Chardon church of Christ

Avoiding A Drifting Heart

Avoiding a Drifting Heart
Matthew 23: 23 – 28

IF GOD CAN MAKE A BUG’s BOTTOM LIGHT UP TO DECORATE THE NIGHT SKY, IMAGINE ALL HE CAN DO IN YOUR LIFE!
Dr. Evan Kane was the chief surgeon of Kane Summit Hospital in New York City.
He had practiced his specialty for 37 years.
Over the course of time he came to question the wisdom of using general anesthesia for every surgery.
He believed people would recover quicker if they only had local anesthesia.
Yet, no matter how convinced Dr. Kane was about his theory, he had one problem.
No one wanted to go under his knife while they were awake. Everyone he talked to had the same fear.
They did not want to feel the pain of the scalpel while they were awake during the surgery.
After much searching, Kane finally found a willing subject.
It helped that it was a relatively common procedure.
According to Dr. Kane's own records, ...... during his practice he had performed around 4,000 appendectomies, (P) so the procedure was almost second nature to him.
The patient was prepped and brought into the operating room. The local anesthesia was carefully administered.
As he had always done, he cut into the right side of the abdomen and entered the body cavity.
He tied off the blood vessels, found the appendix, excised it, and finished by sewing the incision back up.
To his own credit, he proved himself right.
Throughout the surgery the patient felt very little discomfort.
In fact, the patient was up and about the next afternoon, which was remarkable since this was back in 1921.
Back then when people had appendectomies they stayed in the hospital from 6 to 8 days.
It was a milestone in the world of medicine.
However what made it particularly noteworthy was that the patient and the doctor were the same person. Dr. Kane operated on himself. (Pause)
Believe it or not, that is what I am going to ask of you today.
What I want you to do is something like "spiritual exploratory surgery."
I want you to root around a bit in your soul, take a hard and honest look at your spiritual health, and to see if your faith walk is as healthy as it should be.

• Today we will see how the scribes and Pharisees ended up with the worst-case scenario
• Somewhere along the line, these men had drifted so far from God that they ended up with no heart for God.
• They were so far from God that they were plotting to kill Jesus.
• How could this happen, these men were supposed to be the cream of the crop when it came to being religious.
• They were the ones that people were to look to in order to see what it meant to serve and follow God.
• These men follow the law to the letter, but yet here they are, so far from God they could not recognize Him if He were standing right in front of them, WHICH HE WAS!
• Are the scribes and Pharisees so unique that what happened to them could only happen to them?
• Is it possible for me to drift so far from God, that I would no longer have a heart for Him?
• Wait, nothing can separate us from the love of God, no one can snatch us out of His hand, is that not what the Bible tells us?
• It sure does, BUT, we are a free-will being who can walk away from God anytime we choose.
• The context of the message today is that Jesus is confronting the scribes and Pharisees.
• Jesus will proclaim eight WOES against these leaders, chastising them in eight blind spots in their lives that was driving them from God.
• Not only were they drifting away from God, but they were also leading others to do the same thing.
• You know what is scary, how can folks who are so religious be so far from God?
• Let that thought bounce around in your mind, we will come back to that question later!
• Today we are going to look at three of the eight woes so that we can see how to protect ourselves from letting our heart drift so far away from God that we lose heart.
• Let’s turn to Matthew 23, we will be in verses 23-28, let’s start with verses 23 and 24
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Our heart will drift from God when we...
Allow the practice of putting the little things over the more significant things.
• The Pharisees were not treating the essential duties (how to treat people in a way that honors God) with the same sense of urgency as they were counting seeds.
• That would be like seeing your loved one with their arm almost cut off, and bleeding profusely, then you would get on them because their shirt does not match their pants?
• Jesus offers what God sees as weightier issues, justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
• Justice is making sure we give all their just due. Treating everyone evenhanded, in a fair way.
• Mercy is displaying compassion and kindness to the poor and miserable, displaying loving-kindness in one’s conduct toward others.
• Faithfulness is a commitment to one's promise and/or belief in God.
• The Pharisees were very religious, yet they lacked in these crucial areas because they were only worried about being self-righteous.
• Jesus dealt with this in Matthew 25 where Jesus talked about clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and visiting folks in prison.
• The people asked when was Jesus in any of those conditions, He replies...
• Matthew 25:40 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
• The religious leaders treated people with contempt, they were so wrapped up in being what they considered righteous, that they forget that God loves people and has compassion toward people.
• Now, let’s take it to a different level.
• Jesus knew the heart of these people, He also knew what they were going to do to Him.
• These men prided themselves on being righteous, yet these men, in their desperation to get rid of Jesus, were willing to accuse an innocent man, to condemn an innocent man to death.
• These men would participate in pronouncing an unjust sentence against Jesus. They were unmerciful toward Him, and they had no faith in anything He or the Father said.
• Jesus told them they were to practice justice, mercy, and faithfulness without neglecting the other things they were doing.
• In verse 24, Jesus uses some humor to make a point.
• It was common practice to strain one’s wine through a linen cloth to keep one from swallowing an insect, which would make one ceremonially unclean.
• Jesus said you all are straining gnats and swallowing camels (which would make them unclean also).
• Religious duty is essential, but we are not to perform that duty at the exclusion or in place of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
• Jesus called them blind guides, the blind cannot see where they are going nor can they be trusted to lead others.
• Let’s look at verses 25-26
• Matthew 23:25–26 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Our Heart will drift from God by...
II. Focusing on what man can see.
• Now Jesus hits them with WOE number 6.
• These guys would clean the outside of the dishes and cups they would eat and drink from.
• Jesus was not condemning the practice, He was condemning the fact that these leaders were so focused on what man could see, the outside, that they paid no attention to the inside.
• Those pretty cups and dishes were littered with crusty and moldy food particles from past meals.
• These leaders were great at looking good on the outside.
• People wrongly surmised that because these guys looked the part, that they were the real deal.
• In the NFL, they love a big strong-armed quarterback.
• Throughout the history of the NFL, there have been so many prototype quarterbacks who looked the part but failed miserably.
• The year Peyton Manning was drafted, Ryan Leaf was that big strong-armed quarterback. San Diego selected him number 2 behind Manning in the 1998 draft out of Washington State.
• Leaf was 6’5”, 235 lbs, he could make all the throws and had a cannon for an arm.
• Many believed he should have been the number 1 pick.
• Leaf washed out, he looked the part, but could not play the role. His life is a sad story of failure.
• When you spend all your time focusing on what others can see, you will neglect what is important in life.
• How much time did you spend getting ready for church today? How much time did you spiritually prepare to be here, I am looking in the mirror on this one also?
• To these guys, appearance trumped what was on the inside. Should you take care of your appearance, YES, but not at the exclusion of what is happening on the inside.
• Many relationships fail because one or both in the marriage work hard on putting on the appearance of a perfect marriage, yet they do nothing internally to make it healthy.
• It is like spending all your resources on making your car look good while neglecting what is under the hood.
• Jesus said, you look good but, on the inside, they were full of greed and self-indulgence.
• It is like the man who says he loves his wife, yet is hooked on porn, and lusts after every female that crosses his path. Yet the marriage appears to be strong.
• In verse 26, Jesus tells them to clean the inside first then the outside. This leads us to verses 27-28.
• Matthew 23:27–28 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Our Heart will drift from God by...
III. Neglecting what only God can see.
• The seventh WOE deals with a different level of hypocrisy.
• The religious leaders were careful about what others could see yet gave no regard for only what God could see.
• Time and time again they did things to receive the applause of man, not caring what God thought.
• Only God knows your heart.
• The Jews would whitewash tombs just before Passover so that a person would not accidentally step on a grave and make themselves ceremonially unclean before the Passover. Numbers 19:16
• It is easy to look good, to give off an impression that you are holy and devoted to God.
• It is actually quite easy to fake it. You can fool pretty much everyone you want, maybe except your spouse and children.
• We need to place our focus on working on only what God can see.
• We do not need to clean ourselves then come to Jesus, we need to go to Jesus and let Him work on us from the inside out, not the outside in!
• Jesus said, gentlemen, you look marvelous on the outside, but just like those whitewashed tombs, on the inside, they were full of dead bones and every kind of impurity!
• These were the ones who would put Jesus to death.
• He says this in verse 28.
• In the same way, on the outside, you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• What good is it to fool people when I cannot fool God.
• The only explanation is for one to live this way in my view is that they do not think there is a God to fool.
CONCLUSION
• Back to a question I posed in the introduction, how can folks who are so religious be so far from God?
• This can happen when we do religious acts, and we think those religious acts make us righteous.
• We need to understand that you can be the most religious person on the earth, but if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, those acts are just acts.
• When I feel like I can earn my salvation, I have no need for Jesus, and my heart will drift away.
• There are so many out there who do not think they need Jesus because they can do it on their own, their own way.
• Don’t let your heart drift so far away that you end up with no heart for God.
• Do not neglect only what God can see. Use that same thought in your relationships also!

Things To Know For Times Of Trouble

Things To Know For Times Of Trouble
Judges 6:1 – 7:15

A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with fascination, and looked at the old pages as he turned them. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible, and he picked it up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that had been pressed between the pages.

'Momma, look what I found,' the boy called out.

'What have you got there, dear?' his mother asked.

With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered: 'I think it's Adam's suit!'

• How many of you have had a life where you have had no difficulties? Life has been easy with no challenges. I would venture to say there are not too many people who can lay claim to a life without challenges and difficulty.
• How many times have you been in the midst of a difficult time and you just did not know what to do, you did not know where to turn. In desperation you cried out to God for help.
• When we get in tough situations we feel very helpless. Sometimes we feel so helpless that we forget that God can use us as part of the solution to the problem.
• When we feel helpless, there are a lot of things that we seem to forget regarding God and our problem.
• Today we are going to look in the book of Judges Chapters 6 and 7.  I want to look at someone who was in a terrible situation and I want us to look at some things that we need to know for times of trouble.
• The nation of Israel was in the throws of oppression, this time at the hands of the Midianites. The nation had enjoyed close to 40 years worth of prosperity and peace after Jabin had delivered them from the last oppression.
• Near the end of the 40 years, the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Now they were in the middle of 7 years of oppression at the hands of the Midianites. Each year during the harvest the Midians along with their allies would sweep into Israel and take all the grain and livestock they could take, thus ruining the harvest for the nation. READ Judges 6:3-6
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them; 4 and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. 5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah.
• The nation was scared. Listen to verse 2 of chapter 6. “The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.”
• The nation of Israel was desperate to the point that they were once again crying out to God. JUDGES 6:6&7
• The nation was at a low point and they felt abandoned by God and they did not know what to do. Have you ever felt that way? They were so absorbed by the problem that the people could not see what to do in order to fix it.
• From our story today I want us to look at some things we need to know for times of trouble.
During times of trouble we need to know that:
I. GOD UNDERSTANDS THE REAL PROBLEM- 6:1-10
• How many times do we find our selves in a situation where we really do not see what got us unto the situation, or maybe down deep we knew why things were happening but we did not want to admit it?
• The nation had to know why they were in the throws of oppression; it is not like it had never happened before.
• Nevertheless the people were distraught. Verse six told us that the nation was at a low point.
• It has amazed me in my own life how many times I would be in the middle of something and not really want to acknowledge what the real problem was. How many times has this happened with money?
• The nation cried out to God. What did God do? He came in and immediately pushed the oppressors out of the county! WRONG.
• READ 6:7-10
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah because of Midian, 8 that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land; 10 and I said unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.
• God gave them an answer in a strange way. God sent an unnamed prophet to let the nation know WHY they were having the problems they were facing. God did not give the people what they wanted, but instead what they needed. They needed to know why the oppression was happening
• In order to fix a problem, we need to know what the real problem is. If I thought my money problems resulted from a lack of money instead of a lack of discipline, as soon as I would get more money, I would just face more problems until I took care of the real issue.
• For the Israelites, the real issue was not the oppression, but instead their lack of obedience towards God.
• God knows what your real issues are so He can help you in your times of trouble.
During times of trouble we need to know that:
II. GOD KNOWS YOU CAPABILITIES 6:11-16
• Let’s look at what God was about to do. READ 6:11-16
11 And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the [a]oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. 13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt?
but now Jehovah hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. 14 And Jehovah [b]looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee? 15 And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my [c]family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16 And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
• God is about to offer a solution for the people through a most unlikely source. We do not know what attracted God to Gideon.
• An angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and more or less tells Gideon he is the solution to the problem the nation is facing.
• When Gideon is called by God, Gideon challenges the angel in verse 13. He wants to know why they are in the shape they are in and why God has done nothing about it.
• The angel tells Gideon that Gideon in going to deliver the nation.
• Gideon does not feel qualified to be one to lead the nation out of oppression.
• Gideon had many strikes against him. He was the youngest son; in a family the youngest son was not usually very highly esteemed. He was from an obscure family (Verse 15). Not only that but Gideon’s father is part of the problem, he was an idolater himself (Judges 6:28).
• Even with all the strikes against him, God knew Gideon’s capabilities. Notice in verse 12 the angel calls him a valiant warrior. This is kind of a strange greeting considering there was a good possibility Gideon was hiding while beating out the wheat lest it got taken from him.
• It was time for Gideon to quit feeling helpless and start feeling empowered! The angel tells Gideon in verse 14 to: "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?"
• Look at verse 16. “But the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man."
• Notice the lord tells Gideon that He sent him and that He will be with him and that through Gideon, Gideon would defeat the Midianites!
• When we get into difficult situations, we forget that God knows what we can and cannot do. God will not call us to do what we cannot do unless He is going to be there with us. We MUST remember “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
• We need to also need to remember, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
• No matter how small, insignificant, young or old you are, God can use you for great things!
During times of trouble we need to know that:
III. GOD WILL LEAD YOU THROUGH SOME TOUGH ACTIONS 6:25-32
• When we have issues in our lives that need attention, there are times that God will lead us to do some tough things, to make some tough choices.
• Before Gideon could cleanse the nation of it’s’ idolatry, Gideon was going to have to do some house cleaning of his own first. READ 6:25-27
25 And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy father’s bullock,
[g]even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is [h]by it; 26 and build an altar unto Jehovah thy God upon the top of this stronghold, [i]in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down. 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had spoken unto him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
• Gideon was called to clean up his house. Gideon was willing but afraid to do it so he did it at night.
• Many times the road to recovery starts with us. I wonder how many times we really know this but are unwilling to face it.
• Sometimes God will lead us to do things that are not popular with other people. Look at verses 28-30. The people were not too happy with what Gideon did, but it had to be done. Sometimes you will need to do some things that are not popular, but they are things that need to be done.
• It is interesting how Gideon’s father defended Gideon. He says that if Baal is real, Baal will take care of it.
During times of trouble we need to know that:
IV. GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE CONFIDENCE YOU NEED 6:36-40, 7:10-15
• When we are called to do some drastic things, God will give us the confidence we need to accomplish the task at hand.
• After Gideon took the stand and decided to obey God, he gained confidence. When the Midians heard about what happened, they gathered all their allies and Gideon send messengers out to build his army to go up against them. (Judges 6;32-35)
• Judges 6:36-40 gives us an interesting exchange. Follow with me. READ JUDGES 6:36-40.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken, 37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken. 38 And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
• Gideon still lacked a bit of confidence. He asked God to show him a sign. Gideon put out the fleece. Notice that God did not scold Gideon for a lack of faith, but instead He did what Gideon asked, not only once, but twice!
• I know when I have had to face some tough choices in life and I felt God was leading me one way, I have “put out the fleece” asking God for a conformation.
• We also see God giving Gideon another sign in Judges 7:10-15.
• God gave Gideon the confidence he needed to accomplish the task at hand.
• God will do the same for you if you seek Him.
During times of trouble we need to know that:
V. GOD EXPECTS TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON HIM 7:1-14
• How many times has God bailed you out of something or helped you in a time of need only for you to take the credit and for get what God had done for you?
• In Chapter 7:1-4, Gideon has an army an army of over 32,000 men respond to his call. IF you had 32,000 plus men, would you feel a bit more confident in your chances?
• God told Gideon He had too many people in the army so it was time to reduce the number.
• READ Judges 7:1-2
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of [p]Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, [q]by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

• God did not want Israel taking the credit for something they did not do.
• READ VERSE 3.
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and [r]depart from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
• Well, 22,000 left with the first test. Well, 10,000 is not too bad.
• God said, “too many”. So God told Gideon to have the men drink at the river and separate the ones who lap the water like dogs from the ones who kneel to drink. (7:5-8)
• Now Gideon has a whopping 300 people left.
• How were 300 men going to defeat several thousand of the enemy? It could only be God. Sometimes things will not get better for us until we are ready to rely on God. DO you think Gideon would have been successful if he would have told God He was crazy and went to battle with the 32,000 men? Do you think you will succeed if you do the same?
During times of trouble we need to know that:
VI. THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD 7:15-22
• How many times have we tried to go out to battle on our own?
• Through this whole process, did God expect Gideon to do battle without Him? Did God expect Gideon to defeat the Midians without His help?
• NO!
• Does God want you to do battle on your own with Him? NO!
• Gideon took the 300 men he had and divided them into three companies. Judges 7:19-22.
• Always remember, the battle belongs to the Lord. You are not going it alone! Gideon did the impossible with 300 men and the Lord.
CONCLUSION
• When we are having trouble in our lives, know that God is with you.
• Do not wait until all seems lost to go to God. Start with Him.
• Gideon was a man whom would not have been chosen to lead the nation out of oppression, but God knew there was something special about him.
• When we start realizing that through God we have power and strength, nothing will defeat us! We will stand strong and we will realize that the battle belongs to the Lord!

 Based on a sermon given

by Jeffery Anselmi

What Have They Seen In Your House

What Have They Seen In Your House
Isaiah 39:4

INTRO:  Good evening. The sermon this evening is going to begin in Isaiah 39:4 as the foundation text from which we're going to launch into the rest of the lesson. “And he said, "What have they seen in your house?'' So Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.''”[NKJV] I will take this phrase, what have they seen in your house and talk about that. This evening we're going to think about that in the physical sense of your own personal home. We're also going to be talking about it in the sense of the house of God.

In First Timothy 3:15 Paul says in part; “... I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

I. We have learned that everything we say, everything we do in the presence of other people will affect them somehow, in some way. Let us consider some questions. How do you carry yourself? That is, when people are around you, what do they see? When they come into your home what do they see? What impression do they carry away about you simply by being in your physical home? Not only that, what is it that people think about the Chardon church of Christ when they visit us, people that we don't know. People that come here from out of town, maybe they are moving to the area, maybe they are visiting someone, maybe they are just passing through. What do they think about the Chardon church of Christ when they come into this congregation of the house of God? What we’re going to be talking about are things that we hope that people would see in our house whenever they come among us.
II. In Colossians 3:18-20 – “18. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.” One thing we hope that we would see if we went into someone’s home is respect... respect for authority and respect for each other.
A. In the text we were told about the authority within the family unit. The way God has set up the family unit is where the father, the husband, is to be the head of the family, the husband loves the wife and the children obey the parents. That's the way the Lord intends and wants families to be.
1. Have you ever been visiting someone's house and after you've been there maybe 15 minutes you're ready to leave because you're tired of hearing the husband and the wife screaming at each other
2. Or you're tired of hearing the children screaming at the parents?
3. I’m not talking about anybody here, but I have experienced this even within some parts of my own family. I suspect some of you may to a lesser or greater degree, have experienced it as well. I can't believe they're talking that way to each other.
4. We need to realize that people when they come into our home their ears open up. If the husband's speaking rudely to the wife and the wife is speaking rudely to the husband and there's no respect for the parents from the children people pick up on that very quickly. They also pick up on that in the House of God.
B. In Ephesians 5:23-24 – “23. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”
1. Here we’re dealing with the house of God and how in the house of God we are supposed to have respect for authority. The authority in the church is the head of the church, Jesus Christ.
2. Hopefully when people come to the Chardon church of Christ they will get a sense of that respect, the acknowledging of Jesus as the head. It is why we do what we do in this congregation. The congregation is built around and structured around our desire to be pleasing to the head, Jesus Christ.
3. The reason we are organized the way we are is because that's the way that God taught in His word. The reason we sing acappella is because that's the way the Bible tells us to worship Him, in spirit and in truth and all the scriptures that deal with just singing. That's how they did it in the first century.
4. We're just trying to make sure that what we're doing in our worship, by taking the Lord's Supper on the first day of every week, praying to God, singing praises to God and even our lessons, is to pay respect to the authority of Jesus Christ.
5. Hopefully that is the sense that visitors will carry with them when they leave here.
6. They may not agree with everything we practice. They may not agree with everything we do and teach, but hopefully they will carry away a sense that these people are serious about simply wanting to live a life that's pleasing to God. If they don't get that from being with us, something's wrong.
7. Hopefully they never see were we have added to or removed from God’s word because we decided to practice something of our own devising.
III. Another thing that we hope that people would see in our home when they come to visit, is love.
A. Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it,”
B. Also we find in Titus 2:4 – “that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,”.
1. I enjoy visiting homes where you can see in the eyes of the husband and the wife that they love each other. I’m not talking about newlyweds either.
2. It's understood that when you're around newlyweds they're all lovey-dovey. I'm talking about folks that have been married for decades. You can sense the strong, deep love they have for each other. Have you ever had it happen where you've visited someone and when you're leaving you think – Wow!?
3. I enjoyed being around them. You could tell they really care about each other. They really love each other even though they've been married many, many years; their love is just so deep. You can see the same thing hopefully, in congregations.
C. In First Peter 1:22 – “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,”
1. In the Gospel of John 13:35 – “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love for one another is the ultimate manifestation that we are really Christians.
2. Have you ever been to a congregation as a visitor and sensed these people really don't like each other? It's amazing they're even worshipping together. I have been and it reminds me of the saying “the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife”. You want to get out of there as quickly as you can.
3. Let people never think that way about the Chardon church of Christ. When people come here as visitors they should get a sense that we really care about each other.
4. We need to realize that this love for one another is a major way that God is showing His love to mankind. I’ll explain.
i. In the ancient Gentile world if you were a widow, your husband has died, you were in trouble. You were big trouble because in general nobody cared.
ii. You did not have a husband to bring home income to help you survive. You are on your own.
iii. If you were an orphan in the ancient Gentile world, your mother and your father died, you were in big trouble, again because in general nobody cared.
iv. It was a cold, heartless world and you were own your own with no one to help you.
v. Not so with God’s people. In Christianity you have an assembly where there are people that are slaves and masters, Jews and Gentiles, wealthy and poor, if someone happens to have their mother and father die what would happen is the spiritual family would come together and take them in and take care of even people that were not their physical flesh and blood.
vi. If a husband died and a widow was left you know what they would do. They would take her in as if she was family and see to her needs.
5. One of the things that caused Christianity to grow in leaps and bounds in the first century was real, honest-to-goodness love.
i. People would come into the assembly and they would see people from all kinds of backgrounds. They would see these people really cared about each other.
ii. It's a family, it's a unit, where if one member suffers all the members suffer. This is a way in which God's love is being shown to mankind.
6. The second of God’s greatest commandments is that we love our neighbor as we love our self. We are to love the brethren sincerely with a fervent heart.
i. When you come into a congregation where people actually care, that has a very strong draw even today. The world is still a very cold place.
ii. The world's still very evil and empty. Generally speaking we are going to find most people don't care. They don't care what your problems are. They don't care what your struggles are. They don't care what your needs are. Hopefully that's not the way we are.
iii. When people come among us, even as visitors, I hope they can sense that we are a family, that we really do care when a brother or sister is hurting. We care.
iv. Yes, we live fast paced lives just like everybody else in this American culture, but we need to do the best we can to slow down and bear one another's burdens.
v. To weep with those that weep, to rejoice with those that rejoice, to be there for one another. As I said it is a very strong draw today. People want to be among those that care.
IV. Romans 12:13 as we recall, says; “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality”
A. In our physical home, if people come and visit do they feel welcome? That's a big part of what hospitality is.
1. The idea is I have an open house, open home. I want you to come over. I want you to come over and eat with us. Come over and just enjoy company and visiting and talking together.
2. Let me ask you are you that way with your physical home? Do you have people in to visit you, to interact with you?
3. It seems that now we're in such a fast paced culture, sometimes even husbands and wives don't visit with one another. They don't really interact much with each other. Its hello, I’ve got to go. We need to slow down and enjoy our family, enjoy being with each other.
4. God's people are the best people on earth. Perfect? No, not by any means, we have personal problems. Everybody here has got their own situation, their own set of problems.
5. The people who are really serious about Christianity are the best people you're will meet. You will want to be around them. You will want to get to know them. We should all be encouraged to open your homes to each other, to get to know each other.
B. Even if you don't know somebody here, make an effort to get to know them. Invite them over or invite them out.
1. Just do things together and make people feel welcome. Have you ever been around someone to where it's kind of like, hello it's nice to see you. But they keep you at arm's length, always at arm's length and just pass on by.
2. We should be encouraged to let down barriers, let people in sometimes. It is kind of a scary thing because we're not perfect and we do have problems. But we will find that God's people are the best people. They make really, really good friends.
C. First Peter 4:9 – “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.” When people come as visitors make them feel welcome. Hopefully when they leave they will be thinking, you know, those are really friendly people.
1. Let me ask you this. Have you ever been to a congregation when you felt like a ghost? We've gone and visited places before and usually we will try to sit down toward the front unless we are sitting with someone we know.
2. We've gone to congregations when we left our seat and the end of the service we walked all the way out the building and no one said a word, not a peep. It’s like, I guess they could care less that we came.
3. Please don't be that way. I don’t think we are. When people visit, we try to make them feel welcome to where it's understood we want them to come back. We want them to get to know us.
4. Leave them with the feeling that maybe if they live in this area they will consider worshipping with us on a regular basis.
5. We should look for an opportunity to invite them out to eat or even over to our home. It makes a strong impression on people when they recognize you don't know them and yet you want to be with them. The whole idea of hospitality is to make people feel welcome.
V. Now consider First Peter 3:1-2 – “1. Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2. when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” [NIV] Peter is speaking of godliness here. The respect of God as ultimately seen and manifested in the way in which a person lives. Here again we're talking about influence, about people seeing the way you live.
A. When people come into your home hopefully they will see a respect for authority. Hopefully they will see love. They should experience hospitality... but also one thing we hope that they will see and that is Godliness.
1. By the way you carry yourself in your home, by the things you do in your home together, they will come to the sense these people are serious about God and their relationship with God.
2. In this text Peter talking about a woman who's married to an unbeliever and what she is doing is living the Christian life. Her husband watches the way she lives day after day after day and that is drawing him to God.
3. We know that if we wear the name of Christ people are watching us. They're listening to us. If we tell someone we are a member of the church of Christ they will be watching us like a hawk.
B. You can tell a whole lot about somebody by going into their house, by the movies they watch, by the books they read. You can tell where they are in their relationship with God. If you see them reading and watching things that are vulgar, yelling at each other, showing disrespect and a lack of love, it certainly does not cry out that they honor God.
C. Hebrews 2:12 – “saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You.''” First Corinthians 11:26 – “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.”
1. Hopefully when people come to the house of God here in the Chardon, Ohio they will recognize that we respect God, that we are serious about Christianity. We’re not just going through the motions. We're not just coming together for the fun of it.
2. Whenever we're singing praises it's not just going through the motions of singing. We sing with the understanding and we're not just going through in ritualistic fashion the taking the Lord's Supper, singing the song, and saying the prayer.
3. Have you ever gone to a place where it seemed that they were just trying to get out? I've been to congregations before where, it was like how quickly can we get out of here. They just go through the motions, and everything was just go go go go go go go.
4. I would hope that when people come here they sense that our worship is real. Real singing from our hearts to God, really proclaiming the death of the Son of God, focusing our hearts and focusing our minds on Christ crucified, singing praises to our God from our heart, praying to God from our heart. Real worship.
5. People can sense when we are really pouring our heart into it. They can also sense when it's just a drudgery that people want to get through as quick as they can and get out.
D. What I sense when I go to congregations that are ritualistically dead is that in reality there is very little respect for God. It's Him we've come to worship and whom we've come to honor.
VI. Now a note to myself and all who chose to speak here. In First Peter 4:11 – “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”
A. We are dealing with God being glorified and when we speak the word of God it needs to be in a way that glorifies Him. Yes, we do tell stories in our sermons with the objective of easing the audience into a thought or making an example or an analogy that is useful to the lesson. But it is our responsibility to teach the body of Christ and those that come here the word of God, not cutesy stories, not the latest fads in the news. We must be careful, vigilant that we do not let aids become filler and filler become content.
B. What we need is the Word of God that will produce our faith and strengthen our faith and help us come to understand the will of God more and more. As we grow in our understanding, in faith we will obey and continue to obey the will of God.
C. If we're going to glorify God and truly respect God when we speak, we must speak the oracles of God, the Word of God.
D. I have heard, though I do not know from experience, that there are those out there who are trying to teach preachers to teach without the word of God. I read of one preacher who dropped out of Harding graduate school because they were trying to teach him to preach without the word of God and give a sermon just by telling stories. I don’t know if it is true or not. -- A story has its place.

CONCLUSION:
Back to the original question, “What are they seeing in your house?” When people come into your physical home and hopefully this happens, when they come into your home and they observe the way you interact with your family members and they observe just your home itself what does that communicate to them?

When they come to your house they should get a real sense that these people love one another. These people respect and honor one another. These people make me feel welcome in their home. I’d like to go back and visit them again. These people are serious Christians.

What do they see when they come to the Chardon church of Christ? I would hope they see that we respect the authority Jesus Christ as the head of the church. That's why we're doing everything the way we're doing it. Additionally they should get a sense that we really care about each other.

It is a path of spiritual growth to reach the point where when one member suffers all the members suffer with them. We press on trying to have relationships with each other that extends beyond the assembly. We strive to be more than just friendly associates, but becoming real family, who weep when one weeps, rejoice when one rejoices and are found bearing one another's burdens.

We need to realize that it is by this love that we have for each other that we’re really declaring to all of the people out in the world we are the disciples of Christ.
When people come to the Chardon church of Christ as visitors we want them to feel welcome so when they're back in this area again they'll think Oh I'll go back and worship there. I remember how they made me feel and hopefully whenever they come, they will see in our worship to God that we really respect God. That respect shows in our worship and we respect Him by teaching His word... and trying to live it.

If this is not what they see then it's time to do some serious repenting and changing, so it is what they see. I think we're doing well. We love God and love each other.
We’re doing the best we can teaching the word and trying to live it. If I were a visitor I think I would feel welcome. But I also think we are not at the end of that path and we still can learn and improve.

I've been here 13 years and I think I can say this: I think we really do care about each other, but we can still get closer to each other and still get closer to God.

There may be somebody here this evening that is not a member of the body of Christ. If you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and you're willing to confess your faith and repent of your sins, we will be glad to assist you and baptize you into the body of Christ.
If you are a child of God and you've gone into the world and left the Father we would like to encourage you to come home come back.
We'll pray for you, pray with you.
As your brothers and sisters in the family of God we'll try to be there for you not just at the front of the building but hopefully throughout the week to encourage you and exhort you to be faithful.
If you are subject to the Gospel call in any way we invite you to come as we stand and sing the song selected.

The Question

The Question

John 17:20-21

INTRO: Good Morning. This lesson was given a little while ago in the evening and was requested to be repeated in at some time in the morning.

In our lessons we have had encouragement to teach people, and that is good. In reality talking to people can be difficult because there are walls built up in their minds. Over the years I have heard something either as a statement or question I thought a bit odd, and I’ve ignored that statement, but ran into it again this year as expressed in a book I was reading so I started to give it some thought. I suspect there's a good chance that you have either heard this question said to you or more likely you've just seen it in the eyes of people you have talked to. It seems to be a pretty common idea that people have when they find out that you are a member of a local church of Christ. “Isn't it true that the church of Christ believes that they are the only ones going to heaven?”

How do you answer that question? It seems simple enough on the face of it, but after some consideration about how we might answer this when we are trying to teach about Christ, I found it's a really difficult question to give a simple answer to. It's something that no matter how you approach it there is likely to be some misunderstanding between what they mean by church of Christ and what you mean by church of Christ. I might give an answer that's right, based on one definition and completely wrong based on another.

Even though it's a pretty complicated thing to tackle, we have to successfully answer this question because it is a roadblock in the minds of some people and it can block our chance to teach them the truth. We need to think about how we can get past this obstacle.

To illustrate how difficult this matter can be let me ask you this; if someone asks you “is it true that the church of Christ believes they're the only ones going to heaven” and if they're talking about the one true church of Christ, that is, the church that belongs to Christ, the Kingdom, what's the answer? YES.

Only people who are part of the one body of Christ are going to heaven. If they mean “is it true that only members of the Chardon 128 Maple Avenue church of Christ are going to heaven”, what's the answer? NO. There are saved people everywhere.

It's one of those really interesting things where you really cannot answer the question unless you come back with a question. I know people hate it when you answer a question with a question, but this is one of those times. “What do you mean when you say the church of Christ believes?” “More precisely who are you talking about?”

I strongly suspect that what they usually mean is neither the One church of Christ nor the Chardon 128 Maple Avenue church of Christ. Usually what folks mean is what we call denominationalism. They mean, “you know, you church of Christ denomination folks. You guys all think that everyone else is lost.”

Ultimately before we can get anyone to see the truth of what the Bible says about salvation, we need to show them that there is no such thing as a church of Christ denomination. Now we might think well that's a really easy thing to do, just say a couple things and that'll be over with.

Do you know how old denominationalism in religion is? It has been around a very long time. Various denominations had been developing in Europe long before this country was discovered. The Baptist denomination shows up on these shores and is established in 1638. Denominationalism was here before this country was established. No American has ever been born without seeing denominations all over the place. In many dictionaries today the first definition of “denomination” is related to religion. The Cambridge Dictionary says; “a religious group whose beliefs differ in some ways from other groups in the same religion”. Another definition is; “Denomination is defined as the act of categorizing or making a category, particularly of a religion.”

Since a denomination is defined as a category of something there is plenty of room for misunderstanding. Category of what? How much variance is needed to call something a category? How much difference before a collection is a category of a category of something?

The idea of telling someone we're undenominational is very confusing. That's not something we're born in this country with the ability to decipher by the very nature of it.
We have literally thousands of denominations. I believe there are members of churches of Christ who are also unclear about what it means to be undenominational.

Why is that? I strongly suspect it is partly because we were born into a denominational country with that way of thinking, and possibly into a denominational family, we may have grown up in a denominational church. It is really hard to grasp religion without categorization.

Let’s pick a place to begin and see if we can get a view of how this works. I don’t want to start with the group called “everyone” as far as religion goes since that would include those who believe in something and those who believe in nothing. Let’s instead take a look at how a person making that statement or asking that question might view us.

Here is what denominationalism looks like and then we'll entertain our question again.
I want you to imagine that there's this box. This rectangle represents where the saved people are. Everybody who's outside, and we know who they are, the really bad folks, they're not going to heaven but everybody in the rectangle is going to heaven.

In our country the only real hurdle you have to cross in order to be saved—is believe in Jesus. If you believe, now this is American thinking, if you believe in Jesus you leave this area outside and you get to be in the rectangle of salvation, bordered by the blood of Jesus. This is the way our nation thinks. When you talk to your neighbor that's where they're coming from. They think everybody who believes in Jesus is saved.

Once you decide you believe in Jesus you need to pick a church, but they don't mean the one church. They're already in that. They don't mean a local church. They mean a denomination. You need to decide what kind of a believer you want to be. I mean you're a believer and you're in, but what kind of a believer are you?
That is, do you want to be a Baptist believer because they have some really interesting rules and regulations some you like some you don’t. Do you want to be a Catholic believer? Because they allow some things that Baptists don't but there are some things they don't. Do you want to be a Methodist believer? Which category of believers do you want to be? It doesn't matter which you choose because they are all in the rectangle.

See that idea? Here we are then over here in the church of Christ box. I don't know why anybody would ever choose to be that because we teach very exclusive things about the necessity of baptism, the absolute omission of instrumental music, the Lord's Supper each week, the need to worship, the need to serve, and the need to learn from the scriptures. Oh that last one is tough. I mean I don't know why anybody would but some people do. You need to choose which box to be in.

Then once you've chosen your box, and it doesn't really matter which one. Then you choose which local church. the circles are; you want to go to, the 128 Maple Ave, you want to go to Mentor, or you get to go over to this church, or that church. You just pick one but they're all going to kind of look the same. Right?

There are plenty of other churches around Chardon. You can go to the Morning Star Friends down on Rt. 44, or New Testament Baptist, or Word of Faith, or St Mary’s, or Peace Lutheran.

This is the way the world sees the church—purely denomination. The idea that you guys over here in the corner are teaching that you must be baptized to be saved, well we don't believe that. The very idea that you would teach that we are wrong with God is pure idiocy. I mean look at the rectangle. Why would you ever teach that any of the rest of us are wrong with God when we're all in the box together? Just because our path looks a little different we all have the same goal.

Unless we can explain to someone what's wrong with this picture just forget about ever telling them that they need to change what they believe or they need to change how they've been baptized or they need to change the way they worship because denominational thinking doesn't need to entertain any of those questions. Why would I need to think about that? It doesn't matter which box you choose.

What then do we need to do? I think it's kind of an interesting journey. If we have any hope of talking to our friends and family about changing their beliefs about Jesus we have to deconstruct denominationalism in their minds. Otherwise they're never really going to care. Although interestingly enough there are some people who would kick these two boxes out. We all kind of make our decisions on who gets to be in the big rectangle right? Unfortunately this large box thinking from all these people puts quite a bit of pressure back on this little corner box and can even influence some here.

I. Not God’s Will: Here's what we want to do. Here is one of the first arguments we need to make. We start by showing that denominationalism is just dead wrong. It is not a biblical idea. It is not God's plan. If we're in a church of Christ denomination, we're wrong. If we’re in a Baptist denomination we're wrong. What it is saying is “we have agreed to be doctrinally different and accept that we're all in it together”. The concept of having separate groups with separate beliefs that look like one another but intentionally have differences, is completely, absolutely in violation of what the Bible teaches. If that's who we are, we are wrong.
A. I want to look at three things here. The first is that division has never been God's plan. I can just imagine saying; Jesus here's what we want to do with your church. What we want to do is to decide that everybody who calls on your name is saved no matter what, and then they get to decide what they want to believe. If they want to believe in baptism that's fine, or if not, that's fine. If they want to believe in women leadership that's fine, or if not, that's fine we'll just create a subset box, a denomination for similar beliefs. By the way there are not just eight of them, more like 20,000 of them.
1. Isn’t that wonderful, there's a flavor for everyone. Oh, and Jesus we're all going to teach a little something different about you, but we're all going to do it in your name.
2. What would the son of God have said to that? Let me ask you to open your Bibles with me to John 17. I would like to look at some common passages we have all read. This is where it all begins we have to throw out denominationalism for us and everybody else.
3. In John Chapter 17 I want you to see in verse 20 Jesus’ beautiful prayer just before He went to the garden and was ultimately crucified. John 17:20-21 – “20. "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21. "that they all may be one,... as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” Can you imagine Jesus and the Father having all kinds of different doctrinal beliefs? Just seeing things totally differently and deciding to just have like maybe a left heaven and a right heaven you know? When you go to heaven if you like what the Father has to say about things, you can be on this side and if you if you like what the Son has to say—no way! They are completely in unity on what they say and teach and God said that's how I want you to be as well.
4. Lets look at that, in first Corinthians chapter 1 we find the congregation in Corinth started to became divided, they started kind of saying well we favored this guy's teaching, some others said that guy’s teaching. This may sound familiar if you know anything about denominationalism. We favor this guy's teaching, we favor this fella's angle. The very idea of segregating was utterly rejected in; I Corinthians 1:10 – “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
5. What would the Apostle Paul think of Chardon Ohio today? What would he think of it? How many people are meeting in Jesus name in Chardon today? About 26—26 groups. Okay well how many different beliefs are there? About 26—26 differing sets of ideas on this or that. He would say so you do not all agree? Oh no, we do not agree. Then you are divided? Oh, yeah we are big time divided. What would He say about that? That cannot happen. That cannot be. That is not the way it should be. You need to find a way to agree and you need to find a way to bring those divisions together.
6. Think about this. The idea of separate beliefs in the one body is completely foreign to the word of God. Ephesians 4 please. In Ephesians Chapter 4 it talks about walking correctly, verse 1, it talks about having the right attitude - of humility and gentleness verse 2. Let’s look at verse 3. Ephesians 4:3 – “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Yes we want to be patient no doubt about it, but we also have to be diligent to preserve, to keep, the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and then you know what comes after that. Does it say; “There are many bodies with different organizational heads and charters” NO! It says “4. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5. one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6. one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
7. Ask a denominational person how many different faiths are there. Oh many, many different faiths. I mean they're all about Jesus but they all have totally different angles and ideas and authority behind them. That is not what God taught. Maybe we need to say let's just throw out denominationalism completely. Let's get rid of it because this idea of division is not God's will.
B. Not Biblical: Second, then I wonder is there somewhere in scripture, anywhere any time, where people believed and taught different doctrinal things and yet they did so in unity with one another. That never takes place. I've just shown you a few verses here that you know very well.
1. Let's look at Ephesians since we're right there. In Ephesians Chapter 1 and you're probably familiar with this, when the New Testament talks about the church it is only talked about in two senses. Are you aware of that? The church as it pertains to Christ is only discussed in two ways. Therefore we should only talk about it, biblically speaking, in those two ways. One way is Ephesians 1:22-23 – “22. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23. which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” That is the one church, the whole rectangle. There is the one body of Christ under His protection and saved by Him. Everybody who's in that body is saved, everybody who is outside of that body is lost. If you're asking me about the church, are you asking me about the one body? Because that's a Bible idea.
2. When you're talking about the church you might be talking about the one body or look at Acts 14 you might be talking about local collections of people in the one body working and worshipping together. In Acts chapter 14 we call them local churches in Acts 14:20-23 - “20. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. 21. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22. strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'' 23. So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
3. That's not talking about a denomination of churches; it is talking about a local 128 Maple Ave. church. Folks, that's the only two ways the church is talked about in the whole Bible, the New Testament.
4. It's either the one body or its local people who are members of the one body.
• There is never a mention of a separate square with a separate name.
• There is never a mention of divided ideas.
• There is never a mention of a denominational church of any kind at all.
C. Doctrines Matter To God: Third, do you know why all that is? Do you know why that division cannot exist in the church? Do you know why denominationalism is utterly rejected? Because denominationalism was created out of; “what do we do with different doctrines”? How do we handle that? I believe baptism is essential and you don't. We'd better find separate places to worship, right? We need to call them different things to keep it straight.
1. Here's the problem with that. Doctrines that are taught matter to God. I think we will start in Matthew. When Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 7, at the end of that sermon He talked about how people would say Lord, Lord and profess their belief in Him. What did He say in the story that He told next. He said; Let me tell you there will be two kinds of believers. I'm going to tell you now—two kinds. There will be believers who do what I say and there will be believers who do not do what I say. Those who do what I say are mine and those who do not do what I say have their home built on the sand. They built their home on very fortified sand by the way. Lot of wasted effort shoring up their foundations which are not scriptural. There can't be different actions in the name of Jesus, only that which He has taught,
2. Did He not say that in Matthew Chapter 28? In Matthew Chapter 28 and Verse 18 you know this so well Jesus came up and spoke to them saying “18. Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, (Watch this very closely) baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20. "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.''
3. Let me tell you why this is so important, we're going somewhere with this that I hope you'll be able to use. When you're having a conversation with a denominational person, when you run into some disagreement on what you both believe, chances are they, if given time, they will go to their denomination, and they will ask their preacher; “what do we believe?”. Please no one come ask me that. I've had people ask, “What do we believe?” What are you talking about?
4. We are not some subset with some special collection of beliefs. That's the way denominationalism thinks. We are just people who do what the Bible says.
• We do what Jesus taught.
• We do what the disciples said.
• We don't run to some board.
• We don't go to some creed book.
• There's no “we” in that sense.
• There's just Jesus and His Word and His will.
5. We know that in Galatians 1:6-9 it says; “6. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7. which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” It said people will come with a different doctrine, you reject them. There can't be multiple doctrines. Did I say that clearly? There can't be multiple doctrines under the one Jesus.
6. Revelation 22 ends with these fateful words Revelation 22:18-19 – “18. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19. and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Do not add to nor take away. He's talking about the Book of Revelation there, but it would apply to all revelation of the Holy Spirit. Don't do more than it says don't do less.
7. You go ask someone who's in a local Chardon denomination. Do you guys think you're doing a few things that are a little bit more than what the Bible says? Well yeah, but that's what we do. That’s who we are. Stop right there. There's no we, there's no you, there's no denomination, there's no subset! That's totally non biblical. There's just; what does the Bible say.
II. Strip Away The Confusion: Before we can make progress in teaching what the truth is the best thing that could happen is for you and one of your friends who worships at some church in the area to sit down and say let's do this first. Let's go back to this and let's start stripping it of things that don't belong so we can have a real conversation here. People have been doing this for the last 2000 years in small numbers. In the last 200 years there was a notable group of folks that did that in this country and in this very area. They made this effort. That's the key.
A. You’ve got to strip all stuff that doesn't belong so you can have a real conversation. The first thing you want to do is clear out all the names.
• I'm not a Church of Christer.
• You're not a Baptist.
• You’re not a Mormon.
• You're not a Methodist.
• Let’s just strip all those names.
1. That idea of subsets and names is all non-bible stuff anyway. We only call ourselves the church of Christ because we're a group of people trying to belong to Christ, but we're not married to that name. Some people are. We can be called the church of the Chardonians in God and Christ. How you like that? First Thessalonians one. Quit being married to the names. When you're married to the name then you're married to the “we” of it and that is not what is needed.
2. Get rid of the names and since we're no longer of this or that let's go ahead and get rid of all the lines too let's decide that we don't believe in lines. What I mean is; in Christ, we don't believe in your belief system or in my belief system and get to pick which categories we keep. We're finished with categorical stuff.
3. We're going to say you know what I think? We're going to re-evaluate that. We're not just going to say that everybody who believes in Jesus is saved. We’re actually going to go back and take another look at that. That's real progress.
4. In our thinking we need to get rid of all these circles. We’re going to get rid of that. There's no I'm a blue circle Christian, I’m a red circle Christian. No. Forget it. Forget the names, forget the lines. Forget the circles. Just go back to where there is a rectangle. Everybody who is outside of it is lost. Everybody who is inside of it is saved. You know what we call that blue rectangle we call that the one body of Jesus Christ. We call that His church, His Kingdom.
5. If you think you can push the point just a little bit and nobody will explode, you can go ahead and say; you may as well call it the church of Christ because that's the only reason we use that name. I know we probably should leave the names out, but what we're saying is it's not really a name at all. All we're saying is there is this one body and everybody who's in it is saved and it is our determination that we just want to make sure we're in that.
B. So then the question, this would be great if you had somebody ask you this question: How do we get in that? Great question. I would say, I think we're done for today. That was just way too much progress because that's where you have to get. The question is; “How do we get in there?” OK.
1. You know we're not going to ask some church—no such thing anyway. We're not going to go to some convention that meets once a year—no such thing anyway biblically speaking. We're not going to go look at some book written in 1983--doesn't do a lick of good.
2. What we are going to do is just go open the Bible. By the way folks have been doing that for a very long time as well.
3. How do you get in there, and here's what we're going to find out. We're going to find out and I'll skip to Matthew 16. Sure enough in Matthew 16 we see Jesus only built one church. Verse 18. We just need to make sure we're in it and that’s all. Forget the names. Just be in it.
4. Then we look at Matthew Chapter 28 and see we need to make sure we're doing what Jesus said. Verses 18-20. Then we open our Bibles to Acts chapter two. How often have you gone to Acts chapter two? Oh boy. Not another church of Christer headed to Acts chapter two. That's the last thing I need. Hang on a minute. I'm not what you just called me. There's no such thing as that. I'm not of this. You're not of that. I'm not trying to build some argument for a square on the board, I just want to find out, biblically speaking, scripturally revealed, on the very first day, day uno, how people went from here to there. Lost to saved. I just want to know how they got there. That's all I'm asking.
5. We go to Acts two and you already know what we find. We find in verse 36 that you must believe that Jesus is Lord and Christ. No doubt about it. You've got to believe that but that is not all that we must do. That’s a threshold that America has sort of created as it's all you've got to do to get in the box. Not a biblical idea because; the very next verse they came to Peter and the Apostles and they were pierced to the heart they were sorry for their sins against the Lord. They said what shall we do? and you know what Peter said. Peter said repent. Ah.
6. In order to get in the box I have to turn from the sins in my life and in verse 38 be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins. Well, our church doesn't teach forgiveness of your sins. You need to leave that church, because whatever it is, whatever its lines are made of, it’s not this.
C. The one body of Christ is a body that we enter by believing (Verse 36) who Jesus is, being sorry for our sin, (Verse 37) and requesting salvation, repenting of our sins (verse 38) and being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Verse 41 says; Those who had received his word were baptized and that day there were added about 3000 souls and then in verse 42; and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine or as Revelation 2:10 says; just be faithful. What does that mean? Just Keep worshipping, keep reading, and keep learning.
1. Wait, learn what? Just what the Bible says. That's it? That's it. Well, what do I need to learn? I mean I’ve done all this and now what kind of stuff do I need to be reading. Is it what we are about? What's our position on drinking for example? Love that kind of question, hate that kind of question. What do you mean our position on drinking? Well, I got to decide which box I want to be in because that box over there allows social drinking. There are no boxes, no smaller boxes, no wine boxes. There is just—what does the Bible say.
• What does the Bible say about sobriety?
• What does the Bible say about life?
• What does it say about how we represent ourselves?
• What does it say about wine?
D. Isn't that awesome? I just have this vision and it is a little bit overly optimistic perhaps, for all of our religious friends worshipping in denominationalism, that there is a way, and how many in the churches in Chardon that could use this, that there is a way we could just flip the switch, and the light would come on; “Oh you're saying that all we have to do is just what the Bible says and forget about all this other stuff, this segregation, division business and we can all come together?” I just have a feeling that's good news. I mean its great news. Everything that the Lord doesn't want goes away.
E. Let me bring the question back in. Does the church of Christ believe they're the only ones going to heaven? What you want is for the person you're studying with to say well if you mean that church, yeah. So you're talking about the body of saved? Absolutely! We need to get them to see that.

CONCLUSION:
I want to end the lesson here though I am certain there is more to examine.
I want to bring the circles back in. Now there are no red circles, no blue circles, though there might be some different size circles. That are these? They are local churches. They are local churches that follow the Bible. You have lost the element of multiple choice, which Americans dearly love. You mean I don’t get to pick what I want? I don't get variety, I have only one choice? All we're doing is what the Bible said and so you lose a lot of variety. What you also lose is division. You do always get a choice with God, but it is usually a binary choice.

You pick a local church but all you have to concern yourself with, and this is awesome, all you have to be sure of is that the local church is doing what the Bible says! It's not about do they match up with the things I want to believe. By the way we just call these local churches of Christ.
We could change it if you want. We could say Chardon church which belongs to Christ if you like that better. Or Chardon church of Christ in God by Biblical Teaching if you're the wordy type.

We're not a thing, we're not a subset, we're not a group. We're just a local collection of people who have done what the Bible says and just want to keep doing that. We don't want to answer to some council and we don't want to be monitored by some city on another continent.

We just want to do what the Bible says--so I'll give you some verses here.
Acts chapter 14 talks about how they set up elders in every church.
Well our church doesn't have elders like that, our church has a pastor. Where do you get that idea? Well, that's what our church does. There is no our church there is no denomination.

There's just what the Bible says. Look and you will find that you set up elders in every church, just go to First Timothy three and you find out their qualifications and you get everything you need to build congregations that look like what God wants.

People really need to do is forget about what you call yourself or what your parents call themselves. Forget about the name on the building.
All you need to do is find the one true church taught by the Bible and you need to enter it in the Bible way and then you need to find a local group of people doing what the Bible says.

There is nothing of more significance in our lives than when the son of God returns in the sky.
All that's going to matter, not what we’ve called ourselves, not what is on the building, not what we have decided to believe, because all of that will go away. The only thing that will matter is am I in His body. That's all that's going to matter. Am I a part of His church?
Folks, the Bible is the only way to know that. It is absolute knowledge on the subject.
If you want to be a Christian the way the Bible teaches, if you want to be a part of a congregation that does so to the best of our ability, you need to make a decision in that direction.
Today's the day for you to do that, or if you have turned from being a child of Christ, it is the day to return. The invitation is open for you to do so now as we stand and sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: David Schmidt

Balaam and His Donkey

BALAAM AND HIS DONKEY
Numbers 22: 1-35

INTRO:

A farmer who wanted to sell his donkey. A potential buyer showed up and looked the animal over. He asked if he could hitch him up to the wagon and see how he worked.
The farmer did so and climbed up into the wagon with the customer handing him the reins. The customer tapped the reins but the donkey didn’t move. He said, “Giddyup” but the donkey just stood there. He cried out “Ya Donkey” but it just looked straight ahead.
The farmer got down off the wagon, picked up a two by four and hit the animal right between the eyes. While the donkey staggered the farmer got back up into the wagon and said, “Now try it.”
The customer tapped the reins, the donkey moved out and the old farmer said, “He’s a good donkey, but sometimes you have to get his attention first.” Aren’t we like that sometimes?
We say we want God’s guidance but often God has to first get our attention? Well, today we want to talk about the opposite scenario. A time where God used a donkey to get a man’s attention.

APPLY: We have probably all told the story of Balaam’s donkey one time or another ever since we were little children.
BUT, this is an unusual story for a number of reasons... not the least of which is a talking donkey.
So, what I want to do this morning is introduce the major players in this story and then see what applications God may have in mind for us.
So 1st let’s start with the Donkey.

I realized I didn’t really know that much about donkeys when I first read the text, so I did a little research on the internet.
One sermon I read on the net noted that in Bible times “Donkeys were all-purpose vehicles (like ATV’s) and they were used for transportation, carrying loads, grinding grain, and plowing fields.
They were kind of like a pick-up truck for a farmer.
Whenever a city was conquered in the ancient world, the type of animal the victorious king would ride as he entered a defeated town would make all the difference in the world to the people. If he was seated on a horse, the city was doomed; it was a sign that he had come in war, riding his “warhorse.” If he was riding a donkey everyone would breathe a sigh of relief because this was a sign that he was coming in peace. Riding a donkey is a sign of peace. The king has not come to conquer but to forgive, so don’t be afraid.

They were highly dependable.
Very gentle and extremely friendly to people.
In fact – the only major drawback to donkeys is their supposed “Mule headedness”
But most of the sources I read noted that “...the infamous donkey stubbornness keeps these animals and their riders out of danger”
When a donkey senses danger – they simply “...tend to freeze”
They refuse to move.

So, the reaction Balaam’s donkey had to the angel of God was natural.
ALSO,
did you know that donkeys were often part of major Bible stories?
• Abraham saddled his donkey to take Isaac to be sacrificed (Gen 22)

• Joseph’s brothers took donkeys with them to get food from Egypt (Gen 42)
• Moses saddled his donkey to go on his trip to Egypt to free Israel (Ex. 4:20)

• And, of course, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem a week before He was crucified in order to fulfill the prophecy that He would do so (Matthew 21:5; Zechariah 9:9)

And, here are some other facts about donkeys:
* their 1st born male offspring were the only “unclean” animals that God’s law required to be redeemed by sacrifice of a lamb. Ex. 13:13

* The law required that a man’s Donkey HAD to rest on Sabbath Day. (Exodus 23:12)

* If it was stolen, the thief was required to pay back twice the donkey’s value (Exodus. 22:4)

* Exodus 23:5 specifically commanded that “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you... fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.”

* AND the donkey was one of only two animals mentioned in the 10 commandments

Exodus 20:17 said “You shall not covet your neighbor’s OX OR DONKEY...”
So Donkeys were highly valuable to God’s People... and to God Himself.
So, that’s the Donkey.

Now let’s turn our attention to the Midianites... and one of their kings. A man named Balak.

Balak was a troubled King. One day – he wakes up and finds a whole horde of Israelite people marching thru his land. That doesn’t make him happy He’s afraid they’ll eat up everything in sight and leave the land desolate.
So he considers fighting them, but he’s smart enough to know that he can’t fight these trespassers on his own so he sends messengers to a famous prophet who is said to be connected to God and he’s going to ask Balaam to come curse these Israelites so that he can have God’s help in defeating them.

This Balaam has a reputation that when he blesses someone they get blessed. When he cursed them they are cursed and stay cursed.
So, Balak sends an entourage to Balaam with a financial reward for his services... and he’s turned down cold. Balaam talked to God and God told him to stay home.

Balak thinks that maybe he wasn’t persuasive enough, so he sends a larger and more prominent group of men to bring a much larger and more tempting payment for Balaam.

At first Balaam turns them down, but he still enquires of God... and this time God gives him permission to make the journey to Balak... but only if he does and says exactly what God tells him to do and say.

When Balaam actually does arrive he ends up NOT ONLY not cursing the Israelites... - he actually blesses them 3 times - at God’s direction. And a frustrated Balak storms off... and apparently never attempted to fight Israel again (Judges 11:25)

So that brings us to the prophet Balaam.
Balaam was a prophet of God.

There were some preachers and scholars who believe that wasn’t true. There are many who believe that Balaam was just a greedy pagan prophet engaged in sorcery.
One preacher dismissed him by simply saying that:
“Balaam was not a Jew. He was a foreigner from Mesopotamia”
Now that preacher WAS right - Balaam was NOT an Israelite. He was NOT one of God’s chosen people ... he WAS an outsider.

But - it seems - he was still a prophet of God.
And there’s a couple of reasons for believing that
1st – if Balaam was simply a pagan prophet God wouldn’t have cared if he’d cursed Israel. Pagan prophets and priests could curse Israel all day long and it would have meant NOTHING.

But Balaam was a prophet of Yahweh.
When Balaam spoke, he had a reputation of speaking for the one true God
2nd - When Balaam referred to God he always called God by His covenant name.
For example, in Numbers 22:8 Balaam tells Balak’s messengers,
“Stay here and I will bring you back the answer the LORD gives me."

Notice that word LORD.
What IS unique about it? (It’s in all capital letters)
Whenever you see “GOD” or “LORD” in all capital letters in your English translation that’s the translators’ way of telling you that this is God’s personal name: “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”.

So Balaam isn’t inquiring of some pagan god. He’s talking to Yahweh. He’s talking to the God you and I believe in.

3rdly – God used Balaam to make a prophecy about Jesus.
In his third blessing of Israel, Balaam made this declaration:
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel...” Numbers 24:17

Many scholars believe that this was the prophecy the Wisemen from the East used when they followed the Star in the East to find the newborn King – Jesus.

So I’m convinced that Balaam was a prophet of the one true God.
And Balak sends messengers to obtain his services in cursing the Israelites.
Each time he’s asked, Balaam goes to God and gets his instructions.

And up to that point in the story I have no trouble following what is going on.
But then, while he’s on his way to King Balak – at God’s command - an angel of the Lord tries to kill him. Not once. Not twice. But three times.

Why? What happened?
I’m not quite sure, but it’s fairly obvious that somewhere along the line – Balaam decided to sell God out. The money and the prestige were just TOO GOOD to pass up. I suspect that some time in the night Balaam decided to play along with God – right up until the moment when he got close to the Israelites - and then he’d CURSE them.

He figured God didn’t know what he was thinking, so he could fake God out until the last moment.
Of course... you can’t fake God out.

That’s the belief of fools
In Psalm 139 David speaks to God and says:

“...You have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD....” Ps 139:1-4

I can’t go anywhere.
I can’t say anything.
I can’t EVEN think anything without God knowing all about it long ahead of time.

So Balaam thinks he can betray God without getting caught.
And an angel is sent to kill him.
Now think about that for a minute.
Do you think for a moment that if an angel of God wanted Balaam dead that the angel couldn’t have gotten the job done?

Do you really think that if God wanted Balaam destroyed... He even needed an angel?
OF COURSE NOT.
He’s God. He can do whatever He wants.

So I don’t think the angel was sent there to kill Balaam.
I think he was there - to teach Balaam a lesson
And I think we’re told the story of how God taught Balaam this lesson so that we could also learn a lesson or two.

What did Balaam need to learn?
Well, I thought it was fairly obvious
• Don’t mess with God.
• Don’t try to manipulate Him or anything that belongs to Him
• It’s dangerous.
• It’s scary
• And it can get downright deadly if God wants.
I have been in churches where certain people thought they could manipulate the congregation because
• they had enough money
• or because they had enough power and prestige
• or because they had enough friends to sway the vote on the board.

That’s not really a smart thing to do with God.
God is not mocked.
You don’t want Him to come against you.
And that’s the message of the angel that was sent against Balaam.
That’s why God told Abraham “I’ll bless those who bless you and I’ll curse those who curse you”
So that’s the first lesson – don’t mess with God.

The second lesson is more comforting
And the lesson is this: God will not give up on you easily
If you or I mess up He’ try to stop us.
He’ll try to send obstacles to slow us down.
Balaam is on his way to sell out to King Balak and the angel stands in his way, and his donkey runs off into the field.
So Balaam becomes angry and beats his donkey and gets her back onto the road and the angel of the Lord stands in his way a second time and his donkey swerved into a wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against it.

So, again Balaam becomes angry and beats his donkey and gets back on the road and again the angel stands in his way, and again the donkey reacts to the angel and this time just lays down in the road.
Balaam is in the process of beating donkey one more time when God gives him a message from the mouth of the beast and then opens the eyes Balaam.
THREE TIMES Balaam tried to reach his destination and disobey God.
THREE TIMES God stood in his way.
Why would God do that?
Because God hadn’t given up on Balaam.
In II Peter 3:9 we’re told:
"God is not slow in keeping his promise as some count slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but that all should come to repentance."

God didn’t want to give up on Balaam.
And God doesn’t want to give up on you or me either.
God has never been willing to do that.
That’s why
• Jesus spent His time with common uneducated laborers.
• Jesus spent His time with those who had little money or influence.
• Jesus spent His time with Prostitutes and sinners.

Jesus NEVER gave up on anyone.
Now, He didn’t excuse their behaviors.
He didn’t overlook their sins.
He simply spent time with them because He refused to accept the human idea that people never change!
Jesus never accepted the idea that “That’s the way they’ve always been... and that’s the way they’ll always be.”
Not with God.
The repeated theme throughout Scripture is that anyone can change
They can change. And many have... because of the blood of Jesus Christ

So the first two lesson of Balaam’s story are
1. Don’t mess with God
2. God never gives up on anyone.
And the third and last message from this story of Balaam’s donkey is this:
God will use whatever it takes to accomplish His will.
ILLUS: Don Francisco wrote a song called “Balaam”... last words of the song say this:
“... that donkey still would not get up but she began to speak
She said, "Balaam you're to blame, the way you beat me is a shame
'Cause all I've done is tried to save your life!"
Then the Angel of the Lord appeared with a flamin' sword in his hand
Balaam fell down on his face, a very frightened man

The Angel said, "Balaam, you'd be dead if your donkey hadn't detected
That I was waitin' there to part your hair when you and my sword connected"
Balaam then repented for his sin
And he promised not to act like that again

And I hope he learned his lesson about God's reward for greed
But you know it's that talkin' donkey that's really strange indeed
Now that donkey's just a donkey but she's still the thing God used
And that's the point I want you all to see
The Lord's the one who makes the choice of the instrument He's usin'

We don't know the reasons and the plans behind His choosin'
So when the Lord starts usin' you don't you pay it any mind
He 'could have used the dog next door if He'd been so inclined.”
God could use the dog next door if He was so inclined?

God can – and does - use whatever He wants.
But the ultimate tool God He’d like to use is you.

You’ve been given a great privilege... but you’ve got to realize that the only way you can do what God wants you to do is to imitate Balaam’s lowly donkey.

God used the donkey because it was something Balaam trusted.
He used the donkey because it was something Balaam depended upon.
He used the donkey because it was a mule-headed creature that would do whatever it needed to do no matter what the cost.

And that’s the kind of servant God wants you to be.
• He wants you to talk to someone who trusts you.
• He wants you to talk with some who depends upon you.
• He wants you to be mule headed enough to stick with it until that person listens.
Most of all He wants someone willing to stand between their friends and judgment.

Look at this: three times Balaam beats his reliable donkey because he was too wrapped up in himself to see God’s road block in front of him. By the 3rd time he got his staff out he was going ballistic!!! Red-in-the-face and spitting mad!
Then, right there in the middle of Balaam’s donkey-beatin’ hissy fit, God opened the donkey’s mouth, and it started talking. I wish I could’ve been there for that one! The original "Mr. Ed".
The donkey demanded, “What on earth have I done to you to make you beat me these 3 times?” Notice that Balaam, supposedly one of the wisest of men, doesn’t seem at all surprised by this talking donkey. Instead, he proceeds to have a rational conversation with one of God’s most ignorant animals. When his counseling session was over, however, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes to see what he’d been missing. Wonder who felt like a donkey then?
When God “opens our eyes”, and we see how far off course we’ve gotten, we’re faced with a crucial decision: turn back to God - or - defy him and go farther down the road to destruction.
INVITATION

Contributing Sermon
Given by Jeff Strite

The Deadliest Fire in History

The Deadliest Fire in History
Luke 16: 19-31

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone... Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often? When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over.

The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand. Bob? Bob from church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse than the coming ticket. A Christian cop catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little anxious to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow.

Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man he'd never seen in uniform.

"Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this."

"Hello, Jack." No smile.

"Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids."

"Yeah, I guess." Bob seemed uncertain.

"I've seen some long days at the office lately. I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit

Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. "Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct."

Ouch! This was not going in the right direction. Time to change tactics. "What'd you clock me at?"

"Seventy-one. Would you sit back in your car, please?"

"Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as I saw you. I was barely nudging 65." The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.

"Please, Jack, in the car."

Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window. The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad. Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license? Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left.

There was Bob, a folded paper in hand. Jack rolled down the window a bare two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.

Bob returned to his car without a word. Jack watched his retreat in the mirror. Jack unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to cost? Wait a minute. What was this? Some kind of joke? Certainly not a ticket.

Jack began to read: "Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it - a speeding driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters. All three of them. I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until heaven before I can ever hug her again. A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now... Pray for me. And be careful. My son is all I have left. Bob"

Jack twisted around in time to see Bob's car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes later, he, too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.

Life is precious. Handle with care. Remember, cars are not the only thing recalled by their maker.*
Does anyone know what the worst fire in American History was? Most people would say it was the great Chicago Fire in 1871. That fire started on Sunday, October 8 and ended on Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing up to 300 people and destroyed a little over 3 square miles of Chicago, leaving over 100,000 people homeless.
But the great Chicago fire wasn’t the worst fire in American history. Ironically, on the very same day the Chicago fire began... so did the one that destroyed Peshtigo, Wisconsin (about 48 miles north of Green Bay). Historians list this as THE deadliest fire in U.S. history. On October 8th (the same day the Chicago fire began) a drought in the lumber area of Peshtigo led to a fire that destroyed nearly 1900 sq. miles of small cities and homes in the area of Peshtigo (as opposed to the 3.3 square miles in Chicago) and killed nearly 2000 people (compared to 300 in Chicago).
The fire was so intense that when people tried to flee... there was no place to go. People died in their homes, and their basements and on the streets. Some folks jumped into a well, but the fire sucked all the oxygen away and they died of suffocation. Others tried to cross the river to the other side only to find the fire there as well.
The few that survived jumped into the river, and had to constantly douse themselves with water to avoid their hair catching on fire. The temperatures that day were estimated to be between 500 and 700 F. The destruction was so total there was virtually nothing left of the city.
It took days for word of the Peshtigo fire to reach the nation. When news finally reached the capital of Wisconsin, all the state’s officials were in Chicago, helping with relief efforts there. For weeks, the Chicago Fire so dominated newspaper headlines that the governor of Wisconsin had to issue a special proclamation to divert aid from Chicago to the Peshtigo area.
Speaking of the tragedy in Peshtigo (“The Deadly Night Of October 8, 1871”) one author noted “The only light available in the dark of the night was that given off by the fire itself, creating an eerie glow that seemed to taunt the dying and surviving alike like the open mouth of hell.”
In our text this morning Jesus tells us the story of a man who went to hell - it’s called the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Now, there are some folks who try to tell us that this story is not true. They say it's fictional. They dismiss it as merely a “parable.”
That’s always bothered me. I mean this story is not even called a parable by Jesus (or even by Luke, where the story appears). Additionally, even in His parables... Jesus never used a personal name like Lazarus, and ALL of Jesus’ parables were based on real-life events that people could identify with. This is the only story Jesus ever told that pulled back the curtain on what happens after death.
So, I’ve always been puzzled that people would try so hard to say that this story is fiction. Why would they do that? Well, there’s all kinds of possibilities... I guess. For example, I think some folks dismiss this story just to prove how smart they are (it’s a pride thing). It’s an intellectual exercise they go through to prove how deep and educated they are. Folks seem to do that often with things the Bible tells us.
But I’m convinced that a lot of other folks argue this story’s not true because they don’t like what it says. They read the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus and they see one of the most disturbing descriptions of hell in Scripture - and they don’t want to accept it.
Jesus tells us the Rich Man was “... in Hades, being in torment...” Luke 16:23
The Rich Man asked for “... mercy” and for “... Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water ‘and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” Luke 16:24
And it’s described as a “place of torment” and a place people would avoid if they would “repent.” Luke 6:28 and 30
Jesus tells us that Hell is a very, very unpleasant place, and because of that – Hell is a very, very uncomfortable topic for lots of folks.
ILLUS: A Research company did a survey about 5 years ago where they discovered that 72% Americans said they believed in heaven (defined as a place “where people who have led good lives were eternally rewarded”). But, at the same time, 58% of U.S. adults also believed in hell (a place “where people who’d led bad lives and who died without being sorry were eternally punished”)
72% believed in heaven, but only 58% believed in hell? I thought they were a matched set. I figured if you had one you had to have the other. But frankly a lot of people just don’t want to hear about hell.
ILLUS: A group of ministers – when asked why they won’t preach about hell said: “People already feel guilty enough. They’re not doing what they should. And, they have over 100 reasons way.
So, there’s a lot of folks out there that would prefer not to even preach about hell! In fact, I don’t often preach about it!
Even God’s not keen on it: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
So, there are very few people who seem to enjoy the idea of talking about hell.
And yet... it was one of the top 10 things Jesus preached about. Someone did a study of the book of Matthew and found that Jesus dedicated about 66 verses to the topic of judgment and Hell.
For example: Matthew 8:12 “the sons of the kingdom (of Israel) will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:49-50 “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And Matthew 25:46 “... these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life”
So what’s going on here? If a lot of folk are really NOT all that happy about hell, and I really don’t like preaching about hell, and even God’s not all that excited about anyone going to hell - why is Jesus preaching so much about hell?
Well, 2 things:
1st – someone once said: "Hell is, Hell is hot, Hell is real, Hell is eternal."
And what is worse: Hell was where everybody was gonna go. Hell was our destiny! That’s where we were ALL going to end up if somebody didn’t do something about it!
Ephesians 2:3 “...we ALL once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Colossians 1:21 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”
And Romans 8:7-8 “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”
In other words: none of us deserved to go to heaven. We ALL had messed up. We all deserved Hell.
But a lot of people have convinced themselves they deserve to go heaven. In a different survey I've read, about 60% believed there was a hell (just like the other survey) they just weren't going there. Only 4 % of those surveyed thought they were going to end up in Hell. ONLY 4%? I’m pretty sure that’s not even close to the right percentage. But why would so many think that they’d not end up in Hell? Why did they believe they were going to heaven? Well, because most folks are intent on putting up a "good front."
ILLUS: A man once told of the day he and his wife bought their first house. “Our limited finances forced us to find ways of getting what we wanted without spending a great deal of money. We agreed we’d work on the front yard ourselves to save labor expenses and still create a proper setting for our home. It looked great.
One day, while I was standing in our BACK yard, I began to realize that we had spent no time or money making the back look good. Why? Because it couldn’t be seen by others as they passed our house.”
When it comes to sin in our lives, most folks are like that. They clean up the front yard – where everybody can see what’s going on - but they HIDE the “back section” of their life (their thoughts, their deeds and their words). They hide these things way out back where no one can see what’s happening.
Well... almost no one. God knows! Romans 3:23 says “We’ve all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We all deserved to go to Hell!!! Every... single... one of us deserved to go to hell. Unless...
Unless somebody did something to stop it. So, did somebody DO something to stop us from going to hell? Of course! That’s why Jesus came. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him MIGHT NOT PERISH but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
As one man observed: “I deserved to be damned to hell, but God interfered.”
THAT, of course, still doesn’t answer the question of why Jesus taught so much about Hell? I mean, why would He do that? If it upsets people so much – why do it?
There are those ministers who don’t preach about hell, either because they either don’t want God to look bad...or they don’t want the people they minister to, to FEEL bad. Now, I understand that. And I don’t think their motives are necessarily evil - I just think their theology stinks! And here’s why...
ILLUS: Think about your Smoke Alarm (especially the one in or near the kitchen). Annoying, isn’t it? Now a smoke alarm is supposed to go off if the house is on fire but I’ve never had a fire in my home. This doesn’t mean the smoke alarm has never gone off. Once in awhile, when I offer a burnt offering to God in my kitchen, this sucker goes off and keeps incessantly beeping as I drag a chair from the kitchen table into the hallway and climb up on that chair to push this button that shuts it off.
But here’s the problem – I can push that button as many times as I like – as long as there’s smoke in the house, that alarm is going to continue going off, over and over again. So what am I to do? How do I stop this alarm from continually shrieking in my ears?
Well, there’s only two ways to stop this alarm from going off in a smoky room. 1. Remove the ALARM from the room (and throw it out in the backyard) or 2. Remove the BATTERY from the alarm.
Now I’ve known of people who simply take the battery out... and not replace it. They don’t want to be annoyed by that silly alarm. They don’t want to be troubled by its shrieking in their ears. But if their house actually caught on fire and the alarm wouldn’t go off... the fire would destroy their home.
But at least they wouldn’t be annoyed by the alarm. At least they wouldn’t be troubled by the warning.
But just removing the battery from the alarm won't stop the house from burning down. They may have removed the offending noise of the WARNING, but their home would end up in ashes.
THAT’S WHY Jesus preached so much about hell. He was being the fire alarm. He was WARNING people that there was going to be a place of torment; a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth; a place of eternal punishment.
And if Jesus hadn’t warned us about that that eternal hell why should we bother changing our lives? I mean, there are some folks who figure “I like sinning! I like getting drunk and sleeping around and living however I very well please. So, what if when I die... I don’t get to go to heaven... I didn’t want to go anyway! I just want to live the way I want to live and if I die and just don’t leave the grave, why should I care?”
WHY BOTHER believing that Jesus is the Christ, why bother repenting, why bothered getting buried in the waters of baptism and rising up a new creation? I only get to go around once in this life, so why not grab all the gusto I can get?
But... if there’s a hell – that changes the equation in a big hurry. Suddenly, life gets serious. And if there’s no one around to warn us of that reality, we may wake up from the grave to a major surprise!
CLOSE: The message of Hell is not a pleasant one... and it’s not meant to be. But without that part of our message, there’s no urgency for people to change and turn to Jesus.
A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was leaving the room after paying a visit, and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly the doctor said, "I don't know."
"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door. On the other side of the door there came the sound of scratching and whining. As he opened the door a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice that dog? He had never been in this room before. He did not know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door opens, I shall pass through with no fear, but with gladness."
INVITATION

This sermon is based on
A sermon given by Jeff Strite

Covering God with Thankfulness

Covering God With Thankfulness
Psalms 100:1-5

Let’s take a look at our text for this morning’s lesson:
Psalms 100:1-5
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Last week we talked about how God showed His love FOR US, by the things He Created, by the Bible He’s given us, and – most importantly – by the gift of His only begotten Son.
This week – we’re going to talk about one of the ways that we can show our love FOR HIM. There are many ways that we can show our love for God, but Psalm 100 is talking about how we can show that love in our worship.
Look again: “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! ... Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” Psalm 100:1-2 & 4
One of the meanings of “Worship” is “to adore.” The idea is to praise Him, sing to Him, give thanks to Him and to bless His name. Now this is important on a couple level. First --- it is the mark of what God’s people do.
• Psalm 22:23 says “You who fear the LORD, praise him!”
• Psalm 33:1 tells us Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
• And Psalm 135:3 declares “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!”
• But Psalm 115:17-18 goes one step further: The dead praise not Jehovah,
Neither any that go down into silence;
18 But we will bless Jehovah
From this time forth and for evermore.
Praise ye Jehovah.
God’s people are expected to praise God and give Him thanks... it’s what we do!

How Much Is It Worth?

HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH
Mark 4: 1 – 20

We’re going to be in Mark 4 this morning.
What I want you to keep in mind as we read Mark 4 this morning is that Jesus is teaching a kingdom principle. And the people he’s talking to on the shoreline – a lot of them are farmers. They will understand the parable of the Seed very quickly.
A old time minister made a trip to Israel a couple years ago, and one of the places he visited was Jesus’ childhood hometown - Nazareth. On the outskirts of modern Nazareth they found (and rebuilt) an ancient watch tower. In addition they added a model of a traditional home of the era, plus a workshop and other buildings that would have existed in days of Jesus. But what caught his attention was the remnants of some ancient farmland.
If you were fortunate enough back then to have inherited “bottom land” down in the valley you might become a wealthy man. But this section of Nazareth was built into the hillside and had “terraced” farms. People in this area only had “farms that were little bigger than a good-sized garden.
This land had a mixture of shallow ground where there was rock just about an inch under the soil, as well as some sections where the ground was fertile and would yield a good crop. Seemingly everywhere there were a fair amount of weeds and though you might pull a lot of them... there’d still be a fair amount still growing alongside the crops. In addition, the owner would access his particular plot by a path that ran between his land and his neighbor’s.
Now, with the right tools, you MIGHT be able to make ALL the ground useful. But Nazareth was a poor community with limited resources, so farmers did what they could with what they had. As a result, the “farmers” threw their seed everywhere, hoping some of it would grow. Their land was precious (since there wasn’t much of it), but the seed was comparatively cheap.
So as Jesus told the parable, he described the four types of ground every farmer had to deal with. Only a ¼ of the ground was useful – and it was apparently hard to tell which land would be fertile, and which was not. But the fertile land would give a high yield and was worth the trouble.
And when you think about the parable of the Seed, when Jesus describes what happens to the Seed, he’s describing what happens to it in real life.
Mark 4:Verse (3) Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
“Hearken” and “Behold” – he’s using two Words to communicate that whatever you are doing you need to stop right now and listen to what I’m about to say. Pay attention.
Notice also that the sower “went out”. This was a purposeful decision. What is my point? When it comes to sowing the Word, it’s not something we do haphazardly. We do it on purpose. And when you do something on purpose you make time for it. It’s not a passing fancy. You make time because you are doing it for a reason.
(4) And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

Redeeming The Time

Redeeming the Time
Ephesians 5:15-16

IGood evening. Our sermon this evening is from Ephesians 5:15-16 – “15. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16. redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”.

In the text God is telling us how He wants us to live our lives. First He tells us He wants us to live our lives by walking circumspectly, being circumspect in our walk as a Christian. That is a word many of us know but it is not used in everyday speech very often. The dictionary offers the definition of “watchful and discreet”, “cautious”, “prudent”. In the Greek the word (ἀκριβῶς akribōs, ak-ree-boce') has the attribute of “exactly”, “accurately”, “diligently”.

The implication here is the idea that you are conscious and aware of what is going on around you. You're not just stumbling through the darkness but you're alert and you're paying attention to what's going on around you. You're paying attention to the circumstances of your life and then dealing with the various circumstances as you meet them.

Paul says walk wisely. Not as fools but as wise. Redeeming is another word that is not used everyday but we understand it a little bit better. We sing about it in song, we know that Christ redeemed us by the payment of the price to recover us from the power of sin. In the original language the word here (ἐξαγοράζω exagorázō, ex-ag-or-ad'-zo) is defined by Strong as “To buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use. to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own ”

The idea of redeeming the time is seizing the moments of life, living the Christian life, one moment at a time, one situation at a time. This evening I would like to look at how to redeem the time living each day of our life the way the Lord wants us to live it.

The next verse I want to look at with you is Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” There's a time for everything.
We understand what time is because our earthly existence is within time. Part of being circumspect is realizing where you are and what is required of you at this moment, and then doing what is required of you. It is one thing to recognize what time it is. It is another to do what is required of you at that moment.

The problem is not that we don't recognize what time it is, we just don't do what we're supposed to do when it's time to do it. To redeem the time and to walk circumspectly and walk wisely you have to recognize what time it is and then do what is required of you when that time comes.

Using Our Gifts - Part 3

Using Our Gifts, Part 3

Romans 12:3-8

This morning I would like to continue in our study of this chapter beginning at verse three and continuing through verse 8.

Annie Johnson Flint lived between 1866 and 1932. She suffered from early onset arthritis yet she wrote many beautiful poems. With a pen pushed through bent fingers and held by swollen joints she wrote without any thought that it might be an avenue of ministry, or that it would bring her returns that might help in her support. Her verses provided a solace for her in the long hours of suffering. Then she began making hand-lettered cards and gift books, and decorated some of her own verses. Her life was beset by many problems and suffering. I would recommend you read about her sometime. In considering her life it brings again the question to mind; “Why do good people sometimes suffer?” Of the many poems she wrote I want to mention one titled; The World’s Bible, of which I will read just the first few verses.

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today;
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way;
He has no tongue but our tongues to tell men how He died;
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read;
We are the sinner's gospel, we are the scoffer's creed;
We are the Lord's last message, given in deed and word;
What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?
What if our feet are walking where sin's allurement is?
What if our tongues are speaking of things His lips would spurn?
How can we hope to help Him and hasten His return?

I would suggest that is a basic truth of the passages that we've been studying in Romans Chapter 12 concerning offering our bodies as spiritual sacrifices to God. God has given us the responsibility to do the work. Not only has He given us responsibility but He has given us the tools and functions as well.  

This morning we're going to talk about the gifts God has given us to do His work. Christ has no hands but our hands. He has no feet but our feet. He instructs us to use what we have, to do what God has given us to do.

Turn to Romans chapter 12 if you are not already there. Let’s read starting in verse three again the passage we've been studying.
Romans 12:3-8 – “3. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5. so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7. or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

We’ve looked at these passages in past weeks to try to understand what our responsibility is in terms of service. What serving God is all about. We found as we studied earlier that the attitude of service is humility. That we must not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to be always willing to put the other person above ourselves.