Mission Possible pt 10
Notes
Transcript
Called to Follow
Called to Follow
Following God isn’t easy, is it?
It’s not… I have searched this book from cover to cover… looking for where it says: “Follow Christ… It’s going to be easy… It’s going to be great!… Jesus will instantly change everything .... He’ll make it all … Perfect!!!
Sure it says:
28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
But… Jesus doesn’t say it is going to be easy!!!
33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
This is why James said:
2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy,
Following Christ… being Kingdom focused… is not easy...
Because… It requires something of us — God requires us to change!
God requires us to do things that we don’t want to do!
Consider … The Rich Young Ruler… Esther… Stephen… Elijah and the prophets of baal…
Everyone of these people were asked to do things they didn’t want to do… Everyone of them faced trials and troubles… everyone of them face a choice: Follow God… set your eyes on Him, or Follow the World?
And yet… with the exception of the “Rich Young Ruler” — who went away sad — every one of them accomplished something glorious for the Kingdom!!!
How?
Because they set their eyes on Heaven! They didn’t operate out of a worldly mindset… they didn’t say, “Well, that’s all nice and well, but this is the ‘real world’ and I have to live in it!”… They didn’t define how they did things by what the world says!
They set their eyes on God, and trusted that He would see them through…
We cannot accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God — we cannot be about Kingdom work — if our eyes are not FIXED on heaven!
Think about it — God commands us to “Forgive,” as He forgives… right?
How do we do that?
The world tells us to “hold a grudge”… that they “owe us retribution”… that we should never forget… never acknowledge them again… “cut all ties”… BUT… God says, “Forgive, as I have forgiven.”
Jesus tells us that we are to “forgive,” and that if we will be forgiven (Luke 6:37)…
Col 3:13 tells us to “Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you...”
So… How do we do that?
By setting our eyes on Heaven… by living from a Heavenly worldview!
Think about it — if we truly understood what it means when scripture tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” and that God “casts our sin as far as the East is from the West, and remembers it no more...” how could we not forgive as well?!
Everything we do must be defined by Heaven… not by the world!
We cannot live the life God has called us to, while our eyes are still in this world!
We must focus on Heaven, and allow that view to define the “How” of this life…
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light;
23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
We tend to focus in on verse 24, but… Christ’s point here is not “money specific”… He is trying to help us understand a bigger concept…
Mammon means “worldly wealth” That includes fame… recognition… power… favor…
The root word means “Trust”… or more specifically “where one puts their trust”…
Where we place our trust effects the rest of our lives! That is Christ’s concern… “What have we committed our Trust to… God? Or, the world?”
That is what everything Jesus has said up to this point is all about… Where we place our trust matters!
Look at what Ralph Earl says:
“When people put their trust [in the world] — in material things, they lose their faith in God.” — Ralph Earl
24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Let me ask you this — Do you control your money — your wealth — or does it control you?
Do you want to know the answer? Look at your checkbook… and your schedule…
What we do with our time, and how we spend our money reveals where our trust is.
We are called to live for the Kingdom, not for the things of this world!
To many people… who call themselves Christians… are living lives that reveal absolutely no difference between them and the world around them!
That’s why the Church struggles to appear to have any relevance in the lives of people!
Church… everything we do should be defined by Kingdom principles… We are not supposed to do things like the world!
The world says “Store up wealth for yourself… take care of yourself… look out for yourself… You need more… more money… more things… more vacations… more .... more… more… “
But God says… “I give you what you need”
That is a call to a simpler… less stressful… more relaxed… life…
In the book “Simple Church,” Tom Rainer collaborates with another pastor to present a church model that gets away from the “busy” church model of programs and focuses on simply being the Church as defined by Christ.
Their concept is the same for our lives… We need to let go of the “busyness” and stress of the world’s definition of how we are to live, and simplify our lives by looking to God!
Our focus in life… Our efforts in life… Our “work”… everything we do… even in caring for our families … should be defined by our complete trust in God… in a view from Heaven!
Let me ask you this: What is most valuable — or important — to you? Where is your treasure? (now be honest)
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“We can talk about a heart for God, but if the investment of our TIME, our MONEY, and our ENERGY is given to our career, then our career is our treasure, NOT GOD!” — Roger Hahn
This doesn’t just have to do with our careers… it is also true for our family, friends, MC’s, ministries, vacation/personal time, etc…
Where we invest our time, talents, and money is where our heart is!
Where is your treasure?
26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
Now… Jesus is not saying we cannot love and care for our families, but He is saying that we cannot love them more then Him… they cannot take precedence over our devotion to Him… because, we can only truly care for them form a heavenly viewpoint…
We are able to Love … because of God!
Love comes from heaven!
If we are going to love our neighbor… then… We must see the entire world through a view from heaven… we cannot do that if we are focused on the world!
You see — We can claim to be “on fire for God”… or “committed to the Gospel”… or “Kingdom minded,” BUT… if our actions prove otherwise, then we are lying to ourselves!
20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
A heavenly viewpoint sees the world through the eyes of Christ!
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light;
23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“The eye is the lamp of our soul”
What does that mean?!
The eye reveals what is in our hearts…
“If a man does not see things in a right light, he may live in sin and yet fancy that he is doing his duty.” — Spurgeon
We may think that we are doing things right… We may think that we are on the right path… We may think that we are acting from a Kingdom mindset… but without a “heavenly viewpoint” for our lives… We cannot share the gospel!
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The whole man will be transformed into the likeness of that for which he lives.” — Spurgeon
If we want to see the Kingdom come... If our desire is to live “spirit-filled” lives… If we want to see our families… and this community… transformed by the gospel of Christ… then the Gospel has to become our treasure!
The gospel has to become that thing that we live for! It has to become the Single Thing that we put our trust in!
What are you living for? God? Or, the world?
The world says that we can live for both!
That we can separate God and the world, and that we can serve both… people try to do that all the time!
— They live for God on Sundays, and the world the rest of the week…
— They say “God is your private life, and this is the rest of your life… it’s ok to worship on Sunday if that makes you feel good, but religion has no place in the rest of life.... (you can serve both)
— you see… They serve God with their lips, and the world with their hearts…
— — They claim God… they worship God… but when it comes to the difficult times, they turn to worldly ideas… to money… to financial advisors and ideas… instead of trusting God… How often do we do that?
— They attempt to be 50/50 in their trust, and think that it is ok.
15 “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot.
16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
We cannot serve the Kingdom and Love the world simultaneously!
24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Yet, people in the Church — Christians — try this all the time… Don’t they?
How often have you found yourself making excuses for why you can’t give more? … for why you can’t tithe? … for why you can’t help out that homeless guy, that single mother, that stranger in need?
I know … I know… But Pastor… it’s not about money… It’s about time… You know, service…
Well… it is about money, but let’s go with that…
How often have you avoided helping… serving… because… I’m not skilled enough… I’m not smart enough… I don’t know the Bible well enough… I gotta take care of my family first… you know “God helps those who help themselves!”?
You see… the world tells us to put ourselves… our families… our needs first.
But scripture doesn’t!
24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
“Anybody who divides his allegiance between God and mammon (the world) has already given it to mammon ...” — John Stott
Unless we are entirely and exclusively devoted to God, we are not devoted at all!
Devoted means “zealous or ardent in attachment, loyalty, or affection” — dictionary.com
That means there can be zero division in our hearts!
Why?
Because God is God!
8 I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
Now get ready… I’m gonna step on some toes… The world says that we can divide our loyalty… that we can put our trust in both God and in the world… that we can MIX God’s commands… God’s Word… with the ideas and ideologies of the world… and still receive the Glory of God!
Just look at how many “rock star” pastors and churches are teaching and attempting to do just that!
But, let me tell you… We cannot put our trust in worldly things and expect to receive the Glory of God!
Yet… How often do we try to do that?
How often do we trade some of the Glory of God for the sake of those things we like… those things we enjoy… those things we agree with… and then we wonder why God doesn’t seem to be blessing our efforts… ?
We need to be focused on Heaven in EVERY part of our lives!
What are you trading the Glory of God for?
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.