Sermon Tone Analysis

greeting.

Heads up...

Starting next week we are pressing pause on the Gospel of John and “The True Light” series.

As we are entering into the New Year I have felt a pressing of the Holy Spirit for probably 6 months now that I’ve been fighting in order to stay on task with what I had sat down over the course of last year and prayed and planned and laid out the sermons mostly for John and our continual study of Acts (which we will get to later this year as well).

So this acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit saying you need to preach “this!” to my people.

I thought I would be clever and throw it in as a Summer series.

God wasn’t buying it.

And if I’m honest most of you wouldn’t attend and here this series that God wants the people of his church to hear.

So, under conviction, I am doing a hard break on John (we will be returning to it) and starting next week we are starting a new series called “FLESH & BLOOD.”

This will be a 2 part series.

In the first part (6wks) of the series we are going to examine and dissect all the various roles that are the make up of the Church (ministry, worship, the role of covenant members, the role of the pastor, the role deacons, the role of women in leadership, and the Biblical role and definition of elders).

In the second part of the series (last 4 wks we will talk about about how we as a Church (not the four walls, not the brick and mortar, but the FLESH & BLOOD, the people who make up Christ’s Church) will specifically be applying the Biblical Truth through casting vision and how, as God’s people, the local Church, here at Concord, will do our part to be the Church God has called us to be.

Here’s what I’m asking: If you are a Covenant Member or desire to be…don’t miss a single week.

10 weeks.

There’s no birthday party, no meal that needs to be prepared or time away that needs to be taken (make this part of your New Years resolution, to get back into church).

I’ll challenging you to be here for 10 weeks straight so at the end of this journey, the hope is that we would be on the same page Biblically, and obediently to what God has in store for this local body.

10 weeks!

I know that’s going to be hard, (bc statistics say the average attendance of a consistent church member is 1-2x a month).

So I know it’s gonna be hard, heck some of you may quite coming all together, and if that’s your commitment to Christ’s church I’m ok with that.

Peace.

Holla at ya! It’s gonna be hard, but it shouldn’t be.

God and his Bride (the church) are priority number 1! That’s why Jesus died for her.

Introduction

As we get ready to finish out John chapter 2, this is what I want you hear.

Eternal life with Jesus requires more than being attracted to Him; it requires commitment.

I want that to bounce around your head and start to deconstruct the fallacies of what you perceive your relationship with Jesus to be.

Because the reality of what we “think” our relationship with Jesus is, is probably a little different than He sees it.

Eternal life with Jesus requires more than being attracted to Him; it requires commitment.

Exposition

I. (v.23)

Many were “attracted” to Jesus

As we’ve been studying, hundreds of thousands of Jews flocked to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, as was the custom of honoring God in the Old Covenant.

This is what I know as a pastor who can get excited on a “high attendance Sunday” we can get excited… “Yes!

Finally, Lord, you are sending people we are starting to reach people, our vision is taking hold.”

Our Vision:

Concord is a place where we strive for you to be KNOWN, LOVED, and BELONG, because God is bigger than our circumstances; we desire to live out this belief in faithful community.

“Finally Lord, people are excited about our mission!”

Our Mission:

We exist to connect people through loving community as we introduce them to Jesus and help them follow Him.

I’ll get all fired up and praise God…our core people will get all fired up, “Did you see how many people we had today?!

All that work is finally paying off.”

Then the next week…we are back to the same amount of empty seats, or some times even more…and immediately the air leaves us and the excitement and fire from the week before…poof…gone.

But the truth is that’s just the reality of the day.

And really speaks to my lack of faith and vision to understand what the Bible teaches...

“…many believed in his name WHEN they saw the signs that he was doing.”

Isn’t that so us…we are attracted to something shiny and new.

We are quick to abandon our rituals, traditions, and go-tos for something that works better, looks impressive, or promises that it will be more satisfying, or make us feel better, right?

But let’s be honest.

We only do those things temporarily.

That’s why gym memberships go up in Jan. and by March people who are serious are glad because they can finally get to a machine…because we a creatures of want, not creature of need.

We are creatures of habit…not creatures of discipline.

If we were wouldn’t be in this broken mess to begin with.

We mean well…but, sooner or later the attractiveness wears off and the reality of change sets in and we realize “ah…that wasn’t as great as I thought it was going to be.”

And we slip right back into our comfortable, easy, sins.

Eternal life with Jesus requires more than being attracted to Him; it requires commitment.

II.

(v.24) Jesus understands the difference between attraction and commitment

Even though the previous verse expresses revivalistic numbers and could easily be celebrated just as shallowly as a “high attendance Sunday,” Jesus sees through the peoples hearts.

Do you want to know what’s sobering…though they could see Jesus in the flesh…and we can’t, they were no more as serious as we are today.

Here’s the really sobering thought that you and I need to feel the full weight of…Jesus sees us and knows us too.

Eternal life with Jesus requires more than being attracted to Him; it requires commitment.

III.

(v.25) Jesus knows the sincerity of your heart

Leon Morris in his commentary on John says this of v.25:

The idea of witness is a prominent one in this Gospel… [pointing to , referring to John the Baptist]...

…but John tells us that there was one form of witness that was not required, namely a witness that would inform Jesus about mankind…John leaves no doubt as to the fact of Jesus’ knowledge.

This is to be understood in the light of the Old Testament view that God alone knows what is in man.

1 Kings

John

John 1:2-

Jesus was God and is God and knows my heart and your heart.

And he knows if you are serious about Him and His people, the local Church.

He knows if you are treating Him as a back-up prom date, for when (not if, when) the world and all it offers rejects you cruelly.

Jesus knows…and we must know…you and I must know...

Eternal life with Jesus requires more than being attracted to Him; it requires commitment.

Are you commited to Him?

Let’s see...

Conclusion

Starting next week we are pressing pause on the Gospel of John and “The True Light” series.

As we are entering into the New Year I have felt a pressing of the Holy Spirit for probably 6 months now that I’ve been fighting in order to stay on task with what I had sat down over the course of last year and prayed and planned and laid out the sermons mostly for John and our continual study of Acts (which we will get to later this year as well).

So this acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit saying you need to preach “this!” to my people.

I thought I would be clever and throw it in as a Summer series.

God wasn’t buying it.

And if I’m honest most of you wouldn’t attend and here this series that God wants the people of his church to hear.

So, under conviction, I am doing a hard break on John (we will be returning to it) and starting next week we are starting a new series called “FLESH & BLOOD.”

This will be a 2 part series.

In the first part (6wks) of the series we are going to examine and dissect all the various roles that are the make up of the Church (ministry, worship, the role of covenant members, the role of the pastor, the role deacons, the role of women in leadership, and the Biblical role and definition of elders).

In the second part of the series (last 4 wks we will talk about about how we as a Church (not the four walls, not the brick and mortar, but the FLESH & BLOOD, the people who make up Christ’s Church) will specifically be applying the Biblical Truth through casting vision and how, as God’s people, the local Church, here at Concord, will do our part to be the Church God has called us to be.

Here’s the first way I’m asking you to respond to today’s message, if you desire to get serious about Holiness, God, and the Church Jesus died for:

If you are a Covenant Member or desire to be…don’t miss a single week.

10 weeks.

There’s no birthday party, no meal that needs to be prepared, or time away that needs to be taken, no excuses…if you already made plans change them (make this part of your New Years resolution, to get back into church).

I’m challenging you to be here for 10 weeks straight so at the end of this journey, the hope is that we would be on the same page Biblically, and obediently to what God has in store for this local body.

10 weeks!

I know that’s going to be hard, (bc statistics say the average attendance of a consistent church member is 1-2x a month).

So I know it’s gonna be hard, heck some of you may quite coming all together, and if that’s your commitment to Christ’s church I’m ok with that.

Peace.

Holla at ya! It’s gonna be hard, but it shouldn’t be.

God and his Bride (the church) are priority number 1! That’s why Jesus died for her.

The second way I’m asking you to respond…is if while I was making that challenge…seeds of doubt, guilt, and pressure started sprout what will ultimately be the weeds and chaff of (not the enemies work against you) but truthfully your own laziness, doubt, and hesitation.