Sincere but Lost!

 14^th Sunday after Pentecost!

                         

Introduction:

     A.   Have you ever heard someone say when referring to

          someone's religion, "It doesn't matter what you

believe as long as you are sincere?"

 

     B.   I have heard this statement made many times.

 

     C.   If it doesn't matter what we believe, what are we

worried about?  Everyone will go to Heaven anyway!

 

     D.   The truth is it does matter what we believe!  I'm

afraid there are people today who are Sincerely Lost!

 

     Trans.

          Let's look today at a man who was very sincere and who          came to Jesus, learning some lessons from what was

said!

 

                              Prayer

                          Matt. 19: 16-22

 

I.   What did this young man have going for him?

 

A.      He was a ruler!  We learn this from Luke's gospel –

Luke 18:18  (Possibly of the Sanhedran - B.K.C.)

 

B.      He was religious!  He was a "good" Jew!  He had kept

the commandments that Christ listed to his knowledge!

               * We might say he was sincere! *

 

     C.   He was rich!  All three gospel accounts of "The rich

          young ruler" present him as rich!

 

     D.   To most people, he looked like he had it all!  Yet he

          felt like something was missing!

 

II.  What did he lack?

 

     A.   He failed in his love for people!

          1.   He'd just told Christ that he loved his neighbor

as himself yet his action here proved the

contrary!

          2.   "You have to love people more than things!"

               a.   My mother told me this one time when it was

                     much needed, and I've never forgotten it!

               b.   Our world would be a much better place to

live if people believed and practiced this!

                     1)   People wouldn't be cheating others and

                          hurting them to get ahead!

                     2)   People would be generous and make

prevision for the less fortunate!

                     3)   People wouldn't lie about a product to

                          sell it!

                     4)   People would practice Love not revenge

                          when their property was damaged!

                     5)   People wouldn't purposely damage

another's property!

                     6)   There wouldn't be people hungry or

                          starving!

                     7)   There wouldn’t be homeless!

 

     B.   He lacked one other thing!  He failed to accept and

          follow Christ!

          1.   John 3:16-18   He that doesn't believe in Christ

is condemned!

          2.   This is the one that I'm afraid gets a lot of

people today, even like this man, religious

people!

 

a.      This is about believing that God did in

Christ what we can’t do for ourselves!  God made a way for us to be forgiven and given a chance to live for God after we have messed it up.  It isn’t about what we have done! It is about following Jesus. People that don’t get this may be very Religious; they are

religiously working for the church, but they are sincere but Lost!

 

b.      Our works should be an outflow of our faith! 

We work because of our love for God and for people! We work because we have found a better way! Working without the faith and for any other reason may make us think we are okay, like the rich young ruler, but in reality we are sincere but lost. Our works become a false security!

 

                     False security:

                     1)   We may be sincere and may feel sure we

                          are alright because we never miss a

                          Sunday!

                     2)   We may be sincere and may feel we are

                          alright because we are a member of a

                          church!

                     3)   We may be sincere and feel sure we

                          are alright because to the best of our

                          knowledge we live a clean, moral life!

We are not like “those” people!

Whoever “those” people are!

 

c.      These things are good, and we may be sincere in doing them!  We may be sincerely trying

to be good people, but that in itself isn't

                     enough! (Eph. 2:8-9)

 

                     ^8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not

your own doing; it is the gift of God— ^9 not the result of works, so

that no one may boast.^[1]

 

d.      Works can be a means of grace. They can be

an avenue through which God makes Godself known to us and we come to faith.  Sadly, this wasn’t the case with the rich young ruler!

 

1)      So if you are working and don’t have

faith the answer is not to just stop working!

 

2)      Once when John Wesley was suffering

from self-doubt and struggling with his faith and wondering if he should stop preaching, his mentor, Peter Bohler, told him:

 

“Preach faith till you have it: and

then, because you have it, you will

preach faith.”

 

3)      So our works can be part of the journey

but not the end of the journey.

 

III. The bottom line is this, if we haven't accepted that God

has done for us what we can't do for ourselves and because

of that are serving God with all our lives, we are lost!

 

     A.   We can have our names on every church roll in

          Forsyth and be lost!  Joining the Church and                    serving through the church are good and needful. It is

through our service that God’s work gets done, but           Church membership in itself does not save us!

 

     B.   We can be at church every time the doors are open and

          be lost!

 

     C.   We can take an active part in the church and be lost!

 

Conclusion:    John 14:6 " “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes

     to  the Father except through me. ^[2]"

 

     A.   This man had done all these things, yet he lacked the

          most important one!

 

C.      How about us?  Have we accepted what God has done for

us that we can't do for ourselves?  We have to get off of this self-sufficiency kick when it comes to this; we can't do anything to make us right with God!  We can only accept what God has done for us, believing in what God has done for us with all our hearts and serving God as a result of it!  Are we really following God, or are we, like we are so use to doing in many other areas of our lives, trying to take care of it ourselves?  As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, do we need to receive what God has done for us that we can't do for ourselves?

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

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^[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville

^[2]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville

Let's Get to Work!

 13^th Sunday after Pentecost!

Introduction:

A.   What does a key do for you?

 

B.   It gives you the ability to enter a building doesn't it! It also gives you the ability to decide who else enters the building!

 

C.   Jesus told Peter one time he was going to give him the keys to the Kingdom; let's look and see what Jesus might have been saying.

 

                              Prayer

                          Matt. 16:13-19

 

I.   Let's look at this scripture. (especially vs. 19)

 

A.   Here of course Jesus was talking to Peter.

 

1.   But I think this can be applied to the church.

2.   The church that was built upon this rock (Jesus Christ).

 

B.   This was a very positive statement about the church!

 

1.   He was saying my church won't be dead, but it will  e alive!

2.   It will be going about doing things:

a.   It will be opening the doors for people to come

to God.

b.   And binding them up with the Love of God.

 

II.  If Christ was this positive about the church, then what can cause a church not to be effective?

 

A.   Traditions:

 

1.   Traditions aren't necessarily all bad; they can help make things operate smoothly, and there can be traditions that are really meeting people's needs, that really help us to worship.

     a.   Traditions like the Apostles Creed, Nicene

Creed, liturgy in worship, help us keep

connected to the Christians that lived closest

to the time of Christ!

               b.   Tradition is one of the 4 parts of the

Quadrilateral that helps us decern the will of

God when Scripture is not clear on the subject.

               c.   Christian tradition is important!

               d.   I am glad to be a part of a church that honors

and finds value in those traditions of the early

church!

 

2.   But traditions can be bad, usually more recent

traditions!

a.   They may not be meeting any needs at all, but because that is the way we've always done it,  that is the way we are going to continue to do  it!

b.   They can cause us not to accept change for the better!

c.   They can cause us not to try new things to meet  people's needs!

a.      They can keep us from moving into the 21^st century.

e.   They can keep us from doing something that God wants us to do, and that is when it becomes bad!  It can cause God's church to be ineffective!

 

B.   Another thing that can cause the church to be ineffective is Inconsistent lives of Christians:

 

1.   As a church we teach many things.

a.   We teach that God should be first in our lives!

b.   We teach that we should support the church and its ministries!

c.   We teach that Christians should live clean,

moral lives!

d.   We teach that God loves us!

 

2.   But if we don't show this by the way we live every day of our lives, we aren't being consistent, and we are causing the church to be ineffective!

     a.   If they view us as a hypocrite by the way we live,

they won’t want what we have. They will not view

us as being genuine!

               b.   If they don’t feel loved by us, if they feel

judged by us, that will color their view of God,

and they won’t want God in their lives!

               c.   But if they feel loved and haven’t been loved

by other so called Christians, they might just

want to come and visit that church that helped

make you who you are!

 

3.   When we do show this by how we live, people on the

outside will want what we have!

 

C.   Poor leaders can make the church ineffective!

 

1.   Ministers that preach one thing and at the same time are doing something else!  This not only loses respect for them but also for the church!

 

2.   Teachers:

a.   That don't live what they teach.

b.   That don't prepare!

c.   That don't work on their teaching skills!

d.   This can cause us to be ineffective.

1)   We need to do our part!!

2)   We are responsible for the job we do!!

 

III. What can cause the church to be effective?

 

A.   Loose them to be forgiven and given a new chance at life!

Offer them Christ!  Unconditionally!

 

B.   Bind them with the Love of God!

1.   In our world today, our country today, we need to love

like we have never loved before!

2.   We need to let go of our preconceptions about people!

Our preconceptions will cause us to not invite or open

the conversation!

a.   Maybe their skin is a different color than ours

and we have all these preconceived ideas about

how they are! Preconceptions that will keep us

from inviting!

               b.   Maybe their hair is longer, shorter, a different

style, not as clean, and we don’t open the

conversation.

               c.   Maybe they have tatoos and we do not like tatoos,

or maybe they don’t have tatoos and we do and we think they

are self-righteous and wouldn’t listen to us,

so we do not make the invitation.

               d.   Maybe they dress poorly and look homeless, so

we do not make the invitation. 

               e.   The list goes on. When we see people who are

different and because of that do not make the invitation, we have not taken the key to open the door, to unbind them for God!

f.   Listen to Paul’s instruction from Romans

12:1-18. Let love be genuine! Rejoice in hope! Extend hospitality to strangers! Live in harmony with one another. Live peaceably with all!

               g.   We have the key!  If we do not make the

invitation or open the conversation, people may

never know the love of God!

 

          3.   If they show up at church, do we make them feel welcome

no matter how they look?

a.   Do we make the effort to talk to them?

b.   Do we show them around or tell them about the

church?

               c.   Do we let them sit in the seat we usually sit

in without making them move and feel unwanted?

               d.   If they keep coming, do we let them become a part

of us?  We have the keys!  It is up to us!

    

          4.   I do not see any of this being a big problem in general

here.  I think it is just good for us all to be

reminded about the ways people can not feel included

or loved!

 

5.   We are responsible to reach out to people! God has

given us the keys!

a.   Are we doing it?

b.   We can make a difference!

c.   If we'll stick together and work together for Christ, we'll change some things!  We may not change the whole world, but we can brighten the corner where we are!

d.   We can continue to grow and bring people into

the Kingdom of God and the church!

               e.   We can positively influence Forsyth with the Love of God!

               f.   I am reminded of another of Jesus’ parables: if we will sow the seeds, some will sprout and grow!

 

Conclusion:

A.   We hold the keys; it's up to us!  Let's get to work!!

 

B.   Has something in this message touched you? Do you feel like

you have missed some opportunities to bring the love of

God to someone because of preconceived ideas? Have you

failed to be loving?  Have you failed to give the

invitation?  Do you need to get to work for God? You can

bring it to God as we encounter Christ at the table this

morning, and we can leave and get to work!

 

                       Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

 

Have It Your Way!

 12^th Sunday after Pentecost!

                        

Introduction:

      A.   Again, Matthew arranges his gospel topically.

          1.   Our Matthew text today comes from a section in

Matthew where Matthew is sharing Jesus’ teachings

other than Parables.

2.   It starts with Jesus’ sermon on the mount, but

probably includes various other teachings during

Christ’s ministry.

3.   It starts with the beatitudes, continues with

you’ve heard it said but I say, and continues

with teachings that Jesus shared about living in

the Kingdom of God.

 

B.   Our Country has seen many changes:

 

1.   It used to be a country centered on God.

2.   It used to be a country of the most productive

people in the world.

3.   It used to be a country where the family was a

     precious thing to be protected and cherished!

 

C.   But in the 60's & 70's came an attitude that the

          hamburger places realized was catching on, so they

          developed a slogan that reflected it:  "Have It Your

          Way!"

 

D.   For a hamburger, this might be a good slogan, but for

a way of life it may not be worth the cost!

 

E.   Listen closely to this short Proverb, and let's look

at what it tells us about this attitude and also look

at what Jesus says about this attitude in Matthew.

 

                              Prayer

                  Proverbs 14:12 & Matt. 6:25-33

 

 12  There is a way that seems right to a person,  but its end is the way to death. d ¹

 

I.  Let's look at the consequences of the "Have It Your Way” philosophy.

 

A.   Let's look for a minute at some of the other things

that came with this philosophy in the 60's.

 

1.   It was a time of rebellion!  These even broke out

             into riots.

 

2.   It was a time of Hippies and the beginning of

     Pot!

 

3.   It was a time when it was said that having to

     Submit to authority was a violation of our

     rights!

a.      Some rights were violated in the 60's and

Years before.

b.      The civil rights movement came from this

era.

c.      Much good has come from that; I'm not

Talking about this.

d.   But all authority was challenged in the

sixties.

1)   The authority of the government.

2)   The authority of the church.

3)   The authority of the family.

4)   We don’t know who to trust today!

 

4.   Drugs, Marijuana, LSD, Speed, were big and

     Heroine was coming on the scene.

 

B. Then came the 70's & 80's.

 

1.   Things seemed to settle down a bit.

2.   The hippies became parents & the lack of

     Discipline, lack of respect, and lack of common

     courtesy was taught to their children!

3.   This "Have It Your Way" philosophy has led us to

     a world were anything goes!

4.   Let us list some the results of our "Have It Your

Way" world:

a.   Family break down.

b.   The teen suicide rate has soared.

c.   Kids take guns to school and shoot their

                  classmates, and adults do the same in the

work place.

d.   Schools where teaching is impossible because

                  the kids rule the roost.

e.   Child abuse at all time highs.

f.   Drug abuse, this includes alcohol and Meth,

     at all time highs and often accepted as the

     thing to do.

g.   Children who are feeling unloved, unwanted,

     and feel like their parents are so busy they

     would be better off without them.

 

h.   Young adults who are searching everywhere

     for happiness but always coming up empty.

i.      Churches becoming places where people fight

And fuss to get their way instead of loving,

forgiving, and working together for God=s

way.

j.   Frightened children, troubled teens,

     searching young adults, and lonely old

     people!

 

B.   If "Having It Our Way" has gotten us here, isn't it

time we found a better?

 

II. Why not do it God's way?

 

A. Matt. 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God! 

God's way is always the right way and the best way for

us!

 

B. Let's look at some things God's way would have us get

back to.

 

1.      A person's word; God's way says a Christian

should still be dependable.

2.   Family living.

a.   God's way says that family is still

     important, whether it is a biological

     family, an adopted family, a blended family,

     or a non-traditional family!

b.   We shouldn't get so busy that we don't have

time for the family God has given us.

c.   It is in this basic unit that we have our

greatest influence and our greatest chance

to make a difference!  God would not have us

blow it! God would have us Love them! 

Cherish them!

 

3.   Respect.

 

a.      God's way says that children aren't the

bosses and parents should be consistent with loving discipline.

1)   Children learn early and try us!

2)   It's hard to always be consistent, but

     we should try.

b.      We can teach children respect by treating

them with respect, by talking to them in a way that we would want to be talked to!

c.      God's way says that Christians should

respect each other and try never to do anything that hurts the church or a brother or sister. Sadly, that is not always the case in the church!

 

          3.   Love.

 

a.      I am more and more convinced that Jesus

summed up seeking God first best when asked what is the greatest commandment!  “Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself!”.   

b.      John Wesley set as a goal for our Christian

Lives to be “perfected in Love!”

c.      We need to be more concerned with being

guided by love for God and love for people!

d.      Love, not judgement, will draw people to

God!

               e.   Love will heal our land!

 

4.   Lastly, but not least, Real Commitment to God. If

     we Love God, we’ll commit to God!

 

a.   In John 3:3, Christ told Nicodemus that he

could not be in the Kingdom of God unless he

was "born again."

 

b.   This is the basis of our faith!

1)   Our way is selfish, self serving, and

lived for what we think we want!

2)   God's way is tapping into the forgiving

love and changing power of Christ.

a)   It is through Christ that we can be

new persons!

b)   Loving persons!

c)   With a life worth living!

d)   It is dying to ourselves and our

     way and being born a new person

     that strives for God’s way’ the way

     of Love!

 

 

Conclusion:

 

A. In Matt. 16:26, Christ says, "For what will it profit

them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their

life? Or what will they give in return for their

life?"

 

B. Our text says, "There is a way that seems right to a

person, but its end is the way to death."

 

C. Are you "Having It Your Way" this morning?  As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, Won't you commit to "Having It God's Way?"

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

 

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    Heb ways of death

¹The Holy Bible  : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville