Mission Possible pt 17
Notes
Transcript
What does it take to see good things happen in our lives?
What does it take to see good things happen in our lives?
What does it take to see God move in us? … in the lives of our families? … in the lives of our neighbors?
“A soldier fighting over in Iraq received a letter from his girl friend that said she was breaking up with him. She also asked him to send the picture she had given him when he left because she needed it for her bridal announcement. The soldier was heart broken and told his friends of his terrible situation. So his whole platoon got together and brought all their pictures of their girlfriends, and put them in a box and gave them to him. So he put her picture in the box with the rest along with a note that said, “I’m sending back your picture to you please remove it and send back the rest. For the life of me I can’t remember which one you are.”
Sometimes, I think we are like that girlfriend… I think sometimes, we want the recognition of being Christian… the recognition of the things we are doing FOR the Kingdom, but… we really lack any REAL commitment to it!
That’s why marriages so often fail today, amen?
People go into the relationship EXPECTING a commitment from the other party, but failing to commit themselves!
Look at Matthew 7:21:
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Now, look at the next verse:
Matthew 7:22 (NRSV)
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
That word — “Many” is the Greek word “polys.”
It means: “a great number of.”
Jesus is saying that “a great number of people”… not a small number… not an insignificant number… a GREAT number of people… who say to Him, “Lord, Lord”… who call on His name… will NOT make it into the Kingdom of heaven!!!
There are a lot of people in this world — in the Church — who want to say that passages like this are referring to “non-believers” — to those who do not confess the name of Christ… BUT… that is not who Jesus is talking about here.
So… if those who confess Christ… who call on His name… won’t enter the Kingdom… Then who will?!?
After all, Paul says:
9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Aren’t they confessing Him with their lips?!
Look at Mt 7:22 agian:
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
Aren’t they saying, “Look at what we ddi ‘In your name’”? How could we do this and not be saved?
Seems unfair, doesn’t it? How can someone spend their life doing the things that Jesus did, confessing to be doing them in His name, and still not be saved?
It just doesn’t make logical sense!
And if they can, then what hope do we have?
Look at Jesus’s response to them.
23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
“Away from me you evil doers!”
“I never knew you.”
Ouch!!!!
Can I tell you — Those are words I NEVER want to hear!!!
No!
The words I want to hear are: “Well done, My good and faithful servant!”
Matthew 25:23 (NIV)
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Look at Romans 10:9 again.
9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
“Confess with your lips” and “believe in your heart.”
We need to understand what Jesus and Paul are both saying…
“Works, even if done in Christ’s name, will not get us into Heaven!”
I know… I know…
“But pastor… James said, ‘Faith without works is dead.” “If prophecying… if excorcising demons… if doing miracles… it service… done in Jesus’s name are not enough, what is?!
FAITH!
Romans 10:9 (NRSV)
... believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Look at verse 21 again.
Matthew 7:21 (NRSV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Faith alone… not works… gains salvation!
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—
9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
16 yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
But that is all Paul speaking, Let’s see what John has to say…
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
And Jesus Himself…
24 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.
The word translated “Believes” in every one of these verses is the Greek word “pisteuo” — “to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance.”
That’s Faith… amen?
Faith is “to believe to the extent that one puts complete trust and reliance in the object of that faith.” (Pastor Tony)
Faith is our “reason for”…
The terrible truth is this: “There are people out there… all over the world… in the Church today, who believe that they are going to heaven, because they are “doing God’s work.”
— they give to missions....
— they tithe…
— they serve…
— they prophesy…
— they teach…
— they preach…
— they pastor churches…
On the outside, they seem to be strong, powerful Christians,… they seem to have it all together — to be faithful followers… but… On the inside…
Do you remember what Jesus said in verse 20?
20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.
Good fruit only comes from Faith in the Source of life!!!
We can do all the things that Christ did, we can “walk the walk, and talk the talk,” and still not be Christian — still not be saved — not be doing those things in Faith!
Because ALL those things can be done in self-righteous pride, not Faith…
Our works must be a result of our FAITH, not for our glory, but for HIS!
14 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?
15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved
16 and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you?
17 Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
19 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them?
20 Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
I said this last week — “The Church has suffered from this ailment for a long time.”
We give ourselves permission to “do it OUR WAY”…
We see pastors, church leaders, and churches — all over — “doing it THEIR WAY”…
All the while claiming: “We are doing God’s Work!”
— When we “give,” but then demand our “giving” be used “our way”…
— When we “justify” not tithing because “that’s not the Biblical tithe”… or because “that Pastor just wants to get rich”… or “the Church just misuses, and doesn’t really need it”…
— When we make our own plans… and push our own ideas and agendas…
— When we develop our own programs… and methods…
— when we seek to create “fame” and recognition for ourselves — by constantly promoting what “I” am doing— and yet “claim” it to be the work of God, we do this…
Think about it…
“I did thins for the Kingdom”
“I did that for the Kingdom”
“I gave this...”
“I gave to that...”
“I did these things for God....”
Let me tell you “I” gets in the way of the Kingdom!!!!
Why do we do that?!
— Pride.
We will go to amazing lengths to protect the little god of “self.”
Let me tell you:
We CANNOT simply do “lip-service” to God.
Saying “Lord, Lord.” Means NOTHING!
23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
True righteousness is only found in Christ… In a personal, committed, relationship with Him.
27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Do you hear His voice?
Are you taking the time to listen?
If you are not… then let me tell you… the problem is not that Jesus isn’t speaking to you, it is that you are to busy with the “little god of self” to hear Him!
look at verses 24-27.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
We must not just hear His word… We must not just remember it… We must DO what Christ says!!!
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
What does Jesus say to do?
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Jesus commands us to put our FAITH in Him, and to live according to that FAITH!
How often do we do that?!
The truth is, we don’t!
Instead, we try to create a “formula” for how to be right with God… we create a “to-do” list for salvation…
— Pray for forgiveness… Check!
— Ask Jesus into my heart… Check!
— Get baptized… Check!
— Go to Church… Check!
— Give a tithe… Check!
— Serve a little… help someone out… Check!
But… NOW LISTEN TO THIS… When we do that, we fail!
Why?!
Because creating that “formula” — that “check-list”— is just another way of protecting the little god of “self”!
Look at the “Rich Young Ruler”:
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’ ”
20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Do you see what Jesus was telling him to do?
“Let Go of the world… of the little god of ‘self’… , and put your Faith in Christ!”
Look at what Jesus tells us to do:
30 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.’
31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The entire Law of God — the entire summation of our ‘works’— is summed up in these two commands…
30 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.’
That’s Faith!
31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
That’s the result of Faith!
Think about it...
Jesus told us:
— be salt and light
— forgive, and be reconciled
— don’t commit adultery
— honor marriage between one man and one woman
— be honest… “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’ be ‘No.”
— don’t seek vengeance
— love your enemies
— give
— pray
— fast
— don’t fear, trust the Lord
— don’t judge
— seek God
And all that is right here! In the Sermon on the Mount!
Why? Why does He tell us this?!
Because it is ALL for the sake of others!
But… It all starts with Faith!
We forgive because He forgives us.
We love because He loves us.
We give because He gives to us.
— This is the only command God tells us to test Him in…
10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.
Look at mt 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
Wisdom means putting the Word of Christ into practice!
That means placing our Faith completely in Him… believing that He IS who He says He IS… and the He WILL DO what He says He WILL DO… and KNOWING that He WILL see us through… !
“I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and THAT has made all the difference!” — Robert Frost
We all have a choice to make....
We have all been called to something…
What is God asking you to do?
What is He talking to you about?
What is it that you have been struggling with?
Maybe its…
— to truly receive Him
— to let go, and put your FAITH in Him
— to serve in some way, more than you are now
— to lead a ministry, to step out in faith… to give in completely to His call on your life…
— to submit completely to Him
I don’t know what it is… but you do!
God is speaking to you… He knows you’re struggling…
You can trust Him!