A DOSE OF REALITY
Genesis 6:5-6 / 2 Chronicles 7:14
* In the beginning God created all that is (I.E. heavens, earth, plants, animals, sea, and mankind) and said “It is good.” When God declares something to be good, you can take it to the bank, “IT IS GOOD!” The prevalent thought of today is that those words are still the mantra. It goes like this: the world is good, people are good, God is good, and so everything is good. Yet we forget God view of the world & of specifically mankind when you get to Genesis 6 (read).
* Our young people today use this expression, “Keeping it real” while us (not so young people) use the word ‘reality.’ Candidly, we are not big on reality. While we may ‘watch’ reality shows, when it comes to real life, we prefer to accentuate the positive. The dictionary defines reality as ‘The quality or state of being real.’
* The first title of this message was a ‘taste’ of reality, but to simply taste something is to get just a little and be done. A DOSE, on the other hand, is to partake of enough to effect healing and change.
* The first reality I bring to your attention is this: “It is appointed unto YOU, once to die, and after this judgment.” This means that one day, you & I will face God! Voltaire was not a believer of God yet he said, “What if there is a God and You actually have to stand before Him?” Today, Voltaire KNOWS there is a God.
* Keeping Genesis 6 in our minds, I want to argue a case of reality & realism for us.
1. Our Circumstances – What is the truth (not the spin) about our lives, lifestyles, and living in this country, this state, this community, and even in this church. (4 things)
a. Our Country is dying – Please hear this: Every quantifiable sign which we can see or read today tells us that this country is on life support. Economics, productivity, unemployment, foreign policy, and more point to one end, the end. All of these areas of this great nation are hemorrhaging in such a way that we are bleeding out. But these are not the fatal wounds. The fatal wound is found in the moral, ethical, and principles of our land. These are the same wounds which have brought down nations in the past & will, if left unchecked, destroy the USA. A nation who will kill 50 million unborn people will think nothing of pulling the plug on the Aged (who the Bible says we should honor) & terminate them. A nation who will embrace the sin of immorality, whether adultery, homosexuality, fornication, or any other sensual sin, will ultimately become a nation of unfeeling & uncaring juveniles. A nation who removes God from the public places has already removed God from the private places. Every time God has been dismissed from a nation, that nation has disintegrated! Our country is dying.
b. Our Churches are dying – Notice I didn’t say, “God’s church is dying” but that “OUR CHURCHES” are dying. Every survey taken indicates that between 70%-90% of churches in America are plateaued or declining. Statistics just released tell us that every month 2700 churches in the US hold their last services. You know why?
* Candidly & honestly, I have attempted to convey the reason to us, both generally & in specifically. Anytime a non-profit organization begins to function ‘for’ those on the inside, at that moment, the organization begins to decline (another word for die). No church goes into a business meeting with the thought of making a decision to kill the church, but too often without any thought of God’s desire for His people & His church, decisions are made which become ‘a cancer’ to the life blood in the church. Churches die because they cease to focus on HIM & THEM.
c. Our “Christianity” is dying – Christianity of today might not even be recognized by Christians of past. As recent as a half-century ago, Christianity was not defined by ‘what the Church has to offer me’, but rather, what I can give. Those who were identified as ‘followers of Christ’ were followers because of how Jesus had impacted their lives and they saw themselves as followers, warriors, ambassadors and disciples of Jesus’. That brand of Christianity were made of people who gave, who sacrificed, who prayed, who were passionate about the Lord, and those who were committed to both HIM & HIS church. HEAR THIS: You can be committed to the church & not committed to Him, but there is no Biblical way to be committed to HIM & not be committed to HIS church. That’d be like having a best friend & never talking to His bride. Unselfish & totally committed Christianity is dying.
d. Our Convictions are dying – Sadly, the word conviction is not used much anymore. When a guilty sentence comes down, we say we have a ‘conviction.’
* One of the definitions of convictions is ‘The state of being convinced’ and ‘A strong persuasion or belief.’ It saddens me to say, but the reason Christianity is dying is the reason the Church is dying is the reason the Country is dying is the reason that so few people are convinced that we can totally, completely & ultimately trust God with our families, our pocketbooks, and our lives.
* A few weeks back I was in a conversation with a person about our presidential candidates. The subject came up about one of the candidates being a Muslim to which the dismissive quip came, “No he’s not.” While I resisted the urge to respond, in my mind these words formed, “His actions speak louder than your words.” We can say we have convictions about God & His word, but our actions speak louder than our words. These are our circumstances.
2. Our Commitments–In the context of reality, to what is it that we are truly devoted.
a. Our sports – Alabama is #1 in watching TV and Birmingham is #1 in watching college football on ESPN. Nothing is wrong with football or TV until they replace God in our lives. We are committed to our sports (all kinds)
b. Our schedule – How many times have I heard, “I can’t commit to being here that day because I am unsure as to what I have to do” only later to hear the same person say, “I can’t help in a ministry because I’m ________?” Here is some reality for all of us: check your calendar – see what is the firm, unbreakable events listed – and discover what you are committed to. Church, ministry, or…
c. Our status - This is the way of saying that, more than anything else, we stop at nothing to protect and hold up #1. It has been said that Character is what you do when you think no one is looking. Could the reason that so much around us is decaying be that we are more interested in looking right than in doing right?
3. Our Challenges – God’s people are indeed faced with some difficult challenges.
a. To Recognize – 2 Corinthian 13:5 – IN large measure God’s people have, in this decadent society, taken the Ostrich approach with heads in the sand. The reality is that our problem is not the spiritually ignorant but the spiritually complacent, it is not found in the white house it is found in the church house, and it is not found in the hearts of unbelievers the real problems are found in church members who are unconcerned. Martin Lloyd Jones said, “Nothing is as worthless as a nominal Christian.” We must examine ourselves in light of God’s word. Yes we are to walk in love but we are also to walk worthy by walking Holy. We are to see the world, but we are also to reap the harvest. Our challenge is to recognize where we have failed and where we have succeeded.
b. To Remember – Revelation 2:5 – Can you remember what it was like when you met Jesus? Do you remember the joy? (If you don’t, please stop & check it) Jesus is pretty clear, remember. In my heart, if a truly born again person can remember, his heart will be broken because he’ll remember where he used to be & see just how far he has fallen down. (ILLUS: Jonah-belly, prodigal song-pig pen)
4. Our Choice – Here’s the reality: YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE! Today, YOU WILL MAKE A CHOICE! You only have 2 options. Here they are:
a. To Continue – You can continue to do what you are already doing. “Life is good” so you say. I have money, toys, family, and all of it is under my control, so just leave me alone. Here is what God says, (Proverbs 14), “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is destruction.” Or maybe this one, “Mene Tekel.” (God has numbered your days – and you have been weighed in the balance & found deficient). Or possibly this one, “Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself, for this night your life is demanded of you.” Can you take the risk? If you slipped out of your pew and into eternity, would you leave here with God’s money in your pocket, His calling on your life not completed, & with unconfessed sin in your life? Can you risk continuing? Will your pride cause problems?
b. To Change – Change is a horrible word for some of us. That is because our pride tells us “We’re okay.” We will only change when the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same. Do you need a wakeup call? The wakeup call took the form of a seizure for Brett Farve to realize he was dependent on painkillers.
* To change requires REPENTANCE. There is no shortcut. You have not repented of something you are still doing. For some, you must repent of your unbelief & of your rejection of Jesus. For others, 2 Chronicles 7:14 is your only hope. If my people HUMBLE themselves, PRAY, SEEK MY FACE, & TURN! This is our reality!
