Archive for August, 2005

Is the Devil Pushing Your Buttons?

Sunday, August 28th, 2005

Read at beginning of service:

1 Peter 5:6-11 (NIV)

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

Every single one of us in on a spiritual journey ? whether you think you are or not. However, not everyone has the same destination. The Bible is very clear that some people?s journeys will continue everlasting in life and some people?s journey?s will continue everlasting in death. Our journey?s never really end ? the destination is more of a second beginning. However, the staging point for that destination is the life we live now. What we choose in the limited time we have here on earth will determine our spiritual destination for eternity. We have a choice between life and death everlasting.

I want to paint a picture to hopefully help you understand what I?m saying ? it?s not a perfect picture but it might help.

Every person at a certain point in their life will experience bodily death. I want you to kind of think of that point as a moment where you come to a train station where there are only two trains that stop. Each train has a different track it?ll take and once you get one you?ll never get off again. The passenger cars of these trains are a bit unusual because they aren?t really like your typical passenger car.

On one train the interior of the passenger cars are filled with the joy and laughter of a people who have found a wonderful peace. Words cannot describe the splendor of this train ? the decoration is opulent with every imaginable precious jewel and fine metal and wood intricately carved and place in perfect form and function. As you walk through the passenger car you notice that not a single person is sad, not a single person is sick, not a single person is weary, not a single person is lonely. In fact, before you even took two steps you have been surrounded with people welcoming you and talking to you and including you in the conversations. Over the mirth and joy you hear the raucous voice of another person and this person?s voice sounds familiar and yet evokes incredible feelings of excitement and joy. You eagerly look down at the end of the passenger cabin where you see Jesus walking down the cabin towards you. He looks at you and cradles your face in his hands as he says, “Welcome friend! Welcome to my home!” As he embraces you the last remaining pieces of anxiety flee your being and you begin to get excited about all the things left to discover and enjoy on this beautiful train.

But what about the other train? Let?s say it?s the train you get on instead. When you walk in the passenger cabin of this train the first thing you notice is how dark, and dreary it is. You bump your head on the roof of the car and realize that it is oppressively cramped as well. Over the loud noise of the train?s wheels clickety-clacking on the track you here groanings and wailing and sounds of people in pain. The air is also stale as you begin walking down the cabin. As you look side to side for a spot to sit on the plain vinyl covered seats ? people shuffle to the edge as to protect their spot. And wretched people they are. Packed like sardines in a can their faces show their agony, sorrow, and are etched with loneliness. No one is talking. Most are just staring resignedly into space. This passenger car reeks of death. You glance around frantically looking for a glimmer of a smile ? hoping someone would notice you and shake your hand. It would be nice if you could even hear a hello! But nothing but the clickety-clack, the groans, and long faces. This is going to be one long, boring, and painful ride.

Folks, everyone is born into this planet with a ticket for the train called hell ? the train of everlasting death. Written all over the front of the ticket in black lettering are the words sin ? if you look even closer at the fine print you?ll find written every hidden, evil, destructive, and wrong thing you?ve ever done, are doing, or will do. However, God sent his son Jesus to Earth to bring another ticket for any who would receive it. For every person, at some point in our lives the news of this other ticket is brought to our attention. It is a ticket for the train called heaven, the train of everlasting life. It was a ticket that didn?t come cheaply. Jesus paid the price for that ticket dearly with His own life. It was the only way to cancel the terrible consequences. There is only one way to get the ticket Jesus offers ? first you have to acknowledge that your carrying in your wallet the ticket for the other train. The ticket marked with sin. Then you have to believe that Jesus died on the cross for you and that he has another ticket to exchange with you. Then you have to give that “sin” ticket to Jesus and receive the one he offers.

When we come to the station of death for this life the ticket we have will determine the train we get on. Here?s the point ? God is on one train and not on the other. The train he?s on is full of life and everything good (because He is life and everything good) ? the other train is empty with death and everything that is evil. Which train would you rather be on going into eternity? You know what? God would rather you be with him as well ? that?s why for a brief moment in eternity Jesus stepped off His train and came to earth ? he had some tickets he wanted to pass out.

Now that?s a lot to chew on in an opening statement for a message! But I wanted to begin this way to reinforce the truth that we?re all on a spiritual journey in this life ? one that has great significance for what happens in the after life. Of course the picture I painted for you is limited in so many ways but I wanted to capture the stark contrast between hell and heaven. Here?s another reason why I started this way. In the scripture that was read this morning we learned of a being who is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. This being?s name is satan and he is hates God. His final destination for eternity is already written in stone but he is doing everything in his limited power to drag people along with him. Not only is he the enemy of God but he is your enemy as well. He doesn?t care about you but he?ll use you to try and get back at God. And he?ll do everything he can to keep you from getting the ticket God offers to His train or to get people who already have that ticket to lose it. Why? Because that?s one thing the enemy knows well ? that God doesn?t want anyone to get on the train marked hell.

Friends, I believe the devil knows all the right buttons to push to get your spiritually off track. Satan does everything he can to get under your skin and keep you from knowing about God or to get you to forget about God. Today, I?m going to spend some time talking about what the devil (and his minions) do to get under our skin. Here?s nine buttons he pushes?

Satan gets under my skin more by creating confusion than he does by creating conflict.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (NIV)

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

In the Garden of Eden when Satan came to Eve his first words were: “Did God really say, ?You must not eat from any tree in the garden??”

Satan first tactic was not to try and create conflict. He didn?t say at first to Eve, “God told you not to eat of the tree but you can go ahead and eat from it because it will be OK.” He did eventually say something along those lines but first he tried to create confusion by getting Eve to doubt exactly what God did say!

When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, in the second temptation that Satan threw at Jesus he quoted Scripture and tried to confuse Jesus as to what it really meant. Jesus countered wisely by saying that you should not test God. Satan?s primary purpose was to create confusion more than conflict.

Matthew 4:5-7 (NIV)

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

In the scripture I read to you from Corinthians, Paul is teaching the Corinthian church (and us!) that satan has placed his people in positions of authority in the church for the purpose of confusing other Christians. Not only that, but Paul warns us that satan is more effective in using confusion over conflict ? after all, Paul writes, satan masquerades as an angel of light.

So satan will push the button of confusion more frequently than conflict to get under our skin. One more thing on that point: conflict is nearly always the product of confusion!

Satan gets under our skin more by trying to outwit us than he does by trying to over power us.

2 Corinthians 2:9-11 (NIV)

9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven–if there was anything to forgive–I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Satan loves when we have an unforgiving spirit towards some one because he knows at that point that he?s outwitted you. He?s convinced you that it?s okay to hold a grudge.

Satan loves when we don?t confess our sin and instead use another sin to cover it up because he knows at that point he has outwitted us. We didn?t use what God has given us: the freedom to confess our sin! So Satan has out smarted us.

When you get mad at God because something terrible has happened in your life and you know God could have stopped it then satan has outwitted you. He knows if you get mad at God, you will not follow Him and won?t want anything to do with Him. Satan knows if you draw near to God that God will draw near to you and so he is glad you are pushing yourself away from God out of anger.

Satan gets under our skin more by promising things that he can NOT deliver than he does by delivering us the wrong things.

John 8:44 (NIV)

44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The third temptation that Jesus encountered in the wilderness was a promise by the devil that if Jesus would bow down and worship him then the kingdoms of this world would belong to Jesus. But it wasn?t his to give away because Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and all kingdoms belong to Him. Satan was promising Jesus something that he could not deliver.

The Bible teaches that every good and perfect gift comes from God. Satan, on the other hand, doesn?t have anything of value to give me and so he has to lie about everything he that he gives me?

Satan will tell me that the next drink will be the one that brings me pleasure. That the next weed I smoke will take all my problems away. He?ll say the next spouse will be that perfect one for me. He?ll say that the next item I buy will ring me happiness. He?ll say that just a little foreplay can?t hurt when we?re fooling around with someone we?re not married too?”after all, your not going all the way?” he?ll say.

It is not what Satan gives to people that is the biggest problem ? they have no value yes BUT it?s more of a problem the lies that we believe about what he gives. If we quit believing the lies that satan speaks then it would be easier to turn away from what he offers.

The truth is that satan gets under my skin more by promising what he can not deliver than he does by giving me the wrong thing.

Satan gets under my skin more by accusing me of something I didn?t do than he does by accusing me of something that I did do.

Revelation 12:10 (NIV)

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Satan doesn?t have as much power to accuse me of the things that I did do wrong because greater is He that is in me then He that is in the world. The Holy Spirit was sent to convict us of what we do wrong and will lead us to confess that sin and receive the forgiveness of God.

Where satan has a field-day however is when he is accusing people of something that he says they did wrong but they really didn?t.

For example, many children of divorced parents blame themselves for the divorce of their parents like they had something to do with it. Some young women who have experienced the horrible tragedy of rape blame themselves for being raped. Some family members blame themselves if something happens to another family member.

This is where satan can do some of his harshest work ? when you blame yourself for something you did not do ? something that was out of your control. That is where he gets under your skin and starts pushing spiritual buttons to get you off the right spiritual track.

Satan gets under my skin more by causing me distractions than he does by out and out confrontation.

1 John 2:15-16 (NIV)

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.

Satan would rather distract me than battle me because he knows that if I call upon the power of God he will have to flee. So if he distracts me, catches me off guard, then he knows I will not yell for God?s assistance.

How does he distract me? By enticing me with the things of this world. John tells us that Satan distracts us with everything that we can see. What he does is divert our attention and priority from the creator to the creation. From enjoying everything that God offers to everything that the world offers.

Satan gets under my skin more by getting me to see something from the wrong perspective than he does by putting temptations in my path.

Satan has pushed this button when we begin thinking things are worse than they really are and that the only one that cares about my situation is me. Or when we think things are better than they really are. Or when we make assumptions about what someone has said or done because of our perspective of the situation.


1 Kings 19:14 (NIV)

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

If you continue reading forward in 1 Kings you?ll discover that Elijah was in fact NOT the only one who remained faithful to God. Elijah saw things worse than they really are and he began to think that he was the only one who cared. But God said that there were 7000 people who still followed him in Israel (1 Kings 19:18).

What is one of satan?s favorite strategies? To get us to think that God doesn?t care about us. One of the places you can see satan using this strategy in the Bible is with the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness,

Numbers 21:4-5 (NIV)

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

They complained that there was no bread and no water and yet they had been receiving manna from heaven each day! What they were really saying to themselves is that God doesn?t care that we eat the same thing over and over again.

James tells us that we put temptation in our own path more often than the devil. He is not going to waste his time using temptation because we do a pretty good job ourselves. Satan would rather give us a wrong perspective so that he can catch us off guard.

James 1:14 (NIV)

14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Don?t get me wrong ? satan uses temptation in our life especially if he believes we will fall to it. But more often we fall to a wrong perspective and so that is what satan uses more.

Satan gets under my skin more by seeing my desires unfulfilled than he does by fulfilling my desires.

Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

A lot of people think that satan gives people what they want so that they become content with this world. He does do that on occasion but more frequently, satan would rather not give us what we want so that we become discontent with God.

Remember that satan?s struggle is not against people ? he is using people as pawns in his battle with God. He can never hurt God directly so he?s trying the only way he thinks will work and that?s to hurt God?s creation and keep people from learning about and following God.

When satan attacked Job, he didn?t give Job more things of this world but rather he took away all the things of Job?s world. And it was because satan wasn?t trying to make Job comfortable with this world but rather he was trying to make him discontent with God. Job?s wife certainly fell for it because she tells Job to curse God and die.

Satan is sometimes the master of keeping things away from us so that we might become discontent with God.

Satan gets under my skin more by causing me to find a few things wrong rather than finding everything wrong.

1 Corinthians 10:10 (NIV)

10 And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel.

Think about this in terms of a church. If you find everything wrong with a church, what are you going to do? Simply, you are going to quit going to that church. But that is not going to be the best strategy for the devil. His strategy is to let you find a few things about that church that you don?t like so that you might begin grumbling inside the church. He would rather you grumble in the church instead of leaving the community of believers. Why? Because he knows that grumbling in a community of believers within the church is eventually going to hurt the church.

In your marriage, ladies and gents, Satan will help you find a few things wrong with your spouse. And when you grumble about it your marriage will be gradually rendered loveless and joyless.

You see, satan knows that God hates grumbling?

1 Peter 4:9 (NIV)

9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Satan gets under my skin by causing me to see others as spiritual competitors and not co-workers.

Matthew 20:20-21 (NIV)

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

Satan would love for me to keep track of all the things that I do for God. And satan would love for me to track all of the things I think you can do for God but don?t. Why because that creates dissension. He causes churches or ministries within a church to see each other as competition so that we avoid working together for the kingdom of God.

Satan will even do that in marriage. He will cause husbands and wives to keep score instead of seeing themselves as co-workers.

Satan wants us to believe that competition is healthy. It may be healthy in sports but it is never healthy within the church.

CONCLUSION

Satan is very subtle in how he attacks us. Most people aren?t even aware when the enemy is at work in their lives because he doesn?t come boldly from the front instead from the side or rear in the places where we aren?t expecting him ? or for some who don?t even bat an eyelid at the thought they may have an enemy working actively to keep them from knowing God.

(?Recall story of ticket and give invitation)

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The Only Hope We Have

Sunday, August 21st, 2005

READ AT BEGINNING OF SERVICE:



2 Peter 3:1-18 (NIV)

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

INTRODUCTION

(I showed a short 2min video obtained from sermonspice.com called “The Paradox of Our Time” prior to preaching this message)

Indeed there are many paradoxes that can be found in our day ? things that when you really think about it give cause for wonder if there is any hope for our world. Will we ever see the elusive paradise take shape that so much of humanity has been striving for? Will we ever experience the peace of mind that we seems to be so brief in experience?

There have been many prestigious people throughout the years who have been atheists, but have eventually confessed faith in Christ and ended up saying and doing great things that helped others see Jesus more clearly.

Malcolm Muggeridge was a British journalist who was an atheist. He was so good, that he was occasionally asked to write the editorial page for Time magazine. And many consider that the crowning point in his life came towards the end of his career when he became a Christian.

He was a once guest at a breakfast in Washington, D.C. where he shared his life story. When he had finished, he made a number of comments about world affairs, all of which were very negative. One of those present told him that he was very negative, and asked if he saw any reason at all to be positive. He replied, “Sir, I am very positive because my sole hope is in Jesus Christ alone.”

Hope. That is what we all desperately need. That is what we all desperately search for in this world. The hope of tomorrow ? that it will be better than yesterday and better than today. The problem with searching for happiness or peace of mind is that we too often only look in the worldly things for them, and they can only be found in the Lord Jesus.

Hope. We need hope in order to live peaceful and happy lives. The absence of hope for our future will completely destroy the present we live in today. What oxygen is for our lungs, hope is for the very meaning of our lives. If you take oxygen away from us, it will result in our death. And, if you take any hope of our future away from us, we also shall die. If that is the case then certainly the indications are there that people in our world are losing hope:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), someone around the globe commits suicide every 40 seconds (2003). In the year 2000, 815,000 people lost their lives to suicide ? more than double the number of people who die as a direct result of armed conflict every year (306,600). For people between the ages of 15 and 44, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death and the sixth leading cause of disability and infirmity worldwide. In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide.

The suicide rate for Canadians, as measured by the WHO, is 15 per 100,000 people. According to Statistics Canada, between 1997 and 1999, there was a 10 percent increase in suicides across Canada, from 3,681 to 4,074. In Ontario alone, suicides rose from 930 in 1997 to 1,032 in 2001.

(Statistics obtained from

www.ontario.cmha.ca/content/about_mental_illness/suicide.asp?cID=3965)

The major cause for suicides is a loss of hope and after viewing the video show today it?s easy to see why.

Today I?m going to talk briefly about one who can give us a hope that will never falter. A hope that every Christian shares. A hope for a future in Jesus Christ ? who is our blessed hope!

TITUS 2:12 tells us that it is the grace of God that enables us to say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and in VERSE 13, it says we are to do that while we await the blessed hope of the glorious appearing our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sometimes, our English language leaves a bit to be desired. When we use the word ?hope?, we are saying that we look forward to something that might or might not come to pass. For example, we might say that we hope it rains. That means that we want it to, but we are not sure it will. Or today, more likely, we say that we hope that it doesn?t rain so we can enjoy sunshine this afternoon for Family Day. That?s our wish and it may happen but there?s no guarantee!

However, in the original Greek, the word ?hope? means waiting for something that will definitely come to pass. It means to bide your time in the anticipation of the guarantee of something that is to come.

So, the blessed hope refers to something that we can absolutely count on; something that will certainly happen.

In MATTHEW 24:3, the disciples were sitting on the Mount of Olives with Jesus, and they asked Him what the warning signs would be to announce the Second Coming. Beginning with MATTHEW 24:6, Jesus tells them what will precede His Second Coming.

Let?s take a look at some of those signs.

FAMINES & WARS

In verses 6-7, Jesus said,



Matthew 24:6-7 (NIV)

6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

I think the closer we get to the His Second Coming, we will see a marked increase in wars, famines, and earthquakes. But, even though we see more and more of these things, we are told to not be afraid.

This world is full of sin, and the return of Jesus will be the greatest spiritual event in history. But it will also be one of the biggest events in spiritual warfare that has ever occurred. It only stands to reason that the enemy is hating the thought of Jesus? return, and since the devil is a being of hatred and violence anyway, he will make sure that hatred and violence spew over into as much of the world as possible.

In the last 60 years, it is estimated that over 100 million people have been killed by some kind of war. Their own leaders have killed millions, just because they were of an ethnic group the leader did not like.

In today?s world, we see a different kind of warfare, don?t we? It is different that any other kind of war that has ever been waged. It is called terrorism, and that name defines it clearly. The world is engaged in a war waged on terror; on evilness; on hatred; and it is a war fueled by the devil.

There is a war going on in almost every country on earth. Those that are not already in a full-scale war are involved in the war on terrorism. Once quiet nations are now finding themselves being safe havens for, or victims of terrorists.

In spite of the ever-increasing influence of the western civilizations throughout the world; despite the fact that the world is more highly educated that ever before; the peace that is looked for is as elusive as ever. That is because the basic cause of hatred and war are spiritual.

And that is the pit we humans fall into. We humans put ourselves at the center of our universe. Everything is about us. We think we are so great. We have stopped depending on God now and depend on our own great selves for health, food, and everything else we want or need.

We don?t look to God anymore to help us; we look in the world around us. And looking in the world will only let us find our own demise. But, looking to Christ Jesus, will let us find our blessed hope, and with that blessed hope comes peace, joy, and happiness.

Politics and education cannot solve spiritual problems. We see Israel and the Palestinians doing everything they can to come up with a permanent peace agreement. We see leaders all across this globe talking about another chance for permanent peace between these two peoples.

In 2 PETER 3:13, we read

?But in keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to a new Heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.?

In case anyone missed it, let me set the record very straight. There will never be any lasting peace on this earth, until Jesus Christ comes back to rule over Jerusalem. And that includes the war between the Israelites and the Palestinians.

Jesus also said there would be famines and earthquakes. Whether it is brought about by natural disasters such as drought, or by mankind, such as wars, or waste famines persist, even in this age of plentiful food.

By the age of only six months, each Canadian has consumed as much resources as the average person in the developing world consumes in his or her lifetime!

27% of all food produced in North America is wasted

(www.rco.on.ca/factsheet/fs_f02.html)

The names of places like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan are all synonymous with hunger and starvation. In addition millions of people throughout the world are undernourished. It is ironic that famine is increasing at a time when agricultural technology has enabled farmers to grow more food than is needed.

And, as far as earthquakes go, the occurrences of earthquakes have been getting more and more numerous. According to the world almanac, in the hundred years between 1800 and 1900, there were only six sizable earthquakes. From 1900 to 1950, there were 12.

From 1950 to 1976, there were over 50. In 1976 alone, there were 18 quakes alone that registered over 7.0 on the Richter scale. Look at the tsunami that was produced by a quake earlier this year. Just this past Tuesday, a large earthquake off the coast of Japan shook buildings nearly 200 miles away.

I quote these statistics to you so you can believe the biblical claims that there will be earthquakes and famines. But be of good cheer, because war and famine will not continue forever. God is going to step in and when He does, he will end the fighting and the starving once and for all.

ANTI-CHRISTS

In verse 5, Jesus mentions another sign that will precede His coming.



Matthew 24:5 (NIV)

5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

There are many who have already come, claiming to be the Messiah, like Rev. Moon of the Unification church who said he really is Jesus Christ. But, there will be many more that come between now and then, too.

Why would Jesus tell us about them? Because He wants us to be aware so that we are not caught up in their mindless prattle – so that we can be safe in the true word of God and not be caught off-guard by lies.

These liars will fool people into thinking that they are the way to God and heaven. They will delude many into thinking that they have special spiritual powers and connections with God.

If you listen to them, you will hear them ultimately reject the Gospel of Christ, just as many seminary teachers now reject the virgin birth as being myth. That is one way you can tell that they are false. They will dispute the true Bible and try to explain it away as an allegorical concept or myth. If the Bible is a myth, I am one Christian who is happy to be mythified.

They will dupe people into believing that there are no absolutes. They will fool people into thinking that only they know the real truth. These anti-christs are educators, business leaders and political leaders who deny the deity of Christ.

If you do not think they exist today, look at any of our universities and see what kind of things they are teaching the youth today. If you knew, you would not just be shocked ? you would be horrified!

Look at the leaders in business today. They are going to prison for cheating faster than they can make new leaders. And as far as the politicians ? just look what has happened in our parliament lately with the types of issues that are considered “major”. You will be frightened to death. Why? Because it is getting more and more clear as to whom they really serve ? and it doesn?t seem to be God!

Although interpretations differ from one denomination to another, a large majority of evangelical Christians believe that the presence of these false Christs will culminate in the appearance of the one final Anti-Christ.

In the last days there will be one bold, arrogant, powerful and persuasive individual leader who will actively promote that which is evil in God?s sight. He is viewed by many as a leader who will masquerade as a prince of peace, a savior of the world.

He will be one who will promise to solve the world?s problems. In warning us of this individual, 2 THESSALONIANS 2:3-4 says,



2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NIV)

3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Who this Anti-Christ is remains a mystery for now. When he will arrive on the scene we don?t know. When the time is right, he will appear and use his considerable influence and power against the Lord and against those who love the Lord.

But again, be of good cheer, as not long after this wicked man arrives, the Lord will come back after His flock. THAT IS US! There are many out there that will be glad to have us gone, and let me say that I will be just as glad to be gone! But sad will it be for those left behind.

EVANGLIZATION OF THE WORLD

In MATTHEW 24:14 Jesus gives another sign.



Matthew 24:14 (NIV)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

?And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.?

God?s Word makes it clear that the gospel will be proclaimed to every nation before the end comes. As a result of our technological explosion, the gospel has, in the last few years, gone forth in an unprecedented manner. Satellites can now beam the message of Christ into every single part of this world.

As a matter of fact, it has been said that everything that needs to be in place has already been put in place. There are new and innovative ways of reaching people, too. One of the most effective recently is introducing foreign students to Jesus Christ so that when they graduate and go back to their nations, they go as missionaries of Christ Jesus.

Consequently, the message of Christ is being spread throughout the entire earth. This sign is but another that points to the return of Christ. These signs and their fulfillment remind us of our blessed hope, the return of Christ and the fact that God, after all, is in control of human history.

CONCLUSION

Today I am talking about that glorious day when Jesus will come back to call His followers up in the clouds to meet Him. This will be the most important meeting that will have ever taken place. Everyone will want to attend, but I believe that many will be fooled on that day. They will expect to be among the first taken, but they will remain after the last one has disappeared. These men and women are among those going to the house of God every Sunday all over this world.

These men and women profess to be Christians and they are very involved in God?s church, but only while they are here.

They are also very involved in the world, and do not want to put away worldly things because everyone they know is involved in them. These people are referred to as the lukewarm. These are the people who make Jesus sick. These are the people who will be spit out of His mouth because they did not care enough about Jesus to walk away from the world and all of its offerings.

Many today live in the blessed hope of Jesus. But there are many others who only think they live in the blessed hope. These are those people who have not surrendered themselves entirely to Christ. In actuality, these people have no hope.

Do you have hope today, or are you just going through the motions? Does your heart yearn to be with Christ, above everything else? If it does, you have hope. If it doesn?t, you had better get right or you will be left.

There are also those who will be left behind on that day who have heard about Christ or who have been misled about Christ. But they have never received and believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior?

God is affording you an opportunity this morning to get right and to receive that blessed hope. The question is, ?Will you choose to receive it??

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Posted in Outreach, Sermons, Sunday Morning Service | No Comments »

People Who Seek Truth

Sunday, August 14th, 2005
This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series What God Really Wants

Read at beginning of service:

John 8:31-46 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.” 39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

INTRODUCTION

Today I am continuing the series that I have been sharing with you for a few weeks now that explores the heart of God and asks the question, “What does God really want?” As God looks over his creation I wonder, what are the desires pulsing through His being? I don?t believe it?s a question that can?t be answered. I know that it probably can?t be completely or fully unveiled but the Bible does give us glimpses into the desires of God. So far we have discovered

God really wants someone to listen to Him

Because He loves us and wants what?s best for us.

God really wants a heart that loves Him.

Because our heart is the center of our being, the place where our pains and pleasures are found, our prospects and our passions.

Because God wants to kick sin out of our heart and?

Heal our pains and seal our pleasures

Restore or create faith in Him, and

Fan into a hot flame our passion for Him and His work.

As I continued this study of the heart of God and His deepest desires my journey took me to Psalm 51. King David wrote this psalm after the prophet Nathan had confronted him about his adultery with Bathsheba (elaborate if time). David was heartbroken over what he had done as he realized the great chasm it opened up between Him and God. In a posture of repentance David penned these words asking for God?s mercy and confessing his awful sin. Then in verse six David writes something that I believe the Holy Spirit inspired Him to include that gives us a very insightful look into God?s heart.

Psalm 51:6 (NIV)

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

“Surely you desire truth” Hmm. God desires truth. As I did a word search on “truth” throughout the Bible I was simply astounded by the number of times that word appeared and the context in which it appeared. Further, I came across another passage that really demonstrates the value of truth to God. In Jeremiah chapter 5 God speaks to Jeremiah and says?

Jeremiah 5:1 (NIV)

1 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.

Jeremiah responds,

Jeremiah 5:3 (NIV)

3 O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth??

God had been speaking through Jeremiah about his impending judgment on Jerusalem and Judah because of their sins and falling away from God but here God says he was willing to forgive an entire city if one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth was found!

In the gospels we find the story of when a Samaritan woman tried to trip Jesus up on some religious questions. But he said to her,

John 4:23-24 (NIV)

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The kind of worshippers that God seeks or desires or wants ? are people who worship in spirit and in truth!

Friends, God really wants people who seek truth. Sadly, truth in our world today has fallen upon hard times,

According to a survey done by Barna Research back in 2001 ? about ??s of all adults in America rejected the notion that there are absolute moral truths. Most Americans believe that all truth is relative to the situation and the individuals involved. Similarly, at least 80% of teens embrace the same position regarding moral truths. Not only did more than 4 out of 5 teenagers say there is no absolute moral truth, 4 out of 5 also claim that nobody can know for certain whether or not they actually know what truth is. What is even more shocking that only 6% of teens, and 9% of born-again teens believe in moral absolutes. (from a sermon by Don Jaques, “Moral Relativism and Absolute Truth” on sermoncentral.com)

Now even though these are American statistics I doubt much is different here in Canada ? in fact I suspect the statistics would be even more alarming in light of the recent events in our country.

Stanford Research Institute was studying the differences in vocational perceptions. They devised a short but succinct test. The first to be tested was an engineer. The researchers asked him: “What does two plus two make?” The engineer simply said, “In absolute terms: four.”

After making their notes and dismissing him, they called an architect. To the same question, he responded, “Well, there are several possibilities: two and two make four, but so does three and one ? or two point five and one point five ? they also make four. So, it is all a matter of choosing the right option.” The researchers thanked him and made their notes.

Finally, they called an attorney. When he heard the question, he looked around slyly, asked if he could close the door for privacy, and then came over close, leaned toward them and said, “Well, tell me, what would you like it to be?”

(from a sermon by Greg Yount at sermoncentral.com)

That is the attitude that many have about the truth. WE tell it or fail to tell it depending on it?ll benefit us or not. And the world is reaping the repercussions of this kind of thinking. There is a problem with our society. And though it never quite gets the headlines, it is slowly eroding the foundations of our society. What is the hidden danger, the menace that is causing inestimable am0ounts of suffering and moral decay in our society ? and even within the church?

Moral Relativism: The prevailing philosophy of our day that teaches there is no absolute truth, and that all philosophies, all religions, all opinions, are EQUALLY VALID, with no way to distinguish one as being morally superior to others. It?s also known by the name “tolerance”. It?s the philosophy that is taught in our schools and in our media that there is nothing that is true everywhere, and that everything is true somewhere.

Why is moral relativism or “tolerance” so dangerous? Because it is an intellectually bankrupt, morally bankrupt, and completely spiritually bankrupt philosophy which pulls the foundations of our society out from under us, leaving us a lot like Wile E Coyote when he has run off a cliff. Sooner or later there are dire consequences.

Yes, truth ? absolute truth ? that is, truth that doesn?t change, truth that is the same no matter where you go, truth that everything should be measured against ? has fallen upon disfavor in today?s world. As Christians we believe that there are important truths that govern life, and that these truths are absolutes. These truths do not come from us, they are beyond us. That is, they are truths that cannot be influenced or changed by human behavior. They are true whether anyone believes in them or not. They are true whether anyone agrees with them or not. They are true whether anyone likes them or not. They are absolute truths because they come from an absolute God, and they are the foundation of life itself. God created truth, and the world has been built upon it. You don?t break these truths, they break you if you fail to follow them. You can disbelieve that there is such a thing as gravity if you want. You can dislike the law of gravity. You can even defy the law of gravity. But if you do, you will not break the law of gravity; it will break you. It is an absolute law that God has built into the world. And when we fly an airplane, we are merely applying other universal laws that we have discovered.

It is always fun to ask those who believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth, if they are absolutely sure that there is no absolute truth, and how they know it!

Friends, What God really WANTS is people who seek truth.

Why? Because?

HE IS TRUTH BY NATURE

Truth is a person. God describes himself as truth in His word. The Bible describes God the Father as truth,

Psalms 31:5 (NIV)

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

?

Titus 1:2 (NIV)

2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

The Bible describes Jesus the Son as truth,

John 1:14 (NIV)

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

?

John 14:6 (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Bible describes The Holy Spirit as truth,

John 14:15-17 (NIV)

15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

John 15:26-27 (NIV)

26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:13 (NIV)

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth?.

So the biblical witness is clear about the fact that God in very nature, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all truth. Everything that is right, everything that is correct, everything that is verified is truth in Him. God is the measure of all that is right, correct, and verifiable because He is truth. Truth at its source and very description is found in God. Not only does God not lie ? but He is incapable of lying. It is just not in his nature to lie. In fact, a lie is the anti-polar opposite of truth. A lie is simply a denial of truth. Since God cannot deny his own existence He cannot lie.

Now I know that that?s a bit of a head strainer to think about (trust me it was hard enough for me to write it and then speak it!) But this is the first reason why God really wants people who seek truth ? because in His very nature He is truth. Truth is what God is. Truth is a person.

HIS MISSION (OR HIS MESSAGE) IS TRUTH

From the very beginning God has communicated truth with His creation. From the setting of certain absolute physical laws in the universe (such as gravity) to his first truth given to mankind ? God?s mission is to enable creation to dwell in, be sustained by, and multiply His truth.

What was the first truth God spoke to man?

Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV)

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

The truth? You can eat any tree in the garden BUT you will die if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God wasn?t trying to mislead Adam, He wasn?t trying to keep something from Adam He was simply giving Adam the truth.

A short while later though, the serpent Satan spoke the first lie to Eve and said,

Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV)

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

At the core of every lie is the belief that there is no such thing as absolute truth! Truth is only relative to the situation you are in. Satan was tempting Eve with the idea that what God said isn?t really true ? He was just trying to keep Adam and Eve from becoming like Him. So Satan polluted their mind with the relative truth that the fruit wouldn?t really harm them but instead make them better. Oh, friends ? Satan has been hissing that same hellish way of thinking into the receptive minds of our world forward through time into our day and age. He hasn?t stopped trying to subvert God?s creation and keep people from knowing the truth.

But God has been equally and even more relentless in His mission and message of truth to mankind. Through Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and the Ten Commandments, the Israelites, the Old Testament prophets and Kings ? God has been at work revealing His truth to the world and showing the way to life ? rescuing people who embraced His truth from the death that gripped those who fell for Satan?s lie.

The psalmist wrote many times,

Psalms 25:5 ? “Guide me in your truth and teach me?”

Psalms 26:3 ? “?I walk continually in your truth”

Psalms 40:11 ? “?may your love and your truth always protect me.”

Psalms 43:3 ? “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me?”

Psalms 86:11 ? “Teach me your way, O LORD< and I will walk in your truth"

Of course, Jesus was God?s ultimate revelation of truth to the world and proved to be the final demise for Satan.

It?s interesting folks but 79 times in the gospels Jesus precedes what He speaks to others with the phrase, “I tell you the truth” Clearly that phrase was intended to catch His hearers attention and to invite them to take notice of what He was saying but more importantly it indicates the nature of Jesus? message and His mission. As truth Jesus wanted people to hear and understand the truth for their own lives. Everything Jesus spoke carried the full weight and authoritative truth of God. What He spoke is. You can either believe it or not, do it or don?t, say it or keep silent but it doesn?t change the fact that, “I tell you the truth”. A study of what comes after each time that phrase was spoken will reveal the lifestyle and makeup of people who seek truth.

Further, in declaring that He was the way, the truth, and the life Jesus was indicating the path by which men may know the truth and escape the lie of Satan. Friends, truth is real. Truth is tangible. It is not subjective, or something that is decided by majority opinion. Water is wet, rocks are hard, and grass is green. We could take a vote and agree that rocks are wet, water is dry and grass is red, but that would not change the nature of rocks, water and grass!

Truth is not only real, it is knowable. That is why Jesus said (as part of his mission and message),

John 8:31-32 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

God has made truth knowable through His Son Jesus Christ and through His word and guides us into that knowledge by His Spirit,

John 16:13 (NIV)

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth…

So God really wants people seek truth because He is truth in His very nature, because His mission and message is truth ? but ultimately, He really wants people who seek truth because

TO ALIGN WITH TRUTH IS TO ALIGN WITH HIM

Psalms 15:1-5 (NIV)

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, 4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, 5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

?

Psalms 145:18 (NIV)

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

?

Romans 1:18-19 (NIV)

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

?

Romans 1:25-27 (NIV)

25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

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Romans 2:2 (NIV)

2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

?

Romans 2:8-10 (NIV)

8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

?

Revelation 21:8 (NIV)

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

?

John 18:37-38 (NIV)

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

God really wants you and me to be people who seek truth so that we may know Him and be rescued from the death that following the lie brings. God doesn?t want anyone to perish but everyone to have a real relationship with Him. People who seek truth have better relationships, better health, a better future ? and they have Jesus, they have the Father, they have the Holy Spirit. To know the truth, to embrace the truth is to embrace and to know God.

CONCLUSION

We HAVE A REAL God who sent a real Savior, into a real world, to save real sinners, from real sin, that they might experience real forgiveness, in order to live real life, and inherit a real heaven. No other faith makes exactly these same claims. That is why one faith is right and the others are wrong. They cannot all be right, because they contradict each other. If there is a real God, he wants us to know the real truth. If he wants us to know the real truth, he must have provided a way for us to know the truth. He would give us a book. He would come in person. Why would God confuse us with contradictory truths? That is what Satan attempts to do. The Bible says that he comes to decieve. Jesus said,

Matthew 24:24 (NIV)

24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible.

Truth is eternal! It?s not something that the human race made up. It did not begin with us. Truth is transcendent and unchangeable. Why is it then that people have so much trouble understanding the truth? The Bible explains it with these words:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 6 (NIV)

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The god of this world, the devil, has blinded the minds of people who do not want to know the truth, in order to keep them from seeing and understanding the truth. Jesus said this about the devil:

John 8:44 (NIV)

?for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

He is the father of darkness. But for those who seek the truth, God shines his light in the darkness and gives them the ability to see and understand. But you have to want to know. You have to believe there is truth. You have to ask before you are answered, seek before you find.

The apostle Paul admonishes us:

Ephesians 4:17-19 (NIV)

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Paul is saying that truth is impossible to know if you are living in willful ignorance. And when you deliberately avoid the truth, your life is headed for ruin. God has built into this world universal principles which govern life. You acceptance or rejection of the truth will determine the direction of your life. You need to deliberately be a seeker of truth and reality, because your acceptance or rejection of the truth will determine the kind of person you become. If you base your life on a lie, then your life will end in ruin. But if you base your life on the truth of Jesus Christ, and live according to his plan for you, then your life will be abundant and rewarding ? even if you face difficulties. The truth will transform your life.

I have known many people who want help with some difficulty they are facing. They want you to fix them. They want you to be sympathetic, but they do not want you to present them with the truth. They want their lives to work, but they do not want to see the truth about themselves, and they do not want to change. When you refuse to see the truth, you are never wrong, and everything is always someone else?s fault. Understanding the truth is important because it has to do with whether or not you understand the basic principles of life.

A man was standing in line at WalMart one day, and a woman and her son were ahead of him. The boy was unhappy because he saw something he wanted and his mother was not allowing him to get it. His disappointment began to crescendo, and she suddenly blurted out: “What can I tell you, Billie? Life sucks, and then you die.” (taken from message by Rodney Buchanan, “What is Truth?” on sermoncentral.com)

Imagine having that as a truth on which you were operating your life! The kind of truths we tell ourselves, and our children, are molding us and the future generation. The truth is that God created a good world, and life is good, when we live it for God and base our lives on His Word. When we live away from God, “life sucks and then you die.” When you live your life for God life makes sense because it is based on the truth, and because your life is based on the truth, it works. The Bible says of believers:

Isaiah 35:10 (NIV)

10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

This is why God really wants us to SEEK TRUTH!

J.P. Moreland, in his book Apologetic Reasoning and the Christian Mind, tells of an experience that illustrates the importance of truth:

“One afternoon I was sharing the gospel in a student?s dorm room at the University of Vermont. The student began to espouse ethical relativism: ?Whatever is true for you is true for you and whatever is true for me is true for me?But no one should force his or her views on other people since everything is relative.?” Moreland says, “I knew that if I allowed him to get away with ethical relativism, there could be for him no such thing as real, objective sin measured against the objective moral command of God, and thus no need of a Savior. I thanked the student for his time an began to leave his room. On the way out, I picked up his small stereo and started out the door with it. ?Hey, what are you doing?? he shouted??I am leaving your room with your stereo.? ?You can?t do that,? he gushed.” But Moreland said, “I happen to think it is permissible to steal stereos if it will help a person?s religious devotions, and I myself could use a stereo to listen to Christian music in my morning devotions. Now I would never try to force you to accept my moral beliefs in this regard because, as you said, everything is relative and we shouldn?t force our ideas on others. But surely you aren?t going to force on me your belief that it is wrong to steal your stereo, are you?” Moreland looked at him and continued: “You know what I think? I think that you espouse relativism in areas of your life where it?s convenient, say in sexual morality, or in areas about which you do not care, but when it comes to someone stealing your stereo or criticizing your own moral hobbyhorses, I suspect that you become a moral absolutionist pretty quickly, don?t you?” The story has a happy ending, for Moreland says, “Believe it or not, the student honestly saw the inconsistency of his behavior and, a few weeks later, I was able to lead him to Jesus Christ.”

God really wants you to seek truth. Because He is truth ? His mission/message is truth ? and He wants those who align with truth align with Him!

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A Heart that Loves Him

Sunday, August 7th, 2005
This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series What God Really Wants

Read at beginning of service:

Luke 10:30-37 (NIV)

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

INTRODUCTION

This morning you heard read to you probably one of the more familiar stories of the Bible, the story of the good Samaritan. This story Jesus told came in response to the testing questioning of a “expert in the law” about the requirements for eternal life. Here is what happened:

Luke 10:25-29 (NIV)

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then replies with this revealing look at the character of a truly good man vs. the characters of seemingly good men. This story is clearly Jesus? illustration of the commandment to “Love your neigbour as yourself” as he answers the sarcastic question of the expert in the law regarding who his neighbor is.

On another occasion, Jesus encountered a similar situation:

Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV)

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Again an “expert in the Law” walks up to Jesus one day and this time asked what is the greatest commandment in the Bible? Now, this wasn?t a question asked in ignorance, the Bible tells us that the Pharisee?s intent was to test Jesus ? to see if they could catch Him in error. What is interesting about Jesus answer is that he concludes his reply with this, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” Everything God has ever commanded in his word hinges on these two commandments ? all of them. Remember that Jesus was speaking to a very legal crowd. The Pharisees had thousands of rules and regulations for “holy” living. Jesus narrowed it down to two commandments. In doing so, I believe to both “experts of the law” and through the story of the good Samaritan Jesus was trying to get across a major truth. In fact, I believe Jesus is giving us a glimpse at yet another thing that God really wants!

Today, I want to focus on six words that were spoken in both instances.

“LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART”

GOD REALLY WANTS YOUR HEART!! This is the major truth that is found in these two commandments. In the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus spoke directly to the outward “acts” and legalistic “rules” and “laws” of the Pharisees. In that story both a priest and a levite walked by the wounded man ? both probably on their way to do “service” for the Lord. Maybe they didn?t touch the wounded man because that would make them unclean according to the rules and regulations. So many people confuse being a Christian with “having a religion” In other words, they think that being a Christian means that you?ve got to follow a set of rules and perform at least 10,000 good deeds everyday etc?

No, no, NO, NOO!!

GOD DOESN?T WANT YOUR GOOD DEEDS, HE WANTS YOUR HEARTS Christianity is not religion it is relationship. The Samaritan did a “good deed” but not because he had to! He did it out of love and compassion. Christianity isn?t about being required to do things but instead doing things as a result of your relationship with Jesus Christ! Giving your works of service to God apart from your heart is not what God wants!! Notice also Jesus didn?t say, Love your neighbor as yourself and then Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind! It is only when you give your heart to God that He can effectively show His heart to those around you.

PRAY!

Let?s talk about the heart for a few moments.

WHY THE HEART ? WHAT?S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT IT?

ASK: When you see the word heart? What?s the first image, or thought that pops into your mind?

To the doctor the heart is an organ in our body, to the poet the heart is the seat of love, to the plumber the heart is a really good pump, to the weight-lifter the heart is the strongest muscle, to the car-driver the heart is an engine ? but to God:

THE HEART IS THE CENTER OF OUR BEING

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

In the physical sense the heart is just that ? it pumps blood through our body allowing all the other muscles and organs of our body bringing sustenance and protection. The heart is one of the necessary organs of the body. Without it there can be no life.

But more than that, the heart is also the center of our spiritual being.

ILLUSTRATION:

In the book Fan the Flame by J. Stowell is found the following:

“Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as ?the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,? ?the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,? and ?the center of a person. The place to which God turns.?”

In the language of the Bible, the heart is more than just an organ in the body, it is the seat of our pains and pleasures, our prospects, and our passions. But intertwined through all these things are the life killing effects of sin. God wants our heart because He wants to kill the effects of sin and as you?ll see while we walk through these things, begin to affect our heart with streams of life from His touch!!

IN OUR HEART WE FIND OUR PAINS AND PLEASURES

Our heart is the memory bank of all the bad and good things that happen to us. It is with our “heart” that we FEEL things ? whether they be painful or pleasurable.

Proverbs 15:13 (NIV)

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Think about this for a minute. The word “heartache?, refers to the pain someone feels “in the heart” when something emotionally awful happens to them. The word, “heartless” refers to someone who seemingly is void of emotion and cruel to others.

Our heart, in the biblical sense, is not only the source of our emotions but also the place where our emotional experiences stick. If you think back upon the experiences you have had in life. You may not always be able to describe the exact details of them, but you can almost always be able to describe how it felt!! For instance, I don?t remember who it was but I can still remember how it felt when I asked a girl from my elementary school years to go out with me! I also don?t remember the first time I got allowance or how much I got but I can remember how it felt holding that money and knowing it was MINE!

These are just a few trivial examples of the pains and pleasures the heart stores ? but individually all of us can probably remember a few major pains/or hurts that are still resident within our heart as well as a few wonderful joys – memories of pleasurable moments.

Sadly, for some people some of these pains and pleasures aren?t consciously remembered but are in the subconscious corners of our hearts. Whether they are conscious or subconscious these pains and pleasures stored up in our hearts affect other areas of our lives.

Sin warps the pains and pleasures found in our hearts and makes them into killing agents. Sin takes all the painful experiences of our lives and makes them into instigators of jealousy, rage, hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, depression etc. But even more deadly sin makes these painful experiences stumbling blocks that prevent a person from drawing close to God. “How could a loving God let this happen to me?” “I don?t want anything to do with God”.

Sin warps the pleasurable experiences stored up in our hearts and makes them into instigators of self-righteousness, selfishness, possessiveness, self-sufficiency, pride etc. But even more deadly sin also makes these experiences into stumbling blocks that prevent a person from drawing close to God. Such a person takes these good things in happening to them and sees them as a reason for NOT NEEDING GOD!?

God wants our hearts because He wants to kick sin out and HEAL our pains and SEAL our pleasures!

God wants to take the memory of painful experiences stored up in our heart (not only past, but present, and future) and heal them turning unforgiveness into forgiveness, bitterness into peace, etc. Instead of pains being stumbling blocks that keep us away from God, God wants to make our Pains into building blocks that not only bring us to Him but also make us stronger and more useful people for His kingdom. He wants to make our pains something that we can rejoice in, “Praise God in ALL things”. LIFE instead of DEATH.

God wants to take the memory of pleasurable experiences stored up in our heart (past, present, future) and seal them against the influences of the world, the devil, and sin. He wants to seal them so that when good things happen and when we remember the good things that happen we praise God for blessing us with these awesome events in our life. He wants to change our pride to humility, our self-sufficiency to God-sufficiency, our selfishness to selflessness etc.

IN OUR HEART WE FIND OUR PROSPECTS

Our pains and pleasures affect our prospects. When I talk about prospects I am talking about faith which is a key ingredient of our hopes and dreams.

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1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Heb 11:1 (NIV)

And friends, faith resides in the heart.

Romans 10:10 (NIV)

10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

In the heart is shaped our faith – what it is we believe in, what it is we hope for, what it is we dream about. Everybody has faith in something ? whether it be gravity, material things, government, God, themselves. It is also equally true that everybody has a lack of faith in something ? I could repeat the same list. This faith/lack of faith is the ingredient of what we hope for or feel hopeless about and our dreams or nightmares.

Sin also warps the prospects found in our heart. Beginning with pains and pleasures it sends it?s destructive tendrils into the things those experiences affect in our lives. And faith is a big one.

Sin uses painful experiences to instigate hopelessness, and nightmares in our lives. It creates a lack of faith in families, in relationships, in yourself, and even more dangerous in God. Our hopes our dashed in the light of what painful experiences happened to us.

Sin uses pleasurable experiences to create faith in everything except God. And while the hope and dreams may be present they are not always based on life-giving things. There is faith in one?s own abilities apart from the influence of God, there is faith placed in people and things, and there is faith placed in the environment, in the power of money etc?

God wants our hearts so that He can kick sin out and restore or create faith in Him!! He wants to take the hopelessness and the nightmares crated by our pains and the hopes and dreams created by our pleasures and focus them on the hope of eternal life with God and the realistic and fulfilled dream of God at work in our lives. He wants to take the lack of faith created by our Pains and the wrongly-placed faith created by our PLEASURES and give us a faith that can move mountains, and in the one who does the moving!! He starts with the PAINS AND PLEASURES of our lives and sends his life giving streams through our heart, unclogging the arteries botched up by sin and restores FAITH in HIM!!

GOD WANTS OUR HEARTS!!

IN OUR HEART WE FIND OUR PASSIONS

From our faith we develop our passions our values ? the things we are fight for. In our hearts there are things that we passionately love and passionately hate. These passions?

determine character

Mark 7:21-23 (NIV)

21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

determine speech

Luke 6:45 (NIV)

45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

determine attitudes

1 Chronicles 28:9 (NIV)

9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Bottom line is that our from our passions flow our actions!! Our passions are the instigators of our decisions in life!

As, you have probably already seen by the scripture passages I have read, SIN also corrupts our passions. Through the pains and pleasures stored up in our hearts and through the infecting of our prospects Sin completes the process by bringing it?s killing poison to bear on our passions. Remember that this process can be instantaneous? or can happen over the course of many years. But sin will work its deadly mission if left unchecked.

The results of sin unchecked is that you get a person whose character is ungodly, whose speech is foul, whose attitudes are destructive and whose actions lead them further and further away from God.

Can you see the pattern here, are you starting to get the picture? God wants our heart because ultimately, through kicking out the infection of sin in our pains and pleasures and repairing the holes it left in our faith ? God wants to give us a PASSIONATE love for him and a PASSIONATE hatred for sin!! The fallout is that our character will be godly, our speech will be sweet, our attitudes will be uplifting and our actions will be carried out as a natural response to the PASSION we now have for God and the things of God. Not doing good deeds because we HAVE TO or feel REQUIRED to but because of our PASSIONATE RELATIONSHIP with God ? out of thankfulness, praise, worship, intense faith and PASSION!!

CONCLUSION

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

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Psalms 51:10-12 (NIV)

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

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Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

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ILLUSTRATION: (THE WIZARD OF OZ)

In the classic fairy tale of Frank Baum?s The Wizard of Oz, the Tin Woodman tells why he wanted a heart. A munchkin girl promised to marry him as soon as he earned enough money, chopping wood, to buy a house. The girl?s mother hired the Witch to stop the wedding. By enchanting the ax, the witch caused the woodsman to slip and cut off his leg; the tinsmith made him a new one. Later the ax cut off the other one, then both arms, and even his head. Each was replaced by tin, and his heart remained in love. In frustration, the witch caused the ax to split him in half, breaking his heart. Only then did the Woodsman conclude, “I had now no heart, so that I lost all my love for the munchkin girl and did not care?” That is what God wants from us: our hearts. We can do wonderful things for Him with our hands, our feets, our heads ? but it is your heart that He wants above all else.

I ask you does God have your heart?

To the person who doesn?t know Christ as their personal Savior, God wants your heart ? He wants to begin a wonderful relationship with you. A relationship, not a religion!! But you have to give Him your heart?

To the person who does know Christ this morning ? God may have your lip service but does He have your heart? Your whole heart??

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