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Run For Your Life!

If your home was on fire and someone shouted, “Run for your life!” you would not stop to ask questions about things that didn’t matter like what was for dinner.  Nor would you refuse to leave until you found that biology notebook from high school or stroll leisurely past the fridge to check if you needed to buy milk while you were out.  No, “Run for your life!” means that you are singularly focused on the goal of getting to safety.  And, unless it is to warn someone else who has not yet heard of the danger, you would not stop for anything.

Spiritually speaking, you must “run for your life!”

I. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.  The first running we must do is running away from sin, specifically sexual immorality.  Joseph certainly had opportunity to give in to Potiphar’s wife and reason enough to justify sin: his own brothers had faked his death and sold him into slavery in a foreign land.  But, he determined, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Then, as she caught him by his cloak, he left it with her and ran out of the house (Genesis 39:6-12).  So we must run for our lives!

II. Galatians 5:7-10.  Distractions come often from people or circumstances in our lives.  A runner may start off well and then discover a rock in his shoe or have someone point him the wrong way.  In the Galatian church(es), some were insisting that they needed to observe the old law and become Jews before they could become Christians.  There are many things that may not be sinful but “cut in” on our good race.  Sometimes it is people or ideas that point us away from God.  Remember that we are running for our lives!

III. Hebrews 12:1-3.  To “run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” we must have the goal of heaven ever before us.  We are told to fix our eyes on Jesus, who kept the joy of eternity with the Father in view in order to endure the cross, so that we “do not grow weary and lose heart.”  Peter had the courage to step out of the boat and walk on the water to Jesus, but as soon as he let his focus slip, he sank (Matthew 14:25-33).  With perseverance and eyes fixed, we must run for our lives!

Many struggle with their Christian walk because they do not take the race as seriously as Satan knows it is.  Instead of a lion seeking to devour, perhaps he is a lot like the gators beside the race marked out for us.  The race is deadly serious.  Run for your life!

 

 

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Whatever You Do

How do we go through life?  At our very worst, we look at every moment to see what we can get from people or circumstances.  Often, we just exist, drifting through life without really thinking about life or what our purpose is.  At our best, though, we see every interaction as a ‘teachable moment,’ an opportunity to build others up and encourage them to draw closer to God.

I. Colossians 3:1-11.  We edify others because of what Christ has done for us.  We have to be active about setting our hearts and minds on things above.  This means we must reject what is wrong and choose what is right in the transformation process to become like Christ (Ephesians 4:22–5:1).

II. Colossians 3:12-16.  Before He went to the cross, Jesus spoke of a time later when those with faith would do greater things than He had done (John 14:12-14) as we are salt and light to the world around us (Matthew 5:13-16).  We are to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6), edifying others by various actions outlined in this passage.

III. Colossians 3:17.  To do something in Christ’s name means to do it by His power and authority, believing wholeheartedly in that power and authority.  We believe, repent, and are baptized into the name of Jesus (Acts 2:36-38), so we must say and do ‘whatever you do’ in His name, asking ourselves if Jesus would approve.

Every Christian has been given just a short time on earth to walk as Christ did for those we have influence over.  Does every word and action that comes from you build others up and encourage them to draw closer to God?  Do you see every person you meet and circumstance you are in as an opportunity for the gospel–or a teachable moment?

 

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Rethink Your Religion

Recently my wife and I attended a high school musical to support some of her students involved.  We asked a teacher selling tickets how it was, and her answer was “It’s so good, it’ll make you rethink your religion.”  This drastic measure is similar to the southern expression, “It’s so good, it’ll make you slap your Mama.”  Here, the food someone is eating is so delicious that the eater will be forced to strike his mother because her homemade cooking doesn’t compare.  While it was not intended to be a personal slight against our faith, ‘religion,’ in the first expression, is recognized as something intensely meaningful to people.  And so, to describe how good she considered the show, she said the experience would make us reconsider our core values–even the gospel that brings salvation!

I. Colossians 2:6-23.  The postmodern world we live in doesn’t believe in God and so has severed itself from Him and His Word as a standard for our lives.  It desperately seeks meaning and purpose and so grabs onto emotion and experience to futilely try to quench that need.  Sadly, many churches believe they must infuse their worship with the “hollow and deceptive philosophy” of the world as they have missed the deep and sufficient meaning and purpose in the gospel of Christ.

II. Acts 9:1-22.  There is a time to ‘rethink our religion.’  Saul, who became Paul, encountered such a time on the road to Damascus as he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.”  When he realized he was persecuting Jesus who not only gives eternal life but a second chance on life, he was baptized and became a powerful preacher in the early church, who was willing to be persecuted for Jesus instead (Philippians 3:10-11).

III. Acts 18:24-28.  Complacency or misdirected zeal is another reason to ‘rethink our religion.’  There was no doubt that Apollos was a bold preacher already, but his knowledge was insufficient.  After Priscilla and Aquilla took him aside and “explained to him the way of God more adequately,” God used him to debate and prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.  A similar story happens with those still called “disciples” that Paul encountered that didn’t know about the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7).

Although the acting and musicianship of my wife’s students were superb, we didn’t much care for the worldly message of the musical.  The good and enjoyable experience was not enough for us to ‘rethink our religion,’ and we left sad for the wonderful packaging wrapped around ungodly themes but still holding onto our core values of the gospel of Christ.  What else could compare to it?

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Sticks & Stones

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.  Anyone who was ever told this old adage by a well-intentioned person after hearing some really hurtful words knows that they are just a tiny bandage on a gushing wound.  Words do indeed hurt, hurt right to our heart most times, and God has a lot to say about them and how we should use them.

I. Proverbs 15:1 says this about the nature of words, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  After David and his men had helped to look after Nabal’s sheep while in the wilderness, Nabal’s insulting refusal to allow them to attend the festivities at shearing time caused David to order his men to strap on weapons to seek this fool’s life (1 Samuel 25:10-13).  Abigail, Nabal’s wife, however, prepared food and quieted David’s anger with her words (23-31).

II. Ephesians 4:29 reminds us, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  This same passage gives us great examples of what God means by “unwholesome talk,” and we all struggle to control our tongues (James 3:3-9).  But, this verse is a great guide for the Christian: say it if and only if it will build the person up according to his needs, benefitting him in some way.

III. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus gives us this harsh reality, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”  Like most sins, speaking careless words that cut people down, gossip about them, are shouted at them, or are coarse or foolish, make us temporarily feel better but have a devastating eternal consequence.  If we choose to live by faith like so many recorded in the Bible, we too will receive what is promised (Hebrews 11:39-40).

Aside from praying for others who may hurt us with their words and seeking opportunities to teach them God’s way from His Word so that their hearts might change, there’s not much we can do to stop them.  We can, however, control ourselves and our responses to such people.  And if we do, we not only show that Christians live differently than the world does, but we have the promise of eternal life.

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Put It into Practice

Many try to go through life with no instructions or bad instructions!  But, what about those who have God’s instructions but don’t read and apply them?  B.I.B.L.E. can stand for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  Jesus says that those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice are His family.

I. Hebrews 8:3-6.  The Bible itself tells us there is a pattern of sound teaching (2 Timothy 1:13-14).  Aaron’s sons tried to follow their own pattern, and it didn’t go well (Leviticus 10:1-2). Because what Moses would build in the desert was a shadow of the reality in heaven, he was told to build the tabernacle according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain.  God’s Word is a pattern for us to build our lives.

II. Luke 8:19-21.  The theme of Luke 8 is putting God’s Word into practice.  In the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15), it is the one who hears the Word, retains it, and perseveres in it who produces a crop.  Like a light, we are to put God’s Word on a stand by living it out for others to see (Luke 8:16-18).  So, it is no wonder that Jesus considers family those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice.

III. 1 John 2:3-6.  Though it is popular to call everyone a child of God, it is those who obey God that He considers His children (1 John 3:10).  Since Jesus is the ‘Word made flesh,’ it is no wonder that He is the perfect and sinless example of how we are to live our lives.  When we walk as Jesus did, we hear God’s Word and put it into practice.  We must read and apply God’s instructions to do this.

Many say that ‘blood is thicker than water’ to justify that family is more important than friends or strangers.  But, with Jesus, ‘His blood is thicker than our genetics,’ meaning that those who are walking as He did while on earth, as recorded in His Word, are closer to Him than physical family.

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Do This and You Will Live

A man studies hard for an interview, gets the job, but continually hits the snooze alarm instead of going to work.  How long would he be employed?  Yet, how often Christians have such joy in obeying the gospel but hit the spiritual snooze alarm in the months and years that follow!  Even Jesus told us that we must maintain our relationship with Him by DO-ing something to live eternally.

I. Luke 10:25-28.  In the lead-in to “The Good Samaritan” story, the expert in the Law asked Jesus what he must DO to inherit eternal life.  Rather than tell him that he couldn’t work his way to heaven or that nothing else was required, Jesus confirmed that loving God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind and loving his neighbor as himself were all that the man had to DO.

II. John 15:9-14.  Jesus’ definition of DO-ing is action that proceeds from obedience.  That’s why faith is not just a mental affirmation that God exists and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross forgives our sins.  Rather, faith is the actions that come from obedience, the maintaining of our relationship in Christ.  Love for God and our neighbor is the perfect “DO” we must do and reconciles Romans 4 and James 2.

III. Philippians 2:12-16.  We are told to work our our salvation with fear and trembling.  Our salvation, then, is not something we can put on a shelf to collect dust after we’ve obeyed the gospel.  It is something we must constantly (do I dare use the word?) “work” on, but it is not a “works salvation” but actions that come from obedience that maintains it.  Love is the fufillment of what Jesus says we must DO to live eternally.

So, examine your daily walk with Christ.  Are you at your job you interviewed so hard to get … or are you hitting the snooze alarm over and over?

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What You Have Seen & Heard

Pastafarians, worshipers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, created their religion to mock Christians, declaring that there’s as much evidence for faith in the FLM as there is for our faith in God.  But that simply is not true.  There’s much evidence just in creation to prove our faith (Romans 1:18-20).

I. Luke 7:20-23.  John, who was so sure of who Jesus was (Matthew 3:13-14, John 1:29-34), must have begun to have doubts while he languished in Herod’s prison.  When his followers came and told him all that they had seen and heard Jesus doing, he sent them to ask Jesus if indeed He was the expected Messiah.  Jesus pointed to the evidence of what John had seen and heard to not lose faith.

II. Philippians 3:7-16.  We’ve not had John’s calling as a prophet or seen the Holy Spirit come upon Jesus, so how much more do we struggle to overcome doubts in the midst of trials?  God gives us strategies to do so:

a. Realize that with so much evidence, it is not a blind faith that we have.

b. Value struggles as a way that God is disciplining and growing us (Hebrews 12:4-13).

c. Rest in the faith of the great cloud of witnesses of the past and present (Hebrews 11:1–12:3).

d. Remind yourself of what you have seen and heard.  Keep an answered-prayer journal or, as the songs tells us, “Count your many blessings, See what God has done.”

III.  Matthew 28:18-20.  It’s not enough to just encourage ourselves by what we have seen and heard.  Jesus wants us to “go and make disciples” with it, becoming part of the great cloud of witnesses for others to see and hear!

 

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April Fools! He is Risen!

Of course the Bible tells us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on every first day of the week, but many are looking for a particular emphasis on this topic on the cultural (and religious) holiday many call ‘Easter.’  It doesn’t happen very often, but this year that day falls on April 1.  So, just who were made fools because Jesus was raised from the dead?

  1. Hebrews 2:14-18.  Perhaps Satan was the biggest fool.  Because of our sin, he held the power of death and reveled in our fear of death.  On that Friday Passover so long ago, it certainly appeared that Satan and the grave had won.  All of mankind were sinners and had earned death by our sins.  Jesus denied any power that God in the flesh could have wielded and in weakness died a criminal’s death.

2.  Romans 1:18-32.  Sinners are next.  These are people who do not retain the knowledge of God although God’s eternal power (the resurrection) and divine nature are clearly seen from what has been made.  Without excuse, these unrepentant sinners plunge willingly into their various sins, while believing themselves wise, enlightened “Christians.”  God gives these “fools” over to their sins.

3.  Psalm 14:1.  God calls atheists fools.  In their book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, Geisler and Turek argue that in the face of such overwhelming evidence for the existence of God, great faith is needed to hold to the untenable position of disbelief.  Beyond that, how sad that atheists let go of any hope for eternity that comes through Jesus’ resurrection overcoming sin and death.

We should not be fooled by Jesus’ resurrection.  Rather, that He was risen ought to help us prepare.

 

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Take One/Leave One

The English teacher in me always get excited when I pass one of those free lending libraries around our area and see someone poking through the books.  It is an informal way for neighbors to help neighbors.  That’s how I see sermonlines.com–as a lending library of ideas and outlines that the preacher or teacher can peruse through and take.  But, leaving one for someone else to use is also encouraged!  What a great toolbox this site could be if brother helped brother in this way.

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Lord of the Sabbath

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’” Luke 6:5.  Do we exist to obey laws or do laws exist to benefit us? One of the Ten Commandments for the Israelites was to keep the Sabbath.  Nibbling on a few heads of grain to satisfy hunger was allowed by the Law, but the Pharisees saw that being done on the seventh day, in a very technical sense, as doing work and called Jesus out on it.  Jesus used the feeding of David’s men with the consecrated bread when they were fleeing Saul as an example from the past and then an illustration in the present to get to the very heart of the issue: “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”  God didn’t create laws, then, just for something for us to obey; they are to help us as individuals or as a collective to draw closer to Him.  As a society, we create laws that we deem are necessary to benefit society.  A police officer could ticket a man for driving the speed limit if the conditions are icy and he is a danger to others or himself.  It is only in grasping this concept that we can draw deeper into our relationship with the Lord of the Sabbath when we are under grace and truth.  Do you?

I.  Luke 6:1-11.  Was what Jesus’ followers were doing ‘unlawful’?  Technically, yes, but that was a strictly by the letter of the Law.  They were doing work on the Sabbath.  By the example of David eating the consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21:4-6), however, Jesus pointed out that obedience to God’s commands are also in spirit.  The Law exists to serve man rather than man existing to serve the Law.

II.  Romans 2:25-29.  Though written to Jews who were trusting in their circumcision to save them, the same could be said to Christians who only trust in an outward checklist of hearing, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism to enter heaven one day.  An inward circumcision of our hearts, a living out of a submissive obedience, is also necessary.  This is why God, not ourselves, is the Judge when someone dies.  We can know if the person ever outwardly obeyed in baptism to receive the promise of eternal life, but only God can judge how that person lived out his obedience in daily living.

III.  1 John 2:3-6.  We must live in Jesus by grace and truth (John 1:17).  This does not, however, give us a license to sin (Galatians 5:13) or go to the opposite extreme by making Christianity a list of dos and don’ts (Colossians 2:20-23).  Rather, our daily walk must be as Jesus walked, being a true worshipper, worshipping in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Though God and Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus while in flesh had to submit in every way just as we do.  He set us an example by showing us that true obedience to God is in both spirit and truth.