WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: IF WE’RE SAVED, WE OUGHT TO ACT LIKE IT
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
TEXT VERSE: Ephesians 4:21-24 “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness:”
I want to preach to you this morning on, “The new you. The Lord’s disciple.” If there’s not a new you, then you need to be real attentive to the word today. When we’re birthed into the family of God, there’s a lot of newness about us.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” I beg to differ with a lot of Christians living in the world today that says or thinks they can keep on living that old life and claim to be a child of God. This is not an easy way. It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever done. To share the gospel, preach the gospel, teach the gospel, live the gospel. It’s a hard way but thank God for those old saints of God that continue in the doctrine. The Bible says if you’re saved by the grace of God, you’re a new creature. There’s a lot of people that are hanging on to that old life. Holding on to that old sin sick life. Trusting in those material things. Not living by the spiritual things.
Galatians 6:15 says “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”
Romans 6:4 says “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Thank God we’re serving a risen savior. And the Bible says we’re supposed to walk in the newness of life. You say, preacher, we all sin and fall short of God’s glory. Sure we do. We still have the old body on the outside, but thank God we have a new man on the inside.
I want to bring out five short points. If we’re saved and we’re a new creature, we ought to live like it.
NUMBER ONE: We need to be focused. There’s people who will talk about everything but God. Their worried about everything but God. Their not worried about lost souls. I don’t care if this church as 5 or 500 members. I don’t care if we have carpet on the floor. We’ve got to put God first and care about lost souls. Theirs a lot of people that have their minds off Christ. We’ve lost our focus. Baptist folks think more about material things than they do heavenly things. The Baptist are running behind.
It’s sad that’s there’s a lot of Christians in the world that never pick up the word of God and then they try to stand up praise God. You’ve got to read God’s word, pray and seek God’s face. That’s what will get you close to the Lord. It’s not how your attendance is at Westside Baptist Church. I’ve served God a whole lot longer than I’ve attended this church. The Bible says that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. That’s what our focus is. Nothing else. You say, preacher, why do we have church? So we can get more lost people in here so they can get saved. Sure we could stand here and preach and preach and preach and you’ll get some strength from it but if there aren’t any lost people here then what are you going to do with that strength? What are you going to do with the wisdom of God when you get it? If you’re not reading your Bible during the week, you can bet you’re not witnessing either. We’ve lost our focus. If you’re going around and trying to find a place where you can fit Christ into your life, you’re in bad shape. You have to fit your life into what Christ wants you to do. Don’t go around telling God you need to see if you can fit him into your schedule. Christ is my whole life. Without him I’d be nothing. I’m tired of playing games with people. I made a vow this year to not listen to man and just listen to God.
Luke 14:27 says “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Are you being a disciple for the Lord this morning. What did you do this week for the Lord?
There’s more churches today than there has ever been and there’s more church goers than there has ever been but the Bible says that the harvest is great but the laborers are few. I see something wrong with that. Josea said that many should go with their herds and their flocks to seek the Lord but they shall not find him for he hath withdrawn himself from them. We passed by a church the other night. A big church. Here’s what the sign said: Message for Sunday, “How to get along with your spouse.” I thought to myself, my Lord. If you get close to the Lord, you’ll know how to get along with your spouse. You’ll know how to get along with everybody.
People will say, don’t nobody else care. Why should I? Those people don’t go to church. Why should I? Those people stay home and live like the devil, so it’s okay if I do. If you’re living by what you see and not by faith, you’re backslid. Focus on Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him. If you don’t pick up your cross and follow him daily, you cannot be his disciple. I can’t carry your cross for you and you can’t carry mine.
NUMBER TWO: We need to be faithful.
John 8:31 “...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.”
So to be his disciple you have to take up your cross daily and continue in his word. There’s a lot of Christians in the world that aren’t faithful to the Lord. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve had a struggling week. The old devil came and said it’s time to go. It’s not the first time he’s told me that and it won’t be the last. He said the kids are about grown and you need more time with them. Your wife needs more time with you. My relatives need more time with me. Theirs a lot of sickness. But there’s lost people in my family that needs me. I didn’t choose this way. He choose me. And I’m going to be faithful to the test. My wife and I talked this week and we realized that I spend about four and a half hours each night studying and reading the Bible. That doesn’t count the morning time and at work on my lunch break. A lot of people in the world don’t even know what it is to be close to the Lord. I’m not going to back up or slow down so you can catch up. I’m going to keep doing what God says to do and if you can’t keep up, ask God for a double portion on your life because He put one on my life. He saved me and sealed me with Holy Spirit of promise and called me into the ministry to preach the word and I’m going to continue to do it whether you want me to or not. You know why? I’m afraid of Him. We need to be faithful.. Christians will go work a job and be there every day so they can get their paycheck and God will tell them to do something and they can’t do it. My life was in shambles this week. I didn’t have time for anybody but God. But when my kids get old they can do what they want but I’ve trained them up in the way they should go. The bible says when they get old they will not depart from it. They say children remember more when they are young than they do when they are old. I hope and pray they always remember their dad took them to the house of God. I’m not always going to be around. I hope and pray their faithful. If their faithful only because I’m faithful, their in it for the wrong reason. I’m here because God wants me here. I’m doing what God wants me to do. Don’t ask what you want but ask what He wants.
NUMBER THREE: We need to be fruitful in our new life. In other words it means your not just saved. It means you’re saved and you’re growing. It means that Gods ministry through you reaches other people and helps them the way God helps you. There’s people out there that can look back over their lives and say they haven’t done anything for the Lord. It don’t work that way. Our blessings come from our labor. That’s why a lot of people aren’t getting blessed. They aren’t doing anything. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. There’s a lot of people reaping iniquity and sin and vanity because that’s what their sowing in their life. You’ll get what you sow. What are we producing for the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that story about the three men God gave talents to. One man was give one talent and he didn’t use it so God gave it to the man with ten talents. If you don’t use what God gave you, he will take it away. He’ll give it to someone who will use it.
NUMBER FOUR: We need to be forgiving in our life. How many times can my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Seven times. The Lord said, no not seven times but seventy times seven. ere’s some Christians in the world today that don’t know how to forgive. Christ forgave them of their sins and they can’t forgive others. It’s a shame. As a matter of fact the Bible says if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, the Heavenly father won’t forgive you of your trespasses. God’s people are supposed to be a forgiving people. Not only to your brothers and sisters in Christ but also to a lost and dying world.
Most people when they get offended, they take it on the phone and gossip about it.
NUMBER FIVE: We need to be friendly in our new life. Some of the meanest people are Baptist folks. It’s not niceness that will get you into heaven but if you’re nice, God will bless you for it. We’re not supposed to have any kind of evil communication or put a stumbling block in our brothers way. Our speech is supposed to be established with grace. Years ago at these small churches they’d have five, six or seven deacons, a chairman of the deacons and a deacon board and they’d sit in an amen corner. Some of them Deacons were the meanest men of God I’d ever seen. They was always starting trouble in the church, talking about this one and that one. They weren’t friendly. It’s amazing to me how when somebody is persecuted, Christians buck up against him. Christians should walk off from bad talk and gossip and go pray for the people. There aren’t a whole lot of people doing that. The Bible says that the anger of man worketh the wrath of God. He’ll bring his wrath upon you. God is about love and he’s kind.
Romans 7:6 says this “We should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
Matthew 16:24-25 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
There’s a lot of people who are more involved with themselves than they are with their savior.
LET US PRAY: Lord, How good of a Christian am I in your eyes? Have I been focused on you? Have I been faithful to you? Am I fruitful for you? Am I a forgiving person? Am I friendly person? Or am I living a worldly sin filled life or a godly salvation life? Father give me what I stand in need of in these areas. Help me to grow and to learn so that I can become the Christian you would have me to be. In Jesus name amen.
