The Service Of Clinging To God's Word Series

Date Written: November 24, 2006

Date Preached: November 26, 2006

Where Preached: OZHBC (AM)

Sermon Details:

Sermon Series: Living a Life of Service

Sermon Title: The Service of Clinging to God’s Word

Sermon Text: Psalm 119:9-11; 105-106

Introduction:

I want to begin this morning with a bit of a review of where we have come from in this particular sermon series… Living a life of service!

We started 4 weeks ago by looking at our theme verse for this series and it is Rom 12:1-2 which says,

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:1-2

(NASB)

In these verses we find Paul laying out what the believer needs to know about HOW he or she is supposed to serve God. We first looked at “The Service of Self-Denial” and we can see that Paul tells us in v.1 that we are to present our bodies as ‘a living and holy sacrifice’ to God. We cannot serve God as we should unless we learn to deny ourselves and put God first in our lives!

We then looked at “The Service of Submissive Obedience” which is the focus of what Paul is saying in v.1 when he says that we are to present our bodies… willingly and freely to God. We are to submit and surrender to Christ in all matters of this life and place our full faith and trust in Him!

Last week we continued in this series and we looked at “The Service of Rejecting the World” and we can see in v.2 that Paul tells the church that if they are going to serve as they should serve God… then they cannot allow themselves to be conformed to the world’s thoughts, actions or philosophy!

This morning I want to address the final service in this series and it is “The Service of Clinging to God’s Word” and it is based on what Paul said in v.2 that not only should we REJECT the world… but we are called to cling TO God and allow God to transform us just as the potter transforms the clay…

So many believers today are trying to do things on their OWN and they are NOT allowing God to transform them into that powerful, faith-based believer that is willing to take on anything and everything for the sake of the Gospel.

And the result of our doing things on our own is that we are weak in our faith…

it is that we become rattled when persecution comes…

it is that we are easily swayed by all winds of doctrine and…

it is that so many people who claim Christ as Savor are taken captive on the beliefs of the world and they are rejecting the truth and inerrancy of Scripture…

Let me give you some really scary statistics that may open your eyes to just what a problem this is within the church today! Many of us would agree that the country we live in today is FAR removed from the country we lived in some 20 or 30 yrs ago.

Let’s look at a simple thing like believing that God’s Word is the truth and is our sole authority for life… the Baptist Faith and Message states that as Baptists we hold God’s Word as the SOLE authority for matters of faith and practice…

A Barna Poll on U.S. Religious Beliefs done in 2001 states that most Americans do not accept evangelism as a personal responsibility: only one-third (32%) claim they have an obligation to share their religious faith with those who believe differently. But God’s Word says…

18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20 (HCSB)

This survey also states that nationally, less than half of all adults (41%) believe the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches. One of the most remarkable insights into America’s faith is the fact that less than half of all adults (40%) are convinced that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life during His three decades on earth. That means that 60% believe Jesus sinned…

Also in the church today, we have many people who are going down the slippery slope of what is called Theistic Evolution, where they are trying to take the Evolutionary Theory and marry it together with the Creation account…