“ANCIENT LANDMARK” G.Crumbly Humphrey UMC May 23, 2009 AM Service Proverbs 22:28
Turn to Proverb 22
INTRO:
I really enjoy this face book deal! I communicate with classmates & see the old pictures they post, it is really neat. I miss the old days.
(In Humphrey Arkansas where I pastor we have a community revival each spring. It starts on a Sunday night & goes through Tuesday night with 6 churches in our community participating. This year I preached on Monday night & after the service the host pastor came to me, shook my hand & hugged me & said he could tell that I have some good strong mentorship early in my ministry. I used sayings my pastor used to say from the pulpit)
Sort of “old school” stuff. My pastor quit school when he was in the 5th grade to help his dad raise his brothers & sisters when his mother died. He was a great man & my family loved him as our pastor. He is the reason we went to this church (before we were saved).
He preached a simple down to earth yet biblical message each week. He was extremely tickled when I went to him in 1983 and told him I felt the Lord was calling me to preach!! I was honored to have preached his funeral several years ago.
I don’t like the “new” stuff. I think churches today are compromising the gospel, their convictions in order to bring people into the church. I think this is why there are so many “worldly” churches out there today. We used to sing an old hymn many years ago “tis the old time religion, tis old time religion, tis old time religion……And it's good enough for me”.
(Proverbs 22:28)
“Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”
I honestly think that as of today Sunday May 23, 2010 we can say that many of our ancient landmarks have been removed!! Sad….but so very true.
“THE OLD SCHOOL”!! (Not being LEGALISTIC but the old school): *PREACHING THE WORD: Telling it just like it is!! So many today want their ears “tickled
*LIVING RIGHT: Doing what God tells you to do & stop doing what He tells you to stop doing!!
*COMMITTED TO CHRIST: Too many today are committed to a denomination, a church or even to a preacher.
We must be COMMITTED to Christ!!
We used to sing the old hymn “Old Time Religion” but we didn’t sing it “tis the old time religion”, we sang it like “Now gimme that old time religion, gimme that old time religion, gimme that old time religion, it's good enough for me…….
A) The song say’s “it was good for our mothers, it was good for our fathers…”
God spoke to Abraham, He spoke to Isaac, He spoke to Jacob and He spoke to Joshua telling them that the same promises He made to their fathers to their ancestors He is making to them now.
(Our fathers & mothers have trusted the same God that spoke this world into existence, the same God that created man breathing life into him, the same God that divided the red sea for Israel to cross is the same God we serve today)
IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM? “it’s good enough for me”
B) The song continues “It was good for the Hebrew children, it was tried in the fiery furnace” (Daniel 3)
The 3 Hebrew children were in a foreign land yet the king had given them high positions in his kingdom as these 3 were extremely BLESSED!! They were blessed because they were faithful servants. The king couldn’t go wrong giving them important positions in his kingdom. However, they refused to bow down, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. They told the king they did not serve God because He would deliver out but He would either pull them out or go through it with them. The king saw the 4th man in the fire the Son of God.
IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM? “it’s good enough for me.”
C) The song goes on “It was good for Paul and Silas”
Paul & Silas had been thrown in prison for preaching the Gospel. They were beaten within inches of their life. What did they do at midnight? Gripe? Bellyache? Whine? People today would be blaming God for what had happened. Paul and Silas? They sang praises to God, they were proud that they were found worthy to suffer for their Savior!!! What a testimony to those in prison with them as well as to the jailer!!!
IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM? “it’s good enough for me”.
D) “Makes me love everybody”.
The old time religion is a RELATIONSHIP, a living breathing, growing RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ!! Most of the stuff today is only a religion. This relationship causes us to Love everybody!! Because of what God has done in our hearts!!
(I tell folks today that I don’t go to church because God says to or I don’t love everybody because God says to or the bible says I have to….why then? Because of the change He did in my heart!!)
My pastor used to sing this song and when he got to this part we always sang it instead of “makes me love everybody”, the last verse we sang he sang “makes a Nazarene love a Baptist”.
IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM? It’s good enough for me”.
E) “It will do when I am dying”.
Whether you believe it, you will die. We don’t know when, where or how just know that it is going to happen. My pastor told me the day he turned 70 years old that he was living on borrowed time. I was born September 23, 1956 and I began to die that day also!!
Look at how the disciples died for the cause of Christ:
Matthew: Killed by a sword. Mark: Dragged by horses thru the streets until he died. Luke: Hanged. John: Only one to die naturally. Peter: Crucified upside down. James: Beat to death. James the Great: Beheaded. Bartholomew: Beaten to death with a whip. Andrew: Crucified. Thomas: Stabbed to death with a spear. Jude: Killed with arrows. Matthias: Stoned and beheaded. Paul: Tortured and beheaded.
IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM? It’s good enough for me”.
And last………………..
F) The song concludes “It will take us all to heaven”.
We need God’s Grace to help us deal with everything we have to deal with in life. But I want His Grace to make it to Heaven!! I know this “Old Time Religion” or “Relationship” is all I need to make it to Heaven!! It will get me through each and every day!!
“Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”
We closed out the service by standing & singing “The Old Time Religion”
Old Time Religion
Chorus
Now gimme that old time religion, Gimme that old time religion, Gimme that old time religion, it's good enough for me
It was good for our mothers,...
Makes me love everybody,...
It was good for our fathers,...
It was good for the Hebrew children,...
It was good for Paul and Silas,....
It will do when I am dying,...
It was good for the prophet Daniel,...
It was tried in the fiery furnace,...
It will take us all to heaven,...
