" The Remnant "
Matthew 5:11-16
(Prayer)
Blessed are you when men shall hate you and shall speak evil things about you for my name’s sake. Blessed are you in God’s eyes and on heaven’s golden shores when you are despised and rejected by the world and by men for the name of Jesus. Rejoice! Rejoice! Be exceedingly glad and happy, be joyful for great is your reward in heaven…
The major theme of the gospel message is a threefold purpose and anytime this bread of life is broken it is designed to accomplish something in the spiritual realm that surrounds us.
1) Designed to show us our fallen condition and the need we have for a Savior to redeem us from that condition
2) Records the defeat of the Prince of this world at an old rugged cross on Golgotha’s hill as the full price was paid to defeat the enemy’s hold on us
3) Admonition for the children of God to live a life that is worthy of the terrible price paid for their salvation. Commanded to live a life that has the capability of shaking the very gates of hell because of the great light that shines in our souls…
In your life’s journey there are decisions that you make each and everyday that affect you and those around you for good or bad. There is a price to pay for wrong decisions and a reward to be gained for making right decisions. You cannot hear the life changing message of Jesus and choose to stay on the middle ground. You cannot hear the message God speaks and refuse to listen thinking you can have a relationship with him.
"He that is of God hears the words of God, you don’t hear the words of God because you don’t belong to God" John 8:47
The main focus of the ministry of Jesus when he walked the earth to preach was that a child of God shall be different from all those who are not God’s. He continually said that we were to be separated by the glory of his presence on our life, that we could not blend in with the lost because of the grace we had received. He never said one time in his whole life that we were to compromise the truth of the gospel and strengthen the enemies position by preaching a salvation without repentance. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE WASHED WITH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST FOR SALVATION AND STAY THE WAY WE ARE. IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS AND NOT BE BORN AGAIN. Yes it may indeed be a hard thing to take to heart but Nicodemus knew something of this truth when he quietly went to Jesus one night to ask how he might see the kingdom of God. Unless a man be born again, he shall not see glory!
"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost it’s flavor with what can you make it salty again? It isn’t good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under the feet of men"
· We are responsible for the world we now live in because we have failed as the church, the salt of the earth, to preserve the things of God by our compromise with the world. We are now reaping what we have sown many times in our past by remaining silent and sitting back letting wicked men and the devil control us by shoving lies down our throats. We have sown the seed of compromise by not crucifying our flesh with Christ and not saying anything to the unrighteous around us lest we offend them and now we are in a time of reaping the evil things we have planted. No power in the church anymore because we have decided that we know better than God.
1. 13 people murdered by two suicidal teenagers in Littleton CO just a few weeks ago in an institute of learning because we allowed the voice of one little woman, Madelyn Murray O’Hair, to take prayer out of the schools. We thought that by education we could redeem the fallen man by putting intelligence in his head and teaching him that God isn’t really needed in our daily lives. Pulled down the Ten Commandments from the classroom wall and expelled God from the System we use to train our children. They have learned well the lessons we’ve taught them because they know that without a Creator, without a God that loves them, there is no HOPE!
· Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oregon, New Jersey and Texas from sea to shining sea we have let them tell our children there is no purpose and no meaning for their lives so they’re killing each other in the classrooms.
1. We have now murdered almost 35 million babies in their mother’s womb since 1973 on an alter Satan prepared for us by a decision of the Supreme Court of this United States of America. We allowed them to sow this seed of corruption that says life isn’t precious and that commitments ordained by God don’t need to be honored. We listened to a court of men we call Supreme but I thank God there is a DIVINE JUDGE THAT HAS SPOKEN AND HE SAYS HE WILL NOT BE MOCKED, WHAT A MAN SOWS THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP!
Half of all marriages end in divorce, those marriages are failing in the church house 3% faster than in the outhouse, leading cause of death for our young people is suicide, most children reared in one parent homes and we’ll have babies together but just can’t make the commitment to HOLY MATRIMONY right now. We are reaping what we have sown and the church has no power within it’s walls to change anything.
My allegiance is to the Holy Lamb of God my friends, it isn’t to the Southern Baptist Convention. My allegiance is to this truth I hold in my hand and I believe everything in it and also what’s on it. I believe that it’s HOLY and if I fail to fulfill what it says I am because of the salvation I have received, then I have failed miserably. We have failed to be the salt of the earth when the outside world looks at us and there’s no difference between us and them. Those two boys who killed those children were searching for what I have. They needed a touch from God! They needed to know that Jesus died for them and loved them and wanted to know them intimately. THEY NEEDED A CHURCH TO REACH OUT TO THEM THAT HAD POWER WITHIN THE LIVES OF IT’S MEMBERS! THEY NEEDED THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST TO FILL THEM WITH HOPE…
And if we fail much longer the next time it might be in Quitman Mississippi! It may be our children and grandchildren looking down the barrel of a gun. It may be our children dying!! This is a war we’re in and we’re losing it because we have lost it somewhere along the way. We have lost the power to change people’s lives by the message of Jesus Christ because we have neglected the ways of God.
PEOPLE WE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. A person who has been touched by the nail scarred hand of Jesus cannot hide the light inside their heart! When I got saved nobody had to tell me to read my Bible because I was hungry for the word of the Lord. Nobody had to hold my hand or beg me to come to church or prayer meeting or revival because I was hungry to worship the Lord. When Jesus saved me no one had to tell me to pray or find my place in the mission of God…
I had been touched by God! Whew!!!! That’s what we need folks is a touch from God not another sermon so we can hurry up and go to Gocos and pick up a pizza. We don’t need one more mealy mouthed, limp wristed, pencil neck preacher to tell us how good we are and that we can be saved but never change our lives. Jesus said that the salvation we have will produce fruit in our lives and he said it would give fruit that was good and would last. He never said we’d be picking turnips from a watermelon vine or pecans from and apple tree. Maybe I can’t judge a man’s salvation but I am a fruit inspector and we are lacking.
"For a good tree doesn’t bring forth corrupt fruit and neither will a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns a man does not gather figs and from a briar patch they don’t pick grapes." Luke 6:43-44
"Wherefore by their fruits shall you know them. Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but only he that does the will of my Father" Matthew 7:20-21
"Enter you in at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be that go in at that gate because straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto eternal life and few there be that find it." Mt 7:13-14
MOUNTAIN OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRUTH THAT JESUS SPOKE AND WHAT’S BEING PREACHED FROM THE PULPIT TODAY. The only way we can have power in the church is if we follow what God says in his word and then adjust our lives to pick up our cross and deny ourselves. Our only hope is for God to lead us in the path we must follow to see the world turned upside down. 120 people did that one time… read the book of Acts and see victory after victory after victory. They had power so we might have to change some of the things we’re doing that aren’t working. 70% of the churches across the nation are dying or declining at this moment. 10,000 southern baptist churches didn’t lead anybody to Jesus last year… 95 out of 100 christians never lead anybody else to the Lord.
"Let your light so shine that other men will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Think it would be truthful to say we have not done all that Jesus commanded. I don’t have all the answers my friend but I can tell you that God is doing something in my life and I am going to choose to follow him no matter where that leads. My heart burns with the desire to see people saved by the blood of Jesus and for Christians to serve God the way he wants to be served. You can’t bypass salvation and expect to serve God and you can’t really be saved with no fruit in your life. I believe that with all of my heart and somewhere along the way I have failed my Lord but I’m going to let him fix it in me. I want the power of God in my life and I want that unspeakable Joy Jesus talked about.
I WANT THE TRUTH IN MY LIFE NO MATTER HOW BAD IT MAY HURT BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY WAY TO ENTER IN THE STRAIGHT GATE. THE ONLY WAY FOR A LIGHT TO SHINE IS IF IT’S BEEN LIT.
How many people out there have been lied to and now believe that there is some way other than what Jesus said to enter the kingdom of heaven? How many do you know? No loopholes or scripture that can bypass the salvation Jesus talked about no matter how much we want to believe there are.
"Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and they are they that testify of me, and you will not come to me that you might have eternal life" John 5:39-40
Come to Jesus for eternal life and listen to his voice speaking to your heart right now. This is serious business folks but don’t be afraid to listen to Him and then do what He’s telling you to do. He wants to deliver you into the kingdom and live the life in you. He will give you the power to follow him.
"Fear not little flock for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" Luke 12:32
I’m not trying to scare you this morning or beat you over the head causing you to lose the joy of your salvation but I am trying to share the truth of scripture. I’m not trying to tell you what SBC says or what someone else might think and you don’t have to believe me… look to God and ask him to show you. I’m tired of playing games and I’m tired of being lied to. If there is a way for me to have power in my life like the Apostles did then I want that because there isn’t anything needed more in this world today. Jesus is coming back and I don’t think it’s going to be long my friends and he’s coming back for that perfect bride, the remnant he has reserved for himself but before he does scripture says that everything that can be shaken will be shaken. I want the truth and I want to be part of that perfect bride. I want the power of God in my life and I’d rather worship with one person that wants the same thing than a thousand who want a lie…
What do you want?
HAS God stirred your heart today?
Invitation.
