INTRO.- ILL.- Two elderly women were out driving in a large car and both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself "I must be losing it, I could have sworn we just went through a red light."
After a few more minutes they came to another intersection and the light was red again and again they went right through. This time the woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.
At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they went right through and she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know we just ran through three red lights in a row! You could have killed us!" Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh, am I driving?"
Brothers and sisters, the way things are going in our world and country we wonder who’s driving or if anyone is driving at all.
We live in a world of unrest and untruth. Turn on the TV and listen to the news. Read it in the paper. It’s everywhere.
Here is some of that unrest.
ILL.- Nov. 12, 2005 OSHKOSH, Wis. - A 4-month-old girl died (was smothered) when her drunken 27 year-old mother fell asleep on top of her while breast-feeding, prosecutors said.
Lorinda Hawkins told police she fell asleep about 15 minutes after she started breast-feeding the baby because of her intoxication. When she woke up about an hour later, the baby was pale and wasn’t breathing.
The 27-year-old — who was on probation for child neglect — had consumed six double-shot alcoholic beverages at a bowling alley, the complaint said. A toxicologist estimated her blood alcohol level ranged from .15 to .27 percent.
ILL.- HOMESTEAD, Pa. – Shelton Flowers, 30, was shot at least three times after he got into an argument with another man inside a theater just east of Pittsburgh. Allegheny County police said Flowers had just watched Rapper 50 Cent’s movie (Get Rich or Die Tryin’) and got into a confrontation with three men in the bathroom. A fight ensued and spilled out into the concessions area, where Flowers was shot. Police raised concerns that the film might lead to more unrest.
WHAT DOES THIS SAY TO US? As a man thinketh so is he and as a man watcheth movies so is he! Or so will he do!
ILL.- Here’s another news item dated Nov. 14th. LITITZ, Pa. (AP) - David G. Ludwig killed 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden’s parents after they and their daughter argued about her curfew, police said. Borden’s parents, Michael and Cathryn, both 50, were found shot to death shortly after 8 a.m., after the couple’s 9-year-old son ran to the home of neighbors for help. An older daughter also escaped.
From what we understand, both families were supposedly Christian. It makes us wonder about the effect of Christianity on people’s lives. In the case of the shooter, David Ludwig, Christianity apparently had no positive effect on him.
Our country is full of unrest and untruth. Here is some that untruth.
ILL.- Harry Potter mania grips cinemas. This note comes from Beijing, China. The craze is not new, of course, as in the past several years, six Harry Potter books and three movies have already cast their spell over the world.
Twenty-two-year-old Li Bonan became a die-hard Harry Potter fan in 2002. He has collected at least three editions of each of the six Potter novels, and watched the previous three Potter films more than 100 times. Last weekend, it was the number one movie raking in over $100 million!
Brothers and sisters, even though Harry Potter is very popular right now, HARRY POTTER IS A LIE! Harry Potter is pure fiction but some people eat it up like it is the truth of all truths!
We live in a world of unrest and untruth, a world of evil.
ILL.- One preacher wrote, “We are a culture that does not want to admit that evil exists, especially in people. There is always an explanation or rationalization for the things people do. We make a serious mistake when we deny the existence of evil, and here is why: When we believe that evil does not exist, we become blind to it. When evil is dismissed as unreal, good becomes irrelevant. Good is only understood in relation to evil. If nothing is evil, then nothing is good. We are seeing that in our culture.
“If there is no such thing as evil or sin, then we have no concept of what is good. In fact, good has become evil. A teacher cannot read from a Bible. The gay lifestyle is celebrated while those who say that homosexual practice is wrong are criticized and even prosecuted.
“When we lose our concept of sin, then nothing is wrong and the right becomes wrong. When this happens we are in danger of losing our moral sanity. G. K. Chesterton stated that when we take away the supernatural, what we are left with is the unnatural.”
Brothers and sisters, evil exists in our world and we need to do something about it. What’s the answer? What should we do about it? We need to be committed to the truth of God’s Word and presenting that truth.
The Lord is the only one who can change people’s hearts and lives. But how we go about presenting the truth of God’s Word is very important.
PROP.- Here is my recommendation of what we Christians must do, how we must act and talk.
1- Contend without fighting
2- Speak without offending
3- Preach without condemning
I. CONTEND WITHOUT FIGHTING
Phil. 1:27 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.”
Jude 3 “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”
We are charged to contend for the faith of the gospel, the truth of God’s Word about the faith of Christ. How do we do this?
ILL.- One man said, “As a flight engineer, I had been stationed in Panama for several months before the December 1989 invasion. Ever since I began my air force flying career, my mother has been concerned about my safety. So I expected a long letter from her expressing her anxiety. But what she sent was a sheet of paper containing six words: “KICK THEIRS. PROTECT YOURS. LOVE, MOM.”
How do we contend for the faith of the gospel? Not particularly by kicking theirs and protecting ours, if you know what I mean. We do need to protect ourselves from the evil one and the evil that is in our world while contending for the faith. But we don’t contend for the faith by kicking people’s behinds or bad mouthing them.
ILL.- Here is how NOT to fight for the truth of the gospel. Bill O’Reilly takes aim at San Francisco. Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly said Nov. 11th. "Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you’re not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead. And if al-Qaida comes in here and blows you up, we’re not going to do anything about it. We’re going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco.”
I think O’Reilly is right on about many things in our country but his comment aimed toward San Francisco is NOT how to fight for the truth. Of course, he apparently doesn’t care what others think of him. But we should be concerned about our image as the Lord’s church.
ILL.- A preacher/pastor had an encounter with some unbelievers while having breakfast. Here is what he said. “My wife and I were vacationing in Estes Park, Colorado, and had breakfast in a coffee shop. It was empty except for four men at another table. One was mocking Christianity; in particular, the resurrection of Christ. He went on and on about what a stupid teaching that was. I could feel the Lord asking me: ‘Are you going to let this go unchallenged?’ However I was thinking, but I don’t even know these guys. He’s bigger than me. He’s got cowboy boots on and looks tough. I was agitated and frightened about doing anything. But I knew I had to stand for Jesus.
“Finally, I told Susan to pray. I took my last drink of water and went over and challenged him. With probably a squeaky voice, I said, ‘I’ve been listening to you, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I did my best to give him a flying rundown of the proofs for the resurrection. He was speechless, and I was half dead. I must have shaken for an hour after that. But I had to take a stand.”
One preacher suggested he might have been more effective to walk over to the men at the table and say something like this: “You know, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and found it very interesting. If you don’t mind, I would like to pay for your breakfasts. The reason I want to do this is that, because of the resurrection, Jesus Christ has changed my life and lives in me, and wants to communicate his tremendous love for you.”
Good arguments don’t always change people but changed lives do. Changed lives change the lives of others, and thereby change the world. It only takes a little salt to season a whole pot of stew. It is amazing the effect that one Christian can have when they love other people and serve in the spirit of Christ. Let your light shine. A small candle can light up a whole room of darkness. We need to fight for the faith without being combative.
II. SPEAK WITHOUT OFFENDING
I Pet. 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
We are to speak on behalf of our faith in Christ. We all need some kind of testimony and then be prepared to give it to others, but we need to do it carefully, gently and respectfully. When we come on too strongly to people we can sometimes turn them off.
ILL.- I don’t believe that Dr. Phil is the answer to the world’s problems, but I do think he is doing some good in America. And I realize that Dr. Phil comes on strongly to people. Of course, he’s getting paid for it. But we are representatives of Christ in this world and I don’t believe Jesus preached boisterously or presented Himself to this world in a proud or obnoxious manner.
On Friday (Nov. 18th) Dr. Phil’s show centered around annoying family members. Here is what one daughter said about her mother’s rude behavior and speech. (I didn’t get to see the show, but Elaine told me about it and here’s some of the manuscript from that show)
"My mom, Becky, has the mouth of a sailor, and she isn’t afraid to use it. My mom will curse to anybody, whether it’s the preacher that’s standing there or her own mother," says 22-year-old Sara. She said, "My mom’s behavior can be annoying, frustrating, embarrassing."
Her daughter said, "It’s really embarrassing sometimes to be out in public, and stuff just jumps out of her mouth. She usually speaks before she thinks.”
Karen, Becky’s sister, also thinks Becky needs to change her ways. "Becky’s behavior and crude way that she speaks alienate people," Karen says. "Becky’s very boisterous. She’s very loud. Becky can be obnoxious to the point that no one wants to stay around her ... She does it for the shock."
Dr. Phil said, "When you do things like act out at the birthday party, you might as well say, ’Look at me! Look at me! Pay attention to me!’ That’s exactly what you’re doing. You’re saying, ’I want to be the center of attention. Forget the party. Pay attention to me.’"
Becky, the mom, said, "I don’t say hurtful, mean things to people like that. I make weird comments and stuff, but I only say hurtful, mean things to stupid people.”
Becky said, "I’m honest, I’m blunt, and I don’t beat around the bush. I annoy the hell out of people, but they still love me to death.” I DON’T THINK SO! Talking rudely and crudely is not how to win friends and influence people! It’s how to alienate people from you and your church!
Brothers and sisters, that is NOT how to talk to people! Wanting and being the center of attention and talking rudely and crudely to get that attention is NOT the way to witness for Christ!
Col. 4:4 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
ILL.- After a day’s hunting in India a young Englishman who was a poor shot said to his Indian attendant. “I didn’t do so well today.” The young attendant replied, “Ah, you shot very well, but God was very merciful to the birds.”
That young Indian used tact and it’s something that we all need to use when speaking for Christ. We are here to draw people to Christ, not push them away by being offensive or rude.
III. PREACH WITHOUT CONDEMNING
II Tim. 4:2 “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”
ILL.- Thomas Ken, writer of the song, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” was a chaplain to the sister of Charles II. It is said that the king once said concerning Ken’s courageous preaching, “I must go and hear Ken tell me my faults.”
Brothers and sisters, I think it’s the preacher’s responsibility to preach the Word and do it with a certain amount of rebuke.
I think any time we preach the Word of God we will tell someone their faults. In fact, some people will swear the preacher is picking on them or preaching right at them. I’ve always heard it said that the preacher’s job is to: “Shakem in, shakem up and shakem out.”
I think it’s fine to shake people up with the Word of God as long as we don’t condemn people. Condemning is not our business. That’s God’s business. Our business is to encourage and give courage to people in order to follow Christ. People in the world are so downhearted. They need to be helped, not hurt with condemning or condescending words.
ILL.- Nov 11th. Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them not to be surprised if disaster struck.
He said, "I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city.”
While Pat Robertson has a right to his opinion, I don’t think the way he is expressing it will help the cause of Christ in America.
We Christians must preach the faith of the gospel without condemning people. It sounds very much he is condemning the people of Dover, PA and that is not a good program of preaching.
ILL.- A guide was conducting a group of tourists around the Empire State Building in New York. On the elevator ride to the 102nd floor, a nervous woman asked, “What if these cables should break? Would we go up or down?” The guide replied, “That depends entirely on the kind of life you’ve been leading.”
I think that some people should be nervous about what is going to happen to them when they die, but condemning people to hell with our words will not help them to turn to Christ.
ILL.- One preacher said years ago, “We must tell people the good news and then tell them the bad news of what will happen to them if they don’t accept the good news.”
There is truth in what he said, but the way we say things to people can make a big difference. Blatantly and perhaps obnoxiously telling people they will go to hell if they don’t accept Jesus as their savior is not the best way to go about it.
I don’t think there is one thing wrong with teaching the truth of scripture about hell, however. I think most of the time people will make their own application without us applying scripture to them.
Let’s be quick to preach Jesus…to present Jesus to people as the way, the truth and the life, but let’s not consign anyone to hell when it is not our business!
CONCLUSION-----------------------------
ILL.- A little nine year-old girl prayed, “Dear God, take care of my family, take care of the whole world. And please God, take care of Yourself or we’re all sunk.”
Our world is a mess and it’s getting messier every day. In the book Genesis we see that God put His foot down and said, “Enough is enough.” And He destroyed that ungodly world. And there will come another day when God will say, “Enough is enough.”
The Lord is our only hope. He is our only hope in this world and our only hope for the next life.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Let’s be quick to present Christ to the world. But in our presentation let’s not fight, offend or condemn people, because it won’t do any good. Let’s present Christ as the loving Savior that He is!
