CLOSE IS NOT ENOUGH
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: TEETH MARKS
1. A wedding was taking place. The bride’s maids came up the aisle one by one. The flower girl came spreading her flowers. Instead of a ringbearer, the couple opted for a toddler nephew to carry up a Bible, representing the basis of their marriage. Last, the bride reached the front and the wedding was performed. Afterward, someone handed the new wife the wedding Bible. She detected deep marks on its leather cover. On examination, she realized they were teeth marks left by the nervous toddler!
2. We’re all supposed to leave our teeth mark on the Bible – since it’s our daily bread. “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” [Daily Bread, 8-11-24]
B. THINGS THAT ARE CLOSE. Many things have to be exactly right; close is not good enough. If companies were only 99% right...
1. The IRS would lose 2 million documents this year.
2. 22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong bank account every hour.
3. 1,314 telephone calls would be misdirected every minute.
4. 2,488 books will be shipped with the wrong covers on them each day.
5. More than 5.5 million cases of soft drinks would arrive at stores flat.
6. Over 3 million drug prescriptions would be incorrect.
7. 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day.
8. There are times when close is not good enough.
9.This is true of your salvation; you can’t take a chance of being wrong for eternity! You don’t want an imitation, replica, counterfeit, or duplicate. Only Jesus will get you into heaven.
10. Researcher George Barna has discovered that “half of all adults who attend Protestant churches on a typical Sunday morning are not Christians,” according to what Jesus said.
11. They’re as similar as horse shoes and hand grenades.
C. THESIS
1. Many Christians think that if they do SOME of what God wants then that entitles them to ignore other areas of obedience. They’d say, “Well I’m closer to being a Christian than 99.9 % of other Christians!” “I’m a SORT-OF CHRISTIAN.” Is that what Jesus described?
2. We’re looking at 3 people who were close to going to Heaven, but missed it. The title of this message is “Close Is Not Enough.”
I. THE EXAMPLE OF DEMAS
A. PAUL’S CHANGING ASSESSMENT
1. “And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers” Philemon 1:24. “Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings” Col. 4:14. “...for Demas, BECAUSE HE LOVED THIS WORLD, has forsaken me and has gone to Thessalonica” 2 Tim. 4:10.
2. All 3 three letters mention Paul’s 3 key friends: Luke, Demas, & Mark. All stuck with Paul during his first trial before Caesar and were friends, trusted and faithful!
3. But at Paul’s 2nd trial before Caesar, something snapped in Demas. Unlike Moses who “regarded [suffering] for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt” (Heb. 11:26), Demas decided he’d done enough; he put down his cross, and went back to the world! He sold his birthright for a bowl of beans, like Esau!
4. Paul said “having loved THIS PRESENT WORLD” as opposed to the future one. “Forsaken” is the same strong compound verb used in Matt. 27:26, “Why have you forsaken Me?”
5. Nothing more is known of Demas; this scripture is his grave marker, the final thing we remember about him! What a shame his good start ended in disgrace. His epitaph says, “He loved the world more than God.”
B. ILLUS. Boomerang of Ted Turner
1. Ted Turner, who founded CNN and was owner of the Atlanta Braves, said he was raised in a strict Christian home and at one time considered becoming a missionary. He said, "I was saved seven or eight times."
2. But he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died, despite his prayers. Turner said the more he strayed from his faith "the better I felt." [Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1990]. He became a hardened atheist and anti-Christian.
3. That changed in 1997. Turner came back to his roots; he said that he no longer considered himself an atheist or agnostic. "I regret anything I said about religion that was negative. [Christianity] is one of the bright spots as far as I'm concerned,” he told AP. He then donated $200 million to fight Malaria in Africa.*
4. If you’ve walked away from God, there’s still hope for you; God wants you to return to Him! NEXT IS...
II. LOT’S WIFE
Gen. 19: 16 When [Lot] hesitated, the [angels] grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 [They] said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back!... 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Luke 17:28 30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!”
A. THINK HOW PRIVILEGED SHE WAS
1. EXPOSURE TO ABRAHAM & SARAH. She had long and intimate contact with Abraham and Sarah. She traveled with them throughout the land of Canaan. She observed their faith, attended their worship services and saw God work the same miracles that touched Abraham & Sarah.
2. SHE WENT SOME WAY TOWARD BEING SAVED
a. GOD WARNED HER OF THE COMING DANGER. Genesis 19:14, 16 says that she was warned by an Angel from heaven to get out of Sodom!
b. SHE STARTED ON THE ROAD TO SAFETY. She believed the angels, rose and ran down the streets. She passed out of the city Gates with the Righteous. She ran across the plain to some distance.
c. SHE WAS SO CLOSE TO HEAVEN THAT…An Angel's hand had pressed her wrist and led her on. She actually left Sodom (type of the world), and did go almost to Zoar (the City of Refuge – symbol of going toward Christ). Yet despite all this, she turned back.
B. WHY DID SHE LOOK BACK? LOT’S WIFE CAME OUT OF SODOM, BUT SODOM DIDN’T COME OUT OF HER
1. All she loved was in Sodom -- her friends, her pleasures, her interests, her heart.
2. For too long she’d fed her fleshly nature. Like Samson, she thought she could throw off the world's influence if she wanted to.
3. She didn't know the Binding Power of sin, that ‘sins chains are too light to be felt, until they are too strong to be broken.’
4. ILLUS.
a. In his book, Feminine Faces, Clovis Chappell wrote that when the Roman city of Pompeii was being excavated, the body of a woman was found mummified by the volcanic ashes of Mount Vesuvius.
b. Her position told a tragic story. She was almost to the city gates, but she had turned back. Her outstretched arms and fingers were straining towards something that she had dropped behind her. The treasure for which she was grasping was a bag of pearls.
c. "Though death was rolling toward her, and safety was just beyond the city Gates, she could not shake off the spell -- she loved her pearls more than life itself!”
5. We can't play with sin/ the world. We either love God or the world. The Lord Jesus warned us that some might miss the Rapture! Will that be you?
6. HAVE YOU BEGUN TO LINGER BEHIND? Have Prayer meetings lost their interest? Does Church not excite you anymore? Has the Bible become boring? Remember Lot’s wife!
III. THE EXAMPLE OF CAIN
Cain let his jealousy, anger, and unforgiveness build in his life until it became a soul-destroying sin. He ended up killing his brother, Abel, through jealousy.
A. HOW WAS CAIN CLOSE TO HEAVEN?
1. Cain was the firstborn child of Adam & Eve. Cain began to think God loved his younger brother, Abel, more than him, because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice (prob. by heavenly fire) but didn’t receive his. God told him the cause was that HE was doing something wrong (Gen. 4:6).
2. God said, “But if you do NOT do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but YOU must master over it.” Gen. 4:7
3. Cain was so close that God could counsel him on what to do fix the situation. But he hardened his heart to God and his brother. Eventually he killed Abel.
4. This was the same man who’d seen the Garden of Eden with the angels guarding its entrance and knew the Creation account of God. His parents walked and talked with God.
5. This is a warning for us not to take the things of God for granted. God won’t live our Christian life for us; there are some things WE must do. WE have to take the initiative. Don’t be a lazy Christian; get up and fight! You must work to let Christ dominate and direct your life. Use the means of grace: prayer, Bible, presence of God, church, etc.
B. THE DANGER OF UNRESOLVED OFFENSE
1. In St. Patrick’s cathedral in Dublin, Ireland hangs an ancient door with a rectangular hole hacked in the center. It’s called the “door of reconciliation.” Here is its story.
2. In 1492, two prominent Irish families, the Ormond’s and Kildare’s, were in a bitter feud. Many LIVES and a lot of MONEY were wasted in the feud. At last, James Butler, Earl of Ormond, and his followers took refuge in St. Patrick’s cathedral, bolting themselves in.
3. As the siege wore on, the Earl of Kildare, outside the cathedral, concluded the feud was foolish. So he called out to Sir James and offered to end the feud peacefully, with no more revenge. Sir James didn’t believe him.
4. So Kildare seized his ax, cut a hole in the door, and thrust his arm through, making himself vulnerable, to show his sincerity. The door was opened and the two men embraced, thus ending the family feud. [Diana Garland, Family Ministry (InterVarsity Press, 1999), p.358.
5. GET RID OF UNFORGIVENESS! If you don’t forgive, it will destroy you. NOT forgiving doesn’t get rid of the offense; instead it creates a new sin. The Bible says that if you won’t forgive, God won’t forgive you!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS: Severed from Christ (Gal. 5:4, ASV)
1. BEING SEVERED FROM CHRIST is like having the electricity turned off in your house; the power stops flowing into your meter. From the outside of things, everything looks the same. You still have the house, the appliances, the light fixtures, the microwave, the A/C, computers, and TV; they’re all still there. We still possess them, but you can’t enjoy it; the flow of electricity has stopped.
2. The same is true of being severed from Jesus. You still go to church, listen to Christian radio & TV, have Christian friends, open the Bible occasionally and thumb through it. You pray over your food.
3. BUT WHERE IS THE POWER? ARE WERE FLOWING WITH GOD – HAS THE FLOW STOPPED?
a. Are you WALKING with Him?
b. Are you filled with His PRESENCE?
c. Are you WITNESSING to lost people?
d. Are you STEPPING OUT, following His leading to do the things He’s calling You to do?
e. Do you LOVE JESUS? Does your life REVOLVE AROUND HIM – OR YOU?
4. You can have all the paraphernalia of religion but still be severed from Christ. Is your hope gone? Your peace gone? Your courage gone? Your faith gone? Your authority gone? YOU NEED TO BE RECONNECTED TO JESUS!
B. “CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR”
1. In the 1900’s, at circuses, they used to give out cigars as prizes. If you got very close, but missed, they’d say, “Close, but no cigar” meaning, “Close, but not close enough to win a prize!” We need to go for the prize!
2. YOU CAN BE CLOSE, BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH
1). If ammunition is one Caliber off, it won’t work in a gun.
2). Clothing – is too small, it can’t be worn.
3). Agrippa – “Almost Persuaded” to be a Christian, but wasn’t.
4). Rich Young Ruler was almost a disciple, but wasn’t.
5). Nicodemus was almost born again.
6). Lot’s wife was “almost” out of Sodom, but she wasn’t.
7). The lame man at the pool was almost in the water (for 38 years), but he wasn’t.
8). Esau almost had his birthright, but forfeited it.
9). Samson almost kept his Nazarite Vow, but he didn’t. THEY WERE ALL CLOSE, BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH!
C. THE CALL
1. Many of you are “close but not close enough!” When Jesus comes you may miss the Rapture.
2. How many of you need to be reconnected to Christ? How many are going thru the motions, but you know you’re not where you need to be?
3. YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE! Will you let it burn down? Or will you get up and do something about it?
4. Now’s the time. Join me at the front for prayer.
*I’m not implying Ted Turner became a Christian.
