INTRO.- ILL.- Three preachers got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. All I did is make holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats." "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church."
But the third preacher said, "I haven’t had any more problems with the bats.” "What did you do?" asked the others, amazed. He said, "I simply baptized them and I haven’t seen them since."
It’s really sad how many people are baptized into Christ and are soon missing from the church. It’s something I don’t understand. Either they didn’t make a solid decision in the first place or else they were greatly tempted after their decision for Christ.
Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Baptism sounds like a very powerful thing in the life of the believer! And it is! If it is taken seriously, if it is taken in humble submission to the will of God! Of course, that’s the only way to take baptism or any other command in scripture. IN HUMBLE SUBMISSION. When we humbly submit and obey God’s Word He is able to do a good work in our lives, BUT NOT UNTIL!
Please remember that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble! I Peter 5:5. Psalm 15:1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?
Sanctuary and holy hill. What is the Psalmist talking about? How could this be applied to us today? The church? Heaven? I guess it could be either/or.
I want to dwell in His church and I want to live on God’s holy hill in heaven! And the two may well go together! If you want heaven, you need the church as well. Some people don’t think you need the church, but the church is kingdom of heaven on earth! One kingdom leads to the other kingdom.
I do know that we all should desire to live forever with the Lord in His heaven where there will be no more tears, no more death, no more weariness, no more pain, etc. This life will pass away. The better life is yet to come! Who is going there? Who may live with God in His sanctuary and on His Holy Hill?
PROP.- Who may live with God?
1- Those who walk blamelessly
2- Those who speak truthfully
3- Those who wrong nobody
4- Those who give graciously
1. THOSE WHO WALK BLAMELESSLY
2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.
Blameless? Oh, come on! Do you know of anyone who is truly blameless? That means someone who is completely innocent of all sin.
ILL.- In preparation for a revival meeting in a large city, the famed evangelist Billy Sunday wrote a letter to the mayor in which he asked for the names of individuals he knew who had spiritual problems and needed help and prayer. How surprised the Billy Sunday was when he received from the mayor a city directory. This sounds exactly like every town and city I know.
ILL.- Do you know what is America’s most dangerous city? Detroit, MI. with 1,111 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents. And do you know what is the number two most dangerous city? MEMPHIS, TN! with 1,006 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
People all across the US talk about how bad Memphis is. Well, truthfully, there is no difference in any town, village or city! Some may be worse than others but they’re all bad or sinful!
Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
According to these scriptures it doesn’t sound like there is much hope for anyone, does it? No one is blameless.
Job 1:1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”
How could Job of old be a blameless man and we can’t?! Or can we? There is only one way to be blameless and to walk blamelessly in this world. It’s in Christ. This is the starting point for all who want to go to heaven. John 14:6 Jesus is the way!
II Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Our righteousness or blameless life is in Christ. He became sin and we became righteous. He traded places with us. No one in their right mind would trade places with us sinners, BUT GOD DID!
I got my looks from Leo and Juanita Shepherd, but I get my salvation and righteousness from Jesus Christ! However, in life we must walk or live as blamelessly as possible! We must be spiritually attentive in life as much as possible.
ILL.- Through the years I have heard guys talk about football, basketball, baseball, etc. and they seem to know all about the sports and the players and the plays. How do they do that? It’s because they study it and watch it. They live it, eat it and breathe it.
And what do you think we’re supposed to do when it comes to living the Christian life? Some people know far more about the things of this world than they do the things of God. Could it be that we do not study the scriptures as much as we should? And we don’t pray as much as we should? We don’t commune with God as much as we should? If we want to walk as blamelessly as possible in this world we must spend time with Him who is blameless! We need to know Him better and more intimately!
2. THOSE WHO SPEAK TRUTHFULLY
2 Who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue.
ILL.- Four high school boys agreed to skip class and go fishing. Reporting to school the next day, they told the teacher that the car in which they had been riding had a flat tire. Much to their relief, the teacher smiled and said, “That’s OK. You missed a short test yesterday, so you four take your seats apart from one another and take out a piece of paper.” As the boys found seats in different corners of the room she asked, “Which tire was flat?”
I think perhaps most of us have been tempted in life to tell a fib occasionally. I guess it would depend on how big a fib and to person to whom we’re telling the lie.
ILL.- I remember one time in a church where three or four of our teenage boys got into a water fight in the church and made a mess in a back hallway.
I don’t remember all the particulars but some other kid told on them and I went to confront those boys and tell them that they had to clean up their mess. I think I asked, “Did you boys make this mess?” No one owned up to the mess. Finally, one of the boys said, “Yea, we did it.” And I was proud of the fact that he admitted it. I just told them to clean up their mess and not to do it again. I also told that one boys’ parents about his honestly. I hope they were proud of him for telling the truth.
Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
2 Who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue.
The heart of the matter is the heart. Speaking the truth from the heart. If our hearts have been trained properly and/or changed by the truth of God we will speak truthfully in life.
Matthew 12:34 “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Whatever we speak comes from our hearts. What does your heart say?
No slander on his tongue. To slander is to speak malicious, false rumors about someone else. And frankly, people often speak rumors about others that can hurt them without knowing if they are true or not, and even if they are true, they shouldn’t be spoken! WHY? Here is why.
Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
The old adage applies: If you can’t say something nice or good about someone then don’t say anything at all! We are suppose to build up one another, not tear down one another. We are supposed to be on the construction crew, not the destruction crew!
Often, our speech or our speaking betrays us. It shows who we really are or what we really are, but instead, our speaking should portray us, in the sense of portraying Christ in us!
Who may live on God’s holy hill? Those whose heart and speech have been changed by Christ.
3. THOSE WHO WRONG NOBODY
3 Who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman.
ILL.- The "Am I a Bad Neighbor" Question: I run with my dog in my urban neighborhood on an almost-daily basis. My dog is a serial pooper (he generally poops 2-3 times, right at the beginning of the run), and I’ve gotten in the habit of throwing the poop bags in my neighbors’ garbage cans after I’ve picked up his business. Am I a bad neighbor?
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Well, maybe not the best neighbor in the world. I know that I don’t like when people walk their dog on my lawn and allow them to poop in it.
Who is your neighbor? Our neighbor could be our neighbor who lives next door to us or it could be that person we work with or it could be another customer at the bank or Wal-mart or a clerk or anyone. We are to do no wrong to our neighbor which is a sign of Christ in us.
ILL.- I was in a pool hall in a small town one time. I saw a guy leave and as he did he dropped a $5 bill out of his pocket. I also witnessed another guy go over quickly and pick it up and put it in his pocket. Is that wronging your neighbor? I thought it was and I asked him, “Hey, aren’t you going to give that guy his $5 bill?” He replied, “Naw, he’d just blow it on something.”
James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
We may be more guilty of wronging our neighbor by failing to do them good.
ILL.- I remember when I was just a small kid that my dad built a bathroom on our small house in Webb City, MO. When Dad was still in the process of framing it a neighbor came across the street and offered to help dad that day and he did! That impressed me. Not everyone could do something like that, but we all can be good neighbors to all other people and watch for opportunities to do something good for them!
Who may live on God’s holy hill? Those who live for the good of others. Those who never fail to do good to others. After all, didn’t Jesus do the ultimate good for others?
4. THOSE WHO GIVE GRACIOUSLY
5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. (or who lends money to the poor without interest)
To me, this speaks of giving graciously to others and especially, to the poor or to those who have little in this world or perhaps to someone with a special need.
I Timothy 6:17-19 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Ah ha! There it is! By giving to others in need we lay up treasures for the coming age. Who may live on God’s holy hill? Those who give graciously and share with those in need. It’s not our giving will get us into heaven, but those who are going to heaven will want to give!
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
ILL.- Someone said: "You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." If we truly love others or care about others, how can we not give when someone has a need? When did you last help someone out financially?
ILL.- An artist was once asked to paint a picture of a dying church. To the astonishment of many, instead of painting the picture of old run down building, the artist painted a fancy, rich looking church building with the best of everything inside: carpet, padded pews, stained glass windows, grand piano, etc.
Just inside the grand entrance, was an offering box on a table with the words printed “Offering for Foreign Missions.” And in the slot where the money was to be put was a cobweb.
That was the picture of a dying church. Why? Because it was a church the demonstrated no love for the lost of this world.
Likewise, when we are reluctant to help others financially when we have the means, it could be a sign of a dying or decaying heart.
Who may live on God’s holy hill? Those who give to others out of a heart of love!
CONCLUSION---------------------
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.
What’s your LDL and HDL? I heard a doctor say a long time ago how to tell the difference between the LDL and the HDL cholesterol. One is good and one is bad. The good is the HDL. The bad cholesterol is the LDL. He said the “L” could stand for lousy.
The LDL cholesterol is a killer. I take Simvastatin for my cholesterol. I thought about not taking my cholesterol medication one time and a nurse said to me, “Don’t you do it. My mother stopped taking her cholesterol medication and died of a heart attack.” So I decided to continue taking my medication. When I want to leave this world, I’ll stop taking it!
LDL cholesterol is a cause of heart disease which in turn can kill a person. But there is a worse killer than LDL cholesterol! It’s sin! Sin is a killer of the heart, which is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It’s our feelings, desires, passions, thoughts, understanding and will. It’s the place that God sees and wants to to be a part of. God wants to dwell in our hearts and change us into His image.
Who may live on God’s holy hill?
1- Those who walk blamelessly
2- Those who speak truthfully
3- Those who wrong nobody
4- Those who give graciously
And whoever does the things mentioned in this Psalm must have a heart that God has touched and infiltrated!
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
