You Fool - Your Soul Will Be Required of You — Shane Idleman

Faithful Servants Versus Hypocritical Outward Reform

A faithful servant is not a hypocrite. A faithful servant is not a hypocrite, and I'll warn you up front, I've got my blood boiling in my body this morning because of this topic. One servant had outward reform, but not inward change.

The faithful servant had changed. He was faithful to God. The unfaithful servant had outward appearance, but he had not truly changed. Here's the difference. They were both called servants. They were both given the care of the master's home.

We don't know what happened while the master's there, but as soon as the master leaves, what happened? The true colors come out. The faithful servant and the unfaithful servant. And the unfaithful servant, it's called hypocrisy.

They look like the church, but they're not the church because the church isn't in them. And that word hypocrisy in the Greek, if we could break it down, it's an actor or an actress playing a role. So, if I were to up here saying, let me tell them all this good stuff, and then we'll do a big tithe offering, collect, and let me just see if we can milk the people.

It's a hypocrite. You're acting one thing. And that's what a lot of people who claim to be Christians, they're in church, but the church isn't in them. They talk about God, but they've never experienced God.

They're a hypocrite. And that's an unfaithful servant. And it's always linked to foolishness. Foolishness. And sometimes when we say the word fool, you think of like a little clown or a little guy with his little crown on and just a little joker and funny guy.

The Fool Who Denies God

That's not a fool. The Bible says that a fool is a person who says that there is no God. You look at a strand of a DNA, the tiny little strand of a DNA, and it has more information, they've said, than some of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

And one little strand of DNA. So who in their right mind were going to say this just all came together? This book. But the book of life just all came together. It's impossible. That's why the fool has said in his heart, there is no God.

So that's a foolish, a person who says there's no God and then lives accordingly. And I'm going to bring just a modern example. I'm not. I don't take joy in naming names. I actually would prefer not to.

And it actually happened this morning. I went on early. Some of you know, I write for the Christian Post. They put they put the articles on their website and wish all the comments were positive and they're not.

So I learned about a year ago not to read the comments. Yeah, and I wish I could reply, but I just the Holy Spirit convicts me every time because, you know, it's not going to be pretty, right? Well, in the in the next to next to my article over on the side was an article about somebody named Rob Bell.

Rob Bell and the Rejection of Biblical Authority

I don't know if you know Rob Bell. He would be someone I would consider heretical. He writes a book, Love Wins, and says the possibility of hell is not there. Jesus is probably not the only way supportive gay marriage and goes on Oprah Winfrey often and things like that.

And if you get on Oprah, you're probably not a believer if she's going to let you talk about because the media will look for pastors and teachers to tell them what they want to hear. Or they'll sit and they'll soundbite and clip everything.

That's why I've turned down some things, because they'll just take clips and they'll make you out who you want to be. But the article is titled this. And Rob Bell said, I don't use the word Christian.

Jesus would be mortified that a religion started in his name. Really? What do you do with all the scriptures where Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it?

I gave my life for you. You will become disciples in the Christian. They were first called Christians in Antioch. Why? Because they were Christ followers. They resembled their Savior that died for him.

This is borderline blasphemy. He would be, Jesus would be mortified that there's a religion after him. Nope. That's why he came, people. This is a foolish statement. Foolish statement. A word idiot was going through my mind all morning, but I said, I'm not going to say that this morning.

Well, I mean, look it up. Idiot just means a fool. Idiosyncrasy. Idiot. It's foolish. And any time I talk about this guy or other people, you know, people inevitably say, you know, this is the problem and you're bashing a fellow believer.

And I'm saying, no, he's not. When he leads, when he's coming against my, to lead my children astray and your children astray, when he's a prolific author and a motivational speaker, and he's reaching the masses of young people, I have a biblical obligation to call him on the carpet.

You have to refute that. This is ridiculous. Well, if you're not fired up, you will be in a minute. His interview, his interview with Oprah Winfrey in February, 2015, his wife, Kristen and himself claimed that the American church would inevitably accept gay marriage.

And they questioned the Bible's relevance to modern society. We're moments away. He said, I think the culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2000 years ago as their best defense folks.

That is modern day Christianity. In many circles, letters written 2000 years ago is our best defense. It's our only defense. And you're quoting, you're, you're quoting Jesus Christ himself. He said, I died for these truth.

Sound Doctrine and the Church's Witness

He said, proclaim these truths. When Paul said Timothy out, he said, Timothy, preach the whole council of God's word, because the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine. Folks, they are here.

This is one. They don't want to hear sound doctrine. They want to love their sin and not their savior. The church is irrelevant because we've lost the power and the passion of God. That's why we're irrelevant.

We're a social club. Let me say something that is going to hurt and it's going to step on toes, but we need that. The reason many people don't want God is because they don't want the God they see in us.

There's no difference. There's no distinction. There's no power. There's no love. There's not God in us. We're like, why don't my friends come to know the Lord? Why don't my kids come to know the Lord?

Because they don't see the Lord in us. If they would truly see Christ in us, it's a magnet. It draws people to them. There's a man I used to, I've read his sermons, Robert, Robert Murray McShaney. He died at 29 years old in Scotland.

And when he would just, he would come up to the pulpit, people would begin to weep. He wouldn't even speak. He would just come up to the pulpit. People begin to weep. What about when Peter's shadow fell and people were healed?

Did his shadow heal them? Of course not. It's the anointing. It's the power of God. And that's what the church needs. The church is irrelevant. It's because we're powerless. Now let me encourage, that can be changed immediately through a heart on fire again for God.

Broken before God. And last night we had extended worship. And I asked people, what's more important, worship or dinner? Because seeking God, and I followed my own advice, it was hard, but I went to bed with an empty stomach, woke up, and just the love of the Lord was in my heart.

I don't know if you heard that song, Christy Knuckles, if you ever heard her, I don't know if I even pronounced her name right. Just give me Jesus. His name is, and I just kept rewinding that, rewinding that, rewinding that, rewinding that 10 times.

Finally getting to a place of just brokenness before Lord, saying, God, we don't know you like we should. We don't, I read the Bible and I said, where is that in the early church? When's the last time we saw somebody get healed or delivered or set free?

When was the last time there's weeping during worship and tears coming down versus just a stagnant, dead religion that we're ready to leave and go eat? Where is that? Now part of why I'm saying this is to spark that hunger.

Not to condemn, not to hurt, but to spark that hunger and say, yes, that's what I want. Because listening to people like this, you're not going to get it. And then icing on the cake, of course, he has to throw this in there.

I don't think the heart of Jesus's message has much to do with boycotting target. No, it doesn't. But it does have to do with securing and the little ones and being wise stewards of our families. Folks, I don't know if you realize this, but we are.

Cultural Pressure, Political Leadership, and Christian Courage

We are very close to seeing extreme persecution. There are justices sitting in black robes in Washington, D .C., that will dictate the course of our nation. As the laws go, so goes the nation. And people often get real macho.

Well, it doesn't matter. Politics don't matter. Well, OK, good. Go move to North Korea. And I know what they're saying because of the politics in church. But whoever told us that politics just means governing or leading a group of people.

And I think God has something to say about godly leadership. I think God has something to say about a nation that chooses to follow him. If my people are called by my name, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Blesses that nation who calls upon the name of the Lord. There's nothing wrong with that. Everyone else is coming out of the closet. It's time the church comes out of the closet as well. You know what?

Let's do this. Everyone's come out of the closet. Let me come out of the closet. When a nation is more concerned about political correctness and biblical correctness, they are foolish. When the nation calls good evil and evil good, they are foolish.

When the church enjoys sin more than their savior, they are foolish. When the church lies in a coma, unwilling to wake to the things of God, they are foolish. God said, Jesus actually said in Luke that you fool.

The Urgency of Repentance and Speaking the Truth

God says you fool tonight. Tonight your soul will be required of you. Where is the urgency? Where is the desperation to seek God? People say, Shane, you're just mean spirited. You're just angry. No, I'm not.

I'm passionate. We have to tell people the truth. I'm going to borrow a story, not a story, but just an application. I heard from Paul Washer. I'm going to quote a little bit of what he said many years ago, but now it's applied recently to me.

He talked about his mom, but I'll talk about my mom. Recently, I think it was about a week ago, we went and we took her. The cardiologist said you need to get her to a specialist ASAP. So not knowing what that means, we drive down to Loma Linda and we get in there and we're talking to the cardiologist.

My sister is just a mess, of course, and she lives with her. He showed us the scans and the aorta descending, I can't remember what it's called, but the blood vessel is double its size aneurysm in her neck and different areas.

You've got three aneurysms. When your blood vessel doubles, it's not a good thing because it's like a balloon about ready to pop. So they're recommending surgery within a couple of weeks. And that's a life changer.

And when he explains that, you know, they stop your heart, they stop your brain, they cool your body. I'm like, so are you dead? What's going on here? This is serious stuff. And they explain everything.

Here's what you need to do. Here's the procedure. Here's this. That man hurt my family. My sister cried all the way home. We're still we're still trying to do. What are we doing with? What are we doing?

That man hurt us, but he told us the truth. You see the difference? Had he said, had he said, oh, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Go stop by in that burger. Don't worry about any of that. You're good.

Don't he would lose his practice for malpractice. Why shouldn't pastors lose the pulpit because of spiritual malpractice when they don't tell people the truth? They go. They go. No big deal. God loves you.

Just leave. We'll see you next week. And those people go out there. Some of those never return. You fool tonight. Tonight, your very soul be required of you. That's speaking the truth in love. That's why the pastors can come up like this guy and make heretical, blasphemous statements.

The problem is, and I have no problem with saying this, he's a false prophet. He's unconverted. He's foolish. So the Bible says he's got all the characteristics of that. Listen, we don't have time for jokes in the pulpit.

Recovering Reverence, Prayer, and the Power of God

Worship concerts that resemble pagan rituals and church services designed to draw the masses. We need God. We need God. I'm at a point, I don't know what it looks like, but just telling God, we need you.

God, we need you. Let's turn that clock around. I don't care how many worship songs are done. I don't care how many people are offended because it's too emotional. We need you. Who told us emotions were bad?

I mean, I've had altar calls at men's conferences where you couldn't get the guys off the altar for an hour and a half. Praying and weeping. Where is that now? Where? Where's it gone? Where? Because we need God.

We need you. Because the closer you draw to God, the more your emotions will be changed and challenged. You can't truly seek his face and try to save face at the same time. You know what save face means?

I don't want to be embarrassed. I don't want to be humbled. I'm safe. I'm saving face. Well, you'll never seek his face if you're worried about saving face. If you're worried about what the person next to you is thinking or God, what would they think if I'm at the altar?

Well, I'd be the first one up here. I'd be the first one up here saying, God created me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me. I need you. God, I need you. Jesus is the only thing I need. And we need to get back to that heart like the Bible, like a deer panting after the brook, like a heart on fire for God, like a heart seeking God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their strength, with all their mind.

Not this passive form of Christianity that gives God an hour and a half on Sunday. I'm going to cross reference something in Matthew 25 that we're not going to be able to get to today. It says, cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. People go into outer darkness because they reject God and his will. And it's ironic that we are one breath. And I look at my mom's monitor, their heartbeat.

It's just the brevity of life just hit me that day, that one heartbeat, one breath. That's all year away. You realize that? One heartbeat, one one breath and you're gone. And we're not urgent about this.

And we're scared of what people might think. Oh, they're going to think I'm that. Yeah, probably so. They killed your savior. They put him on the cross for what he said. And he said, if the world hates me, they're going to.

Hate you, but everybody wants to be liked. Now, please don't misunderstand. I want people to like me. I don't want to. I don't want to. You know, what I try to remember in my life is the truth will offend.

But my attitude shouldn't. That's the truth will offend, but my attitude shouldn't offend others. But when those two clash and they don't like the truth, it's going to offend. It's going to hurt. I'm going to close with the parable of the wise and foolish virgin virgins.

The Wise and Foolish Virgins: Readiness for Christ's Return

Virgin's first twenty five. Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now, five of them are wise and five were foolish. Here we go.

We see this parallel again. Those who are foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight, think about this. At midnight, the cry was heard. Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out and meet him. So what is this night of expectation? They're sleeping. And at midnight, here goes his call.

He's coming. Get ready. Get ready. And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. But the wise said, no, less there should be not enough for us and you. But go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves.

And while they went out to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in to the wedding and the door was shut. Afterward, the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said it.

Surely, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch, therefore, for, you know, neither the day nor the hour in which the son of man is coming. I'm just going to pull a quick thing from this. The foolish virgins had a form of godliness.

They had a form of godliness. They had the appearance of being the bride. They were at they were part of the group. They had they dressed the part. They looked the part, but they were not ready. So that's why in church you can't assume that everybody in this room is a believer.

You can't assume that everybody we talk to and says they're a Christian is a Christian. And often this is a good just as an extra word for young adults. Or if you're not married yet, you come home and say, mom, dad, but they said they're a Christian.

Run for cover, run for cover, look at the fruit, look at the fruit. Do they have a love for God and his word? Do they have a love for obedience? Are they concerned with protecting you and purity or are they not concerned with those those things?

Because many people say, I'm a Christian and there's no fruit, they're foolish, they look the part, they dress the part, but they were not ready. And it's amazing. Jesus says, I do not know you. So all these all these virgins are ready, five are prepared, five aren't.

Jesus says, I don't even know you. So what's he talking about? I don't know you. Of course, he knows them. We talked about this a few weeks back, a few weeks back. I don't have to go into detail, but that word no, no.

And the Greek is Oida, O-I-D-A. And it actually means to know somebody relationally and experientially. See, too many people have head knowledge. Jesus, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a Christian. He's that guy that died for me right now.

Not unless you embrace that gift. Oh, I go to church. No, I mean, we could do that here. Right. The same thing applies here today. What about would you guys be upset if I start? I'm not going to do it.

Don't worry. But if I start at the balcony and just work my way down to everybody, are you ready? Yes, I am. Tell me how. Well, I'm here, aren't I? Well, no, that doesn't that doesn't know that doesn't work.

Why are you ready? I've been a Christian all my life, Shane. Mm hmm. No. Well, well, I'm a Baptist. Mm hmm. Or are you ready? Yeah, my my my mom says I'm a Christian. I was I was baptized as a little baby at that Catholic church.

And, you know, I'm I'm I'm a Christian. No, you're not. If that's all you're resting in. Are you ready? Yes, I'm a good person. I don't care if you're a good person. Nobody's good. Nobody's good to the core.

You're not ready. You see how we can go down that same list. A person who's ready says, I have repented of my sin. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my savior. That's it. Has he ever? So I want I want to encourage you.

Experiencing God Relationally Through Conversion

I want to encourage you. Have you ever have you ever experienced that? Because you should know God relationally and experientially. I've experienced God, because when you know, when you've truly been converted, you go from light to darkness.

I'm sorry you go from darkness to light. I'm thinking the wrong way. You go from darkness to light. You go from evil to good. You go from wrong to right. You go from loving the world now, disdaining the world.

But the flesh is loving the world. And there's this battle and there's a clear difference. You spend time in his word. The word of God ministers to you. And, you know, that song, Mighty to Save that we sang, I think it was up there.

Or how good is our God? How good is our God? And as you sing those worship songs, they penetrate your heart and your heart cries of a father, because the spirit in you is crying out to God of a father.

You experience God. You felt his joy and his peace. Nothing can take you away from that. That's experiential knowledge of God that lines up with truth. So you have a relationship and. You've experienced him as a closing point, it was interesting this week, I was reading in Hosea to one of the minor prophets, and God would send prophets to warn his people to wake them up, return to me or backsliding Israel, and I will return to you.

You're worshipping trees, you're worshipping idols, you're trusting in Egypt. Turn back to me. Turn back to me. And it's interesting, my eyes caught this line in Hosea. He's speaking to God's people and he said, there is no knowledge of God in the land.

This is interesting, this is God's people, they they know who God is intellectual, they they they know God from their forefathers of the rich Jewish history. They know who he is. But Hosea says there is no knowledge of God in the land.

Why? There's no faithfulness. There's no relationship. There's no obedience. That's why, see, they can know God, but there's no faithfulness, no relationship and no obedience. You don't truly know God.

Jesus as Savior, Lord, King, and Judge

That's why Jesus says, why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things I say? Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things that I say? And I want to really drive this point home because there's a concept out there that they think you can have Jesus as Savior, but you don't need him as Lord.

That'll come later. Well, just give me one proof text, one verse for that supporting that erroneous concept. Now, yes, spiritual maturity is a process, sanctification is a process, growth is a process, you don't fully surrender your life sometimes when you're a young adult, life needs to chew you up and spit you out and then you come broken before God.

OK, I should have listened then. I'm listening now. But when a person genuinely is converted, they give their heart to the Lord, they repent to their sin. He is their savior and he is their Lord. End of story.

There's no he's not a divided savior because he's my savior. He's now my Lord. And he's also your judge. Have you ever thought about that? I mean, people like Rob Bell and different people, they love to quote the mild, meek, little Jesus turn the other cheek Jesus, but they forget about the line of the tribe of Judah.

Who's going to return with the armies of heaven and out of his mouth is going to come a sword that he will strike the nations with a rod of iron, he will rule the nations with a rod of iron, he himself will tread the winepress and fierceness and wrath of almighty God.

That's Jesus, he's savior, he's Lord, he's soon coming king, and he is our judge. That's why A .W. Tozer said, I love him because he's my savior, but I fear him because he's my judge. And that's another concern I have just to close with this pastor, say, just close with this a lot.

Right. And they keep going. But where's that? Where's that fervency or where's that reverence, I should say, for the house of God? I mean, when I was little, when you walked into a church, you better take your ball cap off.

The Fear of God and the Final Judgment

You better walk. It's God's house. There's something about the presence and power of God. There's this reverence. There's this respect. There's this there's this fear of God. People say, Shane, that's that's a that's a that's a terrible God that would make you fear him.

No, that's a wonderful God. That's a wonderful God that would make me fear him. Fear in that sense is a wonderful thing. Go tell Southern California Edison to take off their twelve thousand volt sticker off those big transformers and leave the lock undone.

What's the difference? You better fear touching twelve thousand volts, you better fear jumping off a 10 story building, you better fear almighty God. There's nothing actually the church, early church had power because it walked in the fear and reverence of the Lord.

It says an act. The fear of the God is beginning of wisdom and knowledge. Fear God. God says, fear me, my people, not as an abusive stepfather, but as a loving father who says, come to me and I will hold you.

I will give you rest, but go outside of my covering in my shelter. There's a thief is sent to kill, to steal and to destroy church. Come back to the living father and that safety and that protection. So it begs the question, are you the wise servant or the foolish?

There's no middle ground. There's no fence, you can't stand the fence because the devil owns the fence. He loves you to have one foot in the world, one foot in church, one foot in the world, one foot in church, one foot in the world, one foot in church.

And then you get to judgment day. And you hear, I don't I don't know you. Because this is a sobriety check. There are two things you will hear one at one or the other. You will hear. Well done now, good and faithful servant, or you will hear depart from me.

Calling Families to Genuine Faith and Baptism

I don't know you. Listen, I'm going to tell my kids the same exact thing. I want them to fear God, I want them to. And we do. Some of the kids are in our services, they hear this. Now, I think we've got six kids being baptized next weekend to over 12 people being baptized because and I asked them, this isn't just a swimming pool.

What are you doing? I love Jesus. I repent of my sin. I need him. The Bible says to be baptized. I want to show people that I've been that I love him.