Step Out From The Crowd
NLF 9/15/02 OT 2 Chronicles 26:16-20 Mark 8:31-39 Text Matthew 7:21-37
Have you ever seen one of the cartoons in which about 10 people are standing in a straight line. Usually they are in the army, and the sergeant has a tough assignment that needs to be done by one person. He says, “if anyone wants to volunteer for this job, take one step forward. “
All of a sudden at the same time, 9 of the 10 would take one step backwards, and the guy who didn’t move would get the assignment. Usually the one guy left out front is new to the group and is very surprised to know that he has volunteered to do the job. He was out in front of the crowd, but not by his own choice.
If you ever go to a marathon race, there are so many people at the starting line, and many of them look like they could win the race. After the gun goes off, they all take off together, and you have a whole group of people bunched together in the race. But as the race goes on, you notice that a few people start to step out from the crowd and begin to get noticed.
The further away they get from the crowd, the more they are noticed as potential winners. Although it’s easier to hang tough with the crowd, nobody ever won a marathon by staying together with the crowd.
Sometimes it’s not only easier to stay with the crowd, it can be a lot safer as well. Meet one of the baddest dudes you could run into. His name was King Uzziah. Uzziah was a skilled battle leader. He had defeated more nations in battle than most kings.
He was very wealthy. He was arrogant .and he was ruthless. If you made the mistake of getting in his way, you didn’t make it a second time, because you were dead. Nobody was willing to stand against this overgrown bully.
King Uzziah’s head got so big, that he decided to take on the word of God. The word of God clearly declared that no one except for the priests could burn incense on the altar of incense in the temple. Uzziah decided that anything a priest could do, he could do it just as well.
He announced his intention to go into the temple and offer incense for himself. He wanted everyone to see him take on his new role as king and priest. The crowds watched as he prepared to enter the temple.
But to his surprise, somebody was willing to step out from the crowd and challenge him on course of action. A priest by the name of Azariah was the first to step out from the crowd and 80 other courageous priest followed him. They told the king, you have no right to do this, and you should turn around and leave this place right now.”
Uzziah could not be believe someone was bold enough to step out from the crowd and challenge him. He went into a rage at the actions of the priests. No doubt he was yelling about how their heads would roll, and they would pay for this disrespect and dishing of the king with their lives.
But before he could finish, God intervened and a disease broke out all over his body, and he immediately sought the help of the priests to get him out of the temple as soon as possible.
We live in a world that has also taken on the word of God. It ridicules God’s word by calling sin alternative lifestyles and by calling evil first amendment rights. Are we willing to step out of the crowd like Azariah and say, what you’re saying is still wrong and God will hold you accountable for it?
Azariah’s life was at stake, but for us it’s usually just the acceptance and approval of those around us that we are risking. One of the great tragedies of the church is that we often times prefer the approval of people over the approval of God.
The Bible tells us in several passages that God has called us to be a part of His kingdom. In other words, God has told us to step out from the crowd we’re in, and come on over to His side.
The thing about it, is that God may tell us to do this at a very inconvenient time. Like in the middle of an argument, or at a business meeting, or when someone is trying to persuade us to try something everybody else present is trying. God is saying take a stand for me and for what is right.
The reason we call for a person in a crowd, is to pull them out of the crowd so that we can get some information to them. The whole purpose of evangelism is to be an agent of God to pull people out of the crowd, so that they can be brought to God. That’s why we proclaim, our purpose is to bring people into a right relationship with God.
Now we know that if we do not reach people for Christ, then according to the Scriptures, when they die, they are lost forever to a life of eternal suffering for their sins. But what about those of us in the church who respond to Christ by saying yes to God, but then never allow Jesus to have the kind of control and influence of our lives that Jesus intended to have.
When God called us out, God had a specific reason for doing so. God says I am calling you not only to save you, but to mold, make, shape, and break you, so that you look more and more like my Son Jesus Christ.
We even sing about God’s purposes when we sing the song, “I want to be more like you, Jesus. I want to be a vessel you work through. Lord I want to be more like you.” Our purpose in being called to step out from the crowd, is not to receive some kind of ticket to instant, wealth, riches and happiness. Our purpose is to become an instrument or a tool for Jesus Christ to use.
After we have been dead for less than a minute, all of us, Christians, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and everything else will know the truth of God’s word. We will recognize yes, there is a God. Yes, I have to give an account for my own sin. Yes, I have nothing to bargain with.
Yes, I definitely need a Savior. Yes, Jesus Christ did rise from the dead. Yes, my behavior in life really did affect what’s going to happen to me now. Yes God is love, but God is also righteous. Yes God is going to judge me.
No, there is nothing else I can do to change my situation now. You see even in death, we will be called to Step Out From The Crowd at the day of judgment to give an account for the way we have lived. Even the way we treated others in our own home.
The most disappointed group to come before Jesus will not be the atheist or the agnostics, but the ones who knew about Jesus and blew it. When Jesus first called us, he called us out as an individual. He said, if anyone would follow me, let him, let her pick up his cross or her cross, deny himself or herself and follow me.
To deny yourself for the cause of Christ, means giving up what you have a right to have in order to stand alongside Jesus Christ. It means stepping out from the crowd with a determination to do what Christ would have you do.
I remember in fifth grade, there was a boy named Bob Ackerly who was in the sixth grade and was big because he had failed a grade or two. I was in a small town in upstate New York and there were very few Blacks. Bob Ackerly took great delight in terrorizing my younger cousins and myself. He made it clear he hated blacks so we stayed out of his way.
Then came that day when the sixth graders challenged the fifth graders to football game at school. I was the only black guy at the school in fifth grade. My friends Donny Sheridan and Terry Fitzpatrick came and asked me if I would play on the fifth grade team. I said sure. When we went back around the building where we were to play, there was Bob Ackerly holding the football. As we all stood there in a crowd. Bob Ackerly announced, “Ain’t no nigger going to touch my football.”
I turned to walk away from the crowd in complete humiliation. But then I heard Terry say, “If he can’t play with your football, then we can’t either.” He and Donny stepped out from the crowd to stand with me. They gave up the chance to be one of the crowd and enjoy the game in order to stand with me.
My life toward being racially prejudice was forever changed. You see when we are willing to step out from the crowd and do what’s right , we don’t know who is watching, and how much it might mean for somebody for the cause of Christ. God may be calling you to step out and stand up on behalf of someone the next time everybody else is doing wrong.
Jesus tells of a tragedy that will happen in heaven, and it might even involve some of us here today. We all like to think, the moment we die, we get to see our Mom or Dad, or grandmother, or husband or who ever, and that we will have a great time of rejoicing. The reality is though, before we get to see those people, we have a stop to make with Jesus. We’ve already got a date to keep.
The tragedy of which Jesus speaks, happens after those who have stepped out of the crowd for a reward have been received into heaven and others are waiting to be called in, but do not hear their names. Look in Matthew 7:21 in which Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Do you recognize that Jesus is talking about some of us. The people who are not saved do not call Jesus Lord. We do. We do it in our songs. We do it in our prayers. We do it in our conversation and testimony.
But simply calling Jesus Lord does not make Jesus our Lord. In verse 21 is a little phrase that will separate people into heaven and hell and most people do not even know that it is there. “But only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” This little group is the group entering into heaven. Those who do the will of Jesus’ Father.
What is the will of God for us? God’s will is for us to become more like Jesus Christ. This means in our actions, our attitudes and our activities. It means doing it at home, at school, at church, at work, and when we’re hanging with our friends.
God’s will is for us to live holy lives. This means we say no to a lot of things being offered to us because God has set a standard by which we are to live. We can’t use just any kind of language, we can’t give our bodies to whomever we want outside of marriage, we can’t go around thinking we’re better than others. We simply will not go to certain places or watch certain things.
God has called us to be holy. The devil has destroyed so many lives by saying, “go ahead and just ask God to forgive you. We are called to repent of our sin. Repent means to turn away from something and go in the opposite direction toward God . It’s not a ticket to sin in which we say, “I Know God will forgive me.”
God’s will is for us to learn the word of God and obey it. How can we learn the word of God without making a conscious effort to study it? God gave us teachers to help us grow. We cannot become a solid strong church without us participating in Bible study in Life-sharing and Pioneers. What are we doing on Wednesday which indicate we’re stepping out from the crowd to learn the word of God.
God’s will is for us to build the church and so win others for the cause of Christ. The will of God is for us to make a difference for Jesus Christ by being obedient to His word. The bible tells us in James 1:17 “anyone then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
Some times we are tempted to think, “if I work for the Lord, God will make exceptions for me because of all the good I do.” Look at verse 22. “ Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles in your name.”
Now you needed to have known something about God to have been able to do some of these things in Jesus’ name. So clearly Jesus is talking about those of us in the church. We cannot confuse God’s ability to use us, with God’s approval of our behavior.
God can give a gift or a talent to anyone. So what if we can sing or preach. So what if I we can do many things well for God. That’s not proof we are living for God. For let us also remember that Satan has gifts, talents, and even miracles to offer to us.
If doing something for God will keep us out of heaven, Satan is eager to offer it to us. Satan’s ultimate goal is for our eternal destruction. He has no problem giving us a great time here on earth. He looks at us with eternity in mind.
Is there anyone here today who has compromised with the crowd thinking that because of the good you do, Jesus will make an exception for you, if you died today and had to give an account?
Well Jesus has told us in advance as to what his response will be when we refuse to step out from the crowd and live an obedient life. He says in verse 23 “Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers! The word evildoers is in a form that means we kept on doing it. It became a way of life for us.
We don’t like to think of ourselves as evildoers just because we do not do God’s will. Call us deceived or misguided, but please do not call us evildoers because it sounds so harsh. But Jesus wants us to know the harsh reality of our actions. He’s saying in this verse, “I never knew you as my disciple ,and you never knew me as your Lord.” What could possibly be our basis for expecting Him to receive us into heaven?
Jesus wanted to emphasize how important stepping out from the crowd was and living an obedient life that he told a story of two men with a desire to build a great house. Look at Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
If you had looked at the men you couldn’t have told there was much a difference in the vision they had for the future of their lives. They both wanted to be successful. If you had looked at their homes, you would have admired them both. They both had some good work produced by their labor. Both of them could impress you at a distance.
But for some reason or another one of the two took a short cut. It takes more work to build a house upon a rock. The structure of the house has to give way to the position of the rock. The rock is not moving. However when you build upon sand, if you don’t like the place of the sand, you just push it to the side and make the sand give way to your own plans.
Both builders knew how to build a house. They simply chose to build on different foundations. Neither builder could control the rain falling. Nor could they control the rising of the streams which turned into raging rivers aimed at their houses. They had no control over the hurricane force winds that came with the raging river. The house on the sand gave way for the same reason it was easier to build. The sandy foundation was easily moved. Without a foundation, that house collapsed in on itself. The river and the wind were simply too much.
The house on the rock stood firm for the same reason it was harder to build up. The rock was solid and the rushing waters had to go around the foundation of the house. The wind alone was not enough to knock it down.
We are all building a house with our lives. Everybody is going to have some storms. We will stand or fall based on whether or not we are building upon the rock which is Jesus Christ. We build upon Christ through our obedience to the word of God.
What has your commitment to God looked like these past few months? Are you trying to hide in the crowd? Just doing enough to look religious, but not really obeying God where it truly counts. Are you following God over there, but refuse to give God a say so over here where You and the Lord both know there is a problem?
There are some people who want to be a Christian, but there are things they want to do, and things they want to get first. They know that if they give themselves totally over to God, they will have to give up this or give up a relationship or let go of that and they’re just not ready. I hope you’re not in that group today.
You see, when God is calling you today, there’s no guarantee that you will hear the voice of God in the future, because each time we say no, our hearts become a little harder to penetrate. Suppose you do get what you want or who you want, will it be worth it a hundred years from today if you never made it back to God.
Jesus is telling us all. In the long run, it won’t be worth it. In plain English he says, what good is it for you to gain everything the world has to offer and then die and have your soul lost forever apart from God with no hope of relief.
God loved us enough to tell us the truth about what is actually waiting for us when we die. He’s not trying to scare us into heaven, he wants us to make an intelligent choice to leave the road that leads to hell.
God is calling us to step out from the crowd and do things His way. That step begins with a desire to have our lives changed by the power of Jesus Christ. The crowd will lead us to destruction, but Jesus will lead us to eternal life.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
1. Jesus Loved Us Enough To Tell The Truth
2. Not Attempting To Scare Us Into Heaven
3. Make An Intelligent Choice To Leave The
Road That Leads To Hell
4. The Call Is To Step Out From The Crowd
And Be Changed By Jesus Christ
3. The Crowd Is Headed To…….
4. Jesus Is Headed To Eternal Life
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Sermon Outline Pastor Rick NLF 9/15/2002
“Step Out From The Crowd” 2 Chronicles 26:16-20 Mark 8:31-39, Matthew 7:21-27
A. Stepping Out From The Crowd
1. The 10 Soldiers—Sergeant—Task To Be Done
2. Step Forward, Step Backward, Volunteer
3. The Marathon—The Crowd—Winners Distance
4. It Costs To Leave The Crown
B. King Uzziah—One Very Bad Dude
1. God’s Law Regarding Burning Incense
2. King Calls For A Crowd To Watch Him
3. Azariah & 80 Others Step From The Crowd
4. God Intervenes After The Rage
C. We Live In A World Taking On God’s Word
1. Alternative Lifestyles, First Amendment
2. Approval Of People Or Approval Of God
3. Called To Be Set Apart—Inconvenient Moment
4. Called Out Of Crowd For Information
5. Called Out To Bring People To Christ
D. Called Us Out Of The Crowd
1. To Become More Like Jesus Christ
2. An Instrument God Can Use
3. One Minute After Death, We All Know Truth
4. Yes We All Need A Savior-Nothing Left
5. Heaven’s Disappointed Group
E. The Call To Deny Yourself—Pick Up Cross
1. Bob Ackerly—5th Grade & A Football
2. Terry, Donny & Stepping From The Crowd
3. God’s Giving Us The Chance To Make A
Difference By Stepping Out
F. The Coming Tragedy In Heaven
1. Some Of Us Will Be Involved
2. There Is A Meeting With Jesus Before Reunion
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
5. The Ways In Which We Call Him Lord
6. Key—He Who Does The Will Of My Father
G. What Is The Will Of God
1. To Become More Like Jesus
2. To Live Holy Lives
3. To Learn The Word Of God & Obey It
4. To Build A Church To Win Others
James 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
H. Counting On God To Make An Exception
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
1. Must Have Known About God
2. Confusing God’s Gifts With God’s Approval
3. Satan Eager To Give Gifts & Talents If….
4. Jesus’ Response Is Most Loving—Truth
Matthew 7:23 Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
5. Who Are The Real Evildoers
6. I Never Knew You , You Never Knew Me
7. The Importance Of Being Obedient
Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
I. The Wise And The Foolish Builders
1. Both Had Vision For The Future
2. Both Wanted Success—Could Impress
3. Building Rock On Rock More Difficult
4. Adjust Building To Fit The Rock
5. Building On Sand A Little Easier
6. Adjust The Sand To Fit The Building
J. There Are Things Out Of Control Coming
1. The Rain, The River, The Wind
2. The Foundation Determines All
3. Disaster Hits Hardest On The Weakest
K. Examining Our Own Foundation
1. My Commitment –Stepping Out Or Religious
2. Planning To Get Serious Later
3. The Hardening Of The Heart To The Voice
4. Just Let Me Do This First
5. Will It Be Worth It 100 Years From Now
J. Jesus Does An Evaluation Of Our Choices
Mark 8:35-37
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