Don’t Think, Just do
Notes
Transcript
A Sunday school teacher asked her little students, as they were on the way to the church service, “And why should we be quiet in church?”
A little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”
It’s a silly joke, but there’s truth in it…I mean, from my vantage point I’ve caught people sleeping during my sermon before. But I also think we can come to church with our eyes wide open and still be spiritually asleep.
One of the big goals in my life is to lead our church to become “Go-Getters” for Jesus.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
We must awaken the desire to not only know the truth, but to walk it out each day. That means when we read the Bible we need to do what it tells us to do. The Bible is our guide to living a surrendered life.
Are you awake this morning? That’s the question I want you to think about during this message.
Last week, I had the wonderful privilege of spending a day with Wyatt and Selah working on the church. They were a big help to me, and I want to publically thank them for serving.
Well, my car has TV’s and these kids figured out how to watch them. If we ran to Home Depot they turned them on and started watching one of Wyatt’s favorite movies. “Maverick” - the sequel to Top God which stars Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise does his own stunts…I say he does his own grunts! The whole movie he’s just grunting every time he does something hard. It’s funny. If you watch it, you’ll see what I mean.
Wyatt and Selah amazed me because they pretty much know most of the script of the movie. They recited it as the actors were talking!
So, it made me want to watch the movie. When I did, there was something said that I want to share with you today.
One of the characters, Rooster, was doubting his abilities. And at a critical point in the movie we see him make a decision. If he was going to survive, he was going to need to remember his training and trust in his instincts.
This is what he said, “Don’t think, Just Do”
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Now, I am in no way endorsing a movie, and I don’t think there is one ounce of Biblical content in the movie, but I am saying that when things come down to the line we have to decide if we are awake enough to the truth of God’s word in our life to that we “Don’t think, Just do”.
I have five little things to encourage you with from 1 Corinthians 16 that I believe will help you wake up and do what the Lord has asked us to do.
The Apostle Paul was writing to immature christians. People who knew the truth, but were spiritually asleep. In chapter 16 os 1 Corinthians he gives what sounds like a military order.
Essentially he tells them to “Act like adults!” and I’d say the church of our time would be wise to do the same thing. Too often the church does not have the discipline and maturity. The Corinthians were acting like babies; it was time they grew up and acted like adults.
Paul tells them to do five things. We are going to examine those five things as a test today to test our spiritual condition. Are we awake or sleeping? Are we doubting or thinking too much instead of just doing?
Let’s read these important words together:
13 Keep alert. Be firm in your faith. Stay brave and strong.
14 Show love in everything you do.
Here are the five things: Alert, Firm, Brave, Strong, and Love.
Don’t Think, Just Keep ALERT
Don’t Think, Just Keep ALERT
This means literally to stay awake.
Have you ever worked so hard that at the end of the day it was hard to keep your eyes open? You sit down to relax and then wake up in time to go to bed. I think we’ve all experienced being so tired that it’s a fight to keep our eyes open.
What the Bible is telling us is that the Christian life is a battle. We are like soldiers on the field who, in order to survive we my keep alert.
I’ve experienced and I’ve talked to too many who get tired and they aren’t as alert to the attacks of the enemy. They get too relaxed about sin and temptation.
We need to get so deep in our understanding of the Victory we have in Christ that we see the attacks coming our way. We need to know the truth so well that we don’t have to think about staying alert, we just ARE Alert because we read the Bible every day. We spend time in Prayer each day. We worship the Lord each day.
16 Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
How do you stay alert? You build your FAITH.
A moment at the altar may wake you up, but it won’t keep you awake. You’ve got to daily build up your faith. We need to be like the apostles at the feet of Jesus:
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith stronger!”
Lord make our faith strong so that we can keep alert in times of temptation.
Ask the Lord for Faith
Faith comes by reading the Word
Faith is build by obeying God!
Are you awake today? Or have you dropped your shield of faith?
Don’t think, Just do. It’s time to wake up!
Don’t think, Just Be Firm in Faith
Don’t think, Just Be Firm in Faith
Being firm in the faith is KNOWING the truth and not falling for a lie.
There are so many out there who want to water down the truth, or they want to add to it, but there is only one truth. The Bible is the truth.
As a Pastor, I want to fill this place up, my heart is to reach as many people with the hope of the Gospel as we possibly can, but I am humbled to remember that the greatest preacher who ever lived didn’t have a big church.
Jesus have thousands of people listen to His message, but very few actually surrendered to Him and followed Him as Savior.
You see, many people WANTED something from Jesus. Healing, food, or a show. But when they heard what He preached they left him.
66 Because of what Jesus said, many of his disciples turned their backs on him and stopped following him.
67 Jesus then asked his twelve disciples if they were going to leave him.
68 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, there is no one else that we can go to! Your words give eternal life.
69 We have faith in you, and we are sure that you are God’s Holy One.”
Jesus preached that we must REPENT of our sins and surrender to God. He preached that He was the ONLY way to be saved. He preached that to gain life you must lose your life. He preached that to follow Him was a narrow path.
We must be firm in our faith like Peter who said, We have Faith in YOU Jesus!
The world wants us to be inclusive, but I want to be exclusive to Jesus and His teaching!
Remember this truth:
26 What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul?
It’s time to wake up to the TRUTH of Jesus’ Gospel.
Don’t think, Just Be Firm in the truth of God’s Word.
Don’t think, Just Be Brave
Don’t think, Just Be Brave
13 Keep alert. Be firm in your faith. Stay brave and strong.
14 Show love in everything you do.
A man and wife rushed into a dentist’s office. The wife said, “I want a tooth pulled. I don’t want any gas or numbing cream because I’m in a terrible hurry. Just pull the tooth as quickly as possible.”
“You certainly are a brave woman,” said the dentist. “Now, show me which tooth it is.”
The wife turned to her husband and said, “Open your mouth and show the dentist which tooth it is, dear.”
Bravery for other people is easy, but when it comes down to US, it can be hard.
Paul tells the Corinthian church to stay brave or courageous. He’s implying that there is conflict, battles and warfare. In a battle you must be brave. You can’t run.
As a kid, I’ll admit, I was afraid of the dark. If I was asked to take the trash out at night, I would run as fast as I could to get away from the dark. I think it was the fear of the unknown. I couldn’t SEE anything and my mind made enemies out of nothing.
But in the day, I had no fear because I could SEE clearly that nothing was there that could hurt me.
In our faith walk, we can’t always see what God sees. I am convinced that if we could, we’d abandon our fear.
Faith is knowing that God is in control no matter what comes our way. Cancer is nothing to fear. Poverty nothing to fear. Government nothing to fear. Even Death is nothing to fear.
With Christ, we have a Savior, and this world is NOT our home anymore.
14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
Our bravery comes from our faith in Jesus. It’s based in hope that no matter what comes in this life, we have a home beyond this world. And because of that we are willing to offer our lives as a sacrifice of praise to God.
Let me ask you again, Are you awake today? Are you brave or afraid?
Don’t think, Just be Brave!
Don’t think, Just Be Strong
Don’t think, Just Be Strong
How do you get strong? Is it by sitting on the sofa eating potato chips? Man, oh man, I wish that’s how you build muscle. I’d be on that sofa right now if that’s how you get ripped!
But that’s not how you get strong is it? To get strong you must endure suffering.
Do you remember the first time you did squats as an adult? I can remember we had a split entry house and the day after a very intense “leg” day I couldn’t walk up and down those stairs. I have to walk backwards!
Why? It hurt! To build muscle you must work it out.
Paul is encouraging the church to be strong. There is so much for us to do for the Lord. Strength is NEEDED if we are going to fight in the battle for souls.
Being a Christian is NOT for the weak. You’ll be taken out if you aren’t strong. The enemy is cunning and working to attack those who are weak.
So how do you get stronger?
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
Testing produces strength.
Why? Because when you walk through the fire and you come out ok on the other side, you aren’t so afraid the next time the flames lick your heals!
Folks ask, “why is God allowing me to go through this thing?”, I say, maybe it’s because He’s making you stronger. It may hurt, but if you stand in faith that in your weakness He is made strong, you’ll come out stronger.
If you feel weak today I want to wake you up to this truth:
9 But he replied, “My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am.
10 Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong.
Our Strength comes when we lean on Jesus.
Trust in Him. Turn things over to Him. Know that He is strong and HE is IN you!
Are you awake to this truth?
Don’t think, Just Be strong!
Here’s the last thing I have for you from the scripture today:
Don’t think, Just LOVE
Don’t think, Just LOVE
So, we’ve talked about being alert, firm in faith, being brave, and strong. But now we must talk about the motivation of our heart.
Soldiers are alert, firm, brave and strong - these are all good attributes. But being a follower of Christ is more than just being a soldier. It’s about being an extension of Him. And He Is LOVE!
At the end of the day we will overcome evil with Love not force.
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
The good is loving acts of kindness towards the lost. Remember, the enemy uses PEOPLE to attack us, but those people are loved by God. They may be wrong and lost, but they are still the apple of His eye.
God’s desire is to redeem the lost and WE are called to do His work. There are NO lost causes with God. Anyone can experience His love, grace, and forgiveness.
The Bible tells us to be alert, firm in faith, brave, and strong - but why? So that we can share the love that we’ve recieved through Christ Jesus.
Our lives should be defined by LOVE.
Don’t think, Just LOVE!
Are you awake this morning? Or are you asleep in one or more of these areas?
Have you fallen asleep in your walk again sin and temptation?
9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
Have you walked away from the TRUTH of the Gospel?
16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.
Are you walking in Fear or are you weak?
13 I am the Lord your God. I am holding your hand, so don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
Or are you withholding the Love from others that you have recieved by grace?
35 If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.
Let me tell you that today is the day to wake up!
Don’t think, Just Do!