This morning I’m going to give you guys an opportunity to change seats. This will be your only chance though. I want to make sure that you are comfortable where you are.
Now for the reason why. I was led to pray over certain chairs here this morning before you came in. I feel God is really going to be working on some of you sitting in those seats this morning. I don’t even remember which seats they are, but He does.
So lets talk this morning about "Buts". We all have them, they are usually pretty big, though some may be bigger than most, but we all have them. Some are so big that others try to hide behind them. Some of us use them more than others, however they always end up getting in the way.
But I can’t
But I’m over 40
But I don’t have an education
But I don’t have any money
But I’m in the wrong job
But I’m in bad health
But I’ve been through so much
But I don’t have anything to offer the church
But, but, But…My what big buts we have. Notice how they all start….But I
God had a big but too, you know. His all started with But, God
This little phrase shows up 66 times in the Bible. Where as our buts are excuses, Gods buts are his response to Satan’s challenge.
The world says no – “but God” says yes.
The world says can’t – “but God” says can.
The world says won’t -- :but God” says will.
The world says stop – “but God” says go.
The world says don’t – “but God” says do.
The world says defeat – “but God” says victory!
See the difference here. Our but is an excuse. An excuse not to do something. I heard a quote the other day that puts it into a little perspective;
The origin of every excuse is the failure to do something.
Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week. Sanders grew up on the mean streets of Fort Myers, Fla., where exposure to some would-be athletes spurred him to make a success of himself. He explains: "I call them Idas. ’If I’da done this, I’d be making three million today...If I’da practiced a little harder, I’d be a superstar.’ They were as fast as me when they were kids, but instead of working for their dreams they chose drugs and a life of street corners. When I was young, I had practice; my friends who didn’t went straight to the streets and never left. That moment after school is the moment we need to grab. We don’t need any more Idas
Getting Off Our Buts
So now that we all understand our buts, lets look at ways of getting off them.
Luke 14
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ’Come, for everything is now ready.’
18"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ’I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19"Another said, ’I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20"Still another said, ’I just got married, so I can’t come.’
Let’s give you a little background here. It was the custom then to send out 2 invitations. One to announce the event and the other to tell the invited guests that it was all ready. In this parable, the certain man that Jesus is referring to is God. God is preparing a huge festival/feast for us and has sent out the invitations to us. Once god has it ready, he’ll send out the final invitation….what will your response be?
Now we are going to get this down to a personal level. For months here, I’ve heard Travis and Ellis invite you to church up stairs. I haven’t heard the numbers that have responded to the invitation, but I’m assuming quite low. Though I am sure the excuses are quite high. Or should I say, your buts have gotten bigger since I’ve been here.
The excuses that these invitees made are the same excuses we use today. The first one says hey, I just bought a field and I need to go check it out…please excuse me. . God is offering what we are desperately seeking, and we confuse our priorities, We put the priority of business/work over the priority of God.
The second said ’I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me This is like WOW a new novelty. I just got a new car, I’ve worked hard all week, and I’ve got to go try it out. Our priorities are all upside down. We get enthusiastic over new experiences and things and we skip the celebration of Christ.
The last one says ’I just got married, so I can’t come.’ Here he is putting a human relationship over his heavenly one. How many times do we do the same thing?
You have been invited to the party upstairs, so why haven’t you gone? What is your excuse?
Most people who don’t go to church come up with the same reasons. One person even took the top ten reasons and to show the weakness of those excuses, made a list of them and instead of giving the ten reasons why I never go to church inserted the word wash instead of the phrase "go to church"
"Ten Reasons Why I Never Wash."
1. I was forced to wash as a child.
2. People who wash are hypocrites--they think they’re cleaner than others.
3. There are so many kinds of soap, I could never decide which was right.
4. I used to wash, but it got boring.
5. I wash only on Christmas or Easter.
6. None of my friends wash.
7. I’ll start washing when I’m older.
8. I really don’t have time to wash
9. The bathroom isn’t warm enough to wash.
10. People who make soap are only after your money.
Another reason that we don’t attend church is that we are too busy, or at least we want to think we are.
We are busy with our families.
We are busy with our friends.
We are busy with our work.
We are busy with sports.
We are busy volunteering.
We are busy cleaning.
We are busy cooking.
We are busy with vacation.
We are busy sleeping.
We are just busy.
We are just too busy to be bothered by God.
We are too busy to be faithful to His Church.
We are too busy to bother with the ministry of Church.
But what if God was just too busy for us? What if he woke up one day and said I’m tired of it all and I want to do something else and left us on our own? What if you found yourself in a desperate situation and needed the Lords comfort to rest upon….and what if He was too busy to hear you? We can’t do God on our own terms and expect to come out on top.
Why Go To Church
A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I’ve gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
Lets look at what the Bible says about why we should go.
Hebrews 10
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Notice here that it doesn’t say consider ourselves but says to consider one another This is important as it says that that not only do we need to assemble (go to church) for ourselves, but more importantly, for others there. To encourage others towards love and good deeds. In a sense, he is saying that not going to church, is a really selfish thing to do.
This encouragement is a necessity. Others will encourage us to stay on the correct path. This is why programs such as AA, and others alike work. You can’t do it on your own.
Church is a safety mechanism for us.
Let me demonstrate;
(Gather 4-5 volunteers, all but one in a circle playing `patty-cake’…(having a party). The last person, just on the outside (of the church). Satan comes along and offers to play patty-cake with the one. Draws him away from the safety of the others…and then snatches him up on his shoulder and does what he wants with him.
This loner didn’t have a chance against the enemy. Satan enticed him…made him feel good and then snatched his soul away from him.
You need the encouragement of others, you need to assemble together. Go it alone, and he’ll have you on his shoulder.
Who Is Invited
Let’s turn back to our party in Luke and see what happened.
Luke 14
21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ’Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22" ’Sir,’ the servant said, ’what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23"Then the master told his servant, ’Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
See this, Jesus is inviting us to go to the party upstairs. The poor, the crippled, and the lame. The homeless, the addict, and the sick. It doesn’t matter what you have on, what country club you belong to, or how you smell.. God club doesn’t exclude anyone. And you don’t have to sit in the back either. The back rows are usually already taken up by those attendees that are dead already. Ones that faithfully attend, but have long since quit seeking God…except on Sundays.
Let me tell you this right now, you’re better than that. God will look more favorably on you if you attend with a hungry heart, than if you’ve been faithfully sitting there every Sunday and doing nothing. There are many of you here right now that are more spiritually alive than many who sit through church services every week. You’re seeking answers which is far more than some of them have done in years.
So lets go up there in our rags, but hold your head up high because you’ll be walking in there with Jesus beside you.
Let’s shrink our buts a little today. Let’s make this a no excuse Sunday. I’ll work with Travis and others here to thwart off every excuse you can come up with.
Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in".
There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard.
Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night.
We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church."
Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot.
Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.
We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money.
One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.
Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick Today.
The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.
We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton for those who can!
And finally, for those waiting for Hell to freeze over, It did just that in January of 2001. A little town called Hell in Michigan. The river at the dam in this small town of less than 400 froze completely over after several weeks of below freezing weather.
Excuses Have A Price
So the poor, blind and lame are having the time of their lives at the party…What happened to the original invitees?
Luke 14
24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’
The excuses will finally take their toll on God. Skip out too many times on his invitation, and you won’t be invited anymore. That’s living dangerously for some of you that think there will always be time…always a tomorrow.
You know, I was originally going to appeal to your sense of duty and ask you to go to church to repay the good folks here that feed you each week. But it’s more than that I found out through my studies.
They need you upstairs.
They need your encouragement.
And you need theirs as well.
Lets quit letting our buts get between us and our Lord
