Apathy: The Enemy of Holy Violence

Redeeming Grace Church iconRedeeming Grace Church

0 views

0 comments

00:01
So for those of you that have been here a while We know we're working our way through the series on holy violence.
00:07
This will be my seventh sermon in the series I've titled this sermon apathy the enemy of holy violence and I want to start today with a brief interruption
00:16
What is the purpose of a car odometer? How many of you have cars is the odometer in the front if you said well
00:22
It's to measure the wear and tear on a car then you're correct This little dial keeps track of how many miles were driven as a reference point for the lifespan of a vehicle the circumference of the earth all around the globe the equator is
00:36
Approximately twenty four thousand nine hundred nine nine hundred and one miles My dad used to discuss a car's age by talking about how many trips it took around the world
00:45
If your car makes it to two hundred three thousand miles, you've gone around the world ten times Now if you've ever operated a bobcat a forklift or an
00:54
ATV you see their lifespan is a different unit of measure These machine lists hours worked not miles traveled
01:02
This is because machines do comparatively less traveling But they work a lot harder and are subject to stressors that an automobile never
01:10
Experiences if you think about the stuff they do they clear land they dig they pull loads
01:16
They lift stuff up on an uneven grade. They don't have flat grounds. That's much different than cruising on a paved highway a
01:24
Driver on a highway can turn on cruise control and coast but a heavy equipment operator has no such option
01:30
The arduous work of construction workers and their machines is what allows people to drive quickly on smooth highways around their city their state and their country
01:40
If you came here this morning on a road you can take a construction worker for paving that Novice drivers like teenagers can drive cars, but mature trained adults operate heavy equipment
01:51
The Christian life cannot be won by a life of spiritual leisure We need to leave the cruising and convertibles to the carnal man
01:57
Our job is to work hard like a bulldozer a backhoe to sanctify our own soul and prepare the world for Christ's return
02:05
Although a driver on the highway may not think of the construction crew that built the road He benefits from their work in a like manner the spiritual benefits of a sanctified life will be a blessing to ourselves
02:16
Our families our cities our town and eventually out to the whole world
02:23
Apathy is one of the most potent threats to our sanctification and it is the focus of the passage that we'll be considering today
02:29
Please turn with me in your Bible to Matthew 11 and I'll be reading verses 16 through 19
02:42
Matthew 11 starting in verse 16 through the words of our Savior, but to what shall I like in this generation?
02:49
It is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to their companions and saying we played the flute for you
02:54
And you did not dance We mourn to you and you did not lament For John came either eating or drinking and they say he has a demon the
03:04
Son of Man came eating or drinking and they say look a glutton a wine bibber a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but wisdom is justified by her children
03:17
The title of my sermon today is apathy the enemy of holy violence and I want to walk through these these four verses together
03:23
My first point which comes from verses 16 and 17. We're talking with the Christian and maturity
03:28
Does the
03:36
Bible depict children in a positive or negative light? Well, it depends on the situation We can unequivocally state that children are the most priceless gift that God can give to us after our salvation in our self -obsessed and materialistic society
03:49
Children are often seen as a burden a nuisance or an obstacle to personal fulfillment One of the greatest sins of this country has been legalized baby murder
03:56
God hates those that kill innocent life and the politicians that gleefully and enthusiastically support it on the positive side
04:05
Christian parents model Christ when they sacrifice their needs and desires to raise the next generation in the fear of the
04:11
Lord Additionally married couples are commanded to be fruitful and multiply Solomon says the following under the inspiration of the
04:18
Holy Spirit He says behold children are a heritage from the Lord the fruit of the womb is a reward
04:23
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior. So are the children of one's youth Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them
04:30
They shall not be ashamed but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. That's from Psalm 127 Children are more than just a gift
04:38
They're unassuming nature and their simple faith are given to believers as a model of how Christians should live their lives in Matthew 18 when the disciples asked
04:46
Jesus for his advice on how to become the greatest in the kingdom of heaven What does he say Jesus draws a child to his lap and he says the following he says assuredly
04:54
I say to you unless you are converted to become as little children. You will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven
05:02
Therefore whoever humbles himself as a loose little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
05:08
All people are born with a sin nature The Bible is very clear about that in Matthew 18 though Jesus indicates that his desire for preeminence and prestige is not an innate or an intrinsic quality in young children
05:20
Rather these kind of sins develop as people mature into adults in this text.
05:25
We are examining However, Jesus is not actually painting children in a favorable light Rather he is using childish immaturity as an analogy for the
05:34
Jews response to John the Baptist and Jesus's proclamation of the gospel I believe there are two negative character traits that Jesus trying to highlight in these verses
05:44
These traits are apathy and a lack of empathy. You can think of them as two sides of the same coin while Christians may at times struggle with these sins only a
05:53
Non -believers have a permanent disposition of indifference for the gospel and no concern for those who are suffering
06:00
If you look carefully at verse 17, you'll see many Bible translations I've specifically called out the NIV the
06:06
New King James and ESV They have broken the children's words out into a different format than the subsequent verse and successive verse
06:13
Why do you think this is? If you said because the saying is in the form of a poem or a song then you were correct
06:19
The children in this analogy have composed a ditty about the fickleness of their playmates songs played a very important part in Jewish communal gatherings both formal and Informal the
06:31
Psalms for example, they were a big part of temple worship If you look at the Psalms, you see their structure is different from any other books in the
06:36
Bible In Jewish culture. It was considered a major offense not to share in the rejoicing or mourning of others
06:43
When Jezebel died the dog ate the dogs ate her remains, but they left her feet and hands alone some commentators mostly modern ones have attributed this to extreme wickedness she practiced in her life and Certainly, that's one possible answer
06:56
But you know dogs were unclean and were considered pests by religiously observant Jewish people
07:03
To have these dirty animals refused to eat your hands and feet Was an indictment that could be in a scene as an indictment of the sinfulness of your life
07:10
However Jewish tradition which is not inspired But it's still helpful States that her hands and feet were not eaten because she clapped and danced at every wedding and she mourned at every funeral
07:20
To be without empathy in Jewish culture was something that even the most base criminal would avoid
07:26
Why are songs such a powerful medium? I? Appreciate acapella singing and instrumental music is great, too
07:32
However, something magical occurs when you pair great singing with lively instruments The national anthem is sung to bring unity among people of the same nation or any national nation for that matter
07:42
Many colleges haven't have what's known as an alma mater song which is sung by the alumni at various commencement and reunion events
07:49
When I was at West Point when you when they play the football game Whoever wins the army or football game gets to sing second so first you go over to the one side you sing the
07:58
Navy Anthem Army Navy together and then if the army wins we go over to the other side and we sing with Navy so When you at West Point there's a big thing they talk about all the time
08:05
They say we want to sing second if you sing second that means you've won the game So they sing theirs first you get to sing yours last because you beat the other team in football
08:14
Christians we sing hymns to unite ourselves with each other and with the many Saints of old when we sing that hymn by Charles Wesley This morning.
08:20
We're singing a hymn that has been sung by Saints for hundreds of years that unites us to them Chris those who died in Christ saying those words in earth and now they're singing similar songs in heaven
08:29
Charles Wesley is now singing a song today like he was here now We don't know what they sing in heaven, but we do know that these hymns have a rich history that unites us back to those people
08:38
The refusal of these children to sing along Parallel the attitude of the Pharisees and many of the
08:44
Jews to Jesus they rejected you need with Christ They would not be happy for those he healed or mourn or mourn with those over their own sins
08:54
Alternately as true believers. We must mourn over our sin and we must rejoice when we see our transgressions were canceled on the cross
09:02
Mourning over sin is a sign of spiritual maturity and is also my first application If you're a believer in this room, we are to have childlike faith.
09:11
We are not to be childish graduating from milk is it to solid food is an important milestone in the life of any child as Parents of three younger children all my kids have made this dietary transition that marks departure from the infant stage of life to a toddler stage of life
09:27
My application for believers today is you should not remain as spiritual babies or children forever
09:33
The writer of Hebrews says a similar thing in chapter 5 that New Testament book He writes for though by this time you ought to be teachers
09:41
You need someone to teach you again The first principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food
09:49
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a baby you see here
09:56
It's a negative sense. You don't want to be a babe spiritually Milk is a plain food without much taste or flavor, you know, typically that's what people flavor it
10:03
But it was cereal while it contains the perfect nutrients for babies who lack teeth It's not suited for the rigors and demands of adult life our bodies need much more complex proteins and amino acids for us to do physical labor and to support high -level brain functions as kids mature to become parents themselves
10:22
God expects believers to mature so they can go on to teach new believers and or train and disciple their children immature adults are a drain on society and apathetic believers
10:34
Hinder the development of the church Luke's gospel to fit in specifically for chapter 2 verse 52 says
10:42
Jesus grew up in a body He grew up in body and wisdom. He gained favor with God and man
10:47
We should seek to follow the same exact pattern in our spiritual lives Physical growth should be matched with spiritual growth
10:55
Don't be that Christian who's an intellectual or physical giant and yet is a spiritual suckling after many many years in the faith churches are the foundation of God's kingdom and Godly families is how
11:09
God builds up that church and how nations become great Your family needs your spiritual maturity as much as you do.
11:16
I like what Charles Spurgeon says here He says a father's holy life is a rich legacy for his son not only for your family
11:23
But this church needs you to be spiritually mature as well, whether your ministry is teaching serving encouraging
11:30
Exhorting helping or praying the church needs you to exercise your gifts to build up this local body
11:37
God did not put you here to be a spiritual consumer. He puts he expects you to be a spiritual producer as well
11:43
You are to produce for unbelievers My application is this To those who are not believers.
11:50
I urge you stop being spiritual chiller in the marketplace Jesus is calling to you at this very minute Will you ignore his gentle entreaties and spurn his salt somber warnings if you do?
12:02
Rest assured there will come a day when there will no longer be a sacrifice for sin But there will be a fearful expectation of judgment with no mercy
12:10
You need to fight apathy to the gospel as you would fight a person who's trying to take your life
12:16
If someone tries to take your life, you're not just gonna sit back. You're gonna do everything to get rid of them That's how you should fight apathy to the gospel
12:23
Indifference of the gospel may seem benign This is harmless, but entertain this treacherous guest and one day you will take up eternal residence in hell if you do that overt and passive rebellion against God is equally treasonous as R .c.
12:38
Sproul said sin is against God is cosmic treason Being fickle with music may cost a child a friend, but spiritual fickleness will make
12:46
God your eternal enemy Hear what the word hear the words of God through the mouth of the
12:51
Prophet Isaiah He said in Isaiah 43 13 indeed before the day was
12:57
I am he and there is no one who can deliver out of my Hand I work and who will reverse it if you're going to be indifferent towards something
13:06
Choose anything else other than the God of the universe Time has no control over God.
13:13
He predates it and time responds to his command There is no reversal of God's decree and there is no parole from God's punishment
13:21
There is no such thing as neutrality toward God. It doesn't exist Let's turn forward in the book of in the book of Matthew and go one chapter forward from we're looking at our text
13:32
Matthew 1230 and let's see what Jesus says here He says he was not with me is against me and he does not gather with me scatters abroad
13:43
After the outbreak of hostilities in World War two Many nations rushed publicly to declare the neutrality.
13:49
We're gonna stay neutral. They said we're not gonna take a side Many of these same nations that were eager to avoid choosing sides were later conky conquered by the armies of Adolf Hitler Denmark Norway Belgium the
14:02
Netherlands and the Luxembourg were some of the countries that suffered this fate Choosing to be apathetic toward a madman
14:08
Cost these countries their independence compared to the devil Adolf Hitler was downright sane
14:14
The devil is the author of sin a liar from the beginning and the first murderer His fall had no external influence and he is the spring from which all the filth and wickedness of this world originates
14:26
The spiritually indifferent man believes he is at peace with Satan But guess what declaring neutrality toward Lucifer is as foolish as making your bed in a den of lions
14:37
Unlike Daniel you will lose your life and your soul if you choose this course of action
14:43
Charles Spurgeon wisely said he said he who does not prepare for death is no ordinary fool.
14:49
He is in fact a madman How do we prepare for death? We can start by following the biblical command to pursue holiness and the example of John the
14:59
Baptist as found in verse 18 of our text so verse Matthew 11 verse 18 says for John came either eating or drinking and they say he has a demon after concluding his children the marketplace analogy
15:13
Jesus addresses the ministry of John the Baptist in verse 18 an obvious question presents itself
15:19
What did you just mean when he said John came neither eating nor drinking what is what does that mean?
15:24
Obviously doesn't refer to all food or drink as men will perish if they do not eat or drink anything and John was no exception
15:31
To this rule. I think there are two possible explanations for this phrase John had a very
15:37
Spartan diet His it was an Orthodox even by the standard of the poorest of Palestinian Jews Matthew 3 4 says
15:44
John ate locusts and wild honey The common thread between locusts and wild honey is you have to forage them from the wilderness
15:52
John's diet did not consist of what was popular. It was made up of what was edible and available He just went out there and grabbed it when
15:58
I think of John's diet to me It resembles food from the wilderness wanderings and not what established city dwelling
16:05
Jews would eat Gathering wild honey and locusts is not something a lazy man would do right beasts fiercely defend their nests
16:12
And locusts have wings if you ever seen a locust they fly they're not easy to catch So John would have to exert himself to gather his supper his food like his clothes
16:21
We talked about before presented a picture of a man who was wholly unoccupied with the present world
16:27
John was not a social leader and he was not a social drinker This becomes most evident we contrast what the said about John with what the
16:35
Jews said about Jesus Although the Mosaic Law had no there was no for the Mosaic Law didn't forbid attending or feast or banquet
16:42
Joe John didn't spend his free time that way. He spent it praying or preaching the gospel Next Jesus could be referring to the
16:49
Nazarite vow that John took from his birth. John was wholly dedicated to the service of the
16:54
Lord Practically that meant he could not drink alcohol or any product of grapes that meant he could not cut his hair and he must not
17:02
Go near a dead body These conditions were sacrificial Physical and relational marks that set the
17:09
Nazarites apart from all their fellow Jews Jews could choose between taking a temporary Nazarite vow which lasted 30 days.
17:16
You could do that or you could take a lifelong Nazarite vow Unsurprisingly John was obedient to the
17:22
Lord and took a lifelong vow vow as the angel had prophesied to his mother Elizabeth The Nazarite vow is not like the vows the
17:30
Roman Catholic monks who cloistered themselves off from the world It's not like a Jesuit or a Dominican or anything like that.
17:36
The Nazarite lived in Israel among the common people He wasn't cloistered himself off that way, but he was not to be of the common people
17:43
He was to stay set apart while participating in many of the activities of his non Nazarite peers in this way
17:49
Nazarites were harbingers or forerunners of how many New Testament Christians like us should live
17:55
Let's read what God says to the pen of the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans He says and do not be conformed to this world
18:02
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and Acceptable and perf and the perfect will of God When our mind is renewed
18:14
According to God's Word we prove to the watching world. What is acceptable in God's sight? Renewing our mind is key to speaking words and taking actions that are pleasing in God's sight
18:25
True Christianity is an inside -out religion It's not an outside -in Moralism that is so prevalent in our culture today
18:33
You don't start by changing the behaviors and then you change the heart God changes our heart and that changes our behavior
18:39
Hypocrites can have peace with the world the truly holy man never will R .c. Sproul very aptly states.
18:45
He says holiness is traumatic to ungodly people Why don't they crucify
18:50
Christ holiness is traumatic to the Pharisees holiness is traumatic to the normal American They do not want to see holy living.
18:57
They'll call you a fanatic. But you know what you do what God says How did the Jewish world react to John's lifestyle?
19:04
Well, how does the how does a wound feel when you pour salt on it? The salt of John's life convicted the self -righteous
19:11
Pharisees and they responded with the malicious slander that John was demon -possessed John did not exhibit supernatural strength.
19:18
He didn't tell fortunes or behave as an animal, right? We see these traits and other deemed possessed people throw the
19:23
Bible What kind of demon makes a person averse to material things? self -controlled and unbothered by the criticism of the religious elites
19:32
The Ferris act the Pharisees accusation it was not logical at all, right? But they kept throwing it against the character of John and saying
19:40
I hope this will stick Maybe this will stick if John were to bow down to one of the Pharisees idols of money power
19:46
Learning or even religious pedantry, which means obsession over minor details. They would have accepted him
19:52
However, his lack of love for the world that disturbed their conscience and it disturbed their hold on religious power.
19:59
I love John Bunyan's allegory the pilgrims progress. I've been reading to my children there's a scene there where Christian and faithful are making their way through Vanity Fair the vendors say what will you buy and faithful says we want the truth and This enrages the inhabitants the town who captured the two men and they put them on trial for treason at the conclusion of this trial
20:21
Faithful is martyred for his faith, but the Lord spares Christians life and he escapes to continue the journey alone
20:29
If you buy into the world's sinful system, the world will be at peace with you wicked men have camaraderie
20:35
Over their shared love for the world the pleasures it affords and the sins that it celebrates If you disturb that piece of the gospel men of all stripes are united in persecuting true believers
20:47
When the Israelites returned from exile to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem the pagans in their country United to oppose them.
20:54
They put aside their petty differences to work together to oppose the spiritual work of God's chosen people
21:00
The church is the spiritual people of God in the New Testament If you're when you as a believer Try to erect a wall of holiness around your life
21:08
The children of the serpent or the sea of the serpent will be united in their opposition to you. My second application
21:18
Holiness is insanity to the carnal man Do you want to follow Christ? If so, you must be prepared to become a fool for Christ's sake
21:26
Holiness is as foreign and unwelcome to an unbeliever as sunlight to a bat If you expose a sinner to the gospel light
21:33
They will take the first opportunity to fly back to the familiar confines of their dark cave sinners exist only for this world and thus they view pursuing sanctification as Madness because they only they only know this life.
21:47
Why would they be sanctified? CT stud was an English missionary. He labored ceaselessly as a pastor in the foreign mission fields.
21:54
I believe he was a pastor he was a missionary for sure, but His literary masterpiece was a poem titled only one life will soon be passed only what's done for Christ will last
22:03
That quotes one of my favorite non -biblical sayings I actually have it hanging when you walk out the door my house to remind me every time
22:10
I walk out that the most important Thing is what we do for Christ That reminds me to prioritize eternal things
22:17
However, he had another quote which nicely encapsulates the this application for my second point
22:22
He said God's real people have always been called fanatics. That's that's throughout history You can go back as far as you want the church fathers the
22:29
Apostles Jesus Christ himself or go back to Abraham You know people thought he was a fanatic Why are you leaving your home your family your country to go pursue a
22:35
God in a foreign land? Have you called have you been called a fanatic for your faith count yourself blessed?
22:41
You join the ranks of many Saints who are also labeled as lunatics the Lord Noah Paul David our own
22:48
Savior were subject to Ridicule for what the world said was a lack believe was a lack of sanity Let us skip forward to the present day.
22:56
Do you think the scoffers who are now in hell are still laughing? I can promise you they're not What about Noah Paul and many other
23:03
Saints who were called fools on their earth this earth? The spiritual investments they made in God's kingdom are still paying dividends on earth and in heaven, right?
23:14
The sinner is willing to wait patiently for his return earthly investment financial advisors will tell you put your money in wait 35 years
23:20
You'll have a million dollars However, these same people would regard devoting your life to Christ or youth to Christ and laboring consistently for King whose kingdom a waste of time the patience of God Get is gives the wicked time to repent and the righteous time to demonstrate his gratitude to our
23:38
Savior. That's what we're doing We're living out our gratitude to our God If you look at the second half
23:43
Hebrews 11, I might have mentioned this before but I just love this passage I'm gonna mention it again Let's read verses 35 to 38.
23:50
It says women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured not accepting deliverance
23:55
They might obtain a better resurrection So other had trials of mockings and scourgings of chains and imprisonment.
24:01
They were stoned They were sawn in two they were tempted. They were slain with the sword They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute being afflicted being tormented of whom the world was not worthy
24:13
They wandered in deserts and mountains in dens and caves of the earth What do you think an unregenerate man thinks when he reads these verses?
24:21
Do you think he would consider these people to be heroes of the faith? Undoubtedly, he would say these are hapless victims of society at best or at worst.
24:28
He'd say they're fools for refusing deliverance Who are these people to God? These people to God are his precious ones his dear saints his sons and daughters and his faithful servants those that suffered as the beggar
24:41
Lazarus in this life will be rewarded as the rich man in the next as Christians we should make it our mission.
24:46
We don't want to go to heaven alone This is the exact attitude that we see from Christian from Jesus in the next verse
24:53
So let's talk about the Christian evangelism Verse 19 says the Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say look a glutton and wine bibber a friend of tax collectors
25:03
And sinners, but wisdom is justified by her children Well, John was accused of being demon -possessed
25:12
The Pharisees leveled a completely different charge of Jesus. Jesus never took a Nazarene vow. He ate the same diet as other people
25:19
He did not make his home in the wilderness Therefore the Pharisees accused him of dissipation and loose living
25:24
It would be tough to think of a more dynamic duo than John the Baptist and Jesus when it comes to personal evangelism
25:32
Even so the Pharisees and most of the Jews of their time rejected their message This lies an important herein lies an important message for Christians The effectiveness of our evangelism is not to be judged how people treat the messenger
25:45
But the con but the content the message the world doesn't hate the delivery. They hate the gospel It doesn't matter if it comes from Jesus or John they hated the same
25:53
Like little children, they do not want to take their medicine and no new presentation and no new subterfuge will make them.
26:00
Enjoy it JC Ryle says the following in his expository thoughts on Matthew The plain truth is that true believers must not expect unconverted men to be satisfied with their faith or practice if they do
26:15
They expect what they will not find if you expect the unbelieving world to be satisfied with your life or your doctrine
26:21
It's not gonna happen Jesus was the long -promised seat of the woman from the proto evangelium or the first gospel in Genesis 3
26:29
John the Baptist was a descendant from this elect line as well. The Pharisees were of the seat of the serpent They were the opposite family
26:35
Thus the real conflict in this world is a family feud between the forces of light and the forces of darkness
26:41
If you water down the gospel to please the world you anger God Choosing to please man instead of God is foolish and it's also potentially fatal to your soul as Thomas Watson aptly noted he said
26:54
God is the sweetest friend, but he's the bitterest enemy as The perfect God man.
27:00
Jesus was not a glutton or drunkard. We can get that away right now Those charges were completely baseless
27:05
However, was he a friend of sinners before we answer that question? We should define what we mean by that phrase
27:11
Jesus was a true friend to the lost souls of sinners. He sought to bring them to repentance and faith in God He was not accommodating to the sinful lifestyles of sinners at all and he used social gatherings to share the gospel
27:24
When he was rebuking Nicodemus for unbelief admonishing the Samaritan woman for her adultery
27:30
Or confront the rich young ruler over his greed Jesus would not let sinners be at peace with their sins
27:36
We however we should not take the Pharisees charge here and use it to defend close relationships with unbelievers
27:42
Jesus participated in social events with unrepentant sinners But as the Gospels show us that where do you spend most of his time and energy?
27:50
He spent most of it with the disciples and those that had repented of their sin in All of our interaction to non -believers.
27:57
We should heed well the warning of given in Proverbs 13 He said he who walks with wise men will be wise
28:03
But the companion of fools will be destroyed What is wisdom is justified by her children mean?
28:11
If you compare different translations you reveal that different textual families render that final word in Matthew 11 19 differently
28:19
The KGV New King James same thing say wisdom is justified by her children The ESV NASB and IV read wisdom is justified by her deeds
28:29
The ASV it splits the difference between the two and ASV is common odd translation But it is very literal and it says wisdom is justified by her works
28:38
The application of Jesus teaching was a metaphor that concluded his children in the marketplace metaphor
28:44
Have you ever seen Russian nesting dolls or measuring cups that fit neatly in each other? This is a good example of what's occurring here.
28:52
The Pharisees wisdom was jealousy apathy and disgust Toward the teaching of Christ and the teaching of John the
28:58
Baptist these sin led to the heinous deeds of a sham trial Blasphemy and murder of the incarnate
29:05
God Jesus's wisdom was heavenly righteous and eternal it led to healed bodies
29:10
But most importantly it led to redeemed souls Let the world scoff at Christ wisdom the righteous man may be vindicated in his life
29:19
You might be but you will certainly be vindicated in the next life In this verse children are mentioned in a positive sense as children of God are being compared with children of the world now
29:29
Granted could say children or works But but let's think about how does being a child of God spurred the
29:34
Christian to evangelism. This brings me to my final application Our last application is we are all evangelists.
29:41
How do we walk with the wise and forsake the fellowship of fools? How do we do that today?
29:47
Well first we must realize the value of personal evangelism in our everyday life
29:52
Let us return to the book of Proverbs and read chapter 11 Proverbs 11 30 says the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he who wins souls is wise
30:02
The Bible compares the fruit of the righteous to the tree of life That was originally situated where in the
30:08
Garden of Eden God removed this tree to prevent fallen man from eating of it and then living forever in a sinful state
30:17
Spiritual fruit from a righteous life is called a tree of life Why is that? Well, I believe that because the fruit of our righteous life shows people the reality.
30:26
There's a risen Christ Fidelity to the text requires we don't want to bifurcate or split this verse so we can remain spiritually comfortable
30:33
A Christian must not just be holy. He must also be a soul winner two witnesses in a
30:39
Bible establish a fact the Bible is very clear about that our Righteous life and our personal evangelism are the two witnesses that attest to a
30:47
Christian being part of God's kingdom Accumulating knowledge and possessions that's a sign of wisdom according to the world
30:53
If you do that, the world will say you're wise the person who wins soul is wise according to God's standard
30:59
The Hebrew word for wins in Proverbs 1130 is lock hack Strong's concordance defines the word in English as to take to take
31:08
We must take the kingdom of heaven by force Tanked our sanctification seriously and take the souls of this world captive to Christ We must shake off childish apathy shake off disinterest of God and his ordinances
31:22
Only those who are faithful servants of God are true friends to people's eternal souls
31:27
Those who are fickle followers of God on earth if you're a fickle follower of God on earth You'll be found in that last day to be a false friend of God on that fearful final day.
31:36
So don't be a fickle follower the ungodly world They're violent in pursuit of success.
31:42
They will sacrifice everything for fleeting fame Christians on the other hand We should humbly and faithfully work out our salvation with our eyes focused on Christ and on our eternal home
31:54
When Christ welcomes his children to heaven, he will say well done good and faithful servant
32:00
Christ's imputed righteousness good is the first characteristic that's mentioned here.
32:05
This represents our justification before God However directly after that he mentions faithfulness and humility when he says servant
32:13
I think of humility there. These characteristics are elements of our sanctification. We work out with the help of God Do you think it's difficult to achieve earthly success?
32:23
Sanctification or conquering your soul is more difficult than capturing and ruling a city
32:30
God's desire is that everyone in this room be saved and comes to knowledge of the truth. This is my fervent prayer as well
32:36
However, once you were saved it's not time to sit in the sidelines Rather, you need to pursue maturity and pursue holiness so you can share this gospel with the dying world
32:46
I can't help but wonder when I read these verses is Jesus's metaphor of children The marketplace was drawing on that poignant passage found in Proverbs chapter 5
32:56
In this passage wisdom is profound sonified as a woman who calls aloud to people who are passing her by in the town square
33:04
I'm gonna read a few verses from there Wisdom calls aloud. She raises her voice in the open square
33:10
She cries out in the chief concourses at the openings the gate to the city She speaks her words how long you simple ones will you love simplicity?
33:21
for scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge Turn it my review
33:27
Surely, I will pour out my spirit to you I will make my words known to you because I have call and you refused
33:34
I stretched out my hand and no one regarded because you disdain my counsel and would have none of my review
33:41
I also will laugh at your calamity and I will mock when your terror comes
33:47
When your terror comes on you like a storm and your destruction comes like a whirlwind
33:52
When does distress and anguish come upon you they will call on me, but I will not answer
33:58
They will seek me diligently But they will not find me because they hated knowledge and they did not choose the fear of the
34:06
Lord Don't be the person that ignore the pleadings of wisdom in the marketplace of this world
34:11
Jesus is calling out to us wisdom is personified here. Jesus speaks in the Gospels Don't be the fickle children.
34:18
Listen to what God says and when you listen believe it and work out your salvation If you're a believer
34:24
Proverbs 5 ends on this very glorious note Proverbs 5 says this but whoever listens to me will dwell safely and will be secure without fear of evil
34:35
Please bow your head and pray with me Dear Heavenly Father. I thank you for this
34:40
Lord the Bible. She have given us Thank you for the commands Lord for us not to be at apathetic but to seek to live violently for you
34:48
I pray that you just help us today Lord as you go forth Lord to think of these things that we have learned or that we would be a holy
34:54
Christians Lord that we would be Evangelistic Christians Lord and Lord that we would be set apart from this world
35:00
We would heed the gospel call and we would seek to apply give it to others as well Please help us do this this day and each and every day for as long as you give us life on this earth