Kurt Lindgren
www.pastorkurt.com
RAMBO RELIGION / REV. 2: 1-6
1.INTRODUCTION
a.MY TEXT IS TAKEN FROM VERSE 4
i.Thou hast left thy first love
ii.I know your works, labor, patience, for my names sake never the less I have somewhat against the...
iii.Your out there working diligently for me, but your not with me – Rambo
b.JOHN RAMBO WAS A REAL PERSON
i.John Arthur Rambo was an actual somebody, an actual soldier.
ii.He was killed in Vietnam, and his name appears on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.
iii.He is a he-man. He’s macho. And in the minds of millions, young and old, he is enshrined as the model, modern day warrior.
iv.He is a symbol of standing against the wrongs that so grievously afflict our world.
v.He is a symbol of direct personal action often needed to right those things that are wrong.
vi.He characterizes the pinnacle in facing down the enemy, gaining victory over evil through his own ability
vii.Now, applied to religion, applied to spiritual things, Rambo religion represents living the Christian life through / fighting the spiritual war with our own self-effort and power.
2.TRANSITION: CHARACTERISTICS, CAUSES, CURSE, CURE
3.BODY
a.THE CHARACTERISTICS OF RAMBO RELIGION
i.They are soldiers
1.They have the scares to prove it (They’ll show them to you)
2.They have seen it all (...Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen)
3.They are on the battlefield everyday
ii.They feel like they are the only one
1.The only saved person left
iii.They have an individualistic attitude
1.They don’t want help
2.They wont admit that they need any help
iv.They think there more spiritual
v.They are usually tired and worn out
vi.(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)(2 Corinthians 10:4)
vii. You’ve been fighting a spiritual war with your flesh
viii. You’ve been living the Christian life on your own
ix. And what success they have its not from God but its from experience
b. THE CAUSES OF RAMBO RELIGION
i.Complacency (Satisfied) Going thru the motions
1.Just like your job or marriage, your walk with the Lord becomes a rut
2.The job you have, remember when you first started. You were desperate for a paycheck
ii.Laziness
iii.Taking your eyes of the Lord
c.THE CURSE OF RAMBO RELIGION
i.Failure (spinning our wheels)
1.Sometimes God needs to show you that its Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit
2.Sometimes he needs to put us in a position of failure so that we have to call on Him
3.You try to do it by yourself, but nothing is working
4.Your supposed to be an expert
a.You’ve worked this route before
ii.The Lord is not with you
iii.The removal of thy candlestick v.5b
d.THE CURE FOR RAMBO RELIGION v.5a
i.REMEMBER
1.The joy when you were first saved
a.The whole world on fire and you were a grin
2.The excitement
a.You were willing to scrub toilets
3.The desire to
a.Know more
b.Draw closer to Him
ii.REPENT
1.Turn back to Jesus
2.From the wrong intentions / motives
iii.RETURN - Do the first works
1. Get back to the basics
2. What are the first works? Love Jesus FIRST! Above everything else!
CONCLUSION
a. THERES NO ROOM IN THE LORDS ARMY FOR SPIRITUAL RAMBOS
i.I’m not talking about compromise,
I’m talking about being one together in the body of Christ (1Cor 12: 18-27)
