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INTRODUCTION
What holds us back from having a deeper relationship with God?
What holds our church back from maturity and growth?
ILLUS: Have you ever tried to drive a car/truck/tractor with emergency brake on? Might be able to
back up, but can’t move forward very well. On tractors if you hold one brake you can almost do
donuts.
The older I get I feel like I am living with brakes on. Have the desire - but not the energy. Even
in leading the church - have the people and resources, but I have had several conversations the past
few weeks concerning the spiritual health of our church - are we living with the brakes on? Thus
the following questions:
What holds us back from having a deeper relationship with God?
What holds our church back from maturity and growth?
I ask these questions, because last week during the Truth Project our teacher asked the first one
and gave two answers.
I am asking second question as a follow-up. For the first determines the second. The spiritual
health of the individual people of the church determine the corporate spiritual health of the
church. If the people are living with their brakes on, so is the church.
What brakes have we put on to slow down or stop your spirituality? What sins do we need to repent
of? What hold us back from having a deeper relationship with God?
The Truth Project gave us two answers last week that I can summarize in two words - first two points
of this message. Yet as I thought about the question this week, a few other answers came to the
surface. Until Friday I had one message, now at least two. Need to seriously consider these personal,
provocative and probing questions. What holds us back?
These messages I preach with a good measure of fear and trembling. For I sense that spiritually I am
living and leading with the brakes on. We as a church are living and following God with the brakes
on.
Like a survey form - check any that apply to you.
1. Pride
- Dr. Tackett talked about our own hunger for significance - 1 Samuel 18:6-10. In
one word - pride. Saul could not accept not being #1.
- We have a God given desire for significance. In fact we are to love our neighbor as our
self. But must be exercised with humility. Otherwise we want to be show-offs, the center
of attention, #1, popular. The proud becomes abusive of power and people.
Self-absorbed, arrogant, boastful.
- Last week the nature of the triune God — authority and submission — proud
wants to be the authority, but not live in submission.
- Prov. 16:5 “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord... he
will not go unpunished.”
- Prov. 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before
stumbling.”
- Prov. 29:23 “A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will
obtain honor.”
- James 4:6 “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Pride opens the door wide open to other sins - Proverbs 6:16-19
- Pride involves hypocrisy — a problem for Christians like us — finding fault
with others while not examining our own life. Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite,
first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck
out of your brother’s eye.”
- Pride involves legalism — another problem for Christians like us — Matthew
23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill
and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy
and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the
others. Proud that we follow the laws we want to follow, critical of those not like
us, while ignoring what is most significant commandments.
- Do you and I need to check this one? If you feel you are far away from God, this may be
the first cause.
QUOTE: Benjamin Franklin: “The proud hate pride — in others.”
- I think the great in the kingdom, when the rewards are handed out, will be people we
never heard of.
- Pride was the root of Lucifier’s fall from heaven Isaiah 14 “I will”
- Pride displays itself in “Me, myself and I.”
ILLUS: Pride was a theme in this weekend C-M School “H.S. Musical 2”
“Me, Me.”
- How to conquer this evil in our life? Philippians 2:1-5 —
follow humble example of Christ.
- ILLUS: Jesus washing the disciple’s feet John 13, compassion for suffering,
took the time to help Zachaeus, Nichodemus, forgave the soldiers at cross.
Prayed to the Father in the Garden — “Not my will, But Yours be done!”
- Humility is a very high Christ-like virtue.
2. Idolatry
- Dr. Tackett - Seeking satisfaction is anything or anyone other than God.
- Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
- When you worship something other than God, opens door for the many forms of immorality
and greed. Worship of money, power, sex.
ILLUS: How many people do you know who have fallen into this?
Fallen away from church. Left the faith. Left their families.
- Satan doesn’t care who you worship just as long as it is not God.
- Psalm 106:36 “And served their idols which became a snare to them”
- “Good Christian people” can fall into idolatry for involves hypocrisy
- Mark 7:6 “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This
people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.”
ILLUS: What are our idols? Pleasure, entertainment, money, possessions, our work.
Sports. Toys. Things. Stuff. Abusing God given desires — sex, food, rest, and
significance in immoral ways. Lust, gluttony, laziness, pride.
- We “good Christian people” can have a false view of God. We make God too
small, insignificant, un-important. We ignore His commands, don’t take truth of
God’s word seriously. A natural follow up of pride.
ILUS: The sin of Achan — Joshua 7:21 “I coveted them” One person
caused defeat for an entire nation. How insidious idolatry is.
- Do you and I need to check this one? If you feel you are far away from God, could this
be the reason - idolatry, you have replaced God as God.
- How to conquer this evil in our life? 1 Cor. 10:14 “Therefore,
my beloved, flee from idolatry” 1 John 5:21 “Little children, guard
yourselves from idols.”
- Then what do we flee to? Who do we look to?
- Need a fresh view of God. Isaiah 6: Look for the Lord who is High and lifted
up. He is Holy, Holy, Holy.
HYMN: Immoral, invisible God only wise... #25
- How does the Lord’s prayer begin? “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed
be Your Name.” Or “Holy is Your Name...” Matt. 6:9
- A fresh holy view of God, gazing upon the face of God, will replace idolatry. The Truth
Project’s purpose is to help us see not just truth as truth but that we can be
transformed by gazing upon the face of God. We come to God through Jesus —
John 14:6
Be nice to end message here — that is where Truth Project ended. These two are very truly the
root of the rest we will look at. But it is important to see some more specific sins that hold us
back from God. Just one more today.
3. Robbing God
- I added this one today for that is my S.S. lesson today.
- Malachi 3:8-12. Are you giving your tithes (10%) and offering (above)?
Tangible ways to acknowledge that God owns everything, thanks back.
- God cannot bless us when we hoard what belongs to Him. Greed is not good. Not giving
tithes/offerings is stealing from God, shows our heart.
- If you feel you are far away from God could this be the reason? Simple to figure out
— look at bank account, tax form…What did you give to God?
- The tithe began before the Law — Abraham. It is not a law we Christians have to
give the tithe, but our heart desire should be honor God.
ILLUS: Christian financial counselors — 10% to God, 10% save, live on
80%. This church is a storehouse. How is your giving? The State of Iowa, School
districts have to cut 10%. In order to add 2nd staff just part time, we need to
increase current levels of giving 10%.
- Do you and I need to check this one?
- How to conquer this evil on our life? 2 Cor. 9:7 “Each one
must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver.”
- Paul in thanking Philippians for giving generously to him Phil 4:18-19
CONCLUSION
More next week. But let us start with these three...
Spend some time in confession: Ask God to search your heart and cleanse you from what holds you back
in having a deeper relationship with Him.
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