Sincere Faith Or Cosequences Series

Sincere Faith or Cosequences

(Mark 11:1-18, Luke 19:41-44)

INTRO

1. Few disappointments hurt as much as relational disappointments:

2. "All you think about is golf," the heartbroken wife complained. "You never think of me--even here at the breakfast table."

"Of course I think of you," he repsonded. "Thanks for the toast. Oh, could you pass the putter?"

3. Odds are that this man really did love his wife more than golf. Sometimes we do not show our true feelings; we know them, but we may not express them.

4. With God, however, there is no doubt. When our lips and our hearts do not match, he knows it completely. What matters is not our talk, but our walk AND our talk; God wants both; neither is good by itself.

5. Some Christians walk but do not talk; people must be given the content of the Gospel to be saved, not just see the Christian life modelled.

6. Others talk but do not walk; their hypocrisy makes the Gospel unpalatable.

7. Put together, our walk coupled with our talk reveal our relationship to Jesus Christ, and

PROP: Our relationship to Jesus Christ can vary, and so do the consequences that result from that relationship.

TS---------Let’s take a look at three ways those who have been exposed to the Gospel relate to Jesus Christ and the corresponding consequences.

I. Embracing Jesus: The Consequence: A meaningful, joyful life (Mark 11:1-11)

1. Palm Sunday: the events

(1) donkey and colt

(2) palms

(3) hosanna

2. Psalm 118:22-27 (heading to Jerusalem for Passover)

3. These Jews were from Galilee/Bethany

4. Their expectation: unrealisitc in light of Jesus rejection….

Their enthusiasm: warranted!

“The Rocks will cry out” Luke 19:39-40

5. The Party Hat….(wedding, not funeral)

(1) real joy draws people

(2) psyched up/fake joy/denial alienates

(3) gloom repels…

The first attitude: embracing (receptive)

II. Rejecting Jesus and Eventual Misery (Luke 19:41-44)

1. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem….not one stone left upon another…did not recognize her time of visitation….children dashed….

2. In the short term, Israel would not suffer from rejecting Jesus…

3. Talmud: why did God destroy the second temple?

4. You keep your distance from God rather than embracing Him, you end up miserable

(1) in this life---no real meaning “vanity of vanities…”

(2) in eternity---eternal meaningless in Lake of Fire

5. The watch (Swiss rejected, watch-making business destroyed)

The first attitude, embracing, brings meaning & joy; the second, rejection, brings misery on a permanent basis; the third response is somewhere between the two.

III. A Superficial Reception of God (Mark 11:12-18)

A. The Cursing of the Fig Tree

1. An object lesson, not a temper tantrum…

2. This species produces fruit first, then leaves…

3. No fruit: looked good, but no substance….

4. God expects fruit (banana w/empty inside)

5. Some people work hard at presenting an image, but no real commitment to Jesus Christ

B. Jesus turning over the tables….

1. 2nd time

2. You remember the corruption here

3. Jesus alienated the Pharisees: teaching, miracles, & calling attention to Himself as the Messiah

4. Sadduccees didn’t care about that—they were after money & power

C. Both of these are examples of hypocrisy…

1. Paul refers to the leaven of hypocrisy

2. Matzoh—no air, just substance….

CONCLUSION

1. There are many possible responses to Jesus, all the way from intense zeal to half-hearted acknowledgement to bitterness to hatred….

2. Only one GOOD response: to welcome Him into our lives with open arms as our Lord and Savior…

3. Have you done that?