Can You Hold An Intelligent Christian "Conversation”?

Sermon Title: Can You Hold an Intelligent Christian “Conversation”?

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5-8

Wesleyan Community Church

Terry, Mississippi

Sunday Morning – May 19, 2002

Scripture Introduction:

We have often heard the phrase, that you are what you eat, and perhaps there is something to be said for that, because it stands to reason that anything that you put into your body has a direct effect, whether it be good or weather it be bad. When we know that certain things are bad for our health, we then have a choice over whether or not we continue to take in that particular substance. There are many instances that are recorded in the Bible about our bodies. Our bodies are called a temple of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will not inhabit a dirty vessel, now you need to realize that the dirty vessel really only implies the interior of that vessel, and we see evidence of the fact that it is ultimately the interior of that vessel that makes a difference. We have illustrations of that almost everyday in our lives, we oftentimes have things that are sticking to our syrup bottles, do we simply throw them away because of the outside contaminants, no because the contents on the inside are still untainted. We often take our canned goods out of the shelf and find that some of them, especially the peas at our house, might be covered in dust - do we throw the contents away, well I might be all for that because I cannot stand green peas, but the dust can be cleaned off and the contents remain edible, at least for those that can stand the taste of them and have enough patience to chase them around the plate.

We are going to be covering a variety of different sections of Scripture this morning, however our main text is found in Hebrews 13:5-8

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:5-8

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Sermon Introduction:

How much credibility do we give old sayings? If anything, the fact that they have withstood the test of time, tells us a lot about them. If we really think about it, some of the most useful lessons that we hear are often from those that are older and much more experienced in the things of the world as well as the things of the faith.

I remember as a teenager growing up, and I am sure that my children have visions of dad romping the countryside with the dinosaurs, but as a teenager growing up, I always thought that I knew more than mom and dad. However, the older I got, the more I realized the wisdom that he had been trying to impart to me. We do the same thing with our walk with God. When we are young, and unfortunately for some - not so young, we see ourselves as indestructible and out of reach of the possibility of death.

Have you ever been in a position where you had someone tell you what to do, but really wasn’t quite specific as to how it was supposed to be done? We all want to know what is required of us! The sad thing is, in many of the occasions where the person who was in charge failed to give me adequate directions and I goofed something up – I still ended up taking the blame. You see we would be told that if we failed to understand then we should have asked for clarification, and if we asked for clarification we might come across as less than intelligent – of the problems that our pride causes us.

In our walk with God however, we find ourselves in a very fortunate situation – He has written all that we need to know in an easy to use set of guidelines called the Bible. In fact when we need clarification, we have 24/7 assistance available, and there is no hours on end waiting on hold – the prayers that we are blessed to be able to utter are always heard immediately and they are heard by the one who needs to hear them and that is our Almighty and Awesome God.

Another thing that many of us have in common is that We all want to know what we should do next! Now, here is where we need to be careful. We want to know what to do next according to whose plan? Are we seeking the next step in a plan that we have concocted on our very own or are we waiting for God to reveal what He wants us to do next. There is a big difference in these two views. There is an almost inborn impatience in us that causes us to have great problems when it comes to waiting on the Lord. We are to often so excited in these matters that we run out ahead of things and expect the Lord to follow us. This sounds terrible, and it is, however our motives may not be that far off base – we are simply too excited and are overanxious in fulfilling our need to serve God.