Sermon Title: Can You Hold an Intelligent Christian “Conversation”?
Scripture: Hebrews 13:5-8
Wesleyan Community Church
Terry, Mississippi
Sunday Morning – May 19, 2002
Scripture Introduction:
We have often heard the phrase, that you are what you eat, and perhaps there is something to be said for that, because it stands to reason that anything that you put into your body has a direct effect, whether it be good or weather it be bad. When we know that certain things are bad for our health, we then have a choice over whether or not we continue to take in that particular substance. There are many instances that are recorded in the Bible about our bodies. Our bodies are called a temple of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will not inhabit a dirty vessel, now you need to realize that the dirty vessel really only implies the interior of that vessel, and we see evidence of the fact that it is ultimately the interior of that vessel that makes a difference. We have illustrations of that almost everyday in our lives, we oftentimes have things that are sticking to our syrup bottles, do we simply throw them away because of the outside contaminants, no because the contents on the inside are still untainted. We often take our canned goods out of the shelf and find that some of them, especially the peas at our house, might be covered in dust - do we throw the contents away, well I might be all for that because I cannot stand green peas, but the dust can be cleaned off and the contents remain edible, at least for those that can stand the taste of them and have enough patience to chase them around the plate.
We are going to be covering a variety of different sections of Scripture this morning, however our main text is found in Hebrews 13:5-8
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:5-8
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Sermon Introduction:
How much credibility do we give old sayings? If anything, the fact that they have withstood the test of time, tells us a lot about them. If we really think about it, some of the most useful lessons that we hear are often from those that are older and much more experienced in the things of the world as well as the things of the faith.
I remember as a teenager growing up, and I am sure that my children have visions of dad romping the countryside with the dinosaurs, but as a teenager growing up, I always thought that I knew more than mom and dad. However, the older I got, the more I realized the wisdom that he had been trying to impart to me. We do the same thing with our walk with God. When we are young, and unfortunately for some - not so young, we see ourselves as indestructible and out of reach of the possibility of death.
Have you ever been in a position where you had someone tell you what to do, but really wasn’t quite specific as to how it was supposed to be done? We all want to know what is required of us! The sad thing is, in many of the occasions where the person who was in charge failed to give me adequate directions and I goofed something up – I still ended up taking the blame. You see we would be told that if we failed to understand then we should have asked for clarification, and if we asked for clarification we might come across as less than intelligent – of the problems that our pride causes us.
In our walk with God however, we find ourselves in a very fortunate situation – He has written all that we need to know in an easy to use set of guidelines called the Bible. In fact when we need clarification, we have 24/7 assistance available, and there is no hours on end waiting on hold – the prayers that we are blessed to be able to utter are always heard immediately and they are heard by the one who needs to hear them and that is our Almighty and Awesome God.
Another thing that many of us have in common is that We all want to know what we should do next! Now, here is where we need to be careful. We want to know what to do next according to whose plan? Are we seeking the next step in a plan that we have concocted on our very own or are we waiting for God to reveal what He wants us to do next. There is a big difference in these two views. There is an almost inborn impatience in us that causes us to have great problems when it comes to waiting on the Lord. We are to often so excited in these matters that we run out ahead of things and expect the Lord to follow us. This sounds terrible, and it is, however our motives may not be that far off base – we are simply too excited and are overanxious in fulfilling our need to serve God.
Finally, whether we would like to admit it or not, We all want to know what others think about us [and by that I mean what they honestly think of us]! One of the first great impressions that I had made upon me in my walk with the Lord was my first Promise Keepers conference that I went to, and the theme was “Leave a Legacy”. The topics all surrounded the impressions that we left behind as examples for other Christian brother and sisters to follow. How honest do we really see ourselves, when we try to look through the eyes of others.
I’d like to share this story about honesty:
This is a beautiful lesson written by Tiziana Ruff.
Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will be the next emperor of the kingdom!" There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing. By now others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he trusted his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace.
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey, nice try." When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!" When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
Let us pause for a moment of prayer!
I found it interesting in my studies of the way the word that is translated “conversation” that there are some distinct differences and it may be a good idea to study them in the way that they are used in the different portions of Scripture this morning. I know in this day and age, when we hear the word “conversation” we often think of two or more people talking with one another about certain or various topics, that is indeed a portion of what the writers of these passages had in mind, however they also included perhaps body language, which can often deny the very words leaving someone’s lips, and reputation of the one who is involved in the discourse.
Point 1: What does the Old Testament tell us? [HB – Derek]
It obviously makes sense to look at what the Old Testament has to say about our “conversation”, which in it’s definition means the course that our life is taking, in other words, there are certain decisions that we have made in life and now those decisions have dictated a certain degree of the circumstances that we face. The Psalmist in this case is King David and he is writing about his life experiences, and we all know that King David’s life is highlighted with mountains and valleys, probably not too unlike our own lives, but perhaps not as extravagant as his. Let us read:
Psalm 37:14
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
I must admit that this is certainly not a rosy description if we were looking for happy thoughts. We are told in this verse that those that are considered wicked will oppress those that are poor. That is straightforward enough, however David goes on to say that the poor that are righteous will be killed. We need to remember that these are the poor and the needy, so there will not be a whole lot of difference in them as far as outward appearance. How then do the wicked discern the upright from the others? The answer to this lies not in the appearance or apparel, but in the conduct, morals, and standards that are portrayed by those poor. They may be killed, however they conduct themselves in a manner that sets them apart and that setting apart allows them to become the target of the sword.
Let us read our next section of Scripture from the Book of Psalms:
Psalm 50:23
23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
This is the first psalm of Asaph, a musician and one of the three song leaders in the temple. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were the three. This is a great psalm of judgment. It reveals God coming in righteousness to judge His people and to judge the wicked.
There are some interesting components to this verse, the Psalmist writes about offering praise to God and the glorifying of His name and this is something that perhaps not a shock to us who wish tpo please our Lord and Savior, however let us look at the last half of the verse, to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Allow me to give you the Ralf Bergmann interpretation of that section – to those that direct every aspect of their lives continually in that right manner, and that being according to the will of God, they will see the results of their salvation. This is a serious set of conditions, because according to this we cannot live as a Christian and skip Thursdays because we need a break from it. Just as God answers our prayers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, we had better be conducting ourselves as Christians during that same time period. Does that mean if we make a mistake that we are out of the kingdom, no however, it does mean that as soon as we know that we are wrong we must begin the process of repenting, and by that I mean not when it is conveinient for us but as soon as the twinge of conviction touches our heart. We cannot be sit-down of the sidelines Christians! Sit out and loose out!
Let us look at what the Apostle Paul had to say about our “conversation” to the church in Phillipi, now remember this is his Epistle of Joy from within the walls of a prison:
Point 2: What is required of us? [GK - politeuomai]
Philippians 1:27
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Paul writes that our conversation should be according to the Bible, now keep in mind that we are talking about more than simply talking. Paul says that he will hear of your affairs – let me tell you what, let someone who is connected with a church be seen coming out of a tavern and you can just hear the tongues wagging. That story will get around and get around fast – and the person who is found in this serious set of circumstances has yet to utter a single word, now this is the negative side of the coin, but the positive can be noted as well. When we adhere to our Christian principles outside of the walls of this church, the lost and the seeking will see and in effect hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the living out of our day to day lives. If you profess Christianity, you are a billboard for God, and all those zipping along the fast lane are reading you – what kind of Gospel are you preaching today, what kind of Gospel did you preach last week?
Philippians 3:20
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
In this section of Scripture Paul is reminding the Philippians that their home is heaven, they are citizens of heaven, and their citizenship should reflect that. They behavior should shout, “I AM A CHILD OF THE KING!” What is your lifestyle shouting to the world?
We now look to the writer of the book of Hebrews to tell us that since we know the standards of conduct, what should we do next.
Point 3: What do we do now? [ GK - tropos]
Let us read:
Hebrews 13:5
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
We are not to act in an envying manner for what others around us have but instead be content with whatever blessings we have. We need to realize that although we may not have much according to the standards set by the world, what we do have is Jesus, and the end of this section promises us that our Lord and Savior will never leave or forsake us, this is in direct contrast to what the world considers as their measure of wealth and fortune, the material possessions that they so often covet even unto death will corrode, be moth eaten or will be burned up like the chaff in the flames. Our riches are eternal and evermore glorious in what lies ahead for us, however the world though materially wealthy await a dismal, empty, and horrible eternity. Hell is real and I am afraid that many are not taking the threat of it seriously enough.
Point 4: What will our legacy be? [GK - anastrepho]
So we ask the question, what will our legacy be to those around us and for those that may follow us? Let us once more turn to the writer of the book of Hebrews, in the same chapter, verse 7:
Hebrews 13:7
7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
We can look at this from two different perspectives, from the one who is doing the looking and from the perspective of the one being looked at. If we look from the vantage point of one ear earnestly seeking God in a godless world, there is the aspect of the submission to the authority of the legacy, there is the aspect of the teaching of the legacy, and then there is the aspect of the living up to what the legacy stands for – even unto the very end. When the end of life is at hand, when the circumstances seem sure to overwhelm, this is where the metal is tested for its purity and strength, this is where the legacy becomes a lasting impression, an impression that is so strong that it lasts into an heavenly eternity. That is the legacy that we should so desire, and that is the standard that is set before us, considering the end of our conversation!
Conclusion:
Oh how often we poke fun at what we would consider the folly of our elders, and oh how we see our own folly in that error of our beliefs. There is power in the wisdom of the older saints of the church, there is power in the testimony of those that were snatched just moments from the beginning of an eternity separated from God, an eternity where absolutely nothing good exists.
If the requirements were available for a no fail plan to get into heaven, wouldn’t we be seeking it? If we could be given an ironclad 100% guarantee of being heaven-bound, wouldn’t we take it? Of course we would. What makes this all the more exciting and inviting is that the plan really does exist. The guarantee is real and it is there for the taking.
So, what do we do next? If there is a desire for a relationship with our Lord Jesus this morning, a desire for a relationship where no true relationship existed before, then this altar of prayer is open so that the obstacles that are preventing us from being in fellowship with our Lord and Savior can be removed.
Perhaps there is something about our conversation that isn’t quite right or in tune with God that needs correction – let the correction be made and allow it to begin right here this morning.
