Will You Go Away, Too?

                                                   Father=s Day!

Introduction:

A.   Today is Father=s Day!

 

B.   One thing I have noticed in my ministry is that more

mothers come to church without their husbands than

do fathers without their wives; as far as church goes,

many of the father=s aren=t there.  In many homes, the

father is not there!

 

     C.   I believe we have some good fathers, and I realize

          that I am preaching to the choir today because you are

          here!

 

Trans.

As we look at our Christian lives, I would just like

for the fathers who are here today and perhaps all of

us to ask ourselves a question that Jesus asked of his

followers, "Will we go away, too?"

 

                            Prayer

                          John 6:66-69

 

I.   This was a question that Jesus asked his disciples, "Will you    go away, too?"

A.   Jesus was a new movement: a new thing!

 

1.   Some probably got caught up with him.

 

2.   They liked to be around him and follow him when

he was healing their sick.

 

3.   They liked to be around him when he was passing

out free food!

 

4.   But when Christ started telling what it would

mean to follow him, maybe die, be persecuted,

things go wrong sometimes; it was a different

story!

 

B.   Many left!

 

1.   These people who left hadn't realized that Jesus

was not a free ride until now!!

2.   When they realized it, they were history.

 

3.   They had come to Christ for what they could get out of it, and when they realized it was a life of commitment that would cost them, they left!

 

C.   After they left, Jesus looked at the 12 and said,

"Will you go away, too?"

 

II.  This passage cries out for us to ask ourselves this question today, "Will we go away, too?"

 

A.   Let's consider for a moment the time when we decided to follow Jesus: conversion experience, confirmation, baptism, or affirmation of baptism.  That time when we made a commitment to Christ for the first time.

 

1.   Perhaps it was an emotional time: crying,

laughing, shouting.

 

2.   Or perhaps it wasn't so emotional because we

really don't show much emotion, but it was really heart felt. That is okay too!

 

1.      Maybe it was neither, but we just did what we  thought we were suppose to do!

 

4.   Maybe we were just nurtured up in the faith, and came to the point one day of saying, “Yes, I want to follow Jesus!”

 

5.   Either way, what kind of commitment did we make?

 

B.   People sometimes "do all the right things," and really don't ever make a commitment!  Remember, it's not a  matter of doing all the right things!

 

1.   They may even get all excited and emotional because, after all, they believe they are getting a home in heaven for free; it is like winning a million dollars!  Who wouldn=t get excited about that?

 

2.   But they haven't made any commitment themselves!

a.   They haven't trusted with their heart in what God has done through Christ to make a way for them.  That is called faith!

b.   They haven't really come to the realization that it isn't anything that they have or can  do; it is what God has done for them!

 

c.   They haven't realized that if they just try to turn over a new leaf and try to do all the right things they will mess it up again!

d.   They haven't said, "Lord, I have messed my life up and will continue to mess it up unless you come in and live through me, so come in Lord; make me what you would have me be!"  "Transform me: make me new!"  I will do what I can to be a willing vessel for you!

e.   And then, by the grace of God, get up and  live a different life: a life of continually growing into what God would have us be!  A life of never going away from Christ, but instead, a life of continually yielding to Christ!

 

3.   There will be some hard times! 

a.   The world will try to bring us down fast!

1)   People will do us dirty!  Sometimes even people who profess to be Christian!

2)   People will laugh at us!

3)   There will be disasters!

4)   There will be sickness & death!

                   5)   There will be times when we will grow

                        weary!

b.   Satan will try to get us to turn away.

1)   He'll try to convince us that we aren't  saved.

2)   He'll try to kick us in the teeth when we are down.  But get back up by the grace of God and remember:

 

God will not allow anything to happen to us that God can't bring us through and help us to be better for having gone through it!

 

4.   Life will bring the stumbling blocks; we have to let God help us to take the blocks and build something out of them!

 

C.   We may get emotion, and we may do all the right things, but unless we make this type of commitment, we'll have nobody to carry us through these hard times, and when it gets tough, "We'll go away, too!"

 

III. When we come to Christ making this type of commitment and realizing that it will not always be a bed of roses but God will help us through whatever happens, we will have what it takes to follow Christ all the way!

 

Conclusion:

A.   Where is your faith resting?  Is it in Jesus Christ?

 

B.   What kind of commitment did you make? 

 

1.   Was it one of thinking you were getting a free ride and coming to get what you could out of it?

 

2.   Was it one of trying to do all the right things?

 

3.   Or was it one realizing your broken-ness and  yielding and committing your very life to Jesus

     Christ?

 

C.   The latter is the commitment that it takes.

 

D.   "Will You Go Away, Too?"

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

Faith On Trial!

 

Introduction:

A.   The Book of Psalms is a very valuable book in the

          Bible.

 

B.   It is valuable for several reasons:

1.   It gives us comfort in times of need.

2.   It aids us in praising the great God who created

all things so wonderfully!

3.   It gives us a very honest account of Godly people  in their struggles as they endeavor to serve God!

 

C.   So many times, we find that we can relate to the Psalmist as they write! 

Trans.

Let's look at one such relatable passage today!

 

                            Prayer

                         Psalm 73:1-17

 

I.   A look at the Scripture.

A.   The Psalmist starts out with the conclusion:

"Truly God is good to the upright, to those

who are pure in heart."  (Psalm 73:1)_

1.   The psalmist had arrived at this point but says, "This was where I was at."  "This is my journey."

2.   The psalmist was grateful for arriving at this conclusion, but had found it tough getting there!

 

B.   "my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly

 slipped."

1.   The writer had nearly come to the point of

throwing in the towel!  Life had dealt some hard

blows!

2.   What was the cause of the problem? 

a.   Simply not understanding God's way with

respect to him/her!

b.   The psalmist had become aware of a painful fact.

1)   Even though the psalmist was living a

Godly life, was cleansing his/her heart, and was washing his/her hands in

innocency.  (vs. 13)

2)   Even though the psalmist was avoiding

sin, was in a habit of examining

his/her life, and was confessing it to God with sorrow, seeking forgiveness

and renewal!

3)   Even though, he/she was spending time

in prayer to God and was meditating on

the things of God!

4)   This person, I'm sure, was living a

life that was well pleasing to God!

5)   Yet, in spite of all of this, the

     psalmist was having a great deal of

trouble:

 

"For all day long I have been plagued,

and am punished every morning." (vs. 14)

 

We don't know exactly what was

happening:

a)   maybe health was failing?

b)   maybe trouble in family?

c)   maybe financial problems?

 

6)   Whatever it was, everything seemed to

be going wrong and nothing seemed to be   going right!

7)   As if that weren't bad enough, the  writer could see people living in                              defiance of God, and they were being  blessed!

 

C.   The psalmist came through all of this before arriving  at the conclusion, "Truly God is good to the upright."

 

II.  What can we learn from all of this?

A.   Perplexity in the light of this kind of situation is

not surprising!

1.   We will not always understand all things!

2.   We don't always understand exactly why God allows

some things!

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Says the Lord in Isaiah 55:8.

3.   We may not understand why God allows some tragity in our lives.   

4.   But we can learn to trust the Lord!!

 

B.   Perplexity is not Sinful.

1.   It is not wrong to not understand and perhaps

feel a little confused or angry at the way things are going!

2.   The apostle Paul was at times perplexed.

(II Cor. 4:8)

              “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;

 perplexed, but not driven to despair;…”

 

3.   We just can't let it move us to despair: loss of

hope in God!

 

C.   Perplexity opens the door to Temptation!

1.   When we don't understand, Satan will take that  opportunity to work on us!

a.   Satan knows our weaknesses.

b.   We must trust God to bring us through even

though we may not fully understand!

c.   We must take on the whole armor of God.

As says:(Eph. 6:13)

For we need it all!

 

2.   Temptation is often times presented as logical.

a.   Satan makes it seem like the logical thing

to do.

b.   Nobody would probably fall into temptation

     if it didn't at the time seem logical.

c.   We've all experienced this because Satan

works on Christians the most.

1)   He tries to discourage us!

2)   He tries to convince us that God isn't

fair!

 

3.   Temptation is not sin.

a.   We can't keep Satan from putting thoughts in

our minds!

b.   But what do we do with them?  It has been said:

 

"You can't prevent the crow from flying over

your head, but you can prevent him from

making a nest in your hair."

 

c.   Let me say it another way, we are not accountable in life for what happens to us, and we are not accountable for the temptations that come to us as a result of it, but we are accountable for what we allow it to do to us!

 

 

4.   How do we know we have dealt with temptation

properly when it comes?

a.   When we finally arrive at the right

conclusion:

"God is good to the upright!"

b.   The psalmist said, "I was tempted to believe

that there are times when God isn't always

good to the upright, but now I know with more surety that God is always good to the

upright!"  (paraphrased)

c.   "No matter what happens to me, I know that  God is always good and God is working to bring good out of this for me!"

d.   I believe that is what the psalmist learned!

 

D.   What if you find yourself here but have not arrived at this conclusion yet?

1.   Don’t feel guilty for feeling perplexed, confused, or even sometimes angry!  That is very normal! The temptation is to let it drive you away from God!

2.   Don’t let the perplexity drive you away from God: we are accountable for what we allow it to do to us!

3.   Let it drive you to God!  Keep coming to the house of God.  Keep asking the questions and reading the Bible!  Keep praying very honestly to God!  Even a perplexed, confused prayer is an admission of faith!

4.   You will get there, and like the Psalmnist you will be able to say, “Truly God is good to the upright!” 

Conclusion:

A.   Maybe you have been going through some hard times:

1.   You have worked hard for the Lord!

2.   You have studied!

3.   You have prayed!

4.   But life has dealt us some hard blows!  People

have been cruel to you!

5.   Satan would have you and me think that God is not

Always fair!

B.   The psalmist says to that, "Truly God is good to the

upright, to those who are pure in heart."  Thanks be

to God!

Prayer

Anointed with the Good News!

 Prayer of Illumination

Luke 4:14-22

Introduction:

     A.   Story of former pastor who brought a bouquet of

flowers to class, one more flower than people in class.

 

     B.   One flower was smashed.

 

     C.   He had us each pick one; do you know which one was left?

 

     Trans.

          Sometimes we tend to pick people the same way; we pick the ones who look like or act like we want them to. 

 

I.   A look at the Scriptures.

     A.   Jesus is anointed with the Spirit.

 

     B.   He reads this passage from Isaiah.

          1.   This is Jesus's mission. (Writings of NT, 229)

          2.   And his ministry.

 

     C.   The Jews are satisfied with how things are.

          1.   Some are making money selling animals for temple

              sacrifice.

          2.   The priests make a living doing what they do, and  they hold a high place of esteem among the Jewish people.

          3.   The Jews like it that certain people like the Gentiles and women are kept out of the inner sanctum of the temple.

 

     D.   They run Jesus out of town.

 

II.  The Church: God's anointed.

     A.   The Church is God's anointed today. II Cor. 5:17-20a

 

          So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  18  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;  19  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, d not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.  20  So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us

 

     B.   We have Christ's mission and ministry.

 

     C.   To reach out to all people.

          1.   poor or wealthy

          2.   black, white, or hispanic

          3.   educated or not educated

          4.   heterosexual or not . . .

 

     D.   If we don't do it, it won't be done.

 

III. How can we do it?

     A.   If we looked at the demographics of our community, we would probably notice some things about ourselves compared to our community.  I suspect we would find that we are:

          1.   sometimes more wealthy

          2.   in some cases more educated

          3.   maybe even whiter

          4.   although we are more diverse than most churches;

              sometimes less diverse

 

     B.   What does this tell us?

          1.   We need to welcome outsiders who are not like us.

              That would be in keeping with Christ's ministry!  If we don't, the people out there in our community  to reach for God will be very limited.  God would  not have us be If we don't, the people out there in our community to reach for God will be very limited.  God would not have us be limited!  We need to:

              a.   greet those who are not like ourselves; that is part of having open hearts, open doors,

                   and open minds!

              b.   provide a safe nursery with safe gatherings

                   certified attendants as needed.

              c.   make sure and provide handicap access.

              d.   let new people be a part of us!  Typically, a lot of churches will welcome a visitor, but when they keep coming, the life of the church is almost impossible to penetrate!

                   Don’t think this is a big problem here, but prevention is the best cure!

          2.   We can provide some ministries to our community.

              That too is in keeping with Christ's mission!

              a.   We provide the free food shelf at the Thrift Store.  I hope the folks who get food from that shelf would be welcomed into our church just like anyone else.  They are a part of our mission field!

              b.   We provide the Thrift Store that gives clothes and housing items to people who have great need!  I hope those recipients too would be invited and welcomed into our church!

              c.   We support Options.  That is great, and I hope the women and girls in crises would be welcomed here!

          3.   Anything we do as a church, needs to be invitational!

              a.   We need to be non-selective about who we invite to church.

              b.   We need to make sure we are non-selective

about who we pick to welcome or talk to.

Christ was non-selective! Christ spoke to

the woman at the well.  He spoke to the tax

collector! On the other hand, maybe he was

selective and he intentionally selected

those who were outcasts!

 

 

Conclusion:

     A.   Are we picking people like flowers?

 

     B.   What can we do, or how can we improve on what we are doing to make sure that all of God's people in Forsyth are being invited into God's kingdom?

          1.   This is something I think we always have to be asking ourselves!

          2.   This is something I am always glad to hear your input on!

          3.   This is something I need your help on as we strive to make all that we do more invitational!

 

     C.   We have the Good News!  Christ has anointed us with the Good News!  We are Christ’s Ambassadors!

 

D.   I’d like to share a Story of a Blind Girl w/apples.

     “Are you Jesus?”

 

“Are You Jesus?”

Posted by Regi Campbell on January 31, 2013

(A close friend sent me this. I didn’t live it or write it. I wish I had)

A few years ago, a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night dinner. In their rush through the crowded concourse, with boarding passes and briefcases, one of the men inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly-missed boarding…all but one.

He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.

He was glad he did.

The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her; no one stopping and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?” She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, “I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.”

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him,

“Mister….”

He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes.

She continued, “Are you Jesus?”

He stopped in mid-stride … and he wondered. He gently went back and said,

“No, I am nothing like Jesus – He is good, kind, caring, loving and would never have bumped into your display in the first place.”

The girl gently nodded: “I only asked because I prayed for Jesus to help me gather the apples. He sent you to help me, so you are like Him – only He knows who will do His will. Thank you for hearing His call, Mister.”

Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: “Are you Jesus?”

 

E.   Are you Jesus?  I want to challenge you to think of

     one person who you probably have previously ruled out

     as uninterested in church and commit to strike up a

     conversation with them this week and invite them to

     church, maybe invite them to set with you in church. 

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

 

Sending forth:

“Are you Jesus?”  Go forth and be Jesus to a world who really needs to see and experience Jesus, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!  Amen!