Sermon Notes 5-26-2013

Not a fan!

Sermon Six: Is Jesus Enough??

Luke 9:23 (ESV)

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Let’s recap what we have talked about over the last 5 weeks:

Week one: Fan or Follower? Have you had the DTR talk with Jesus, have you defined your relationship?  Are you ready to follow?

Week Two: Anyone, means everyone! Jesus calls us all, there are no exclusions, no fine print! No matter what your past he will use you!

Week Three: Intimacy, God desires it, will accept nothing less than a truly intimate relationship with you.

Week Four: Comfortable Cross, do you understand what the cross represents and are you willing to carry yours?

Week Five: Rules or Relationships? The relationship comes first and then the rules will follow! We will never make followers on rules without grace.

So this morning is our last sermon in the series Not A Fan, and I want to ask you three simple questions, that will help you come to terms with what it means to follow Jesus. It will kind of bring it all home.

1. Will you go Wherever Jesus asks?

2. Will you do it whenever Jesus asks?    

3. Will you do whatever Jesus asks?

Three simple questions with huge implications, don’t be to quick to answer until you here what Jesus might ask you to do.

Will you go Wherever Jesus asks?

What about there??

Luke 9:57–58 (ESV)57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

·         It’s much easier to speak about following Jesus when you are making a general statement without any specific commitments.

·         But the most obvious and basic definition of following Jesus will mean making some significant life changes.

·         Following Jesus literally means that you go where Jesus goes

Do you surrender all or some?

Most of us surrender some, few of us surrender all!

·         Do you surrender your pride or are you motivated more out of a desire to impress people than to glorify God.

·         Do you surrender your plans are you following God will or yours

·         Do you surrender your selfish desires? How about those lustful thoughts.

·         Are you surrendering your entertainment choices; do watch what you want to watch and listen to what you want to listen to.

·         Do you surrender your money; or is God getting the leftovers.

·         And are you surrendering your time to God.

What about in your own home?

There is the tendency to carry a cross and follow Jesus, but before we walk in the door of our own home, we leave the cross on the front porch.

·         Instead of submitting, you stand up for your rights.

·         Instead of serving, you sit around.

·         Instead of being patient, you are demanding.

·         Instead of being encouraging, you are constantly critical.

·         Instead of being a spiritual leader, you are passive and apathetic in your own home.

·         So what about there?

Wherever? What about at work?

Most mornings, you’ll find many fans getting out of their cars and saying to Jesus, “You wait here. I’ll be back to get you around 5.”

When they clock in to work they clock out of following:

·         You justify greed by calling it ambition.

·         You rationalize dishonesty by calling it shrewd business.

·         You stay quiet about your faith at work and call it being tolerant.

·          

What about in the neighborhood? What about when you’re back home with old friends? Or what about this, what if God points to a place like China, or Thailand, or the Philippines or what about if he just said move:

What about Kansas? My story

The what if? We need to put fear behind us!

Psychologists tell us that the number-one way people deal with fear is avoidance. We just stay away from the people and places that cause us anxiety

And the “what if’s” creep in:

·         What if he wants me to share my faith and he points to my neighbor’s house?

·         What if he wants me to serve and he points to a homeless shelter?

·          What if he wants me to adopt and points overseas?

·         What if he wants me to reconcile and he points to my childhood home?.

If you say to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever,” you can be sure that where he points will be out of your comfort zone. “Out of your Comfort Zone” could be defined this way: “The places where saying yes to God means saying no to me…

Luke 5:27–28 (ESV)27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

If you are following Jesus “wherever,” he will take you towards a sinner that others wouldn’t want to be seen with. You will find yourself among the sick that others tried to avoid. If you follow Jesus, expect to find yourself being criticized by some of the religious people in your life. If you follow Jesus you may find that your family thinks you’re crazy … his did. You may find yourself being unfairly accused and unjustly treated by those in political office. Ultimately if you follow Jesus “wherever,” you won’t just end up covered in his dust, you will end up covered in his blood.

Will you do it whenever Jesus asks?        

Luke 9:59–60 (NLT) 59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead!* Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

·         Let me explain, his Dad was not dead! This was an excuse to put off following

o   Was he ashamed what his family would think

o   Maybe there was a big inheritance

o   Maybe there was a family business

·         “Lord” he knows Jesus is a teacher and the scarifies he will have to make

·         “first” her come the excuse, we always are looking to get something else done

·         When Jesus calls us to follow he means right now, Today!

This Guy lives in the land of tomorrow!

·         The land of tomorrow is where:

o   You find divorce,

o   You find addiction,

o   You find unmanageable debt.

o   In the land of tomorrow you will find unfaithful spouses and prodigal children.

For the fan living in the land of tomorrow Jesus as always been saying Follow me, but you just keep putting it off. You wait until your life has shattered in to a hundred pieces and then you turn to Jesus! And for some Jesus hasn’t just been whispering “Follow me”. He’s been shouting, hoping to get your attention before you lose any more in the Land of Tomorrow.

Be careful, tomorrow may be come never!

Hebrews 3:15 (NLT)

15 Remember what it says:  “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts       as Israel did when they rebelled.”

The time is now. The day is today. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to surrender my secret sin. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to start being generous to those in need. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to walk across the street and introduce myself to the neighbor. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to sign up for a Bible study, or volunteer at the shelter, or call about being a foster home. Today is the day to start following.

Will you do whatever Jesus asks?

Luke 9:61–62 (NLT)

61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” 62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

·         Let me start by saying he just wasn’t going home for a quick good by

·         the plow what does it mean (you need to know your bible)

o   read 1 kings 19:19

o   the plow represent something in your life that you won’t give up

Many fans say to Jesus, “I will follow with Anything and everything I have.” But Jesus points to what you’re hiding behind your back and says, “What about that…

What about that?

·         Jesus does not want split affections, or divide allegiance

·         This is really about idolatry

o   Jesus know if he isn’t first in your life than something else will be

·         Trading all that we have for all that he offers is the best deal we could ever make

Are you making a trade off?

·         Have you traded following Jesus for that really nice pickup

·         Have you traded following Jesus for a job that pays really well?

·         Have you traded following Jesus for that house with the big barn?

·         Have you traded following Jesus for that 12 pack?

·         Have you traded following Jesus for the Sunday NASCAR race?

·         Have you traded following Jesus for Wednesday night Duck Dynasty?

Too often these things go from good things to God things is we aren’t careful! They become more important than following Jesus and get in the way of what’s truly important.

What is it that is competing for your allegiance to Christ? You may have both hands on the plow, but what is it you keep looking back at?

Sermon Notes 5-19-2013

Not a fan!

Sermon Five: Rules or Relationship???

Gandhi: “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

 In John Chapter 8. We read about Jesus teaching in the courtyard one morning. His teaching is interrupted by an angry mob that bursts onto the scene, but the mob is made up of the religious leaders of His day. Being pushed along on the crest of the mob is this woman, and perhaps she is dressed in nothing but a bed sheet as she is shoved to the dirt on the ground in front of Jesus. One of the religious leaders gives the accusation to Jesus and says, “We found this woman in bed with a man that was not her husband. The Law says we stone her. What do you say?”

This was a pushy move by these religious leaders. They use the rules to try to trap Jesus. Rules can do that to us; turn us into an angry mob of sorts. We might not form together and parade a sinner around town, but we’ll huddle in whispering circles and drop someone’s name to everyone we talk to.

Please understand: God’s Word provides both guidance and commandments. And those commandments, those laws, they are here to protect us. And, if we’re honest, none of us can follow those laws perfectly.

Every one of us has fallen short, some of us in more public settings, and others in more private ones. But when we overemphasize following the rules, we can get people thinking we’ve got it all figured out. We can get people thinking they shouldn’t share their struggles with us, because we’re perfect. And that’s what I want to address this morning.

Sometimes, certain Christians can be a lot more like the Pharisees and religious leaders than Jesus. Rules are good, but without Grace, without the price Jesus already paid, we get lost in all the rules, all the stuff and we forget it’s about Grace first and foremost.  There is nothing we can do to receive a free gift nothing we have to pay, Its Free!

And that’s what salvation is a free Gift, and if we start attaching rules, if we put a bunch of fine print to it then we take away the Gift.

Are rules bad, no. God gave us ten and all of us fall short, and it’s by God’s grace alone we get the chance to become followers. 

1) Rules Can Be Cumbersome

Me, the cousins and Catholic Church and school

·         The rules were overwhelming

·         I write bad with both hands

·         No one knew all the rules

·         There was no way to follow them all

·         They cared about the rules more than anyone or anything

·         Only certain people knew all the rules

We were exhausted from trying to keep all these rules at school, at church and at home.  Most of my family walked away from the church, they started to tie having a relationship with Jesus, with all the rules. The rules were rigid and without grace we we’re constantly having to prove our worth and pay for our “gift” of salivation. 

Back to John chapter 8

·         This woman is looking down—humiliated, guilty, and ashamed. She’s been caught breaking the rules, and this may be the day that breaking a rule costs her everything.

·         Then Jesus does the most amazing thing! He kneels down and He begins to write something in the dirt.

o   We don’t know what He was writing.

o   Some commentators speculate that perhaps He was writing the sins of the accusers in the dirt.

·          Meanwhile, the religious leaders wait for an answer.

o    They know they’ve caught Jesus by surprise, and they’re ready to hear Him submit to the letter of the law.

o   They’re waiting for him to shrug his shoulders and say, “Well, those are the rules.”

Finally, Jesus looks up at these spiritual leaders and says, “If any one of you is without sin, he can cast the first stone.” And one by one these bullies drop their stones and walk away; and Jesus is left alone with this woman. And perhaps, with a little bit of a smile, He looks up at her and He says, “Is there anyone left to condemn you?” Maybe she thought, “There is still one. There is still one who could condemn me.” And then Jesus says with tenderness, “Neither do I condemn you. You go now and leave your life of sin.”

2) Guilt over Grace! The Rules Don’t Inspire Grace

Matthew 23:1–4 (NLT)

Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.* 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

·         Fans who follow the rules instead of following Jesus find that they are weighed down with guilt.

·         Every time they come to church they find that the preacher has another weight to add to the bar…

·         For fans it’s all about Do, Christ did the work that’s why it’s called Grace!

·         Fans of Jesus sooner or later find themselves exhausted.

·         Fans grow tired of trying to maintain an outer appearance that doesn’t match an inner passion.

·         They find themselves weary of trying to keep all the rules in hopes of somehow earning God’s favor.

·          

And I want you to know, before we go any further, the grace of Jesus, that same grace that saved a woman from being stoned, calls to those who have been hauling around a long list of rules and rituals and obligations – Jesus calls to those who are tired of pretending to be more than they are. He calls to those who have had the guilt and fear of religions wear them down and he says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”, Jesus invites you to follow him:

Matthew 11:28–12:1 (The Message)

      28–30      “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Jesus wants you to live without the weight of religious rules, Jesus knows that if you put the relationship first the rules won’t matter because you will follow them because you love him, not because you have to. You want a light burden, you want all your wishes to come true? When your dreams for you align with what Jesus wants for you THAT’S when it happens in a split second all your dreams come true! You follow Him and he takes over! All the worries of tomorrow are gone, you live each minutes just glorifying and loving Him!

3) The Rules Don’t Keep Us Around

You know when I grew up in the Catholic Church the rules didn’t keep me or any of my family around. The rituals, the things we had to do it didn’t keep us in church. We were never taught about relationships, or grace just a bunch of rules. The rules didn’t keep the women in John 8 from breaking them, even if it would have cost her life. She had no internal compose,  no relationship with a living God to guide her, to Follow.

Things have to change; we have to define Christianity, first and foremost, as the following of Jesus Christ. We cannot expect to recruit the world to a set of standards that we would never live by or follow if it wasn’t for a love relationship with Jesus Christ. They’re not going to get on board with that—unless it’s because they know Jesus. So it must, first and foremost, be about following Christ.