EXCUSES AND LIES: THE TWO GREAT ENEMIES OF CHURCH GROWTH

Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

2 Corinthians 5:8–10 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Today, this is primarily a message for Christians.

Without a doubt, we are commanded to go into the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a command to each of us individually, but it is also a command for the body of Christ to go into the world preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I promise you that the New Testament teaches us that the church is to busy going into the world sharing the gospel. Many in the church think that lost people are going to magically appear in the church to get saved, but Jesus did not command the church to wait until the lost come into the church. Jesus said for the church to go into the world preaching Jesus Christ.

Believe me or not, everyone of you that are saved are to that, and one of these days you are going to be judged, according to Paul, for your activity level in sharing the gospel. Notice what Paul says in 2 Corinthians Chap. 5.

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we LABOR, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of HIM.

You are going to be present with the Lord one of these days and because of that you should labor for Him to be accepted of Him. The New Testament teaches us that faith without works is dead. You and I are to be the hands, arms, and legs for Christ, and it is the responsibility of every Christian here.

Everything done in the body of Christ should be related to the Great Commission.

Now, we mistakenly think today that we are much busier than those in the early church, but that is incorrect. Those in the early church worked 7-days a week and raised families, yet they still found the time to share the gospel because no matter how busy they were they were able to keep Christ and His Kingdom first in their lives.

As a result, supernatural works were done through them by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:44–46 “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”

Acts 6:7 “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

They gathered daily obedient to the faith and the Great Commission, and as a result, the church grew tremendously.

Now, what we do not see in the early church are excuses. The early church knew they were going to be judged for the things done in the body of Christ, and they were excited to do those things because they were expecting the Lord’s return.

Some of you do not like when I talk about the imminent return of the Lord. I can’t help it. We are to live our lives anticipating the return of Christ at any minute, and if we did, we would be less likely to offer excuses to keep from working in the body.

When you expect the Lord’s imminent return, your Christian life takes on an urgency.

1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”

1 John 4:17 “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”

Today, we do not have that urgency, and we offer all kinds of excuses, or we lie to the Holy Spirit, or we get mad at someone else for “doing” too much. We get jealous which goes back to that message from two weeks ago about dissension and strife in the body.

We are going to look at excuses and lies as they are keeping the church from growing.

1. EXCUSES.

I am going to take a little pastoral liberty this morning and apply one of Christ’s parables to those in the church who always have an excuse when opportunities to share Christ’s love and gospel arise.

All of us are to be involved in the church’s outreach programs. ALL OF US!!!!

Luke 14:16–17 “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.”

Dear friend, the supper is ready. There are people all around us that have never read the Bible and that have never heard the gospel message, and it is our job collectively to make sure they get God’s Word in their hands and to make sure they hear the gospel.

Let me share an example of something that happened this week at the fair, and what a great outreach.

A little boy, probably in the 6th or 7th grade, came to our booth to get some water. He had come by earlier to get a popsicle, and later in the day, he came by with one of the kids in my class at school, and we started talking. We had one New Testament remaining. I asked him if he wanted it. He said, at first, no because he was not very religious. He said, a 7th grader in Dyer County, TN, that he had never been to church and knew nothing about the Bible. I marked John 3:16 for him and gave him the New Testament and asked him to promise me he would read it Friday night, and he promised to do so. What impact will that have? I don’t know, but the seed was planted.

Yes, it was hot. Yes, I was tired. Yes, my knees were hurting, but dear friend, I am confident that one day Jesus Christ will remind me of that conversation I had with that young man.

Instead of accepting our responsibility to go into the world as a church body, many in the church make excuses.

Luke 14:18–20 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”

People in the church offer all kinds of excuses for not doing what Christ commanded the body of Christ to do.

“I cannot do that because I am going on a trip.” And the person God was going to use you specifically to reach is left waiting on you to get motivated to preach the gospel.

“I cannot do that because my job just wears me out, and I am just too tired.”

“I cannot do that because I have responsibilities to my family.”

And the world is dying and going to hell.

“Well, I pray and contribute financially.” Dear friend, thank you for that, but that is not enough. We all are commanded to go.

Dear friend, you can read the Bible from can to can’t, but if you are not willing to go into the world to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, what good is God’s Word doing you?

John 4:35 “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

Christ needs workers, and He does not have time for excuses.

The lost soul has no time for your excuses nor for my excuses. If Beech Grove is going to be successful in reaching lost souls, we cannot make excuses. We have to get to work, and if Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, we will. Too many Christians, easily say Jesus Christ is Lord, but when it comes to showing it, we offer very little evidence of His Lordship.

Luke 14:26–27 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”

Christ does not mean that you have to hate your family or your job, but He does mean that He is to be Lord in your life. There are going to be crosses to bear. We are going to be tired. We are going to be stretched thin. We are not always going to fell 100% because of the world we live in, and dear friend, no one might be saved, but the Lord Jesus Christ will reward our efforts.

As a church, we are to cast a big dragnet, a dragnet to gather lost souls, and the church needs you to do your part to pull the net in, and there is no time for excuses. If Christ is first, excuses will not enter your mind. If Christ is first, the Holy Spirit will make it possible for you to do your part.

2. LIES.

Even worse than those in the church that offer excuses are those that lie, those that make a commitment yet never follow through with that commitment.

****Listen very carefully.*****

I personally believe that lying in the church is a grave sin. When I say lying, I mean committing to do something, committing to do your part yet never planning to honor your commitment.

Dear friend, it would be better for you not to say you are going to do something than to say you are going to do something never intending to do it.

Now, I believe lying to the Holy Spirit, lying to the body, is what the New Testament calls the sin unto death.

1 John 5:16 “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”

We casually commit knowing that we can offer excuses or cover up for not following through.

Ask Ananias and Sapphira about it. Notice what Peter says to both.

Acts 5:3–4 “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

Acts 5:8–9 “And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.”

Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit and fell out graveyard dead. Let me tell you why they fell out dead. I believe their deaths were an example in the early church that committing to God and not following through with it is a deadly sin. What if the Holy Spirit did that today?

The New Testament contains another example of lying to the Holy Spirit and the consequences.

1 Corinthians 11:28–30 “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”

Now, you can lie to the Lord if you want. You can lie trying to make yourself to look good before man and the church, but the Lord Jesus Christ will hear nothing of it.

You actually do more harm to the church by saying you are going to do something and not doing it than never saying you are going to do something.

The harvest is white. There is no time for excuses and lies. We must all do our part.

Remember what Paul said.

2 Corinthians 5:8–10 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

If all of us do our part, we will not tire because the body will be working in unison. Are you ready to do your part? If you are, we need you. There is nothing more rewarding than sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine what the Lord would do for Beech Grove Baptist Church if every member of the body would make Christ Lord and submit to His Lordship? We would need a building program.

The lost do not have time for excuses. The lost need you to bring Jesus to them where they are.