Sermon Central
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Where R U? Series
Contributed by Chris Mccall on Sep 15, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: How many of us have ever heard the question; Where R U? How many of you have asked that question of someone else? Jesus brings that question to us on a regular basis because HE is concerned about us & the people HE intends to touch through us.
? R U Pt4 CM
“Where R U?”
Jeremiah 6:16 NLT
How many of us have ever heard the question; Where R U?
How many of you have asked that question of someone else?
If you are a parent, then it is a real good chance that you have said those words to your kids more than once.
What about a teacher that was checking the status of a course you were working on; Where R U on the course?
Jesus brings that question to us on a regular basis because HE is concerned about us & the people HE intends to touch through us.
VIDEO CLIP
I want us to look at 3 places together of where it’s possible to find ourselves in this journey with Jesus.
I. Casual Christianity…
Galatians 5:7-10 MSG You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.
1. happening by accident or chance:
2. offhand; not premeditated:
3. shallow or superficial:
4. being or seeming unconcerned or apathetic:
Casual
Casual; when looked at through the eyes of what Jesus left for us to do just doesn’t seem to fit very well.
Casual Submission - it submits only when it agrees with what is happening.
Casual Commitment – it commits as long as it is convenient to do so.
Jesus talks about anyone not willing to lay down their life for the sake of the cross is not fit to be HIS disciple… (that is strong words, but HE intended to make an impression on the hearers…)
Luke 9:23-25 GNT And he said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not!
Does that leave the impression on any of us that Casual Christianity is one of the acceptable ways to serve the Lord???
It would be a very good thing for us to ask ourselves; Where R U?
II. Growing Christianity…
1 Peter 2:1-3 NLT So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
Peter is speaking thru the Holy Spirit of the growth that should be taking place in every believer.
This gives us away to check ourselves to see if we are in the faith.
2 Corinthians 13:5-9 MSG Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won't show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we'd rather the test showed our failure than yours. We're rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn't possibly do otherwise.
We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.
Growing as a Christian is not something that happens by accident.
Every person that grows in their faith makes some deliberate decisions that lead to growth & maturity in the Lord.
Unused Spiritual Resources
During Superbowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.
When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, "Thank you."
But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?"
