If We don’t Stand For Something, We’ll Fall For Anything
2Timothy 3:16-17
Intro: A pastor entered a class as the lesson was in progress and asked, "Who broke
down the walls of Jericho?" A lad answered, "Not me, sir." The pastor turned
to the teacher and asked, "Is this the usual behavior in this class?" The
teacher replied, "I believe this boy is an honest boy, and I really don’t
think he did it." Leaving the room, the pastor sought out a deacon and explained what had happened. The deacon said, "I have known both the boy and
the teacher for several years, and neither of them would do such a thing." By
this time the pastor was heartsick and reported the incident to the Christian
Education Committee. They said, "We see no point in making an issue out of this thing. Let’s pay the bill for the damage to the walls and charge it to upkeep. Anyway, our insurance may even cover it. "
. It’s important to know what we believe, isn’t it
. There is an old saying that goes like this.
. You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything.
.This morning I want to get back into the results of our vision casting.
. While we did come up with our mission statement which is “ To encourage and develop those we meet into committed followers of Jesus.” We also identified six core values that our church stands by.
. These core values define who we are as a congregation.
. They define what’s important to us and who we are.
. These core values keep us on course and let the world know what we stand for.
. The title of this sermon is “ If we don’t stand for something we’ll fall for any thing.”
. Folks we have to be grounded in our beliefs. People need to know what we stand for.
. This morning I am starting a series over the next two or three weeks on just what our core values are. What we stand for.
. The first core value and the overwhelming consenses of the group was;
. Preaching and teaching scripture.
. We defined this as, communicating the revelation of God’s word.
. The value that is the most important part of who we are is the communication of God’s word to all who will hear.
. Paul described this pretty well in 2 Tim 3:16-17. In writing to his protégé timothy he wrote this:
. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and dteaches us to do what is eright.17God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
. We believe that all scripture is from God.
. We believe that the bible in its original writing was inspired by God.
. There are no mistakes. This is God’s word and paul writes that we are to use this scripture to teach truth and expose wrong. It corrects us and it equips us to do good works.
. This is our standard folks, this is what we use as a guidebook or standard.
. If things don’t measure up to this, we shouldn’t be involved with it as a church.
. We look to God’s word guidance and correction.
. Now this would seem to be a no brainer wouldn’t it?
. The problem is that there are many churches that don’t base what they do on God’s word.
. Let me give you an example.
. This week I was reading an article in one of the Christian apologetics magazines and it was writing about what is called the emerging or emergent church.
. Now apologetics is the defense of faith or the correction of heresy that we find in our society today.
. In this article, the writer, Matt Slick, was interviewing some of the more prominent and successful, [as far as numbers of members are concerned] Pastors of the emerging churches.
. I’m not going to read quotes to you but the gist of the article was that this emerging church movement or the ones that the writer interviewed said that you didn’t have to believe in the resurrection.
. One said that Buddhist Hindu or even Jewish believers didn’t have to be Christians to have eternal life.
. Some deny the virgin birth and the death of Jesus on the cross.
. One pastor and I use the term losely,has concluded that the death of Jesus was a vile act of an angry God and that the true God would not do that.
. Folks, we get here in our own little world of Monroe Ga and don’t realize what is happening to our faith.
. It is being hijacked.
. There is one common thread that pulls all these emerging churches together.
. They all deny that God was the author of our Bible.
. They don’t recognize that all scripture is God breathed.
. When you do that, you can say and do anything you want and call it religion.
. What this core value says to us and to the world is that we do believe that the bible is God’s word and we use it as our standard.
. My sons are in college studying to become school teachers. When they come home they talk about all the things they have learned and requirements that are placed upon them. I have to admit that I don’t understand most of what they are talking about because like most vocations they have their very own vocabulary. Now my wife, being a teacher, understands all this jargon and they can talk for hours about all this stuff. The one thing that I do pick up on though is the concept of standards. They have certain standards that they are to go by and certain standards that they and the students are to comply with.
. Folks, we as Christians and as a church have a standard to use in how we function as a church.
. That standard is the word of God. The Bible.
.Our fist core value is that we will preach and teach the inspired word of God.
. Our second core value is PRAYER
. We defined prayer as “seeking God’s will through listening, speaking and meditation with Him.
. Prayer is important to us. Prayer should be important to you as a Christian.
. We pray by speaking to God. Some say that they don’t know how to pray.
. This came up in a sermon a couple of weeks ago.
. Prayer is talking to God. If you can talk or think words in your mind, you can pray.
. We talk to God and we listen to that small still voice that speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. This voice will guide us as we meditate on God and His plan for our lives.
. Again prayer is important to us as a church.
. We want everyone to have this prayer life as part of their everyday life.
. As we move forward in what God has in store for us, Prayer is essential. Prayer is powerful.
. Matthew 6 records what many call the Lords prayer or the model prayer.
. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 6:5a and 6:7a
. When you pray 6:5a
. When you pray 6:7a
. Jesus didn’t say when you feel like it or when you have time you should pray. He said when you pray.
. Prayer is expected.
.There is power in prayer folks, we just need to claim that power.
.A new missionary tells this story. He was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced his family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When the missionary proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine.
The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.
. Folks the power of prayer is there and here all the time.
. We just need to use it.
. Why do you think that many Christians don’t have an active prayer life?
. When I ask folks about their prayer time and life I hear pretty much the same answer.
. I’m just too busy; I can’t seem to find the time.
. The story is told of a lady who became very angry at the pastor. When she finally caught up with him, she said, "I called you all morning at the church and dropped by to see you in the afternoon on Tuesday and you were not there." The minister said, "I’m sorry Madam, but Tuesday is my day off." "Your day off", she said very self righteously. "I’ll have you know that the devil never takes a day off". The pastor said, "you are absolutely right, and I’m sure that if I did the same thing, I would become just like him."
. We do live in the rat race don’t we, where the motto of life is ‘go for it’. We have fast food, quick print shops, faster and faster computers, express oil changes, One hour photos, instant cocoa, instant coffee, even instant tea, microwaves, overnight delivery, express mail, instant messenger, drive thru restaurants, drive thru chemists, mobile phones so that we can to talk to someone right now. We eat fast food and then want fast diet plans. We see our society moving at a 100 miles an hour and we think it’s good for us! Pam and I are looking at changing our internet service to one of these 4G hotspots . It’s not Pam complaining about wasting time waiting on downloads and streaming. It’s yours truly. It seems I am always in a hurry. Story of my life. The same is true for many of you I’m sure.
. Folks we must find time to pray.
. Prayer not only allows us to talk with God, it allows us just a short time to slow down and rest in who God is in our lives.
. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
. Spend time with God daily and He will give you rest.
. A respite from this business that seems to control many of us.
. You have heard the old saying, slow down and smell the roses.
. Jesus says slow down and spend some time with me.
. Let me recharge and reenergize you.
. Folks, prayer is essential to our church.
. Prayer is essential in your personal walk with God if you are to be the Christian God wants you to be.
. Preaching and teaching scripture.
. Prayer
. Things that we as a church have decided are important to us.
. I can assure you that I will continue to preach God’s word and insure that we teach God’s word in our Christian education.
. I can even lead the Sunday morning and Wednesday evening prayer groups.
. The personal prayer is squarely upon your shoulders.
. I say again, if we are to fulfill our mission to encourage and develop those we meet into committed followers of Jesus, it will start with this core value of Prayer.
Invitation:
