Free, But Not Non-Committal!

 11^th Sunday After Pentecost!

                  

Introduction:

A.   Have you ever noticed how when you set something out

     and put "Free" on it, it goes just like that? 

     1.   Consider our free food shelf at the Thrift Store!

     2.   Consider when you set something out on the street

          that is worth anything at all and put a free sign

          on it!

 

B.   I am a fan of Candid Camera.  Anybody remember it?  I

can remember an episode where they put something out

and marked "free take one" on it.  I don't remember

what it was, but it was something that you couldn't

hardly figure out what it was!  They had people

looking them over, walking away, coming back, carrying

them around, taking them, etc., all because it was

free.

 

C.   If a company wants to get you to open some junk mail,

     they put "Free gift inside!" or "Your a Winner" on the           envelope, and we open it!

 

D.   Everybody wants to get something "Free!"

 

E.   Sometimes we even market Christ that way! Dietrich

     Bonhoeffer called this tendency, “Cheap Grace.”

 

F.   The truth is that most things that are worthwhile cost           us something!  Even Christ will cost us something!

 

Trans.

Let's look this morning at a city of people who

weren't willing to pay the price!

 

                            Prayer

                         Matt. 8:28-34

 

I.   Remember Matthew arranges his gospel Topically and not

     Chronologically.

     A.   Our scripture today is in a section where Matthew is

          recalling the miracles of Jesus.

 

     B.   Our scripture today recalls the healing of the

          Gadarene Demoniacs! Let’s look at this miracle!

 

II.  Here we have two men who were in a terrible shape!

A.   They were possessed, the scriptures tell us, with

     demons!

 

B.   They were so hateful and violent that they had to live           among the tombs!  (In a graveyard!)

 

C.   They were exceeding fierce!  Mark 5:1-20 & Luke 8:26-

     40 record that at least one of these men was so fierce           that he couldn't even be held with chains!

 

D.   They really needed the Lord!

 

 

III. The Lord healed these men of their demon possession!

A.   At the demons request, Christ let them go out into a

herd of swine!

 

B.   When he did, the swine ran into the sea and drown!

 

C.   When this happened, the keepers of the swine ran into

     the city to report what had happened!

 

IV.  Jesus is asked to leave!

A.   The people of the city came out to Jesus.

 

B.   Mark and Luke both record that they saw one of these

men sitting by Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind!

 

C.   The people overlooked the miracle and saw the fact

     that Jesus had cost them something!  It might be their

     herds next time!

 

D.   So they asked Jesus to leave!

 

V.   Jesus had cost them something; living for Christ costs us something today too!

A.   Yes, salvation is "Free."  There is no way that we can           buy it!  We can't live good enough to be saved without      the sacrifice of Christ!  (Eph. 2:8-10)

 

(Eph 2:8 NRSV)  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--

 

(Eph 2:9 NRSV)  not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

(Eph 2:10 NRSV)  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

 

B.   It is free, but we need to be careful that we do not

     market it in a way that Dietrich Bonhoeffer called

     “Cheap Grace!”

 

C.   When we accept this free gift, it is going to so

     change our lives that it will cost us something!

1.   It may cost us some of our old "so called"

     friends and the relationship we shared with them!

     They may not want to be around us anymore! Maybe

     we aren’t comfortable doing the things with them

     that we used to do.

2.   It will cost us some time spent in study!

3.   It will cost us some time in church and in

     fellowship with other Christians.

4.   It will cost us some time doing the things of

     God!

     a.   Wesley and Methodists are very much about

          doing something with our faith!

     b.   Salvation isn’t just about showing up on

          Sunday and not living and loving for God the

          rest of the week!

     c.   The early Methodist groups as a part of

          their gathering together were asked:

          1)   Did you visit the sick?

          2)   Have you ministered to those in prison?

          3)   Have you ministered to the widows?

          4)   Have you helped the poor?

          5)   Have you read the Bible?

          6)   Have you done all the good you can in

               all the ways you can?

5.   It will cost us our money, and not only that, but                it will cost us our whole life!

     a.   Remember?  Present your bodies a living

          sacrifice . . . .  Rom. 12:1-2.

     b.   I for one do not like to talk about money,

          but the Bible does not spare us that.

     c.   Our commitment affects this part of our

          lives too.

     d.   This miracle speaks to this more than

          anything else.  Whey did the town’s people

          ask Christ to leave? They asked him to leave

          because he was costing them money!

6.   We may even find ourselves trading some of our

     old pass-times for some new pass-times!

 

7.   Remember your membership vows: “As members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?”

 

D.   It costs, but we are willing and really want to pay

     the price if we really have a true faith in Christ! 

     1.   Remember?  It is our reasonable service, and we

          will think it is only reasonable! (Rom. 12:1&2)

2.   It is worth the price! Remember… (Matt 13:45&46)

 

(Mat 13:45 NRSV)  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;

 

(Mat 13:46 NRSV)  on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 

 

E.   True faith will work!  (remember James 2:17&18)

 

(James 2:17 NRSV)  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

 

(James 2:18 NRSV)  But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

         

1.   If we wear the name Christian and we don't live a                changed life, we are missing it!

 

2.   We may be a member of the church, but if we

     aren't continually changing & growing in Christ,

     we are missing it!

 

3.   Somewhere along the way, the church has softened

     up the Gospel! 

a.   We speak of committed Christians & non-

     committed Christians.  Like there was such a                    thing as a non-committed Christian !

b.   We speak of those who make Christ Lord and

     those who do not!

c.   We have active members and inactive members!

 

4.   God hasn't softened up; either we have accepted  

     what God has done for us through Christ and it is                changing our lives or we really don't know him!

IT IS THAT SIMPLE! God expects us to do something

with our faith!

 

Conclusion:

 

A.   These people asked Christ to leave because he cost them something!  Have you or are you asking Christ to leave for the same reason today?  We can!  It is up to us.

 

B.   I want to share just a part of Mark’s version of this miracle: read Mark 5:14-20.

 

C.   Are we like the man who was healed?

1.   Wanting to be with Jesus!

2.   Wanting to live for Christ!

 

D.   Or are we like the others: the town’s people?  Asking            Christ to leave by the way that we live because we are

     afraid of what Christ will cost us?

 

E.   If we find ourselves a little too much like the towns

     people, we can settle that as we encounter Christ at

     the table today. Ask Christ to come Lord Jesus Come!

     Fill me with your Spirit! Let me be more like you!

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

 

The Power of Believing!

 10^th Sunday after Pentecost

Focus statement:    This sermon will show that, if we believe and expect God to work miracles in our

                   church and lives, God will.

 

Function statement: As a result of this sermon, the congregation will understand that we can make a

                difference today if we believe and will leave with more of a determination to make that

               difference.

  

                         Matt. 13:53-58

 

Text:

"And he did not do many deeds of power there, because

 Of their unbelief." v. 58

 

                            Prayer

 

1st movement

When I taught High School math, I made some interesting observations about students.  Let me tell you one of their stories.  We will call this student Bill.  The first year I had Bill, I observed that he could be a pretty likeable person.  He minded reasonably well, and he was pretty respectful, which was different than some that I had.  He wasn't very strong in math, and before it came time for parent/teacher conference, he had begun to fall behind in his work.  He had several assignments that he had not turned in.  For parent/teacher conference, both of his parents showed up which is always a good sign.  They asked me how he was doing and what his current grade was;  I told them, and they were not pleased.  They assured me that he would catch up and that I would see a difference because they were going to take his truck keys away until they got a positive report from me. He had a nice, pretty new model truck, that they had bought him.  He got to work, and his grade came up very rapidly.  When I sent the note home and he was able to get his keys back he let up, but he did pass that year by the skin of his teeth.

The next year I had Bill again.  He began to follow the same pattern again.  Parent/teacher conference came and his mom showed up.  I shared how he was doing, and she said, "I don't know what we are going to do with Bill."  "There doesn't seem to be anything that we can do!"  She followed this with many excuses about his behavior.  She no longer expected or believed that Bill would succeed, and Bill dropped out of school that year!

 

2nd movement

I can see a connection between what happened to Bill and what happened in Nazareth in our scripture for today.  The people did not expect or believe that Jesus would work any miracles, and Jesus did not.  They didn't trust in Him or put faith in Him because He was just the carpenter’s son!  They knew Him from birth; they did not believe He was any different than them!  They had watched Him play in the streets as a little child.  They had heard all the stories and talk about His questionable birth!  He couldn't be the Messiah!!  They didn't believe Jesus could work the miracles of which they had heard.  They didn't get to experience his miracles because they  didn't believe!  Jesus was no different; He had worked many miracles in other places, but the people were different.  Jesus is not an at-risk student who if we do not motivate will not perform, but the message in this scripture is that Jesus does not work miracles where there is unbelief. 

Some of us have known Jesus a long time; we have grown up with Jesus. I, for one, have gone to church most of my life! Have we gotten use to not seeing much church growth or not seeing many be saved to the point that we no longer believe that Jesus can work these miracles?  We no longer expect it?  We have heard all the stories about rural decline, lack of growth, lack of Jesus working many miracles in rural churches. Have we become disillusioned by people who claim to be Christians but have taken advantage of us or who we see taking advantage of others?  Have we experienced churches really not making much difference in our world?  Have we seen Christians who seem to be only concerned with themselves and what they can get?  Are we going to believe these stories and the realities of what we have seen in other people and talk about what Jesus cannot do, or are we going to look around at all the people who could be in church and believe and expect Jesus to be able to make a difference through us?  Are we going to expect and believe Jesus can do something about the situation in which we live?

 3rd movement

Jesus said in John 4:35, "But I tell you, look around you,  and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting."  Let's believe in what Jesus says here!  Let's believe or continue believing that Jesus can work miracles through us! Let’s continue to believe that if we love people, letting Jesus love through us, it will make a difference and people will respond. If we do, I believe we’ll continue to see God do some miracles in Forsyth!  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever!  We can count on it!  Claim the promises of God as we encounter Christ at the table this morning and let’s leave this morning expecting Jesus to work some miracles!

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

No Imitation Pearls, Thank You!

 9^th Sunday after Pentecost!

 

                            Prayer

                         Matt. 13:45-46

Introduction

A.   If you heard a commercial on T.V. for genuine pearls from the Mediterranean Sea, an exclusive offer, for a limited time and never to be offered again, for only $14.95.

1.   It wouldn't take a jeweler to realize that the

product you would be getting would be far from

genuine pearls.

2.   If you didn't know the difference, you might not

mind.

3.   But when the lacquer began to flake off of these

genuine pearls, chances are, you would know the

difference.

B.   We live in a day of imitations: imitation jewelry,

     imitation furs, imitation wood furniture, imitation body parts, imitation websites that are developed to scam you, and yes imitation Christianity, church, and people.

C.   The scripture we read this morning reminds us that there is a ONE OF A KIND "pearl,"  there is no imitation that comes close, and it is worth everything we possess to have this Pearl.

D.   What is this Pearl?  Let's look into this parable of Jesus and see what we can learn from it this morning.

 

I.   The Parable.

A.   Parables were the "life stories" Christ used to get his  message across to the people.

B.   He shares the Parable of the Pearl.

1.   There was a merchant with many fine pearls and jewels.

2.   But, he is not satisfied because he knows there is this special, unique, unmatched pearl out there somewhere.

3.   So all of his life and in all of his travel he is constantly seeking for this precious pearl.

4.   One day, perhaps unexpectedly, he sees it: the rarest, most exquisite pearl he has ever seen. There is no doubt that finally he has found this one of a kind pearl.

5.   Without further thought or question, he goes out and sells all he has and buys this pearl.

 

II.  The Lessons of the parable.

A.   The kingdom of God is the loveliest, most precious and  unique pearl in the world..

1.   True, there are many imitations: fakes, rip-off artists, and con-people.

2.   But, when the TRUE LOVE OF GOD is found, it cannot be equaled.

3.   It is also true that many times we as Christians act as if it is something to take for granted.

4.   Sometimes we act as if it is not important at all.

5.   Sometimes we act as if it is a terrible burden to serve God when in reality our service is a means of grace through which we encounter God!

6.   Because of the preciousness of the Love of God, we should never forget that God's love and forgiveness     are never just "a so-so part of life!"

B.   There are other Pearls, but only one PRECIOUS PEARL.

1.   People search in many good ways to find meaning.

a.   Some get educated.

b.   Some follow after the arts.

c.   Some try to be very athletic.

d.   Some try to do many good works.

e.   Some try to do nice things for many people.

2.   All of these within themselves are truly pearls.

     They are good things for us to do. None of these

are bad!

3.   But, until we have found the GREAT AND PRECIOUS

     PEARL, we will always feel a void and a need for the  real meaning of life.

C.   We must be willing to pay the price.

1.   The merchant invested his time and effort searching; then, he gave all he had to obtain the Pearl.

2.   So many times today, we as Christians are undisciplined.

a.   In our commitment to God.  Too many times

     today, we commit ourselves to things that we

     think will make us happy or that we feel

     others expect of us and God and Christian

     growth come in at the bottom of the list.

b.   In our commitment to the church.

1)   Too many times, we are spectators and not  participators.  We enjoy the worship but fail to see the need to get involved in  the other ministries of the church.

2)   If our church is to grow and expand, each  of us needs to be willing to do our part  to that no one will be over burdened and so our church can keep making a positive                        difference in people=s lives.

c.   In our commitment to share financially.

1)   Sometimes, we do this and never give of  our time and talents.  This is admirable,  but God and people need the special touch hat each of us can give.  They need our                        hands, our feet, and our love.

2)   Sometimes, we work in the church and feel that we have done our part and fail to give financially.

3)   In the Old Testament, we are told to give  a tithe of all that we have.  We can still use this as a guideline, but in the New  Testament, we are told to give as much as                       we honestly can, or we're taught 100% commitment.  In giving our tithe or as much as we honestly can, we show that we know that God owns it all; our giving is a reflection of our commitment in all parts of our lives.

a)      If we throw a $5 in the plate to ease our conscience, then we probably aren=t very committed beyond our Attendance, unless that is truly all we can give.

b)      On the other hand, if we are pushing ourselves to give the 10% or more or at least as much as we can right now and we are working on getting our finances in order so that we can better support the Lord=s work, then it is a pretty good indicator that we are making Christ the Lord of all areas of our lives.  We are a Christian that God can count on!

3.   We as Christians today must learn that the only

way to ever be happy with Christ is to get

disciplined and do whatever it takes to find the

great pearl. It takes 100% commitment of time,

talents, and finances!

 

III. What the parable leads us to do.

A.   Give ourselves to Christ totally!

1.   No "good road Christians" here.

A missionary (David Livingston) was once asked 

(by a missionary society) if he had found a

good road to where he was ministering.  They

said, if he had, they would send others to join

him.  He replied, if all they had were people

who would come only if there was a good road,

he didn't want them to come.  He needed people

who would come regardless of the condition of

the road.

2.   Just so, the church needs people who are willing to give, care, go, and do whatever it takes regardless of the circumstances.

B.   Also, this parable leads us to be joyful people at

peace with God, others, and self.  This is the

attitude that shows the true nature of God and makes people want to come to God.

C.   Thirdly, it calls us to examine our lives, all of us, and ask if we want all of God's blessings but are seldom ready to assume our Christian responsibilities.

 

Conclusion

A.   God gave Jesus.  God gave love.  God gave God's all for

us! 

B.   On this 9^th Sunday after Pentecost as we examine ourselves

for growth, are we ready to come to God this morning and

not just give an imitation but to give God the real thing:

our lives?

     C.   As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, we can

 do that!

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion