Celebrating With Jesus 1- 8-28-05AM
Celebrating With Jesus 8-28-05AM
Lk 5:33-39(NIV) --(33) They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” --(34) Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? --(35) But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” --(36) He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. --(37) And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. --(38) No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. --(39) And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
In all of sports, there is perhaps no basketball rivalry quite as intense as that between the Universities of Duke and North Carolina. The campuses are only eight miles apart. Both teams have different shades of blue for their primary color, so North Carolinians are told, "Choose Your Blue!"
Duke fans take their allegiances seriously. Every fan is a cheerleader. When the two teams recently played each other in Duke’s Cameron Arena, home fans (or "Crazies") were given instructions.
This is the game you've been waiting for. No excuses. Give everything you've got, and we will walk away the victors. Cameron should never be less than painfully loud tonight.
At Coach K's request, please focus on our team tonight. Better to bring our team up than put theirs down. Especially coming out of timeouts, we need to be incredibly loud. During their free throws in the second half, forget the novelty stuff, just be unbelievably loud. This is a huge game. Stay in the bleachers and go nuts.
Perhaps we Christian worshipers have something to learn here.
In Auburn Coach Tuberville asked all the fans to wear orange to show the team spirit.
I) Our Lifestyle Should Be Joyful and Disciplined
Ro 12:12(NIV)--(12) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
A) We need be joyful because:
1) We have been forgiven
2) We are children of God
3) We have an eternal home
4) We have the Holy Spirit to guide us
Imagine the mystery and delight of not just hearing, but seeing the story of Jesus for the first time, almost as an eyewitness.
That's what happened to a tribe in the jungles of East Asia, when missionaries showed them the Jesus film. Not only had these people never heard of Jesus, they had never seen a motion picture. Then, all at once, on one unforgettable evening, they saw it all—the gospel in their own language, visible and real.
Imagine again how it felt to see this good man Jesus, who healed the sick and was adored by children, held without trial and beaten by jeering soldiers. As they watched this, the people came unglued. They stood up and began to shout at the cruel men on the screen, demanding that this outrage stop.
When nothing happened, they attacked the missionary running the projector. Perhaps he was responsible for this injustice! He was forced to stop the film and explain that the story wasn't over yet, that there was more. So they settled back onto the ground, holding their emotions in tenuous check.
Then came the crucifixion. Again, the people could not hold back. They began to weep and wail with such loud grief that once again the film had to be stopped. The missionary again tried to calm them, explaining that the story still wasn't over, that there was more. So they composed themselves and sat down to see what happened next.
Then came the resurrection. Pandemonium broke out this time, but for a different reason. The gathering had spontaneously erupted into a party. The noise now was of jubilation, and it was deafening. The people were dancing and slapping each other on the back. Christ is risen, indeed!
Again the missionary had to shut off the projector. But this time he didn't tell them to calm down and wait for what was next. All that was supposed to happen—in the story and in their lives—was happening.
B)
II) Our Worship Should Be Joyful and Orderly
A) Should we clap?
Ps 47:1(NIV) --(1) For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
B) Should we sing?
Ps 5:11(NIV)--(11) But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
C) Should we raise our hands?
Ps 63:4(NIV)--(4) I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
D) Whatever we do we should do orderly
1 Co 14:40(NIV)--(40) But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
1) Why?
a) So if a lost person sees it they won’t be confused.
b) We don’t want it to be just an act to be seen by man
E) There is a generational difference in worship today
I’m one of those strange characters who loves both traditional and contemporary worship.
1) Both help people encounter God, which is the purpose of worship.
2) The temptation in traditional worship is to just go through the motions without being involved at all.
3) And on the contemporary side, informality can be excessive.
4) I don’t believe that wandering in and out of worship to get refreshments shows enough reverence for the God we are worshipping.
Oswald Chambers writes that "Worship is the most personally sacred act that God demands of his faithful ones. Whenever God has given us a blessing, we must take time to meditate on the blessing and offer it back to God in a deliberate ecstasy of worship…If we hoard our blessings, they will turn to spiritual dry rot."
(1) Leonard Sweet, former seminary dean, says that there is a generational difference concerning worship.
(2) He says that when an over-forty adult misses church, he will ask "What did he say?"—meaning, "What was the sermon about?"
(3) But the under-forty crowd is more likely to ask, "What happened?"
(4) Both groups judge worship primarily on whether joy is felt.
(5) (2) If Dr. Sweet is right, we may be in trouble.
a) Have you looked at the faces of typical worshippers lately?
b) You folks at The ACMC Church do better than most.
c) The typical expression on the face of an American worshipper is scary.
d) Almost like some of the folks out there who have gallstones (my apologizes to those who actually have them).
Nietzche, a renowned skeptic and atheist, made this true statement to Christians, "you will have to look more redeemed if I am to believe in your Redeemer."
(3) The late great Erma Bombeck told about sitting in church behind a little boy and his mother. He was looking over the back of the pew and smiling at everyone. Suddenly his mother realized what he was doing and whispered loudly, "Stop that grinning. You’re in church."
But if we don’t have reason to grin in church, we are in a bad way! When is the last time you really celebrated in a worship service? Isn’t it about time?
III) Our Treasure Should Be Unchanging Yet Sharing Changeable
A) Jesus Never changes
Heb 13:8(NIV)--(8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
1) Jesus Loves us
2) Forgives us
3) Protects us
4) Calls us
5) Uses us
B) The message never changes
1) We are all sinners
2) We can not fix our sin problem
3) We are loved by Jesus
4) He died for our sins
5) He was resurrected on the third day
6) He sits on the right hand of God making intercession for us.
C) The Methods do change
1) I remember having to wait on hamburgers at the Dairy Queen
2) I remember singing schools
3) I remember 5 night revivals
4) I remember week long vacation Bible schools
D) John and Charles Wesley showed us flexibility
1) Charles Wesley took old bar tunes and turned them into the hymns that we sing today
Approximately twenty years ago many of us got excited about the National Basketball Association because of two great players, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. When Magic was a rookie in Los Angeles, he gave us a motto that ought to be seized by the church. At that time his team was playing a great Philadelphia team for the championship. The LA star, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, was injured. The Lakers were given little or no chance to win. But Magic Johnson spurred the Lakers on to a spectacular victory with his favorite saying: "It’s winnin’ time!"
It’s "winnin’ time" for those who call Jesus Lord.
1) The Lord has sprinkled Holy Water on us and has declared, "Born sinners, raised sinners, but now forgiven children of God!"
2) He has changed our hearts and we are heaven bound.
3) Meanwhile we live in the hollow of God’s hand.
4) Nothing can separate us from his love.
5) Surely we should be the most joyful people on earth! If you believe that, say a heart "Amen!"