IT
(All my sermon use illustrations found on www.sermoncentral.com and All scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)
All of us what IT, we all need IT, but what is IT? Today’s culture is all about making things simpler, and I personally think there are some things that need to be just a little simpler. I recently attended a conference where I heard a number of Pastors talking about the purpose of the church and how they had streamlined their purpose statements to be simpler. There are books out now about making church simple, I think it really was God’s intention to keep it simple, BUT man came along and made it very complex.
This was the issue even back at the start of the New Testament church, there was continual argument about what a person must do or not do to be a member of God’s church. Should he carry the mark of the Jew before becoming a member of the Christian or was that not something that had to be done. Even today, many think they need to get their lives straight before becoming the Christian that God wants them to be. BUT perhaps we can make it a lot more simple by finding out what IT is. There is one thing above everything else, Paul tells us so. If you have your Bible with you this morning, turn with me to Galatians chapter 5: 6
Gal 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
PRAYER
The first thing we must understand about having IT, is that IT is SIMPLE. The only thing that counts is FAITH EXPRESSED THROUGH LOVE.
I. FAITH
The first thing we must talk about this morning is faith. We have all heard of the fact that it takes faith to follow God. The scripture says that it is impossible to PLEASE God without faith. (HEB 11:6) But perhaps we should define FAITH first . The Bible tells us: Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. That is not how the members of the church at Galatia were acting, Gal 5:4-5 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.
They were trying to find their way into heaven by outward acts of legalistic deeds, or in other words they were attempting to keep a bunch of rules and regulations to make it seem as they were righteous. But by doing so they were actually pushing themselves further away from Christ, because they acted as if they did not need Him. BUT Paul attempts to set them straight, it is by FAITH we wait on the Holy Spirit to guide us to that righteousness. It is by faith we are saved, it is not by something you or I do.
BUT having said all that, IT goes further, faith in Christ is what saves us from eternal damnation, but it is a faith that changes us.
WHAT IS POSSIBLE WHEN THERE IS HOPE
Joyce Hollyday tells the story of a school teacher who was assigned to visit children in a large city hospital who received a routine call requesting that she visit a particular child. The teacher took the boy’s name and room number, and was told by the teacher on the other end of the line, "We’re studying nouns and adverbs in this class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so he doesn’t fall behind the others." It wasn’t until the visiting teacher got outside the boy’s room that she realized that it was located in the hospital’s burn unit. No one had prepared her to find a young boy horribly burned and in great pain.
The teacher felt that she couldn’t just turn around and walk out. And so she stammered awkwardly, "I’m the hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with nouns and adverbs." This boy was in so much pain that he barely responded. The young teacher stumbled through his English lesson, ashamed at putting him through such a senseless exercise. The next morning a nurse on the burn unit asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" Before the teacher could finish her outburst of apologies, the nurse interrupted her: "You don’t understand. We’ve been very worried about him. But ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back; he’s responding to treatment. It’s as if he has decided to live."
The boy later explained that he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher. It all changed when he came to a simple realization. With joyful tears, the boy said: "They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a boy who was dying, would they?"
This wonderful story invites us to celebrate the gift of life even when all we seem to see around us is pain and disappointment and brokenness. It shows us that on the other side of pain, there is resurrection. It reminds us of what is possible whenever there is hope.
FAITH . . . but. . . . IT does not stop there
II. EXPRESSING ITSELF
Now Paul says Faith is the first thing but it must EXPRESS itself, that is a working faith. HOW? I am so glad you asked that question, FAITH EXPRESSES Itself best when we attempt the impossible. That is when we think that things can not be done by our own power, BUT, we go after it anyway, we EXPRESS our faith in God to do the impossible. This is why you hear me saying “dream God size dreams if you want God size results.
The only way we as a church can EXPRESS faith is by stepping out and allowing God to have room to work. It is by doing the things we can not see getting done, but going after it anyway. I have had conversations with people about a church growing to a certain number. I might say, “this church has the potential to grow to 300 people in just three short years.” Usually I will hear something like this: “That would be nice BUT, we don’t have the money or the talent.” They are right, we don’t, BUT GOD DOES. An expression of FAITH is showing that we know we can not do something, BUT, that with God’s help ALL things are possible.
One missionary tells this story:
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. "All right," I said, "Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.
During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby’ll be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?" As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen"? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home; anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys; eyes sparkled as I pulled them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas --- that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ..... could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out --- yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?" That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child --- five months before --- in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year old to bring it "that afternoon."
Expression can be as simple as prayer, with a prayer that believes. Faith expressing itself
III. LOVE
If this morning I told you that each of you would never have another financial need, that you all would have access to all the money you could ever want, would you not share with those less fortunate? I think sometimes our selfishness is partly survival. We think we will not have enough for ourselves and so we do not share. Not just with money, but time, talent, resources and just about everything. But I am here to tell you that nothing you have, or will be given here on earth will travel with you when you die. The only things that counts is how you share what you have with those do not have while you are here on earth.
Now I know that many of us have just enough to live on, but I would stand before you this morning and say, “If you took a trip with me to Haiti you would change your way of thinking.” We think we have just enough to get by, but that is because we have been blessed with so much. The only thing that counts is showing that we believe that we have everything we need and that He will provide those things we need and we express that by giving to others in love.
Faith expressing itself in love is stepping out and doing something that we would not normally do. THAT IS IT! IT! God is telling you and I that the only thing that counts is stepping out in faith and expressing it through LOVE.
One night, I had a wondrous dream;
One set of footprints there was seen.
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
"Those prints are large and round and neat,
But, Lord, they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in sombre tones.
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.
You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk-of-faith you would not know.
So I got tired and fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt,
Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
Folks I ask you this morning, are you ready to have IT, are you ready to do IT, are you ready to show your faith in love. I am! I want each of to stand on these words:
I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up , paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear!"
The only things that counts is Faith expressing itself in love. ARE YOU READY?
As the musicians come forward this morning . . .
INVITATION
