Burden of Salvation
Notes
Transcript
How many of you have ever watched the show “Undercover Boss”? The purpose is for the high ranking official or the owner of a corporation to change their appearance and infiltrate one of their places of employment to learn more about the TRUE inner working of their business. Sometimes they find loyal employees who are invested in the company and have pride in the job they do. Other times, they find employees that are there to just draw a paycheck. They may have negative attitudes, complacent, or at times just don’t want to work.
At the end of their time undercover, the executives return to their true identity and request the employees they worked with individually to travel to a central location—often corporate headquarters. The bosses reveal their identity, and reward hard-working employees through promotion, or financial rewards; while other employees are given training, better working conditions, or, in extreme cases, termination.
Now, let’s look at it from a spiritual aspect. WHAT if we had an undercover boss that came into any church in the nation and had the task of evaluating our efforts based on what they observed. Would they find church members actively working, seeing that the Gospel Message was going outside of the doors and into the community, would they see outreach opportunities and evangelism? Or, would they see members seated, complacent, and trying to hide from the boss? How would we rank? What do you think the bosses reaction to us would be? Would He reward us for our efforts, or would he find us lacking and in need of more training and encouragement?
In reality…our boss is here every time the doors are open.
20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
This week while I was on my way to a meeting in Roanoke, I was listening to a message given by Dr. Dhati Lewis of Atlanta as he spoke to the students at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He made this comment that stuck with me - many Christians find themselves looking at church with a “Cruise Ship” mentality instead of a “Battle Ship” mentality.
Have we have forgotten that we fight a spiritual battle daily? And that we fight against a stubborn and persuasive rival. A rival that we must prepare for. Throughout scripture, we find references to battle.
Psalm 18:39
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”
25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
And the list continues on…we are even told that we are to prepare ourselves for spiritual battle by putting on the armor of God.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
What is the purpose for our need to prepare for battle? Look again at verse 11.
Ephesians 6:11 (ESV)
11 that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Church we are in war - engaged in battle - on a daily basis. If we think of an American soldier, how do they prepare for battle? The soldier received orders from an officer, who received orders from ultimately the Commander in Chief. They physically prepare themselves, they mentally prepare themselves. They repetitively train over and over until they are able to follow the command given immediately and without question.
My goodness church, is that not what God expects of His army? Is that not why we have Sunday School? Is that not why we have preaching? Is that not why we have bible study? Is that not why we read our bibles? Is that not why we pray? Is that not why we gather together? God knew what He was doing when He put into place the church!
But do we recognize the true calling we have? Do we realize the need to prepare ourselves? Or, do we see ourselves weakening, and when others are preparing for battle around us we get uncomfortable and want out? Do we forget who is our Commander? Have we gotten on a battleship and tried to turn it into a cruise ship?
Solomon gives guidance on listening for the call of our Commander, and how we should be responding.
Guarding our Steps
Guarding our Steps
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
We should approach worship in a manner of receiving orders, which means we should be coming into church listening for God. We should be looking to receive our assignments. We should be preparing for work or for war!
Let me ask…are we listening to the voice of the Lord? Or are we too busy yapping and causing chaos that we cannot hear what the Lord has to say to us?
We must understand God does not scream or yell orders. He speaks lowly. Look at the example of Samuel, when he was a young boy in training with Eli God spoke to him. Yet, even though he was in training, even though he was in the temple, even though he was reading his bible, even though he was focused…he still didn’t recognize the voice.
1 Samuel 3:1–9 (ESV)
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”
5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Too often, God speaks when we least expect it. Maybe we do not know the voice of the Lord, we haven’t heard it yet. Maybe the Lord’s voice catches us off guard because we have asked… and we forgot that we should be waiting for His response!
Too many believers go to church for the wrong reasons, without any purpose in mind. Solomon was warning against worship that was meaningless or that had become formal and ritualistic. Our primary mission in worship should be to hear what God will say to us from His Holy Word, through the Holy Spirit, by the lips of the one appointed to teach God’s message.
Instead of the cruise ship, we should be getting ready for the battleship. Just like a soldier, we must be ready. We must prepare. We must train. And we must listen for the voice of our Commander in Chief.
To be ready for battle…we must be focused, concentrate, and ready. Too often, when we come to church we aren’t here for worship…but instead we are here out of habit, out of obligation, offering unfocused, un-concentrated, and mindless worship.
Church, we cannot afford to be complacent any more. We must ready ourselves for spiritual battle.
Remembering Our Calling
Remembering Our Calling
4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.
5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
So, when we accepted Christ as our Savior…what did we promise Him? When we hit a hard patch in our life…what did we promise Him? When we wanted something…what did we promise Him?
Lord if you will give me, I will...
Solomon warns against foolishness in making vows to the Lord that we either do not intend to fulfill or will not commit to. We are called for a specific purpose.
As a Christian, according to the Bible, we are called to:
Believe in Jesus Christ:
Romans 10:14 (ESV)
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Follow Jesus Christ:
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Love God:
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.’
Love your neighbor:
31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Spread the Gospel:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Serve others:
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Live a holy life:
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We are under an obligation, according to Scripture, and according to the vow we made to God to fulfill our requirements. Remember, we were not FORCED to commit our lives to the Lord…He chose us, and WE chose Him.
God is displeased with those who fail to honor their obligations, especially those who voluntarily make commitments to Him as a part of their worship. Therefore, the worshipper must not ignore the severity of Solomon’s charge concerning this practice. To not immediately follow through with our vow is a sin. We are not following through with what we promised the Lord. Breaking a vow is a sin. It breaks the promise made to the Lord. We have an obligation to do what we commited to the Lord. We need to get off our cruise ship…and get on the battleship. It’s time to break the complacency and become the Christian we have been called to be.
Satan Is Prepared
Satan Is Prepared
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
You see, we are fighting against a prepared enemy. As I have said time and time again, if Satan can enter Eden and convince Adam and Eve to forsake perfection…we don’t have a chance. He may make things look awesome, but we know he has nothing but destruction planned for us.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
He…will…rip…us…apart…limb…by…limb…like…a…hungry...lion…simply…because…he…can.
You see, cruise ships may be fun. As a matter of fact, many people will take multiple cruises, they may try to extend their fun as long as they can.
But , at some time, they must come to an end and we must get back to reality.
The burden of ANY vacation is knowing it must soon end. You see, we carry that same burden in our salvation. Sooner or later, the fun things have to come to an end. We must get ready for battle. We must prepare. We must train. We must listen for our Commanders voice.
Have we made a vow to God that we no longer take seriously? That we have forgotten, or that we have turned away from? Today you can mend that relationship and make it mean something!