LBC Sermons & Messages

The battle between the emergent church and the traditional church is not about philosophy or methodology but about truth, the absolute truth given in God’s Word. The emergent church has fallen into the worlds thought process regarding truth. Truth is at best hazy, indistinct, and uncertain – perhaps even unknowable. How many times have you heard about the “gray areas” of the Bible. Let me be very frank with you. There are no gray areas in the Word of God. He is not a wishy-washy God leaving theology open to man’s vain imagination. He is God and is absolute truth down to His core. Methodology may be different, but theology and doctrine are TRUTH!

John MacArthur say in Truth Wars, that the emergent church thinks the Christian message should be kept pliable and ambiguous seems especially attractive to young people who are in tune with culture and in love with the spirit of the age and can’t stand to have authoritative biblical truth applied with precision as a corrective to the worldly lifestyles, unholy minds, and ungodly behavior. The poison of this perspective is being increasingly injected into the evangelical church body. This is not the Christianity of Christ and the Bible. Christ used the law to allow the Spirit to convict the person and did not try to be attractive but convictive. Lets follow the Master and not man’s devises.

We must realize the truth of the scriptures and that time is against us. We do not have time to become attractive to this world. This world is selfish, evil, and unholy. Why would the truth od God’s Word be attractive to them? It goes against who they are a a person. So let’s reach out with compassion but with the unadulterated truth.

We have been given a clear message for the purpose of confronting this world’s belief system. We have also been given the Holy Spirit who does the convicting and the prodding. We must be obedient. Faithfulness demands it and honor of God requires it. We cannot sit by and do nothing while worldly, revisionist, and skeptical attitudes about truth are infiltrating the church.

The sixth top argument faced when witnessing is that people do not believe that God, but rather men wrote the Bible. When you write a letter, who actually does the writing? Your or your pen? The pen is simply a tool. God wrote the Bible using these men. You could also argue by using fulfilled prophecy and archaeology. However, this usually is just that, an argument. Remember that Satan is a master of confusion and he is trying to derail your efforts continually. Stay on track. Simply tell the person that we will set the Bible aside and then ask if they think they are a good person. You can then use the moral law that God has placed inside each person and allow the Spirit to convict.

The seventh most used argument is that they confess their sins and ask for forgiveness all the time. This is a good thing to do but does not get us into heaven. If a person stands before a judge, guilty of rape and murder, and says that they are sorry and asks for forgiveness, they still must face the punishment. If the judge simply looked at them and said, “Okay. I believe you are sincere so you are free to go but do not do it anymore,” they would be a horrible judge. God is the ultimate judge and if we are guilty, which we all are, He must pronounce judgment upon us whether we are sorry or not. Justice must be served and a payment must be made. The payment was made through Christ, and Christ alone. Then ask them if they think they are a good person.

The last three I will lump together because they all have the same root problem, self-righteousness. Some say, “I have lied, but that does not make me a bad person.” Or, “It is narrow to believe that there is only one way to heaven.” Or, “You take care of you and I will take care of me.” In each case, they must be stripped of self by the use of the law and brought to a place where they see themselves as they really are. Also, John 14:6 says that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me. It is pretty narrow. What religion we were brought up in does not get us to heaven or cause us to go to hell. We all are doomed to hell because we have broken a Holy God’s law. Once again, stay on track and ask if they think they are a good person.

At this point in our class, we have been meeting strangers, talking small talk, moving to the spiritual, and then giving them tracts. It has been a struggle for some but rewarding for all. It is amazing to think that God has chosen to use us to reach out to this fallen world with the Law followed by the Gospel.

One of the top ten questions is, “what about the tribes in the deepest jungles that have never heard about Christ?” Along with that is, “If God loves me, He would not send me to hell.” First, it is not whether you have heard the gospel or not that sends you to hell but rather your sin. God has given all of us a conscience to point to Him. If you look at civilizations from all ages, there have been some forms of a god. This is because of this conscience. God has made His hand clear in His creation and it testifies to man. God also promises that if a person cries out to God he will send someone to preach to them. All are without excuse.

Another is, “Why is there suffering if God is a loving God?” There is no other way to say it accept, “we live in a fallen world.” Romans 5:12 tells us that all men are sinners and because this is the case, we must all face death. Disease, suffering, and death are a result of man’s sinfulness. Rather than viewing suffering as an excuse to reject God, it should be seen as a very real reason to turn to Him.

Another response when witnessing is that they are already saved even though the evidence says otherwise. If a patient thinks they are healthy, even though the doctor knows the contrary, he will ask them how their appetite is. Unhealthy people loose their appetite. The same is true for the Christian. If they have not read God’s Word in a while, this is a pretty good indicator that they are unhealthy or maybe lost. Then, ask them if they think they are a good person. If they are lost, they will most likely answer that they are so proceed by taking them through the Ten Commandments.

The key to dealing with questions is to stay focused. Satan wants to sidetrack you so remember to be polite but stay on track.

We have spent four weeks now in this course and have been challenged with a new approach to telling others about our need for Christ’s forgiveness. You probably have had some exciting experiences and numerous times dealing with fear. Fear, however, can be a great motivator. When you feel fear, it is most likely because God wants to speak through you and Satan knows it so he lies to you and puts evil thoughts in your mind. This should force you to pray. You can, and should, pray even while you are witnessing. So, when you feel fear, PRAY and PRAY some more.

To be effective, you do not have to have all the answers but you do need to have a carefully crafted message. When Christ witnessed he did it in four steps. First, he related to those whom He talked. He formed a relationship in just a few moments. Then, he created opportunity to swing to the spiritual. Once talking of spiritual matters, He allowed the Law and the Holy Spirit to convict. Lastly, Christ revealed the gospel to them only after they were convicted.

So, once we have swung to the spiritual, what do we say? The first question is something like, “Would you consider yourself to be a good person?” This is very inoffensive and puts people at ease because we all want to think that we are good and we usually take pride in showing it off.

Then you can follow it up by asking, “Do you think you have kept the Ten Commandments?” Once again, they will be quick to show you. Then you can ask to see if this is the case by taking them through a few of the Commandments. Once they see they have broken the commands of God, you can ask, “If God were to judge you by the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty?” Followed by, “Would you go to Heaven or Hell?” Then, “Does that concern you?” If they are concerned and the Spirit is working, they are ready for the gospel.

They might try to argue but we must keep them focused. Remember, you will not have all the answers so it is best to not try to answer their questions. Simply allow the Spirit to do His work.

Think of the last time you sensed the need to share the gospel with someone. Did you? Why not? Most likely, you did not witness because you had fear or negative thoughts just before you did it. The sense you feel to witness to someone is from the Holy Spirit and Satan hates that so he tries his best to give you negative thoughts and fear. Remember that next time. These thoughts are not from God. God loves all mankind and wants them to be redeemed.

You are probably familiar with a concept called “friendship evangelism.” This philosophy says you need to be friends with someone and build a strong relationship with them before you can witness to them. How long and strong a relationship do you need before speaking about God?

What happens to your lost friend if they die before you tell them of the need for a Savior? To be brutally honest, they will die and spend an eternity in the lake of fire. The Bible teaches that their blood will be on your hands meaning that you will be guilty of not telling them of the Savior. So, how could you even consider such an approach? We are to redeem the time for we know not when we shall die.

Let me ask you another question. Who are the hardest people to who we witness? Isn’t it our unsaved relatives? Why is this? Perhaps it is because we have a relationship with these closest to us and we risk losing or straining this relationship if we witness to them. We do not like to offend those closest to us.

This is why we need to make it a habit to witness. We should regularly share the gospel with strangers. We need to understand that we can build a relationship with someone in three to four minutes if you truly care about the person’s salvation. Remember, the person to whom you are speaking may not have a tomorrow.

To start the relationship we need to make good use of tracts. Many tracts at livingwaters.com make it easy. Some look like credit cards and million dollar bills. Others are optical allusions. These great icebreakers put people at ease and make it easy to swing the conversation to the spiritual. Witnessing is exhilarating and can change the loves of those around you and even change the world.

Last weeks lesson was about compassion for the lost. Do you have compassion for the lost or are you like the firefighter who did nothing while a family of five perished? We must speak out to rescue the lost.

However, if you lack compassion for the lost and gratitude for your own salvation, witnessing will be a chore. It is like our vehicles. If they run out of gas, we have to push our cars instead of driving them. In the same manner, if we have to push our vehicle of evangelism, it will turn into a tiresome task. On the contrary, driving it is exhilarating.

What we need is a Garden of Gethsemane experience. When Christ fell to his knees in agony, His disciples were completely unconcerned and out of touch with reality and asleep. Slumber comes knocking at our door when we loose hope in eternity and just focus on the day at hand. We need to get on our knees and cry out to God for consuming compassion for the lost that flows out of our gratitude from our own salvation. We also need to cry out, “not my will, but Thine, O Lord, be done.”

In Mark, Christ has a rich young ruler come to Him and ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Christ right away takes the young man to five of the Ten Commandments. The man says that he had kept the commands since childhood. Then, Christ tells him to go and sell all that he has and give all to the poor dealing with the first and second command. The man walks away upset and lost.

Now, Christ is well aware that the law does not save us. So, why did Christ do that? He was preparing the man’s heart for the grace of God. The law is a prerequisite to receiving God’s grace. Spurgeon said that we must get a man lost before he can be saved. Man thinks he is good and when we tell him that Christ died for his sin, we offend him and push him further from the truth. The law is our schoolmaster teaching us that we all need a Savior. Christ used the law to bring conviction to the proud sinner and so must we.

The law also teaches us that we must repent because we have sinned against a holy, perfect God. This is what Hell wants to keep a secret. Christ brings happiness, contentment, strength and much more, but we need a Savior not for these benefits but for the sin in each of our lives.

This afternoon, we started a course called The Way Of The Master. It is an evangelism class that helps us get equipped to reach out to a lost world. The word evangelism is a word that carries a bad connotation in the church but it should be part of each of our vocabularies. It simply means love in action.

Only 2% of American Christians said they share their faith regularly. This is frightening. We know God and His awesome power but do not share the gospel. Why? I believe it is truly a lack of love.

First, it stems from a lack of love for God. God said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” In Acts 1, the church is commanded to propagate the gospel, or tell the world about their need for Christ. We are given the command to evangelize. If you are married, what would your spouse think if they told you something repeatedly and you did not listen? Then on top of that, you make excuses why you are not showing your love. Do you really love them?

We also do not witness because we do not truly love people. We need to see people the way God sees them. They are a creation of God that is fallen from birth and on their way to Hell unless they repent and ask Christ to be their Lord and Savior. We must tell them the truth in love.

There are many who also believe that we must build relationships with people before we can witness to them. Did you know that you can get to know someone in less than three minutes? The idea that we have to spend weeks, months or even years getting to know someone is a myth that I fear has wasted a lot of time and allowed many missed opportunities to witness. People are on their way to Hell, it does not matter if they know you or not, it only matters if God knows them as His own.

What does the moon do? It reflects the sun. It is just a blob of dirt that catches the sun’s rays and sends them out. The church is like a moon. We are God’s creations and our job is to reflect His truth to this world. It also controls the tides. The church is the tool in which God chooses to bring revival into the world. What are you doing to reflect the truth and to bring revival into this world? Time is too short and Hell is too hot for us to keep quiet.

Psalms 1

Lets take a brief look at the first chapter in Psalms. The first three verses deal with the holiness and happiness of a man lead by the Spirit and obedient to God. Blessed is the word used and carries the meaning of true happiness. Not the emotional high that is tied to it today but true happiness only found through God.

First, we are told the the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly is blessed. We are a peculiar people set apart for God’s service. We should live like it. Too often we are just like the world. We are afraid to be labeled as radical when that is preciously what we should be. Don’t walk in the ways of the world but pursue truth to the end.

Secondly, we are blessed when we do not stand in or with the
way of sinners. There is a progression of wickedness here. First we act like the world and walk with them testing the waters. Then we stand with the world in a more friendly relationship. When we become comfortable with living like the world we are more apt to stand with them in philosophy as well as lifestyle. Don’t cultivate wickedness in your life.

Lastly, we are blessed when we do not sit in the seat of the scorners. Sitting is the most comfortable position. This is when we become so comfortable with the world that we permanently conform to the ways of the world. Are you resting upon God and His Word or are you sitting in the world?

When we walk with God, stand upon His Word, and rest in Him we are blessed. We will be like trees planted by the waters. We shall have fruit and we shall be prosperous. We will truly be happy in Him.

The last three verses of the chapter deal with the sinfulness and misery of the wicked. The wicked are not so. They will face judgment and this will not be pretty. The wicked shall perish and face eternal damnation. What are you doing about it. Are you living like them, or will you be different and be God to them?

Psalms 139, I Cor. 11: 20-f.f.

The Psalmist writes about two attributes of God. The first one we will look at is found in verse 7-f.f. We see that God is omnipresent. God is everywhere. Many believe in a philosophy called Pantheism. This means that God is in everything. God is everywhere and owns everything but is not in everything. Panentheism is another phylosophy that takes it a step farther and says that everything is God which is also not biblical.

The Psalmist asks several rhetorical questions about where can I go that God is not there. The answer is nowhere. This can be scary to some because we cannot hide from God. When we do not want God to see our sinful ways, He does. Also, one day the Bible tells us that all will bow the knee and proclaim that He is God. It can be a great blessing too. No matter how beaten or downtrodden we are, God is there to help and lift us up.

The next thought found in verse 1-6, if that God is omniscient or all knowing. He know our thoughts, our words, our actions, etc. He also knew them before the foundation of the world. Verse 6 says that this idea is too high and wonderful for us to understand. Think about it. God knows everything about us and He still loves us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die and pay for our sins. He did this to have a relationship with us, a fallen sinful creation.

When we gather together to partake of the Lord’s table, we commemorate this fact. He gave his body which was broken and beaten because of our sins. He poured out His blood to redeem our souls. We should ever be mndful of this truth.

Communion also celebrates Christ’s promise to return to bring us all home. He says He will not eat this bread or drink of this cup until He can do it with us, His bride, in Heaven. Let us examine ourselves, rejoice in what God has done and will do, and lets serve Him with every ounce of our being!