Illus: A first grade teacher asked her class to write six things in life they had learned the hard way.
One little girl jotted these six things down. She had learned:
• No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats
• When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair
• You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
• Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts, no matter how cute the underwear is
• The best place to be when you're sad is in Grandma's lap
• Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a Tic-Tac
Illus: There are some things that PARENTS also have learned the hard way, such as:
• Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree
• Wrinkles don't hurt
• Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts
• Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground
• Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside
• Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy
Illus: There are some things that ELDERLY people have learned the hard way, such as:
• Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional
• When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
• You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster
• It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions
• Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician
• Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone
Someone very wisely said that life teaches us many valuable lessons, such as THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE…
• You believe in Santa Claus
• You don't believe in Santa Claus
• You are Santa Claus
• You look like Santa Claus
While we learn many valuable lessons as children, parents, adults and grandparents, there seem to be some lessons that some can never learn.
For example, some people go to church all their life, but they have never discovered that Christianity is a RELATIONSHIP not a RELIGION.
For example, in the spiritual realm there are basically three kinds of people you find in any church.
(1) THERE ARE THE INSINCERE
Some folks are not sincere about much of what they say. For example, some will greet folks by saying, “Good morning, how do you feel?” And then that person begins to explain how they feel and they are thinking, “What did I ask that for?”
We use words frequently, but they are only words. We often teach our children words, but we do not teach them the meaning of those words.
Illus: We raise our children to say "Thank you" when they are given what they want, and often do not let them have anything until they have said it.
It would be easy for a child to assume that the words “Thank You” are only magical words used to get what you want, and never be SINCERE ABOUT BEING THANKFUL!
How is it possible to speak the words without meaning them? Any time we speak words which have meaning, but WE DO NOT MEAN THE WORDS WE SPEAK, they become WORDS OF INSINCERITY.
For example, when we withdraw money from the cash machine, and it says "Have a nice day," does it mean it? We all would agree that the machine does not mean it, because the cash machine cannot be sincere since it isn't capable of being sincere.
A person can say anything if one has learned to talk. From the way they talk, some will make you think they want to live for God and serve Him. BUT THESE ARE ONLY MEANINGLESS WORDS, THEY ARE NOT SINCERE!
God has never been able to help the INSINCERE PERSON. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! Why? Because while they might say they want His help, they are not sincere. They will never discover the REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE until they get SINCERE WITH GOD.
For example, many claim they want God to help them, but they have asked Him and He will not help. God knows they are not sincere.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was counseling with a young lady that keeps getting in trouble. She finally got in trouble with the law, and then she went into a crying mode. She was telling everyone that she wanted to get her life straightened out, that she prays and it does no good.
As Dr. Belger was counseling with her, he knew her well. Everybody was believing that she wanted help but could not get it, but he knew better. He told her point blank, “The reason you can not get any help is because you really do not want any help from God. The only time you want God in your life is when you get in a tight spot.”
He then said, “If you purposely stepped on my foot, you could excuse yourself by saying you are sorry. The next day, you do the same thing and you could say you are sorry. And day after day you could keep stepping on my foot and keep saying you are sorry.” He said, “If you were really sorry you would quit stepping on my foot!”
He told her, “If you were truly sorry for what you are doing, you would quit. But you do not have the slightest intentions of quitting, you just want God and your friends to help you get out of the trouble you are in.”
She did not care for the counseling she was getting, but it was true. In fact, within a week after she had shed all those tears, and spoken all those words of remorse, she was back doing what she had always been doing.
People are able to fool others with insincerity, but they cannot fool God. But there is another group in the church we should be concerned about-
(2) THERE ARE THE IMITATORS
They do not claim God has not helped them, they PRETEND HE HAS. THEY ARE THE IMITATORS!!
Have you noticed how many imitation products there are on the market today?
Illus: There's imitation butter, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, milk, sugar, artificial flavors, and a host of other things. (Humor: They even have imitation Oreo Cookies…that’s going to far!)
Because there are so many counterfeits, we sometimes ask ourselves, “IS THERE ANYTHING REAL ANY MORE?”
The counterfeit products look real:
• They may be wrapped like the real product
• They may taste like the real product
• They may look like the real product
But they are as PHONEY as a three dollar bill.
Because there are so many counterfeit products on the market today, those who produce the REAL PRODUCTS must advertise that they produce REAL PRODUCTS.
The only way we know there is a difference between the REAL and the IMITATION is because the U.S. Government makes these folks print on the package what the product contains. If it was not for this label, we would not know the difference.
The same thing can be said of many people in the church. THEY APPEAR TO BE REAL, but they are not! And the only way you can tell they have never experienced the REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, is because the Word of God exposes them.
They can hear a sermon from the Word of God, and then go home and disobey everything they heard from the Word of God. THEY ARE ALL SHOW!!!
In the church we have THE INSINCERE, THE IMITATORS, and we have -
(3) THE REAL
Illus: George Beverly Shea used to sing that song, “It’s real, it’s real, I know it’s real, praise God the doubts are settled, I know it’s real.”
In this age of INSINCERE and IMITATING people, it is refreshing to meet some folks that TRULY KNOW THE LORD. To them Christianity is REAL!
• We like it when people are real
• We like it when they do not put on a "front"
• We like it when they are sincere, honest, and frank
Biblical Christianity is real! It's genuine! It's alive! It's sincere!
In 1 John 1:1-4, John is saying, "Christianity is real. There's nothing artificial about genuine Christianity." Let me show you four things about these verses of Scripture. As we look at the early church -
I. THE REALITY WAS SEEN
Look at verse 1, we read, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have SEEN WITH OUR EYES, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the WORD OF LIFE.”
John reminds us at the end of this verse that reality is in a person. Many folks have discovered religion, but they have never discovered Christ. One of the hardest things to do is to convince people that Christianity is a relationship.
Illus: Did you hear about the young lady that came home from a date, rather sad. She told her mother, "Jeff proposed to me an hour ago."
"Then why are you so sad?" her mother asked.
"Because he also told me he was an atheist. Mom, he doesn't even believe there's a hell."
Her mother replied, "Marry him anyway. Between the two of us, we'll show him how wrong he is."
Again, I want to say that one of the hardest things to do is convince people of the REALITY OF WHAT THIS BIBLE TEACHES.
Notice he calls the Lord Jesus, "The Word of Life."
WHY IS JESUS CALLED "THE WORD"?
Our words reveal to others just what we think and just how we feel. When the Lord came in the flesh, He showed us the Father. He told a crowd one day, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father….”
But He was not only God in the flesh, HE WAS THE WORD OF LIFE. They had the living Word, we have the Written Word.
• As "the Word" Jesus reveals to us the heart and mind of God
• He is God's living communication to us, God's Word in the flesh
He came to earth to communicate eternal life for you and I, which is available through Him. He made this life possible through His death on the cross for our sins, and His subsequent resurrection from the dead. When a person believes on Christ, eternal life becomes a reality.
Look at 1 John 5:11-12, we read, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
When we believe on Christ, we have REAL LIFE NOW! Look at John 10:10, we read, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
In verse 1, John is saying, "We have heard, seen, and handled the Word of life!" Again, the WORD OF LIFE here is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE REALITY WAS SEEN, but also-
II. THE REALITY WAS SHOWN
Look at verse 2, we read, “(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and SHOW unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was MANIFESTED unto us;)”
The word "manifested" means "to make visible, clear, known." John is saying that the life was made visible, and that he saw it. But not only did he see it for himself, HE SHOWED it to others.
HE HAD SOMETHING TO SHOW! If a person has truly experienced the REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, their life will REFLECT IT. Their profession is not just words!
THE REALITY WAS SEEN, THE REALITY WAS SHOWN, and-
III. THE REALITY WAS SHARED
Look at verse 3, we read, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
Look at the word "fellowship". Fellowship means a partnership, a having in common, a sharing. One way that we know that what we have is real, is because it can be shared.
Illus: Suppose my hands are empty, and I tell you that I have some delicious ice cream in my hands and I want to share it with you. You look at my hands and you see they are empty, and you say, “How can you share with me that which you do not have?”
That is correct, I can not share with you what I do not have. Many professing Christians never SHARE with others, because they do not have anything to share.
The reason that so many today do not go about SHARING IS BECAUSE THEY ARE:
• All Words
• Only Imitators
They do not have anything to share.
But the REALITY OF CHRIST CAN BE SHARED IN TWO WAYS. It can be shared with-
A. THE SINNERS
Every Christian should constantly be inviting their unsaved loved ones and friends to come hear the Word of God preached. It may be that when Christ (Word of God) is being preached, their hearts will be touched, and they will come to know the Lord.
The REALITY OF CHRISTIANITY is shared with THE SINNERS, but also it is shared with-
B. THE SAINTS
Those who are INSINCERE, those who are IMITATORS, must be constantly begged to attend church. Why? Because they do not have anything in common with the SINCERE SAINTS OF GOD!
You see, when people have something in common they congregate.
• Those who love football will congregate at the football stadium
• Those who love baseball will congregate at the baseball stadium
• Those who love soccer will congregate at the soccer field
And listen, those who love God will congregate at the house of God.
We who KNOW THE REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE ,have something in common with every person who knows Christ as their Savior.
• We have the same Savior
• We have the same Heavenly Father
• We have the same Bible
• We have the same joys, sorrows, and trials
• We have the same blessed hope
The amount of time I've known someone, or what color a man's skin is, or what denomination a person belongs to, doesn’t matter. When we have Christ we have something IN COMMON, we all experience the REALITY OF CHRIST!
You see, our fellowship is not only with each other, but also with God the Father, and God the Son. It is because of them that we have EXPERIENCED THE REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND HAVE THIS IN COMMON!
We see THE REALITY WAS SEEN, THE REALITY WAS SHOWN, THE REALITY WAS SHARED and-
IV. THE REALITY WAS SURE
Look at verse 4, we read, “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
How can we know we have experienced the REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE? The Bible says the proof is in our joy.
There is a difference between JOY and HAPPINESS. Many folks don’t know the difference between HAPPINESS and JOY.
• Happiness comes from happenings. That is, happiness comes from those things WITHOUT
• Joy comes from WITHIN
Many INSINCERE people or IMITATORS come to church with HAPPINESS. They have a grin on their face that goes from ear to ear, but within, they are empty, they have no joy.
They have everyone fooled with their HAPPINESS, but they might go home and:
• Get on the telephone and start gossiping about someone
• Get on the telephone and start running the church or God’s man down
• They might go home and start arguing, cursing, or lying
WHY? BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY INNER JOY that reveals they HAVE EXPERIENCED THE REALITY OF CHRIST.
But those who have experienced the REALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE can face the greatest trial and sing, “IT’S REAL, IT’S REAL, OH YES IT’S REAL.”
Conclusion:
There is but one safe course for us, and that is to follow the teachings of God's Word. It was written for the express purpose of guiding our feet during our sojourn here on the earth.
• If we follow its teachings wholeheartedly and sincerely, we will please our heavenly Father
• If we do not follow its teachings we show that we have not received the reality of Christ
Be wise and let God have first place in your heart and steer clear of all insincerity.
I. THE REALITY WAS SEEN
II. THE REALITY WAS SHOWN
III. THE REALITY WAS SHARED
IV. THE REALITY WAS SURE
