Spiritual Add Series

I’ve seen people who’ve done it!

They’ll have perfect attendance pins.

They’ll be involved in various committees and activities in the congregation.

They’ll teach Sunday School… or be an Elder

But it’s their Church that’s the “Important” thing in their lives. They go thru the routine of going to church and they say all the right things… at church, but the rest of the week they’ll say hateful things about each other or about others.

They love their church but - never seem to be listening to Jesus.

ILLUS: Years ago, in the first congregation I served, I approached the board about going down to Ft. Wayne (about ½ an hour away) and taking part in a pro-life march.

Now, had they said “No, we don’t think that’s what Jesus would want us to do right now” - I’d have understood. But that’s not what they said.

They said “If we do that, someone may come here and burn down our building”

What were they saying? They were saying that the most important thing for them as a church… was the building.

ILLUS: In another church, we had a discipline problem with one of the leading men in our congregation. The man in question was a Mason and two of the Elders there were also Masons. One of those Masonic elders took the other one aside and said “I know what the Bible says about church discipline but we’re part of the Masonic Lodge. We need to deal with this as Masons… not as church leaders.”

What was that man saying? He was saying one of the most “important” things was his lodge.

He was saying that he wanted to listen to his fraternal organization… rather than Jesus.

Now I’m not sure these folks intended to cut Jesus off… but they did anyway because they had stopped “listening” to Jesus.

I want to listen to Jesus. I don’t just want to go thru the routine of going to church and fulfilling my religious obligations. I want to actually pay “attention” to what He wants of us.

But, how do I know what He’s saying?

Well, it’s all right here (Hold up Bible)

Not just the “red letter” sections where Jesus gets quoted in the Gospels (some “believers” have actually deceived themselves into believing that they can limit their commitment to that section) but every single word in this Book.

All these words all belong to Him. That’s why it’s called THE WORD OF GOD!

SO, if you want to “listen” to Jesus here’s where you start… read.

Read the Gospels,

Read some of the New Testament Letters

It doesn’t matter where you start

What matters is that you read it with the intention of LISTENING to Jesus

To find out what He wants you to do in your life. And then OBEY it.

Get involved in Sunday School, mid-week Bible studies, devotions with your loved ones.

None of us are above the need to be involved in this way.

You’d think Jesus would not have needed to go “church”… but He did.

Do you know where He was every Sabbath day? He was either at the synagogue or temple.

And do you remember where He was at age 12? He was at the temple… asking questions.

If it was needful for Jesus to do this, how could we possibly presume that we wouldn’t need it?