Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to CrossPoint Church whether it is your 1st time or 101st time my prayer is that you came here with the expectation that we serve a supernatural God who is concerned about your everyday life.
We live in a society that has become increasingly self-centered and has become consumed with self-satisfaction. There is a relentless pursuit of pleasure and worldliness that is an affront to the Cross of Jesus Christ.
But exactly what does it mean to be Christian? Can I create my own interpretation and live a quasi Christian Life. How do I know God’s voice from my own or that of my circumstances? Great questions. Last week we attempted to answer those question in the message called: God Said, Now What?
Today my desire is to look at modern Christianity and its departure from the tradition faith our father in this message called: Yuck! Yuck is one of those expressions we used when we reject something that is contrary to our disposition. The Prophet Moses has a Yuck moment.
Who Am I
(NKJV) Exodus 3 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Serving God
(NKJV) Exodus 3 12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Have you ever thought about these simple questions: Who Am I? And What on Earth am I Doing Here. Well lately I have been asking myself those same questions. My so called Yuck moment!
First I am a husband, a father, and a grandfather. I pastor a great church called CrossPoint and I am living in a Great City in a Great Country surrounding by people like me who want to see a Move of God in our Generation.
But that doesn’t define me or my purpose for living on this planet. And it certainly shouldn’t define you or your purpose. So how do we find purpose? How about following the example of Christ.
Finish God’s Work
(NKJV) John 4 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
Destroy the Devil
(NKJV) 1 John 3 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus understood His assignment. 1, was to do the will of Him that sent him, meaning God the Father and 2, to destroy the works of the devil. Ok, I know why Jesus came but what about me.
The bible defines the word Christian as Christ like. It means that we are to become like Christ. We are to do the works of Christ and live a life that is Holy and Acceptable, which is our reasonable service.
DWJD (Doing what Jesus did.)
(NKJV) John 14 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Jesus has gone back to the Father and He has this amazing expectation from us, to do the same things He did.
Pastor you’re kidding me; I can’t do the same things Jesus did. A Yuck moment.
See I am a professional pew sitter; please don’t ask me to do anything like give my time, my talent, or my treasure. I want to wear bracelets that say WWJD, and wear this cool cross around my neck but don’t ask me to do anything, I am comfortable doing nothing.
Unfortunately the American Christian centers upon what Christ can do for them versus what He has already done. The term Jesus is my personal Savior removes individual responsibility to Advance the Church and the Kingdom of God. Why? Because they are in it for themselves.
Fact: The term Personal Savior is not found anywhere in the bible. Why is this important?
When we overly personalized our view of our relationship with Christ it can create selfishness to the point of rejecting our daily cross. See if I believe that Christ died so that I can have a great life and sit around and eat bom-boms all day it eliminates my responsibility to do the works that Jesus did.
Christ Lives in Me
(NKJV) Galatians 2 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
The Apostle Paul understood that his life was no longer his own, it had been paid for. Ladies and Gentlemen, are you aware that when we became Christians we gave up certain rights? Like the right to choose how to live our own life our own way?
And that is Our Struggle! Trying to Hold On to this life!
Counted Loss for Christ
(NKJV) Philippians 3 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
His Righteousness
(NKJV) Philippians 3 9 And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
Fellowship of Sufferings
(NKJV) Philippians 3 10 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Today we have Cavalier Christians who are indifferent to the things of Christ. Words like sacrifice, service, and suffering have been replaced by comfort, entitlement, and apathy. We don’t want as my granddaughter might say, the Yucky Stuff, we want the good stuff!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to evangelize our city and nation. To spread the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. We are to compel the lost to come into the House of God and yet we ourselves are not compelled.
Compel: Force someone to do something by a legal or moral means. Bring about something by the use of force or pressure.
SPEAK
Compel Them to Come
(NKJV) Luke 14 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
As I was praying and thinking about this scripture a deep concern came over me. I thought God if we as believers are to compel non-believers to come into the House of God but we ourselves aren’t compelled than how do we convince anyone we are really serious about serving the King of Kings?
Ladies and Gentlemen, many of us are not serving in God’s Kingdom but we are serving something we manufactured in our own minds and presented that to the Holy Spirit and called it God.
The church in America and here in our community is at a Crossroad. We say we want God as long as it’s on our terms and on our time. It is called Convenience Christianity. The Apostle Paul understood you can’t worry about anyone else if your life is not pleasing to God.
As the season turns from summer to fall isn’t time to Fall Back in love with Him who paid the price for our freedom.
You know every morning I have a cup of coffee. There is nothing like a hot cup of coffee and scripture reading early in the morning. A little later I might have a cold glass of orange juice.
And my all time favorite snack is late at night when everyone is asleep is to sneak into the kitchen and pour myself a cold glass of milk with some chocolate chip cookies and get lost in glory.
However during the beginning of summer our refrigerator stopped working, not completely, but enough that it would not keep things cold. We could only keep milk for a few days or else it would go bad.
Ladies and Gentlemen there is nothing worse than a bowl of cereal or chocolate cookies with warm milk unless you’re a baby. I discovered that warm milk makes my food less appetizing.
So for the whole summer my late night trips to the kitchen in search for that perfect combination of cold milk and cookies came to an end. And then I remembered that God likes His coffee hot and His milk cold and I found the scripture to prove it.
I Know You
(NKJV) Revelation 3 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Wretched & Miserable
(NKJV) Revelation 3 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
Vomiting is one of those things we have experienced but never want to repeat. It is one of the more disgusting things to see because when someone vomits everything and I mean everything comes up. It smells, it sinks, and its messy.
Vomit:
1. To forcefully eject part or all of the contents of the stomach through the mouth, usually in a series of involuntary spasmic movements.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are entering into a season where our faith can no longer be lukewarm thereby lacking the conviction or enthusiasm to be Christ-like. You and I have a responsibility to Advance the Kingdom of God but giving up our individual rights and embrace God’s will.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lukewarm acceptance is more bewildering than outright rejection.
My prayer is that you would become that hot cup of coffee or that tall glass of cold milk. It comes down to a choice, you choose and God will respond in kind.
I want God to say to me well done thou good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in little I going to make you ruler over much. I don’t want to hear from the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings: Yuck!
Let’s pray.
