4. v. 31-32 caution not to do the unpardonable.
IV. What is the Unpardonable Sin?
-Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
-Blaspheme = to speak of or address with irreverence
1. Blasphemy = the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God
2. in the Greek blaspheme literally means to be against... so while it usually means in speech, it can also include your actions and thoughts.
-Apostle Paul was a blasphemer:
1. 1 Timothy 1:13 "Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; [14] and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."
-The REAL problem we have:
-We want to minimize our relationship to God to one act/point in time.
1. I got saved then.
2. I repented then.
3. I was forgiven then.
-Being a Christian is being.
-We view salvation as complete already.
1. Salvation is not complete until you are standing in heaven one day having been glorified.
2. Salvation is not complete or you wouldn't need to grow.
V. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
-So what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
-We try to minimize it to one act.
1. But the unpardonable sin is not one act....(though it could be):
2. Just like salvation is not one act.
-Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a continual move against the Holy Spirit.
-Hard heartedness, resistance are too tame/too neutral of words to describe it.
1. It is an open obvious, rejection of God's Spirit.
2. It is the continual, deliberate, refusal to acknowledge God's truth from the Holy Spirit.
3. It is more than an instance of "quenching the Spirit."
-It is not...
1. Honest questioning.
2. It is not weak faith.
3. It is not having doubts.
-Point: Ppl are not forgiven because their sins are less (or more) than others – but because they ask for forgiveness.
-Contrary to what some believe, the Pharisees did not ‘commit' an unforgivable sin.
1. Jesus didn't describe what they had done, but what they were doing.
2. Just as salvation cannot be minimized to the act of confession.
-The only sin that is unforgivable is the sin that is unrepented.
VI. You Must Take Sides
-Make no doubt about it, you are in a battle.
-v. 30
-There is no gray area, there is no de-militarized zone, no neutral area, no in-between, etc. in the spiritual realm.
-You are either moving with the Spirit or against the Spirit.
-If you think you are neutral, then you are probably going against the Holy Spirit... blaspheming.
-List of sins God can forgive...
1. Woman caught in adultery.
2. Crucifixion
3. Murderers, thieves, etc.
4. Gossips, drug addicts, liars,
5. Hate mongers, back biters,
-Point: He has never forgiven those who have rejected/ acted against the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and He never will.
VII. Who Commits This Sin?
-Religious people.
-Do you know the hardest ppl to reach with the Gospel are those who have grown up in church.
1. They know the terminology.
2. They know how to behave at church.
-Do you know who the hardest ppl are to catch on fire for God?
1. Regular church attenders.
2. They get heat resistant.
-These two categories of people can most easily go against the Holy Spirit.
-Lost folks may have doubts and fears and questions when the Spirit speaks to them, but...
-"Churched" folks know what they need to do, but they go against the Holy Spirit when He speaks to them about it.
VIII. Pastoral Pause
-Look where we are right now.
-A church in transition toward a deeper intimacy with Christ.
-There are some who are still fighting against the Holy Spirit (blaspheming).
1. They have not progressed deeper with Christ.
2. They may think they're all right to go against the Spirit.
3. But that cannot be forgiven.
-We need everybody on board.
1. We need everybody going with the Spirit; everybody gathering.
2. Because those stuck in Neutral are just slowing the speed of the church as we move toward the cross.
-Some feel, out of frustration, that the best way for this to happen is just let ppl go.
1. That might happen.
2. But we shouldn't hope for that; we should hope for them to go w/ the Spirit.
IX. Conclusion
-If you're honestly worried that you've committed the unpardonable sin, you haven't.
-To Do (for myself):
1. Nurture a sensitivity to the Spirit.
2. Desire for God to speak to you.
3. Learn to do w/out some worldly distractions.
4. Establish a precedence of obedience.
-To Do (for the church):
1. Start praying for those who are blaspheming/going against the Spirit.
2. Be pro-active rather than re-active about the Spirit's movement in our services.
3. Be aware of God's presence in our services... so you can better pray.
-God is still working here.
-That means we still have work to do.
The Unpardonable Sin: Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
I. Introduction
-Is there a sin that is unpardonable.?
-Scary two words: unpardonable sin.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Jesus heals a demon possessed man who was blind & mute.
1. It is a triple miracle of restoring sanity, sight, and speech
2. The man is made whole.
-But the Pharisees begin their accusations.
-They said it was only by Satan he was able to do it.
-Jesus response to the accusations of the Pharisees:
1. v. 25-26 Are demons fighting demons? (Can you see humor in this.)
2. v. 27 Who do your people cast out demons by then?
3. v. 29 Jesus work is liberating those in bondage (what does bondage mean?)
4. v. 31-32 caution not to do the unpardonable.
IV. What is the Unpardonable Sin?
-Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
-Blaspheme = to speak of or address with irreverence
1. Blasphemy = the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God
2. in the Greek blaspheme literally means to be against... so while it usually means in speech, it can also include your actions and thoughts.
-Apostle Paul was a blasphemer:
1. 1 Timothy 1:13 "Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; [14] and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."
-The REAL problem we have:
-We want to minimize our relationship to God to one act/point in time.
1. I got saved then.
2. I repented then.
3. I was forgiven then.
-Being a Christian is being.
-We view salvation as complete already.
1. Salvation is not complete until you are standing in heaven one day having been glorified.
2. Salvation is not complete or you wouldn't need to grow.
V. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
-So what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
-We try to minimize it to one act.
1. But the unpardonable sin is not one act....(though it could be):
2. Just like salvation is not one act.
-Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a continual move against the Holy Spirit.
-Hard heartedness, resistance are too tame/too neutral of words to describe it.
1. It is an open obvious, rejection of God's Spirit.
2. It is the continual, deliberate, refusal to acknowledge God's truth from the Holy Spirit.
3. It is more than an instance of "quenching the Spirit."
-It is not...
1. Honest questioning.
2. It is not weak faith.
3. It is not having doubts.
-Point: Ppl are not forgiven because their sins are less (or more) than others – but because they ask for forgiveness.
-Contrary to what some believe, the Pharisees did not ‘commit' an unforgivable sin.
1. Jesus didn't describe what they had done, but what they were doing.
2. Just as salvation cannot be minimized to the act of confession.
-The only sin that is unforgivable is the sin that is unrepented.
VI. You Must Take Sides
-Make no doubt about it, you are in a battle.
-v. 30
-There is no gray area, there is no de-militarized zone, no neutral area, no in-between, etc. in the spiritual realm.
-You are either moving with the Spirit or against the Spirit.
-If you think you are neutral, then you are probably going against the Holy Spirit... blaspheming.
-List of sins God can forgive...
1. Woman caught in adultery.
2. Crucifixion
3. Murderers, thieves, etc.
4. Gossips, drug addicts, liars,
5. Hate mongers, back biters,
-Point: He has never forgiven those who have rejected/ acted against the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and He never will.
VII. Who Commits This Sin?
-Religious people.
-Do you know the hardest ppl to reach with the Gospel are those who have grown up in church.
1. They know the terminology.
2. They know how to behave at church.
-Do you know who the hardest ppl are to catch on fire for God?
1. Regular church attenders.
2. They get heat resistant.
-These two categories of people can most easily go against the Holy Spirit.
-Lost folks may have doubts and fears and questions when the Spirit speaks to them, but...
-"Churched" folks know what they need to do, but they go against the Holy Spirit when He speaks to them about it.
VIII. Pastoral Pause
-Look where we are right now.
-A church in transition toward a deeper intimacy with Christ.
-There are some who are still fighting against the Holy Spirit (blaspheming).
1. They have not progressed deeper with Christ.
2. They may think they're all right to go against the Spirit.
3. But that cannot be forgiven.
-We need everybody on board.
1. We need everybody going with the Spirit; everybody gathering.
2. Because those stuck in Neutral are just slowing the speed of the church as we move toward the cross.
-Some feel, out of frustration, that the best way for this to happen is just let ppl go.
1. That might happen.
2. But we shouldn't hope for that; we should hope for them to go w/ the Spirit.
IX. Conclusion
-If you're honestly worried that you've committed the unpardonable sin, you haven't.
-To Do (for myself):
1. Nurture a sensitivity to the Spirit.
2. Desire for God to speak to you.
3. Learn to do w/out some worldly distractions.
4. Establish a precedence of obedience.
-To Do (for the church):
1. Start praying for those who are blaspheming/going against the Spirit.
2. Be pro-active rather than re-active about the Spirit's movement in our services.
3. Be aware of God's presence in our services... so you can better pray.
-God is still working here.
-That means we still have work to do.
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
Saturday, August 16, 2008
A Real Church Service #2
1 Peter 1:25b- 2:3
A Real Church Service 2: Spiritual Growth
I. Introduction
- Ill. Aesop's Fables: The Hunter & the Woodman
1. A hunter was searching for the tracks of a Lion.
2. He asked the a man felling oaks in the forest if he had seen any tracks or the lion's lair.
3. "I'll take you to the lion." said the woodsman.
4. Hunter turned pale & said: "No, thank you. I did not ask for that; it is only the tracks and lair that I am in search of, not the lion."
5. Are you looking for signs that Jesus is here or for where his Spirit abides?
6. Or are you looking for Him?
- What makes a good church service?
- We base our answer on some of the wrong things.
1. It shouldn't matter whether you like the teacher, preacher, song leader, etc.
2. What matters is the object of our Worship.
- But now let's answer that question on your side of the fence.
1. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit.
2. What is your obligation toward a good church service.
II. Scripture
III. Christianity is About Growing
- Our faith is about growing [relationship].
- The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is about making disciples
1. Disciples = pupils
2. Not just converts or professions.
- He did not commission us to enlarge our finances or our numbers or our programs.
1. Make disciples!
2. Students of the Word who are growing!
IV. Born to Grow (Stage 1)
- In order to grow spiritually you must be born-again!
- 2:3 "...if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good!"
1. Repent of sin & believe in Christ.
2. Spiritual growth w/out spiritual birth is impossible.
- If you're not growing...
1. ...something is wrong!
2. ...you might be dead!
- Those born-again will have a longing to grow.
1. It is in the DNA of a believer
2. v. 2:2 Cultivated Desire
- Long for what?
1. pure milk of the word
2. pure= nothing but milk
3. beware false teachers/ preachers
4. Pure milk sometimes doesn't taste as good as a coke, but it's better for you.
- 2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions."
- The biggest enemy of the church today is not the world, but that which poses as the church!
- Long for...
1. Milk of the Word- Bible. Biblical preaching, biblical songs, biblical discussion, biblical thinking, etc.
2. Sunday School, Wednesday Bible Study, Sunday PM, all focused on God's Word!
- Query: Are you 'lactose' intolerant?
V. Stage 2: Lay Aside Acts of Sin!
- After being Born-Again and God giving you a longing for growth, you will begin conforming more and more of your actions to those of Christ.
- This is where Christians get the cart before the horse.
1. We can't clean them up to get them saved.
2. We are to get them saved so they will get cleaned up!
- As a new Christian you will begin aligning your actions with those of Christ!
- Put aside/ quit sinful acts.
1. alcoholic, get sober & be filled with the Spirit.
2. living together, separate.
3. cheating in business, restitution.
4. lying, tell the truth.
5. abusive, bring healing
6. profane language, holy language.
- Growing involves putting off sinful acts.
1. If you don't, you won't grow
2. If you don't, it will kill you.
VI. Stage 3: Lay Aside Attitudes
- Usually God will deal with your blatant sinful acts and then begin to work on your attitudes.
- Conforming your attitudes to Christ.
- We end growth with outward actions.
1. Those are what people can see.
2. But we don't like to deal with our attitudes.
- At that point we become big babies who don't do bad things, but do have bad attitudes.
- We don't want to grow.
- Hebrews 5:12-13 "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, [13] for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness , since he is a child."
- Some of us have been Christians long enough that you should be in a position of leadership; involved in a ministry.
1. SS teacher, board members,
2. small group leader, etc.
- Ephesians 4:13-14 "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14]so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."
- Growing will involve taking on the attitudes of Christ.
1. Love, humility, perseverance
2. Putting off envy, pride, greed, malice, hate, etc.
- Ultimately it means you will begin to care more about others than yourself.
VII. Spiritual Leadership
- There are some things in the church that require growth before you can do them.
- If you are a new Christian, we are not going to put you on the board!
1. ...make you a SS teacher.
2. ...make you the preacher.
3. ...put you in charge of a ministry.
- Ill. Simon the Magician
1. Acts 8
2. New Christian, saw the apostles lay hands on believers so that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
3. He wanted to buy that power.
4. He didn't want to grow.
- Johann von Goethe "Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow."
- With leadership & authority comes the responsibility to grow.
- Paul tells Timothy about leadership/overseer:
1. 1 Timothy 3:6 "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil."
2. 1 Timothy 5: 22 "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure."
- If new to the church the same applies.
1. If left the church & come back same applies.
2. If unfaithful to the church this applies to you.
VIII. What is Spiritual Growth?
- It's not a flash in the pan or a shooting star!
- C. S. Lewis "Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth."
- I've seen lots of stuff happen on Sunday and then you wonder what happens the rest of the week!?
1. Or you never see that person again!
2. You're not growing if you're not consistent.
- Old timers use to say: "It's not how high you jump on Sunday, but how straight you walk on Monday."
- Ill. Aesop's Fables: The Tortoise & the Hare
1. A hare challenged a tortoise to a race.
2. The hare took off in the beginning but got a lead so that he could take a nap.
3. The tortoise never stopped, but slowly continued along the path.
4. The tortoise won, b/c he was consistent!
5. Slow but steady wins the race.
6. God is not impressed by all-stars as much as He is consistency.
- Spiritual Growth is not just change.
1. Ellen Glasgow "All change is not growth; all movement is not forward."
- Spiritual growth means you won't be at the same place you were 10 years ago or even one year.
1. Robert N. Coons "If the shoe fits, you're not allowing for growth."
2. Are you stunted in your growth?
3. Are you a spiritual midget?
- Spiritual Growth means you still have more to learn.
1. ...in communicating w/ God.
2. ...in using your spiritual gifts
3. ...in spiritual disciplines.
4. ...in love for God & others.
5. "I'm not a finished product!"
- Spiritual growth means different ppl are at different places.
1. If you are a Christian we have expectations of you!
2. Different for different ppl!
- No matter where you are in your spiritual walk: there is still room to grow.
IX. Conclusion
- Ill. Family driving from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa, FL.
1. As far as the eye could see: Orange trees!
2. They stopped at a little place in the middle of the orchards for breakfast.
3. Father orderd OJ w/ his eggs.
4. "I'm sorry," the waitress said. "I can't bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken."
5. Leroy Eims said: "They were surrounded by millions of oranges, and I knew they had oranges in the kitchen--orange slices garnished our plates. What was the problem? No juice? Hardly. We were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice. The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it."
- Are you growing? I'm not asking whether...
1. ...our church is growing... I know it is.
2. ...your parents, kids, siblings are growing.
3. I'm asking: Are you growing spiritually?
- Ill. We had company & my wife told me to stop using my 'preacher voice.'
1. Can I cease to be the preacher for a second and just be your pastor.
2. It's time to grow!
3. The oranges are all over the place!
- Don't look for evidence that Jesus has been here; look to Him.
- Discipleship is not optional, it is what God has called us to be.
A Real Church Service 2: Spiritual Growth
I. Introduction
- Ill. Aesop's Fables: The Hunter & the Woodman
1. A hunter was searching for the tracks of a Lion.
2. He asked the a man felling oaks in the forest if he had seen any tracks or the lion's lair.
3. "I'll take you to the lion." said the woodsman.
4. Hunter turned pale & said: "No, thank you. I did not ask for that; it is only the tracks and lair that I am in search of, not the lion."
5. Are you looking for signs that Jesus is here or for where his Spirit abides?
6. Or are you looking for Him?
- What makes a good church service?
- We base our answer on some of the wrong things.
1. It shouldn't matter whether you like the teacher, preacher, song leader, etc.
2. What matters is the object of our Worship.
- But now let's answer that question on your side of the fence.
1. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit.
2. What is your obligation toward a good church service.
II. Scripture
III. Christianity is About Growing
- Our faith is about growing [relationship].
- The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is about making disciples
1. Disciples = pupils
2. Not just converts or professions.
- He did not commission us to enlarge our finances or our numbers or our programs.
1. Make disciples!
2. Students of the Word who are growing!
IV. Born to Grow (Stage 1)
- In order to grow spiritually you must be born-again!
- 2:3 "...if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good!"
1. Repent of sin & believe in Christ.
2. Spiritual growth w/out spiritual birth is impossible.
- If you're not growing...
1. ...something is wrong!
2. ...you might be dead!
- Those born-again will have a longing to grow.
1. It is in the DNA of a believer
2. v. 2:2 Cultivated Desire
- Long for what?
1. pure milk of the word
2. pure= nothing but milk
3. beware false teachers/ preachers
4. Pure milk sometimes doesn't taste as good as a coke, but it's better for you.
- 2 Timothy 4:3 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions."
- The biggest enemy of the church today is not the world, but that which poses as the church!
- Long for...
1. Milk of the Word- Bible. Biblical preaching, biblical songs, biblical discussion, biblical thinking, etc.
2. Sunday School, Wednesday Bible Study, Sunday PM, all focused on God's Word!
- Query: Are you 'lactose' intolerant?
V. Stage 2: Lay Aside Acts of Sin!
- After being Born-Again and God giving you a longing for growth, you will begin conforming more and more of your actions to those of Christ.
- This is where Christians get the cart before the horse.
1. We can't clean them up to get them saved.
2. We are to get them saved so they will get cleaned up!
- As a new Christian you will begin aligning your actions with those of Christ!
- Put aside/ quit sinful acts.
1. alcoholic, get sober & be filled with the Spirit.
2. living together, separate.
3. cheating in business, restitution.
4. lying, tell the truth.
5. abusive, bring healing
6. profane language, holy language.
- Growing involves putting off sinful acts.
1. If you don't, you won't grow
2. If you don't, it will kill you.
VI. Stage 3: Lay Aside Attitudes
- Usually God will deal with your blatant sinful acts and then begin to work on your attitudes.
- Conforming your attitudes to Christ.
- We end growth with outward actions.
1. Those are what people can see.
2. But we don't like to deal with our attitudes.
- At that point we become big babies who don't do bad things, but do have bad attitudes.
- We don't want to grow.
- Hebrews 5:12-13 "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, [13] for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness , since he is a child."
- Some of us have been Christians long enough that you should be in a position of leadership; involved in a ministry.
1. SS teacher, board members,
2. small group leader, etc.
- Ephesians 4:13-14 "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14]so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."
- Growing will involve taking on the attitudes of Christ.
1. Love, humility, perseverance
2. Putting off envy, pride, greed, malice, hate, etc.
- Ultimately it means you will begin to care more about others than yourself.
VII. Spiritual Leadership
- There are some things in the church that require growth before you can do them.
- If you are a new Christian, we are not going to put you on the board!
1. ...make you a SS teacher.
2. ...make you the preacher.
3. ...put you in charge of a ministry.
- Ill. Simon the Magician
1. Acts 8
2. New Christian, saw the apostles lay hands on believers so that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
3. He wanted to buy that power.
4. He didn't want to grow.
- Johann von Goethe "Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow."
- With leadership & authority comes the responsibility to grow.
- Paul tells Timothy about leadership/overseer:
1. 1 Timothy 3:6 "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil."
2. 1 Timothy 5: 22 "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure."
- If new to the church the same applies.
1. If left the church & come back same applies.
2. If unfaithful to the church this applies to you.
VIII. What is Spiritual Growth?
- It's not a flash in the pan or a shooting star!
- C. S. Lewis "Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth."
- I've seen lots of stuff happen on Sunday and then you wonder what happens the rest of the week!?
1. Or you never see that person again!
2. You're not growing if you're not consistent.
- Old timers use to say: "It's not how high you jump on Sunday, but how straight you walk on Monday."
- Ill. Aesop's Fables: The Tortoise & the Hare
1. A hare challenged a tortoise to a race.
2. The hare took off in the beginning but got a lead so that he could take a nap.
3. The tortoise never stopped, but slowly continued along the path.
4. The tortoise won, b/c he was consistent!
5. Slow but steady wins the race.
6. God is not impressed by all-stars as much as He is consistency.
- Spiritual Growth is not just change.
1. Ellen Glasgow "All change is not growth; all movement is not forward."
- Spiritual growth means you won't be at the same place you were 10 years ago or even one year.
1. Robert N. Coons "If the shoe fits, you're not allowing for growth."
2. Are you stunted in your growth?
3. Are you a spiritual midget?
- Spiritual Growth means you still have more to learn.
1. ...in communicating w/ God.
2. ...in using your spiritual gifts
3. ...in spiritual disciplines.
4. ...in love for God & others.
5. "I'm not a finished product!"
- Spiritual growth means different ppl are at different places.
1. If you are a Christian we have expectations of you!
2. Different for different ppl!
- No matter where you are in your spiritual walk: there is still room to grow.
IX. Conclusion
- Ill. Family driving from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa, FL.
1. As far as the eye could see: Orange trees!
2. They stopped at a little place in the middle of the orchards for breakfast.
3. Father orderd OJ w/ his eggs.
4. "I'm sorry," the waitress said. "I can't bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken."
5. Leroy Eims said: "They were surrounded by millions of oranges, and I knew they had oranges in the kitchen--orange slices garnished our plates. What was the problem? No juice? Hardly. We were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice. The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it."
- Are you growing? I'm not asking whether...
1. ...our church is growing... I know it is.
2. ...your parents, kids, siblings are growing.
3. I'm asking: Are you growing spiritually?
- Ill. We had company & my wife told me to stop using my 'preacher voice.'
1. Can I cease to be the preacher for a second and just be your pastor.
2. It's time to grow!
3. The oranges are all over the place!
- Don't look for evidence that Jesus has been here; look to Him.
- Discipleship is not optional, it is what God has called us to be.
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