“Hit Me with Your Best Shot”
Rom. 1: 16-17
October 30, 2011
Intro: There was a boxing video game a # of years ago called “Mike Tyson’s Punch Out.” And in the game the 1st fighter you faced was a French boxer named “Glass Joe.” He had one win and 99 losses. He was easy to beat b/c he had the classic “glass jaw,” which means he couldn’t take a punch. Hit him a couple of times in the face and he’d go down for the count.
-If you’re going to be in a fight, you want to be able to w/stand punishment so you can push forward and win. B/c any time you step in a ring you ought to assume that you’re going to get hit. Now you might be thinking, “That’s true but I don’t need to worry @ that b/c I’m not a boxer.” But the fact is each one of us is involved in a spiritual war. There is a battle going on for our very soul.
-That’s why Paul wrote in Eph. 6: 10-12, “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
-If we’re going to have victory over the schemes of Satan, then we better be tough. We better be able to handle adversity when it comes our way. And that’s the question I want you to think @. When trials come my way, when things aren’t going how I planned, how am I going to respond? Will I have enough confidence in who I am and who my God is, to not give up and quit but to keep battling?
-Today we’re concluding our series “Classic Rock.” The past several weeks we’ve taken some songs from the 80’s and put a spiritual twist on them. And the song we’re putting a twist on today is Pat Benetar’s song “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.” You see, I believe Xians have the ability to live w/confidence and boldness in the face of an evil world and say, “You can hit me w/the best you’ve got, but in the end I’m going to be okay. I’m going to be fine b/c of whom I believe in.”
Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see a man named Paul writing a letter to the church in Rome. And he wanted to encourage them not to be timid in their faith; not to be timid in allowing their belief in Jesus and His teachings to dictate how they lived.
-And there’s no doubt in my mind the same kind of encouragement is needed for today. We are in desperate need of followers of Christ to be firm in their stance of living lives for God. We need to live confidently and I believe we can once we understand that we can w/stand the best shots the world can throw at us.
TEXT: ROMANS 1: 16-17
Bckgrd: Paul called for the Xians in Rome not to be ashamed of the gospel; of the good news of Jesus. And that doesn’t seem like it would be that hard but you have to remember the day in which this was written. Rome was the basically the capital of the world. It was home to the one world superpower at the time. And the Romans weren’t exactly friendly towards those who placed their allegiance to anything above the Roman government.
-And this included religion. I’m sure you’re all familiar w/the stories of Xians being placed in arenas w/wild animals as a form of entertaining executions. So it’s in this kind of environment where Paul challenges believers to boldly live for God! Sounds a little crazy but there was a reason for it. Paul knew that we could handle the best shot the world could take on us and our faith and still come out victorious.
-How so? We’re going to examine some reasons we don’t need to be fearful of what the world throws our way. The 1st reason we don’t need to be fearful in life is b/c:
DIV. 1: OUR FAITH HAS POWER (v. 16)
Exp: Fear swings a heavy punch and can absolutely immobilize people. And unfortunately this also happens concerning our faith in Christ. Sometimes Xianity can make us feel outdated; it can make us feel intellectually inferior.
A. Again, Paul was writing this letter to Roman Xians. And Rome was the pagan capital of the world. They didn’t just worship one god. It was the more the merrier. So if you only worshiped one god you were considered to be a weirdo.
1. The result of that? Some Xians got embarrassed @ their faith. They were fearful that they looked strange. But Paul gave them a strong reminder as to why they shouldn’t be fearful of their worship of one God. What was the reminder? The reminder was that our faith has POWER! How is it that our faith has power? It’s powerful b/c the ONE TRUE God is behind the Xian faith!
a. I know that’s not a very politically correct statement. A statement like that is seen as being arrogant and insensitive. But if we’re going to hold to the Bible as being the Word of God, then we have to be true to what Scripture teaches. So how powerful is the God of the Bible? Gen. 1: 1 gives a pretty good indication of His power. It says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The same God who created our world is the same God who is behind our faith!
b. The word “power” in our text is where we get the word “dynamite.” And the message of Jesus carries w/it the omnipotence of God, whose power alone is sufficient to save men from sin and provide us w/eternal life.
2. I believe most people desire change in their lives. Most people want to look better, feel better, have more $, have more influence and have more power. That right there is the premise behind advertising. It’s that people want to change in some way or another. So advertisers sell products telling people those products can bring @ change.
a. Now a lot of the products being sold don’t bring change at all. Many people have learned that sticking a belt on your stomach that vibrates really doesn’t give you 6 pack abs. I’ll admit there are some products that do make you feel better. But the ideas promoted don’t have the power to remove feelings of guilt and discontentment that so many of us have. Jer. 13: 23, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?” The fact is we’re helpless to change our very nature.
b. Only the power of God has the ability to bring real change into a person’s life. And that’s a reason we shouldn’t have fear concerning the legitimacy of our faith. That’s the reason we shouldn’t feel inferior. It’s when we’re not plugged into the one true power source, God, that we should feel inferior.
ILLUS: A minister, a boy scout, and a scientist were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and explained the plane was going down but there were only 3 parachutes for 4 people. The pilot then added, “I should have one of the parachutes b/c I have a wife and 3 small children.” So he took one and jumped out.
-The scientist jumped up immediately and said, “I should have one b/c I’m the smartest man in the world and people need me.” So he took one and jumped. The minister turned to the Boy Scout and w/a sad smile said, “You’re young and I’ve lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute and I’ll go down w/the plane.”
-Then the Boy Scout said, “Relax, Reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out.”
B. I don’t care how smart or successful you are. If you’re not plugged into Christ you’re jumping out of a plane w/o a parachute. But if you’re plugged into Christ, if you follow Him, your life will be changed forever b/c of His power.
1. 2 Cor. 5: 17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Reit: The 1st reason we don’t need to be fearful in life is b/c our faith has power. The 2nd reason we don’t need to be fearful in life is b/c:
DIV. 2: OUR FAITH BRINGS SALVATION (v. 16)
Exp: Paul told the Roman Xians not to be fearful or ashamed @ their faith. To do so would be foolish b/c it has the power of God backing it. But also, we shouldn’t be fearful b/c our faith brings w/it salvation to all who believe in God.
A.Are y’all familiar w/the terminology “to be saved?” If you are, hang in there w/me b/c I’m going to give a little reminder of what that means. The question is “What do we need to be saved from?” Well, the Bible teaches that we all have a problem and that problem is sin.
1. And sin is anything that’s displeasing to God. Anything from murder to wanting to ram the back of a guy’s car after he cuts you off. And God is so perfect that He won’t have anything to do w/sin. The bad news is that all of us have sinned. Rom. 3: 23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
a. But the good news is that God did something for us to take care of the sin problem. Rom. 5: 6, “While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” You see, Jesus died on a cross as a sacrifice, as a payment for the sin that all of us have committed. In other words, Jesus has paid our debt of sin that’s owed to God for us. But for the payment Jesus made for us to be credited to our account we must “believe.” The end of v. 16 says, “it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
b. The word “believe” carried the basic idea of “trusting in” or “relying on.” Notice v. 16 doesn’t say, “it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who behaves.” Christ doesn’t call for us to 1st behave, but to believe! Why is that? B/c there’s no power in our behavior! If you rely on yourself to make yourself right w/God, you’re going to be sorely disappointed! Our behavior, what we do, isn’t good enough to bring @ the salvation of God.
2. You know why? B/c the best we can offer to God on our own isn’t going to be enough to pay for our debt of sin. Eph. 2: 8, 9, “For by grace are you saved thru faith—not of yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, lest any man should boast.”
a. There’s only one avenue thru which we can receive salvation; thru which we can be made right w/God. And that’s thru His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14: 6, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except thru Me.”
b. You know what that means? You don’t need to be fearful @ your faith in Jesus b/c He’s the only real solution in our lives. Certain practices you apply to your life aren’t going to make you more acceptable to God.
B. Other religions and gods aren’t going to bring good answers to what happens to you after you die. A lot of time we try to water this down a bit by saying that it’s possible for people to come into a relationship w/God apart from Jesus.
1. I think we say things like this b/c it sounds more palatable. It makes us sound like we’re not standing out so much from everyone else. It makes us not look so weird to everybody else. But to do that is to deny what the Bible says.
a. To do that is to give people a false sense of security @ where they stand w/God.
ILLUS: Some years ago a terrible railroad accident occurred, killing a lot of people. A commuter train had stalled on the tracks just a few minutes before a fast freight train was due to arrive. A conductor was quickly sent to flag down the approaching freight. Being assured that all was well, the passengers relaxed.
-Suddenly, however, the speeding freight came bearing down on them. The crash left behind a horrible scene. The engineer of the 2nd train, who escaped death by jumping from the cab, was called into court to explain why he hadn’t stopped. He said, “I saw a man waving a warning flag, but it was yellow, so I thought he just wanted me to slow down.”
-When the flag was examined, the mystery was explained. It had been red, but b/c of long exposure to the sun and weather it had become a dirty yellow. The preacher, Dr. Harry Ironside, commented on the accident. He said, “O the lives eternally wrecked by the ‘yellow gospels’ we are hearing today—the bloodless theories of unregenerate men that send their hearers to doom instead of stopping them on their downward road.”
b. Don’t try to fool yourself into thinking something different. There’s only one way to be made right w/God and that’s thru Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t be fearful of our faith and what others might think of us b/c we apply it to our lives. Instead we should be joyful that we have the answer that so many people are looking for.
2. A question to ponder is how are you sharing the answer of Jesus w/people? Let me encourage you to do some things. Let me encourage you to pray for your friends and family to become followers of God. Pray for God to give you opportunities to talk to others @ what God has done in your life.
a. Ask God to open up opportunities for you to invite your friends into the church. Our friends and families need to know @ the power of God. And you have the opportunity to point them in the right direction.
Reit: The 1st reason we don’t have to be fearful is b/c our faith has power. The 2nd reason is b/c our faith brings salvation. And the final reason we don’t have to be fearful is b/c:
DIV. 3: OUR FAITH IMPARTS RIGHTEOUSNESS (v. 17)
Exp: Something unbelievable happens to a person when they place their trust and hope in Jesus. God imparts to them “righteousness.” Now what in the world does that mean? It means that GOD makes us “right” w/Him. It means it’s not dependent upon ME to make myself right w/God. Now that’s a relief to me b/c I’ve tried to do it before and the only thing that ever happens is I keep failing at trying to live for God under my own power and then I feel defeated.
A.So what does that mean? It means if we don’t allow Jesus to put us together, then Jesus won’t come near us b/c He’s not going to barge His way into our lives. He allows us to make the choice whether or not we’re going to follow Him. But if we decide to follow Him, guess what He does? He makes us righteous. He puts us together.
1. I don’t know @ you but that takes a lot of pressure off me. It enables me to relax and enjoy life instead of constantly worrying @ it. God does that w/us when He provides us w/a righteousness in our lives that we can’t attain on our own.
ILLUS: Deep in the Arabian desert is a small fortress. It stands on the edge of the desert. It was at this place that Thomas Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia”, used to seek shelter. Though it wasn’t a beautiful place, it was a great place to b/c of its security. It was loaded w/food supplies and had plenty of water.
-When under attack, often by superior forces, Lawrence would retreat to the fort and be able to defend himself and rely upon the supplies of the fort. His enemies would run out of supplies and the elements would start taking their toll and the enemy would have to retreat.
-What happened at that fort is the strength of the fort became the strength of those who occupied it. But for that fort to be able to provide protection for Lawrence, what did he have to do? He had to go inside the fort.
a. And the same thing is true for us. God has plenty of provisions for us to be able to thrive and make a difference in our homes and in our workplaces and in our schools. But for us to take advantage of those provisions, we must allow ourselves to be placed in His care; we must allow Christ to carry us into the fort.
Conclusion: Today we’ve seen some reasons we don’t have to be fearful. The 1st reason is b/c our faith has power. The 2nd reason is b/c our faith brings salvation. And finally, b/c our faith imparts righteousness.
-Are you fearful? Are you scared of what the world can throw at you—death, loss of a job, loss of friendship, moving? You don’t have to be fearful. The only audience we’re performing for in this life is Jesus. You’re not performing for me. You’re not performing for your friends. You’re not performing for your dad. You’re performing for Jesus.
-And all He’s asking you to do is trust Him. And as you do that, He’ll remove your fear and enable you to live w/confidence. Some of you have never entrusted your life to the care of Christ. Right now you’re doing all you can to have control, but the longer you live the more you realize you don’t have control.
-The one thing you’re going to need in this life and the next one is mercy. And the only one who’ll provide you w/mercy is Jesus.
-If you’d like to place your trust in Jesus, pray this prayer after me. “Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I need you to forgive me of my sins, so I’m asking you to do that today. I’m placing my trust and hope in you. I believe you died for me and rose from the grave. And I’m trusting you to save me.
-If you prayed that prayer, open your bulletin and fill out the section on the right side and check the line that says you’re committing your life to Christ. Then place it in the offering basket so we can get you some information in the mail @ growing in your new relationship w/Jesus.
