A.D.D.:
ABSOLUTELY DANGEROUS DOCTRINE!
State: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is ?Something To Die For?.
Definition of Dangerous: ?Likely to cause harm, not safe, risky.?
This is what we as Christians can be to satan?s kingdom. Dangerous and very likely to cause harm to it. We are the church and we must go forward in strength and victory if we allow for ourselves to walk in this fashion.
You may say that this isn?t really a doctrine of the church and I agree. It isn?t stated in the A/G?s Statement of Fundamental Truths, but a doctrine is ?anything that is taught to be true by a church or other sort of institution.? This is something that is taught as true. We are to give our very lives for the cause of Christ. Completely, and Wholly.
Matthew 16:24-25
?Then said Jesus unto His disciples, 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.?
Phillipians 3:7-8
?But what things are gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.?
Church, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something that is worth giving our very lives for if the need would ever arise. Missionaries throughout time have been martyred for the cause of Christ at the hands of the very ones they were trying to reach with the ?Good News?.
The Gospel is ?Something To Die For?!
Text: Acts 7:54-8:1
Read the text and pray for the Message.
Introduction:
Do you remember back when you were younger and started to want things like a new bike or a first car? You may have been willing to do anything for that item. ?Mom, dad, I will wash it and take very good care of it and I will never ask for another thing, EVER! I?ll do the dishes for a whole year, and I?ll never talk back again, PROMISE!?
Maybe you wanted something else, like and ice cream sundae when you were on a diet or just cutting back. ?Oh, I would die just to have a taste of that banana split, or some of that chocolate cake.?
How about when you started to like others of the opposite sex. ?They are so beautiful, and cute. I would give anything to just have him talk to me. Couldn?t she just look this way so we could make eye contact. She is something to die for!?
Embellish this!!!
Does that sound familiar? How about this one?
?I would give my very life for Jesus, and the advancement of His Kingdom. I would do anything for Jesus my Lord and Savior.?
?I would do anything just to hear Him speak to me.?
I hope that this is our hearts cry and soul?s desire. If not, I hope that this message will help you out tonight.
I would argue tonight that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Power of God to save the world is worth giving our whole lives to. It is a very worthy cause and one that is life changing.
Many people say that they only give their valuable time, and heartfelt efforts to worthy causes. (Like blood drives at the church.)
I proclaim to you tonight church that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a worthy cause, and is the most worthy of all causes!
Won?t you give Him your all in all?!
Talk a bit about the Olympics. They began on Friday.
What do you think makes up an Olympian? There must be some strong characteristics in them.
The same would go for a young man named Stephen!
Go through the characteristics:
-We Can?t Be Fearful!
-We Can?t Be Half-Hearted!
-We Can?t Be Easily Defeated!
Point One:
WE CAN?T BE FEARFUL!
Genesis 15:1
?...Fear not, I am thy shield...?
Genesis 26:24
?...Fear not for I am with thee...?
Psalm 23:4
?...I will fear no evil, for thou art with me...?
Matthew 10:28
?...fear not them that kill the body...?
II Timothy 1:7
?For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.?
I John 4:18
?There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear...?
Fear is something that we cannot allow to hold us back.
ILLUSTRATION:
Tell of the story about the disagreement between compassion and fear for the lost. Him>>>Fearful Me>>>Our Compassion is Gone
If we look at the example that Stephen has given us tonight we see that he was not moved by the fear of what would happen to him. He had just preached a very hard message to the Sanhedrin, and stepped on many toes. They got so angry that they stoned him to death.
But, you know what makes the difference church, his fear of death didn?t hold him back from proclaiming the truth!
Regardless of the consequences we must tell others about the Lord.
In Acts 4:18, the disciples were commanded to no longer speak in the name of Jesus, but a holy fear of the Lord won out over the fear of the government, and they replied, ?We can?t help, but to preach and proclaim what the Lord has done.?
As Peter and John were in the book of Acts we need to be like that today.
The world would like to shut the church?s mouth and see all the things of God cease being taught, but we have got to be moved by a compassion to see them hear, and see the glorious Gospel being displayed.
Point Two:
WE CAN?T BE HALF-HEARTED!
Revelation 3:15-16
?I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.?
Just as God is disappointed by the half-heartedness here, He is saddened by the half-heartedness of many Christians today.
As we see in our text tonight, Stephen was definitely not a half-hearted preacher. Do half-hearted people preach with such power and conviction that the next choice they must make is to die for that cause? NO!
I would encourage you tonight that when you do anything for God that you do it with all that is within you.
You give your very best for God, and every piece of your being should be involved in the work of Christ.
We sing, ?All to Jesus I Surrender, and I Surrender All?, but wee must not allow it to become a ritual or routine. We have to give it all to Jesus regardless of the cost.
Jesus gave His all on the cross and He deserves nothing less from us.
Saying, ?He died for me, so I?ll live for Him.? Let?s live fully.
Point Three:
WE CAN?T BE EASILY DEFEATED!
Isaiah 59:19
?...When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.?
I Corinthians 15:58
?Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.?
I will tell you that the only way we are defeated by the enemy is if we allow him to do so.
?We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus?, He is our shield and our Strength.
Jesus will be a refuge for us and not allow for us to be tested beyond what we can bear. We were created not for defeat, but rather for victory!
We can?t allow for ourselves to be easily defeated. Just trust in the Lord and He will always see you through, but we have got to trust in Him.
We look at the story of Stephen and see a martyr. We can?t just say well, that was a nice thing to do for Jesus, but what about me?
His example is what we should apply to our own lives. He was going forward for God even if it meant losing his own life.
We sometimes are afraid to let others know that we live for the Lord and ruin our reputations, but Stephen sacrificed much more than that.
Conclusion:
I preached a sermon about five and a half years ago called ?Dead Wheats For Jesus?
Read John 12:20-26
Expound----
Unless a seed dies, it can not bring forth fruit.
Unless we die to ourselves, we won?t be able to bring forth fruit.
Until we die to our pride, our selfishness, our fears, our half-heartedness, our bad attitudes, our defeated thoughts, we will not bear the fruit that we are able to bear.
The 1996 Olympians have not given in to the fear, or the desire to give only a portion of effort, or even the painful thoughts of defeat.
Our jobs expect nothing less-
Our families require and deserve nothing less-
Our hobbies get nothing less-
Our Savior desires nothing less!-
We have got to give it all to Jesus and for Jesus.
ILLUSTRATION:
Mark 15:37
?And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.?
Jesus gave his very life for the cause of the Gospel.
ILLUSTRATION:
Charles Finney visiting the factory.
He could have been fearful, they were already mocking him.
He could have been half-hearted, and walked out of the building, never to return or care.
He could have given up at that point never to preach again, BUT he went against the grain!
Expound---
A.D.D.
?Something To Die For?
With an attitude of giving all to Christ we can be dangerous to the kingdom of satan. We can cause havoc in the dark world and advance mightily the Kingdom of God!
No holding back. That should be our heart?s cry tonight.
The Gospel is worth giving our whole lives to.
May we go forth in boldness and power, advancing the Kingdom of God at any cost. Not being tossed to the left and to the right, but being firm and fixed with our over-whelming compassion moving us for the betterment of the lost and dying in the world.
WE CAN?T BE FEARFUL!
WE CAN?T BE HALF-HEARTED!
WE CAN?T BE EASILY DEFEATED!
