The Extreme

Sermon for 7/7/2002

The Extreme

Hebrews 12:1-2

Introduction:

The movie Twister is a tale about tornado chasers. A tornado chaser is one who observes tornados at close range. In this movie we see a group of tornado chasers who are extreme. They put themselves on the line to observe these tornadoes. They sacrifice their very beings and their very lives chasing after tornadoes. In the movie we see people who are excited about the thrill of getting as close as they can. One character named Bill is called the Extreme by his fellow tornado chasers. He has an inborn sense of where the tornado is going to turn and how to better observe the tornadoes. In the Christian faith we have one whom could be called the Extreme.

WBTU:

A. VBS this year is Faith Mountain: An extreme adventure with Jesus.

B. The word extreme is Being the greatest or highest degree; very intense; extending far beyond the norm; of the greatest severity; drastic.

C. The sense that I am meaning is when my mother would say, Quit being such an extremist. Usually she would say this after I would take her advice to a ridiculous degree.

D. Some people in our society are addicted to the extremes. Liberal or conservative.

E. In my preaching and teaching I have emphasized to avoid extremes. Ecclesiastes 7:18- The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.

F. Our lives can get out of whack. Put God first, family second, church third, everything else gets less priority.

1. Take for instance our hobbies. I love basketball. Let’s say that I sacrificed everything for basketball.

2. A club. Sacrificed everything for that club, like Boy Scouts.

3. Job, career- Sacrificed everything for that job.

4. Church- Sacrifice family for church.

5. Family or spouse- sacrifice my relationship with God.

G. However, can we too extreme in our relationship with God. Pray too much, go to church too much, serve too much, spend time with Christians too much, study the Bible too much, and witness too much.

H. The Bible seems to indicate that we cannot be too extreme in our faith. If we take our faith seriously it will be different from the norm, but it will never be too extreme.

1. (Mat 10:34 NIV) "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.(Mat 10:35 NIV) For I have come to turn "’a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--(Mat 10:36 NIV) a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’(Mat 10:37 NIV) "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;(Mat 10:38 NIV) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.(Mat 10:39 NIV) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

2. (Luke 9:57 NIV) As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."(Luke 9:58 NIV) Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."(Luke 9:59 NIV) He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."(Luke 9:60 NIV) Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."(Luke 9:61 NIV) Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."(Luke 9:62 NIV) Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

3. (Mat 22:36 NIV) "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"(Mat 22:37 NIV) Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’(Mat 22:38 NIV) This is the first and greatest commandment.

4. Be radical; be extreme in your faith to God. It is encouraged. It is expected of a Christian person. Have a faith of reckless abandon.

I. There are some people in our society who are extreme when it comes to sports. Fans who go crazy. Players who live and breathe their respective sport. Groups of people who are addicted and extreme many times are runners.

J. I have found that I am not a good runner. My joints cannot take it. I like to run in a sporting contest like basketball but to run for enjoyment is not my thing. Do you know that there are many people who run even though they know it will damage their body? People who go see the podiatrist and the orthopedic doctors. The doctor says not to run anymore and the patient goes right back out and runs again. The endorphins. They are extreme for running.