WE BELONG TO THE LORD (Outline)
September 23, 2007 -
PENTECOST 17 -
Romans 14:5-9
INTRO: What is your favorite possession? You may recall with a certain fondness your first valuable possession. We might remember that first car, first house, or other first possessions that seemed or still seem very important to us. We take special care of those things that we value the most. We may even store away in a very safe place the possessions that are most valuable. The Lord God spoke through Moses to his people to remind them they were special. Those words foreshadowed when the Lord God spoke through the apostle Paul to the early Christian church of believers. "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession"(DEUTERONOMY 7:6). The Lord looks at every believer as his most important, most valuable possession. With that in mind God’s word brings us great comfort as we consider the theme:
WE BELONG TO THE LORD. By God’s free grace we belong to the Lord: I. In our earthly life,
and; II. For our eternal life.
I. (WE BELONG TO THE LORD) IN OUR EARTHLY LIFE.
A. Great and drastic changes were taking place in the early Christian church.
1. The people once outside, once considered religious rejects were now entering God’s kingdom.
2. Those who were once thought of as not chosen were now chosen. Gentiles were being saved!
B. By God’s free grace and the power of God’s word the Lord was bringing Gentiles into his church.
1. Gentile believers did not have the traditions nor customs of the Jewish believers, verse 5.
a. Israel worshiped on Saturday, their traditional Sabbath day for worship.
b. Gentile believers used Sunday: day of Christ’s resurrection, day of Pentecost.
2. In either case, Saturday or Sunday, both were to worship giving glory to the Lord, verse 6.
a. Jewish believers – clean & unclean food. b. Gentile believers had no such worries.
C. The church faced worship and food challenges (+ others) of different cultures coming together.
D. With Jesus’ death and resurrection the temple curtain was torn in two. The early church was growing away from the old, traditional, worship ways that had been in use for generations. The early Christian church was now coming to grips with many “things neither forbidden nor commanded by God” – (adiaphora). Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross gave the church Christian freedom. There was freedom in worship among many other things. The word must was removed from the vocabulary concerning worship life. When anyone today says, “you must do this or that”. Is that what God really says? "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ"(COLOSSIANS 2:16,17). Today our day of worship is on Sunday: the first day of creation, the day of Christ’s resurrection, and the day of Pentecost. Every day the believer can worship God.
E. Our modern day church is not much different from the early Christian church. There are thousands upon thousands of people coming to America from foreign lands. With them they bring their customs and traditions that may seem new and very different from what we are used to. Are they wrong? Are they bad? No, not always. We need to remember that we can adapt and adopt those things that give glory to God. This does not mean that we throw out Scriptural sound doctrine. God’s word is still the truth! We are also to bear with our weaker brothers. We are to remember that saving faith is saving faith.
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ"(GALATIANS 3:26,27). We, all believers, belong to the Lord.
F. As believers we no longer act and live in a vacuum. We live not to serve ourselves but to look out for the best interests of our fellow man. Why? Simply because we belong to the Lord. We have been called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. God looks at us as his treasured, valuable possession. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body"(1 CORINTHIANS 6:19,20). We belong to the Lord. How awesome is our God who loves us!
WE BELONG TO THE LORD in our earthly life.
II. (WE BELONG TO THE LORD) FOR OUR ETERNAL LIFE.
A. We need to remember that cultural clash as Christianity begins to grow and flourish.
1. Gentiles, once considered untouchable by Jewish believers, were now daily being saved.
2. Both cultures were learning that inseparable bond that bound them together, verse 9.
B. Christ’s death and resurrection was the cornerstone of the church that united these “living stones”.
1. This cornerstone and foundation would and could overcome any obstacles the church faced.
2. Make no mistake: Jesus’ resurrection came under attack from that very first Easter Sunday.
C. For these believers the theme rang out, “We belong to the Lord”. This confession united them all.
1. Verse 7. No longer were these Christians ever to feel alone or lonely again.
2. No matter their time in life, beginning or end, every believer belonged to the Lord, verse 8.
D. “We belong to the Lord”! There is comfort in those words that the world cannot take away from us. Every year more and more people in our nation feel lonely or alone. Many are simple afraid and do not know where to turn. God would have us remember day in and day out that we belong to him. "God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’"(HEBREWS 13:5b, 6).
E. Sadly, very sadly, not everyone is sure of his or her eternal outcome. Even some considered to be great men and women of faith lack the boldness and conviction of saving faith. Time magazine reported of letters from Mother Teresa. In them she admitted that she did feel the presence of Jesus in her life and was uncertain concerning eternity. Another great evangelist agreed with her only hoping that someday he would be found worthy enough to enter heaven. There is the problem. No one is worthy. BUT the Lord God saves us by his grace through sacrifice of his Son, Jesus for us. "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life"(JOHN 5:24). Notice the present tense: has. Eternal life IS ours – now.
F. “We belong to the Lord”. What great comfort this knowledge is for us as live here on earth. It brings us comfort, joy, and strength. This statement is also God’s guarantee to us that heaven is our home and Jesus has indeed gone on ahead to prepare a place for us. We live differently in this world than most people. True, we have valuable possessions. Our most valuable possession is our treasure stored up in heaven. Knowing this, we live in this life always looking forward to that which is our true destiny, eternal life. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain…. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far"(PHILIPPIANS 1:21, 23).
CONC.: WE BELONG TO THE LORD! We belong to the Lord living by faith in our earthly life. We belong to the Lord living by our Savior for eternity. Rest assured Christian that you are worth far more than God’s valuable possession. Scripture tells us why. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"(1 JOHN 3:1). Ponder that truth: We were born as enemies of God and children of the devil. By grace we are now God’s children. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us”. WE BELONG TO THE LORD here on earth and forever in heaven. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
WORSHIP SER.: SAT – 1:00pm @ NCF Min., &
SUN – 9:30am @ Church & 12:00pm @ NCF Medium
Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM + www.kqnk.com
PENTECOST 17 readings:
EXODUS 32:7-14; 1 TIMOTHY 1:12-17; LUKE 15:1-10
