Leave a Trail Luke 6 37 45
Leave a Trail – Disciple 10 (Luke 6:37-45) NV 4/3/05 a.m.
OS: 1 Don’t follow the path, go where the path aint, and leave a trail.
I. Mexico - Most impressive thing? (You made an impact)
A. How churches and members press on under terrible conditions compared to our luxury.
B. Ron & Fran Matz – at their age. (They went where there was no path, and they have created a trail that people can follow and penetrate this area of Mexico with the gospel.
1. Due to their work – organizing medical mission trips, and assisting churches in establishing, supporting and working with Mexican preachers and churches.
2. Dilores Hildalgo, San Miguel, Curretero,
3. We toured a city of 150,000 (Guatomajo) that has no church. Study was arranged with the tour guide, and I told Mrs. Fran that he’d make a good preacher.
II. If we want to really be Disciples of Christ, really be the church that God wants us to be we will be people who go where the path isn’t and leave a trail.
A. When our time is up on this earth we will leave something behind that is better.
B. We will make our life count.
III. In our text this morning Jesus gives us some keys to living that kind of life – being that kind of disciple.
A. 2 3 4 5 Luke 6:37-45
B. 6 There are principles in this text that can have a tremendous impact on your life.
TS] God has given us some sense of control over our future, and some principles for the evaluation of our lives.
I. 7 You will reap what you sow.
A. This is true in every part of life – Money, Relationships, sin-consequences.
1. If you plant corn you will reap corn, if you plant cotton you will reap cotton. Never fails.
2. What Jesus is saying in this text is that the way you treat people is the way that God will treat you.
B. Money is pretty simple – what about relationships?
1. A study was conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research of 1,423 adults.
a. Just over half (52 percent) have forgiven others for past transgressions.
b. Three-quarters believe they have been forgiven by God for their mistakes.
c. Forty-three percent have gone to others to be forgiven.
d. Forgiving oneself seems a bit easier: 60 percent have let themselves off the hook.
e. Women are more forgiving than men, and middle-agers and older adults are more likely to forgive others than younger adults are.
f. Researchers say forgiveness may be an antidote to anger, but they also find that asking for forgiveness can raise stress levels.
g. Citation: USA Today (12/12/01); submitted by Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky
2. It is hard, but we will reap what we sow in relationships.
C. Later, we will reap more than what we sow.
1. When our eldest daughter was old enough to understand what saving money was all about, my wife and I sat down with her and explained the value of money. We explained how you save, and when the piggybank was full, you take the money out and deposit it in a commercial bank so that it might draw interest. We thought we had done a thorough job. She seemed to understand and couldn't wait to open a savings account in our local bank by herself. I called the banker in our little town and told him our daughter was on the way to open her savings account. We would stop in later and sign the necessary papers. What a thrill! She got the president of the bank himself to wait on her. She handed over her savings, and he gave her a receipt and thanked her for her business. But she wouldn't leave. She just stood there like she was waiting on something else. "Is there anything else that I can help you with?" he asked. "Yes," she said, "I want my interest."
2. 8 9 Galatians 6 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
D. 10 “I've been going to professional baseball games and trying to get a souvenir baseball as far back as I can remember. A foul ball, a home run ball, or even a batting practice ball—anything would do. I was taking in batting practice for the St. Louis Cardinals, and as I watched Mark McGwire and his teammates, I got to know a five-year-old boy who was also trying to get a ball. His name was James. He tried hard to pronounce the players' names as he politely asked for a ball: "Mr. Timwin (Timlin), can I have a ball, please?" Before I knew it, my mission became getting a ball for James. For about 20 minutes, I told him the names of the players who had a ball near the fence we stood behind, and the players turned and smiled as James tried to say their names. Still, no ball. Finally I told James he could have my ball if I caught one (I had been unsuccessful in catching a ball for almost 28 years, so that felt like a safe promise). I wouldn't be telling this story if you didn't know what happened five minutes later. I caught a ball, and yes, I gave it to James. I wonder how often God waits to give us something until we are willing to give it away?
TS] You will always reap what you sow in every area of life. The measure you use will be measured by to you.
II. 11 You will become like what/whom you behold.
A. Illu - Have you ever noticed that the longer people are married the more they begin to look like each other?
1. That may be funny especially when you think about people looking like their pets after they’ve had them for years.
2. If you don’t see it on the outside you will certainly see it on the inside.
B. One of the greatest passages in the bible is 2 Cor 3:18
1. 12 2 Corinthians 3 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (NIV)
2. 2 Corinthians 3 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV)
3. On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription: "James Butler Bonham--no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by the family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom." No literal portrait of Jesus exists either. But the likeness of the Son who makes us free can be seen in the lives of his true followers.
4. If we behold Him we become like Him.
C. Television has a tremendous effect on our culture simply because we behold it so much.
1. The most recent research of the RAND Corporation (the nation's largest independent health policy research organization) shows that youth who view a significant amount of television with sexual content are twice as likely to have sex than those who watch little of such programming. In their words:
2. "This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities," Rebecca Collins, a RAND psychologist who headed the study, said in the release. "The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior." Citation: Pediatrics, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, volume 114, number 3 (September 2004);
3. TV is also having an effect on the church
a. 13 Cartoon – “And for all member who never make the Sunday evening service, so you’ll feel right at home, we’re renaming it ’60 minutes’.
b. 20-30 minute sermon time.
c. Too many of us allow the late news to dictate what we think about when we go to bed.
4. 14 Just a little bit doesn’t matter? – How much is a little bit? How much of the world do you take in during a typical day, and how much of behold Jesus? Who is your teacher?
D. Point: You become like what you behold, and to really be a disciple of Jesus is to behold Him, and become like Him. That is God’s will for us all.
TS] If you’re going to leave this world a better place – leave a trail. If you’re going to make your life really count you will do so by beholding Jesus, becoming like Him, and treating others the way God has treated you. And finally…
III. 15 You will produce what is stored in your heart.
A. Funny - I have always thought that the actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts. —Philosopher John Locke (1632-1704)
1. So and so said, … I’ve heard it said, … I’ve always thought.
B. Jesus said it long before.. in fact Jesus spoke often about the heart.
1. 16 Matthew 6 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
2. 17 Matthew 15 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”
3. 18 Matthew 22 37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
C. 19 Guard your mind/heart!
1. "I used to think, This ain't affecting me, you'd have to be weak-minded to let this stuff affect you, and the whole time it affected me."—Jamie Rouse commenting on how music affected his behavior without being aware of it. Jamie Rouse is the student who on November 15, 1995, walked into his Lynnville, Tennessee, high school carrying a .22 caliber rifle and killed a teacher and student.
TS] 20 These are principles that are absolutely true: You will reap what you sow in every area of life. Sow well. You will become like what you behold. Behold Jesus more than the world. The condition of your heart will determine how you live. Guard your heart. – Then you life will have an impact that goes far beyond the time you spend on this earth.
How long does it take to become a Christian? A moment--and a lifetime.
Citation: Louis Cassells, Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no. 2.