SERIES: “GOD-GIVEN GUIDELINES FOR GROWING A GREAT CHURCH”
(Material taken from Bob Russel’s When God Grows A Church)
TEXT: 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-5 (Don’t read yet)
TITLE: “PROCLAIM THE TRUTH” (Don’t announce yet)
INTRODUCTION: A. In a monologue on 1-7-00, Jay Leno took his own network to task. He poked fun
at the advertising for the new David Cassidy made-for-TV movie. (Cassidy played
Keith Partridge on the 70’s sitcom The Partridge Family). NBC made the claim that
this movie was “true to life”; that only the facts would be given and nothing would be
added.
Leno said, “Good for NBC. They can change the Bible; they can rewrite [the story
of ] Noah’s life but they will tell the truth about David Cassidy.
B. We find humor in that statement but the sad part is, it’s fact and not fiction.
1. The world we live in is not concerned with the truth, especially if it doesn’t agree
with or support their agenda.
2. Robert Withrow, After Heaven – Spirituality in America Since the 1950’s
--gives some startling statistics
a. 69% of the people in this country do not believe the Bible is God’s exact word
b. Only 50% of Americans know that Genesis is the first book of the Bible
c. Only 33% know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount
C. We’re used to the fact that the world around us does not know the difference between
right and wrong; between fact and fiction; or between what is true and false.
1. It’s nothing new for people to blur the truth
a. They have distorted it, bent it, and even re-written it.
b. Since time began, Satan and his demons have tried to corrupt the truth.
(1). From Adam and Eve in the Garden to the people of today, truth has been
presented as “relative” or “situational”
(2). The concepts have been tried and re-tried but they are always false.
(3). Jesus called Satan “a liar and the father of all lies.”
2. It is sometimes astonishing to find that there are many churches that do not believe
the truth and do not preach the truth
a. Some of them are afraid if appearing “intolerant”
b. Others feel that they’re being discriminatory or they have a fear of offending
someone’s sensibilities.
c. The rest are just false religions – they are built on false premises and false
teachings
D. Jesus made some startling but very clear statements concerning truth:
1. Jn. 8:32 – “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
--In that statement, Jesus teaches us three things about truth:
a. There is a body of truth that exists.
b. We can know this body of truth that exists
c. This body of truth can have an impact on our lives
2. Jn. 17:17 – “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”
a. The Bible is God’s word
b. It reveals to us the Eternal Word in Jesus Christ
c. It is therefore essential for us to understand the truth of the word of God and
how it applies to our church and our individual lives.
E. TITLE: “Proclaim The Truth”
--TEXT: 2 Tim. 4:1-5
I. BELIEVE THE TRUTH (The World Doesn’t)
--4:3a and 4a – “For a time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine…;” “They will turn
their ears away from the truth…”
A. The world does not want to believe the truth
1. They don’t want to believe primarily because they would have to make a change
a. They’d have to change how they think
b. They’d have to change how they live
2. In our post-modern world, experience is more important than truth.
a. This philosophy has contributed to a tremendous diversity of beliefs
b. This diversity of beliefs has produced a lot of beliefs that stand at odds with the word of God
3. These unhealthy attitudes have crept into the church, as evidenced by the following results of a survey
of church lay leaders by researcher George Barna:
a. Only 53 percent believe that there are moral truths that are absolute
b. 43 percent say there is no such thing as the Holy Spirit
c. 33 percent believe that Jesus never had a physical resurrection
d. 19 percent believe Jesus sinned while on earth.
4. There is a wide acceptance of other anti-biblical practices happening in the live of those who claim to
be Christians:
--Earlier, I quoted from Robert Withrow’s book, After Heaven – Spirituality in America Since The
1950’s. Listen to some more disturbing statistics:
a. 24% of churchgoers read their daily horoscopes
b. 22% believe in astrology
c. 20% believe in reincarnation
d. 11% believe in channeling
e. 8% believe they have lived a previous life
f. 55% of American churchgoers believe in or have participated in of the things just mentioned.
B. Resist the temptation to compromise the truth
1. Not just liberal preachers or reporters or television talk show hosts who are tempted to compromise the
truth.
2. It’s very tempting for church leaders to want to grow so much that we would compromise some things
to accommodate some influential people or some wealthy people but we have to do what is right.
3. It’s also very tempting for leaders to appease people who threaten to stir up trouble if their particular
view about things is not adopted.
4. We have to stand for the truth!
a. The truth is the truth – no matter what!
b. Wm. Penn: “Right is right, even if everyone is against it and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for
it.”
5. 1 Cor. 14:8 – “If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”
C. Be ready to face opposition
1. Aldous Huxley: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad.”
2. In our post-modern world, the worst thing you can do is to believe that truth is exclusive; that it doesn’t
include everybody’s viewpoint
3. To be unbending about anything – no matter how true it might be – is considered the height of
arrogance and intolerance.
4. God’s Word is contrary to the world’s message:
a. The world says there are many roads to heaven, but Jesus says in Jn. 14:6 – “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
b. The world says abortion is a choice; God’s Word tells us it is murder.
c. The world says homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle; the Bible says it is not a lifestyle pleasing to
God.
d. The world says do whatever you feel like doing; God says, “Keep my commandments.”
e. The world says sleep around, just be careful; God’s Word tells us to not even think lustful thoughts.
5. If we stand for truth, we will be laughed at, criticized, protested against, and even persecuted
6. Mt. 5:11-12 – “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
II. TEACH THE TRUTH (Many Churches Don’t)
A. I’ve attended events where they promised that food would be served. When it came time to eat, all they
had were finger foods or cookies and punch. When the event was finally over, I was hungry and had to
stop someplace so I could eat
1. People all over the U.S. are leaving churches feeling empty every Sunday
2. They come hungry for the Word of God but just get a little snack and leave hungry for more.
3. Some only want the security of tradition or an entertainment fix and they think their spiritual diet is
adequate.
4. Those that want and need a full-course spiritual meal will eventually drift away in an effort to find a
place that offers something of substance.
B. Preaching is important
1. 1 Cor. 1:21b – “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe.”
2. Rom. 10:14 0 “How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching
to them?”
3. Jesus was a preacher
--Lk. 4:43 – “I must preach the good news…because that is why I was sent.”
4. Paul also a preacher
--1 Cor. 9:16 – “When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am called to preach. Woe to me if I
do not preach the gospel!”
C. We need to instill the desire to preach in our young people
1. We need to start from the day they first come to church to uphold the position and authority of the
preacher
--If you go home and have barbecued preacher for lunch, you have undermined a position and
authority given by God himself.
2. We need to encourage our young people to see if God is calling them to into the ministry.
a. I have a very good friend named Darrel Land. He is the founding minister of the Christian
Church of Jasper. They celebrated their third anniversary this past spring and are doing quite well.
Darrel is a preacher today because a missionary from Haiti name Leon DeOrleans stayed with
Darrel’s family while going to bible college. From the time Darrel was a baby, Leon called him
“Preacher Man.” Leon planted a seed that was watered, fertilized, and nurtured by his parents and
his home congregation.
b. We need to point out to our young people that preaching is an important ministry of the church and
that God could use them someday to spread the gospel.
D. We need to ground everything we do in Scripture
1. D.P. Schaffer, “Whenever you preach, always use a lot of Scripture, because that’s one thing you
know is true.”
2. God has ordained the church to be a place of truth
3. Method change; ministries change; and music styles change but God’s Word remains the same
4. Everything we do at First Christian Church should have its foundations in Scripture.
--If it doesn’t, we need to stop doing it or never start doing it!
E. We need to balance strong stands on Scriptural truth with God’s grace
1. Some people believe that preaching is somebody standing up in front of a group of people and fussing
and yelling about sin and the ways of the world.
--Mostly, they want someone to yell about things they aren’t involved in
2. If all I ever do is preach against sin then I have missed an essential part of the Gospel
--We must take strong stands but they must be balanced with God’s wonderful message of grace
3. Eph 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love.
-- Bob Russell tells about a time about six months before Southeast Christian Church in
Louisville’s new building was finished. He walked out onto the roof and went to the base of the
forty-foot high cross that sits atop their worship center.
The cross is actually part of the building’s structure. It’s base descends thirty-two feet below the
roof into the superstructure and acts like a keystone. It supports the twelve trusses that come to the
center and symbolizes that the cross of Christ must be the cornerstone of the church. The cross is
directly over the pulpit, symbolizing that they preach under the authority of the cross.
He said that as he stood at the base of the cross and looked out over the roof, he saw something
that put goose bumps on his arms. The company that provided the insulation for the roof was the
Grace Ice and Watershield Company. The insulation comes in six-foot sheets, and the word
“GRACE” is printed in bold letters on every sheet.
As he looked out from the cross, he saw the words: GRACE, GRACE, GRACE, GRACE,
GRACE, GRACE…hundreds of times. He said even he could catch the symbolism in that. The
church is to be covered in God’s grace.
III. APPLY THE TRUTH (Most People Don’t)
A. Winston Churchill: “Men occasionally stumble over the truth but most of them pick themselves up and
hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
B. It doesn’t do any good to learn the truth, or teach the truth, if we don’t apply the truth.
1. There are many people who know the Bible backwards and forwards but they don’t apply it.
a. They claim knowledge of the truth but do not apply the truth to their own lives.
b. In other words, they may know the word but they don’t know the Lord
c. James 2:26 – “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
C. Those of us who are preachers and teachers need to work diligently to communicate application of
Scripture to everyday life.
1. We take they easy way when we only make application to “Sunday” things
--“Faithfulness” is defined as coming to Sunday school and Morning Worship and Evening Worship
and Bible study and youth group
2. We have to apply scriptural truth to life on Monday-Saturday also
--“Faithfulness” is also defined as working through our marriage even though we have some rough
spots; showing up for our jobs every day and putting in a full day’s work for a full day’s pay; it’s
spending time with our children; it’s not cutting corners; it’s glorifying God in whatever we do and
say.
3. Anytime you teach or even hear a lesson from Scripture, automatically think about how it can be
applied to our lives and then apply it!
CONCLUSION: A. Just last Sunday, you heard me stand here and declare why and how First Christian can
be a great church and have a fantastic future.
--Through these next 10 weeks, we’ll study together about what God says we have to do
to be a great church
----Here is your part in Guideline Number One: PROCLAIM THE TRUTH
1. Know God’s Word
a. How much time out of your week do you use to read and study the Bible
b. It’s our guide and manual for every operation both for our congregation and our
individual lives.
2. Always check what you hear against the Scriptures
--It’s great to know that you trust me enough to believe what I tell you but please have
your Bible open in front of you and hold accountable me or anyone else you hear
proclaiming that what they’re saying is from God’s Word. Make sure it matches up
with what’s in Scripture.
3. Don’t just know the Word. Show the Word.
--Be a walking, talking Bible – A Christian who lives out the Word in their families,
on their jobs, at the ballpark, and every other part of their life.
B. One of the biggest films of 1999 was The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves. It’s a
futuristic sci-fi movie, where the world has been taken over by computers. The computers
need the energy that comes from human bodies, so they keep a supply of genetically
engineered humans in a permanently anaesthetized state.
They then create an imaginary world for these comatose humans, called The Matrix,
in which people think themselves alive and conscious, going to work, living normal
everyday lives. The Matrix is the world that has been literally been pulled over
everyone’s eyes to blind them from the truth, a world that keeps them in bondage to
acceptance of the way things are.
But there is a group of rebels who have broken free of the Matrix. Led by a man
named Morpheus they lead a shadow life committed to an alternate reality and hunted by
cybercops. Then they discover Keanu Reeves character, Neo, the prophesied One who
will break people free from the Matrix.
Early in the film we find Neo awakening to the truth. As part of the Matrix, the
computer created illusion, he experiences unexplainable doubts about the ways things
are, doubts which act like a splinter in his mind, making him feel uncomfortable. Then he
is introduced to the rebels, led by Morpheus.
Morpheus offers Neo a chance to see the truth. He holds out two pills. The blue pill is
a pleasant analgesic which will blur over the pain his honest enquiry is creating. Swallow
the blue pill and he’ll be comfortably back in the Matrix. Or he can take the red pill,
which will open his eyes to see new possibilities, to carve out a place in the alternate
reality.
C. At the heart of the gospel is the idea that we are all caught in The Matrix, in a false view
of reality.
1. We fail to see the world as it truly is, fail to see it as God sees it.
2. Satan has blinded us to the reality of truth grounded in God the Father and in His Son
Jesus Christ and in His Word the Bible given through His Holy Spirit
3. Satan wants us to take the blue pill and be forever lost in his body of lies
4. God offers us the red pill to change our lives forever.
--Red because of the death of Son for our sins that gives us the opportunity to know
the truth and be made free through the truth
