How to Stop Riding the Fence of Faith
July 9, 2006 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A Video clip from National Lampoon’s Vacation
1 They got lost several times, St. Louis
a "Are you sure you know where you’re going?" Clark says, "Yes"
b "Roll ‘em up, kids"
2 At the beginning of the walk with Jesus, "We’ll follow you everywhere."
a Then Jesus says...
aa Kids, be honest...don’t cheat
bb Students, don’t have sex...keep yourself pure
cc Adults, go the faithful way and bring up your children in the nurture of the Lord.
b Have devotions, regular worship...are You sure, Lord? That’s kinda hard.
aa Says to spouses, "Be willing to turn the other cheek, stop being so judgmental."
bb To kids, "Don’t be lazy, listen to Mom & Dad, do your chores."
c Real followers of Christ follow no matter what!
B The crowd in Jerusalem epitomized spiritual fickleness (essence of the text in a sentence)
1 They went from one extreme to another
a Praise/crucify, one day up, next day down, one day on His side, next day against Him.
b ’I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ’So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Rev 3:15-16 (NASB)
2 Many believers still ride the fence of faith (essence of the sermon in a sentence)
a When it looks like praising/serving Him is going to benefit us, we say "Hosanna"
aa Marriage on the rocks, racked by disease, life is hard...praise the Lord.
bb Church/God’s people is where we are because it benefits us.
b When it looks like it’s going to cost us something, we cry Barabbas.
aa Sing, "Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss."
bb When things don’t go our way... we lower the flag.
C I pray we’ll decide it’s time to serve the Lord no matter what (objective).
1 Rain/shine, good/bad, up/down
2 What needs to happen for you to stop riding the fence of faith? (Probing question)
3 Let’s look at 4 folks in the Bible and see what we can learn from them.
I Job-yet will I serve Him. Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. Job 13:15 (NASB)
A Job had suffered through the worst heartaches life had (has) to offer.
1 He was well-acquainted with loss.
a Financially bankrupt, short on friends, lost all of his kids.
b Though He slay me, I will hope in Him...
aa Hebrew "yachal": wait with expectation, be patient, waiting for the passage of time.
bb Job was going to serve God no matter what.
2 Job’s wife says, "Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9) We laugh, but it’s a common attitude.
a If we face a little opposition in our walk with God we’re ready to quit.
b If the preacher doesn’t do what we think he should, go to another church.
c If we’re not asked to do something, our feelings are hurt.
d In essence...we curse God and die.
B Thank God Job did not quit!
1 God blessed Job’s determination to serve Him no matter what...He’ll bless you, too!
2 Too many of us are like Job’s wife ( we all have a little of her in us).
C (IL)
II Samson-fence sitter.
A Samson was a huge, bulging man that God had anointed with tremendous strength.
1 He killed a lion with his bare hands, lit a field on fire by setting 300 foxes with their tails burning, took a donkey’s jawbone & killed 1,000 men.
a The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily... Judges 14:6 (NASB)
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily...Judges 15:14 (NASB)
aa Samson’s strength came from his personal relationship with God.
bb When he denies that his strength is from God, he breaks his vow. So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man." Judges 16:17 (NASB) The Lord leaves him. She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Judges 16:20 (NASB)
cc Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." Judges 16:28 (NASB) (Confession/repentance)
b One day he wanted the power of God, but the next day he wanted to play with sin.
2 You cannot have the best of both worlds (no fence riding)
1 We can’t shout "Praise the Lord" on Sunday, cuss on Monday, and have a successful walk with God.
a We want the power of God, but we want to act like the world.
b We, like Samson, want one hand to pray for His powers with the other to play with the world (can’t have both).
B In America, we’ve "Americanized" the gospel.
1 Who says you can’t have it all?
a We want the world & the Word (addition without subtraction)
b We can add Christ, but not subtract sin.
2 A change in belief without a change in behavior.
3 Fence riding
III The Israelites-crybabies
A In Exodus, the Israelites had been in bondage (430 years), which made them cry out for deliverance. The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. Ex 3:7 (NASB)
1 God heard their cries (Moses/plagues) and set them free.
a Pharaoh changed his mind and goes after the Israelites!
aa These folks who had once cried out for God were now whining that God moved!
bb God frees them (Praise the Lord), but their flesh began to crave safety, food, shelter, so they turn from praising to cursing.
b Same scenario at Jerusalem (from King Jesus to crucify Jesus!)
aa The flesh cried out for Barabbas and that’s what they got.
bb The Israelites cried for what their flesh wanted and that’s what they got.
cc God’s blessing for the Israelites was on the other side of the wilderness, but they were too busy whining and crying to see it.
dd God’s blessing for you may be at the other end of the wilderness/desert, don’t be too busy crying to miss the blessing.
c Pilate was willing to content the people Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them Mark 15:15 (NASB) Give in to the flesh
d Anytime we please the masses, we’re usually giving them what they want, not what they need.
2 Church after church, pulpit after pulpit lack the spiritual spine to rock the boat of contentment.
a Don’t preach the sin of sex before marriage-kids complain how strict the church is.
aa Homosexuality, drunkeness, overeating, lusting, hate, etc.
bb UMC newsletter: "You might be a United Methodist if you’ve never heard a sermon on Hell and don’t feel like you’re missing out."
b The church/preacher doesn’t care how you live and doesn’t help you to live godly lives.
c I don’t want Barabbas...I want Jesus
aa Israelites became a stench in God’s nostrils
bb Some of us have fallen into the same trap!
IV Rich Young Ruler-until it costs. Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. Matt 19:21-22 (NASB)
A The rich young ruler had some religious background, but no relationship with God.
1 He was wrapped in legalism The young man said* to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?" Matt 19:20 (NASB)
a Jesus goes to the heart...give everything you have.
aa He may have kept the commands, but he was also keeping much more than that.
bb Heart
b The rich young ruler was asked to totally sell out, couldn’t do it But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
c I’m sure the rich young ruler would have given some, but the Lord wants it all!
2 Many of us are like the rich young ruler, we’ll serve God until it costs us something.
a It’s not always easy to be on the Lord’s side of the fence.
aa Jesus didn’t have a place to lay His head at night.
bb It pays to follow the Lord, but it also costs.
b It’s important to belong to one church. Why?
aa See family/friends who want the blessing of all the churches...but none of the responsibility of any of them.
bb The rich young ruler followed until it cost-so do so many today!
B A group of men were about six months from graduating medical school
1 One of the men got saved and felt called to be a medical missionary in a 3rd World country
a A friend of his, "You’ll never get ahead in the world"
b The man said, "Which world?"
2 Following Jesus costs us something!
Conclusion:
A The crowd in Jerusalem epitomized spiritual fickleness (essence of the text in a sentence)
Many believers still ride the fence of faith (essence of the sermon in a sentence)
1 Review
2 I pray we’ll decide it’s time to serve the Lord no matter what (objective).
B What needs to happen for you to stop riding the fence of faith? (Probing question)
1 A fence contractor was talking to a wealthy man about his relationship with God.
a The wealthy man believed God would be pleased with him.
aa Worked hard, gave to worthy causes
bb Sure, I hid some money for tax reasons, lied and cheated some, but how else would I have gotten ahead?
cc All in all, I’m O.K., I’m a nice person.
b Two weeks go by, fence is done, and the wealthy man goes to see his new fence-shocked!
aa There was a number of gaps. "What have you done?"
bb The contractor said, "While I was building the fence, I left some gaps. But don’t worry. The rest of the fence is fence, in some places it’s double thickness. Only 2% is missing. 98% is intact.
cc The wealthy man said, "That’s not good enough. My animals will find the gaps and get out. Near enough is not good enough and I will have nothing left to show."
c The fence contractor said, "You can see that truth when it comes to your fence...how come you can’t apply the same thing when it comes to your relationship with God?"
aa Near enough isn’t good enough!
bb Some of us have gaps...close those gaps, get on the right side of the fence!
2 What needs to happen for you to stop riding the fence of faith? (Probing question)
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Mike Fogerson
