Sermon
If we want to be successful in God’s service we need to wipe the DUST off our feet and move forward
Let me say that DUST is a mneumonic for
D- Disobedience
U- Unbelief
S- Someone else’s problem
T- Timidity
Introduction
A country preacher in Canada decided to skip services one Sunday and headed to the hills to do some bear hunting.
As he rounded the corner on a perilous turn in the trail, he collided with a bear, sending him and his rifle tumbling down the mountainside.
Before he knew it, his rifle went one way and he went the other. He landed on a rock and broke both legs.And that was the good news.
The bad news was the ferocious bear charging at him and he couldn’t move or reach his rifle.
So he did what we’d all do in such a situation!!
He prayed.
"Oh, Lord," the preacher prayed, "I’m so sorry for skipping services today to come out here and hunt.
Please forgive me and grant me just one wish . . . please make a Christian out of this +bear that’s coming at me. Please, Lord!"
That very instant, the bear skidded to a halt.
He fell on his knees, clasped his paws together and began to pray out loud at the preacher’s feet.
"For what I am about to receive, may the good Lord make me truly thankful. AMEN!"
And if we are truthful, that’s how we feel if we think about sharing our faith isn’t it?
But if we really want to be servants of God – after all, why are here at church today, then we have to wipe the DUST off our feet
1. The D of Dust stands for DISOBEDIENCE
Jesus gave the Church only one Commission and that was to make disciples.
He didn’t just give the command to the Vicar and the Reader and the Churchwardens. He gave it to all of us.
We read in Mt 28:16-20, just before his ascension into heaven, we read this:
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Please note we are not in it alone. Jesus said: I am with you always.
We can wipe the D of disobedience from our feet and replace it with the D of Disciplemaking
2. The U of Dust stands for UNBELIEF
Do we really believe in the power of the Gospel to be effective outside Church on Sunday?
Unbelief is a sin, because we doubt the promises of God.
When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he added this important corollary:
Lo, I am with you till the end of the age
We are NOT in it alone
Charles Spurgeon the famous Baptist preacher of the 19th Century once described unbelief as “a doubt of the divine veracity or a mistrust of God's power.”
Sometimes we see unbelief masquerading as humility – put a bit like this: "I would not be so presumptuous to assume that God has spoke to “little me”.”
At other times we see unbelief in the shape of a doubt of God's unchanging nature:
"The Lord has loved me. He helped me yesterday but will he really stick by me tomorrow?
If we really want to serve God we need to leave the DUST of Unbelief – in what ever guise it comes- behind.
Let us replace it with the URGE to share our faith instead
3. The S of DUST that you need to leave behind is saying it is “SOMEONE ELSE’S” problem
We are brought up in England with the idea that there are two things you don’t talk about
RELIGION and POLITICS
So don’t!
Talk about your relationship with Jesus – that’s not RELIGION - that's true CHRISTIANITY
I can’t tell you the magic ingredient to make a successful marriage, but I can tell you about my relationship with Maddy – and what works for us and what doesn’t work for us.
Let us replace SOMEONE else’s problem with the SURETY of our Calling to be disciplemakers.
4. The T of DUST is TIMIDITY
If you are anything like me, you will be scared to share your faith for one of two reasons.
2.1 You might be afraid that you will be thought a religious nut by your family and friends
But that happened to Jesus, his family and friends thought he had lost it
We read in Mark 3: 20-22
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub[a]! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."
Arthur Blessitt, the famous American Evangelist who carried a Cross around the world in the 1980s was once called a “religious nut” – to which he replied: “But at least I am attached to the right bolt.”
2.2 The other reason is that you don’t want to be seen as a fool by family and friends if you can’t answer every question they put to you
Unless God has called you to be an apologist for him, don’t worry. You are called to be a witness
That is you share what you DO know, NOT what you DON’T know!!
It is perfectly OK to say, you don’t know, but you will find out the answer!
Let us leave behind the Timidity that makes us fearful to share out faith and replace it with a firm TRUST in our God and his power
Conclusion
Our Church will only grow when we take seriously the divine command to “Go and make disciples”
You can’t just leave it to Malcolm and me – for the command is given not just to the church leaders but to the rest of the congregation too
