I find myself often asking questions about my faith. Not that I ever question being a Christian, but I question my own commitment and resolution to being in that continual state of growth that we know is sanctification. Have you ever been there? And part of me says that I should never admit to this since I am the pastor of this church but the Holy Spirit is telling me to be real because many of you can relate to what I am about to say. In the past couple of weeks I have tried to encourage you with words about living your life in a continual state of worship and rising above being a so-so Christian.
I still have to stop and ask myself, "What am I willing to do to take it to the next level?" And that question is going out to you today also. I know we are all at different levels in our walk with the Lord. Each one of us is one level below where He wants us to be - one step closer to Him.
Sometimes I think out loud. Does anybody else do that? I do that a lot in my prayer time. I think about where I am and where God wants me to be and how do I get there! Sometimes it all becomes so confusing - like a high-speed merry-go-round. You know what I mean - as we go through our Christianity it seems like we end up at places where we’ve been before and it just keeps going round and round. I feel like I would be better if I could just get off for a while and clear my head but I¡¦m afraid to because I’m afraid if I get off I would never want to get back on. So I hold on for dear life and wait for the spinning to stop. It is then that my head clears and my thoughts once more become coherent and I can get back on track to where God wants me to be.
Now, I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t have to be like that. I believe that God wants, more than anything else, to take you to a beautiful place where you can only go by faith. I want to take you today by way of the Bible to the place that I long for - that higher place with God. And that higher place can only be reached when we make the conscious decision to be totally sold out for God. Nothing less will ever do.
I. BEING SOLD OUT FOR GOD REQUIRES FAITH. (1-6) "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" The first thing I want to do in this section is to look at the word "is". It doesn’t seem like much does it. In the original Greek trancript it is the first word of the sentence and refers to faith as a present and a continuing reality. Listen to how the Amplified Bible reads, "Now faith is the assurance(the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]." It is your physical eyesight that gives proof to the realities of the physical world. Faith is what gives spiritual eyesight to the things in the spirit realm. The word faith means, persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction, assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity So being sold out for God means believing that the word He has given us is true, even though we can’t see it. Even though the world tells us that everything came into existence by accident, by faith we know there is a Creator. "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Augustine wrote, "Understanding is the reward of faith; therefore do not seek to understand so that you may believe, but to believe that you may understand." If we have to wait to see healing before we can have the faith to receive it we will never get it. But all of God’s word and His promises are true and they are for you. Even though you can¡¦t see it at the present you can receive it by faith. Mark 11:22-24, "Have faith (be fully persuaded) in God" Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." You can’t be sold out for something you can’t have faith in. "6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason. I may objectively prove the Bible is the most unique book ever published, and has impacted society more than any other book. But only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore, this is a belief beyond reason, but not in contradiction to reason. That’s sold out faith and you can have it.
II. BEING SOLD OUT FOR GOD REQUIRES VISION. (8-10) "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." I can stand here and close my eyes and picture my Grandpa and Grandma Treadway’s house in rural Paragould Arkansas. And the barn against the backdrop of cedars and red Arkansas clay; the chicken coop and all the cats; the cherry tree beside the house, the cedar grove behind the house where we used to play in the hot Arkansas sun. I can see the spring that fed the pond that held the catfish we used to catch. I can see the creek to the west across the cotton fields and the hills beyond and the sun setting through the dusty sky. By the time I was eight years old I could tell you how to get there from St. Louis and every town we would travel through and every turn we would make and every road we would travel. And even though right now I can’t physically see it I know it’s there. But that’s not vision. The kind of vision that sold out Christians must have is a vision of what God has planned for your life. You must be willing to go to the place He has called you without knowing where it is. Do you understand what I’m saying? Abraham had that kind of vision. "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise" You see, Abraham didn’t have the same benefit we have as we remember places we have been. He couldn’t picture in his mind any landmarks. He just knew that if God was calling him there it must be good. Do you have that kind of vision? It requires you to look ahead with God’s eyes instead of looking back longingly at what used to be. If we aren’t willing to leave our past behind and move forward with God we can never be sold out. Ask Lot’s wife. She was delivered from destruction but struggled with leaving the life of sin she left behind and as she looked over her shoulder at what was behind her future changed, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. But Abraham put aside all the "What ifs?" and moved forward toward the promise. "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." That’s sold out vision and you can have that.
III. BEING SOLD OUT FOR GOD REQUIRES SACRIFICE. (17-19) "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." I remember the very first time I heard this Bible story. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could God ask Abraham to sacrifice his own son? Of course as the years went by I came to understand it a little better, but still wondered what purpose God had in mind. It just didn’t make any sense. But when you’re sold out for God sacrifice doesn’t have to make sense. If we wait till it makes sense we will never accomplish anything beyond the natural realm. But our God is a supernatural God! There are so many ways for you to give sacrificially. You can of course give your money. You can give sacrificially of your time (probably the most misused commodity that we have). Hebrews 13 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." There is a Christian band called Third Day that is probably my favorite band. And there are a couple of songs that they sing that really get to me. One of them is the song that we heard as we watched the Tom Minter slideshow a couple of weeks ago. And the words go like this. "This is my offering to you Lord; This is my offering to You God; I will give you my life, that’s all I have to give; because you gave your life for me." The other song is a prayer and it goes like this, "Please take from me my life when I don’t have the strength to give it away to you; please take from me my life when I don’t have the strength to give it away to you Jesus!" The sacrifice that God desires from you is to be totally sold out to Him by giving Him back your life. That means that every thing you do, every step you take, every word you speak will be done in the light of who Jesus is in your life. Jesus said "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." When you are totally sold out for Jesus your life will become a "living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship" Look at verse 19. It tells us that when we sacrifice what we have will be given back to us. Let’s start back in verse 17 again, "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring„T will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. God doesn’t need your money, or your time, or your effort. But He desires that you be sold out for Him. He simply wants your heart and if you give Him your heart you give Him your life as well. That’s sold out sacrifice and He will give it back to you and then some - and you can have it.
IV. BEING SOLD OUT FOR GOD REQUIRES PATIENCE. "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated¡ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." Now as individuals and as a church we have gone through and will go through discouraging times. Many of the saints of old were willing to give their lives as they waited for the promise of God. John the revelator wrote, "I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit..." Can you see the patience he had? Even though he had been exiled to what amounted to a piece of rock in the Mediterranean Sea he could still see the promise ahead. Being sold out for God means keeping your eyes on the prize, looking to the cross, and never looking back. Paul wrote to a young pastor in Titus 2, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." Do you think that you will never get through the struggle you face today? Just remember it is temporary. If you are sold out for God He will see you through. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" So what are we waiting patiently for? We wait for the promise of eternal life and for the coming of every promise God has given us for this life. That’s sold out patience and you can have it.
The number one desire for this church is revival. As I said in previous weeks revival begins in the church and will draw others into a relationship with Jesus Christ. This church has the faith for that to happen. We have seen the visions of a church filled with people we don’t recognize. We have heard the voice of the Lord through the gifts of the Spirit telling us that He is about to pour out His Spirit like never before. Faith and vision are the first two steps in being sold out for God.
Now the question is, are you willing to lay down your life as a living sacrifice? Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and give sacrificially of your treasure, your time, and your talents? Are you actively look for a place of ministry and a group you can minister to? Are you willing to cross the line and be persecuted for your faith. Are you ready to love the unlovable? And are you patient enough to see it through? God has called you to this particular church at this particular time for a purpose. It’s not an accident that you are here. Are you sold out enough to see the promises come?
It all begins by seeing who God is and who you are in His grand scheme of things. When we compare ourselves to God we seem so small, and we are. Yet you are a part of the puzzle that will finish His work in Palmyra and the surrounding areas. But you must be sold out!
