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