Are You A "Reasonable" Believer? Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: February 10, 2010

Date Preached: February 14, 2010

Where Preached: Oak Park (AM)

Sermon Details:

Sermon Series: Series on the Holy Spirit - The Great Adventure

Sermon Title: Are You A Reasonable Believer! - Part 2 of 6

Sermon Text: John 14:12, Neh 2:1-5

Introduction:

Do you remember what I spoke to you about last week? I talked about how we are called by God to be on adventure with Him. I told you that our walk in Christ… that our seeking God’s will and search for the Holy Spirit in our lives is not a search that is reasonable, predictable, safe or secure OR it is not about removing the mystery of God from our walk with Him.

We learned that God has called us to do great things and this morning I want to go back and revisit that verse we looked at last week… John 14:12

12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do…”

One more time, I want us to recognize just what Jesus is saying here in this passage. I don’t know about you but when I read this passage of Scripture, it blows me away!

Jesus was so awesome in His walk and witness, so how can He say that we will do even greater things than He has done? How can I, as a fragile and sinful human, do greater things than He did? How can YOU with all your faults and failures, do greater things than Jesus? These are very tough questions…

But when we look at that statement, it makes us evaluate our walk with Christ. If Jesus has said I can do even greater things than He did, then I have to evaluate my walk with Him, I have to ask myself the question, “Is there anything in my walk with Christ that is preventing me from being what God wants me to be?

Well, pastor, I go to church, I pay my tithes, I give love offerings to those in need and to mission efforts, I come to Sunday School and I do a lot of things around church. I am being responsible in my walk with Christ! So with that being said, it leads me, as your pastor, to ask what seems to be a very STRANGE and out of place question, “Are you being too ‘reasonable’ in your walk with Christ?”

Now wait just a minute preacher, what do you mean “too reasonable” in your walk with Christ? How can you be TOO reasonable? Well, let me put it to you from another perspective, it may be easier for you to understand if we think of it in terms of being too RESPONSIBLE for Christ.

When you hear the word ‘responsible’ what do you think about? When I hear the word responsible, I think about doing what is expected of me. Like doing my job, like providing for my family, like paying my bills and meeting my obligations to others!

When I think about responsible from the standpoint of a husband and a father I know that I am responsible for more than just myself! This is because I know that my life as a husband and as a father affects the lives of my wife and my children, but not just them but my extended family as well.

However, when most of us think about being a responsible believer, we rarely think about how our lives affect those around us! For the most part, when we think about being a responsible Christian we think about what WE are doing and how OUR life affects OUR walk with Christ. It seems as if the entire focus of our Christian existence is lived within a vacuum and that there is no interaction with those around us…

Now as your pastor I can tell you that when we think about living a responsible Christian life, more than anything you are responsible to be obedient to God and to DO what He has called you to do… that obedience will integrate with what God is having other believers do as well, as you fit together in the plan of God.

We have all heard the term, ‘you need to be responsible’ OR ‘make responsible choices’. And I want you to know that there is NOTHING wrong with being responsible.

But in quoting Mark Batterson author of Wild Goose Chase, “…if God has laid a passion on your heart, that God-given passion becomes YOUR responsibility!”

And I can tell you that when God places a passion in your heart, you have to come to a decision. You must decide if you are you going to follow God’s calling and live out that passion and serve God! OR are you going to ignore the God called passion in your life to continue living your own way and walking your own path?