Here is a question for you. “Why are you here this morning?”
You might think that sounds kind of like a question that you might ask a teenage class and well you would be right. I have taught a few classes and a few devotionals to the teens in my day. Not sure how many but let’s just say it has been a few over the years. After all these years I had the tables turned on me a few weeks ago. I sat in a teenage class and I was one of the students….taught by one of my students long ago. MY SON!
My son had been asked to substitute for another teacher that was out of town. It was the middle school class and the teacher provided a copy of the material he could present to the class. That was on a Thursday…..On Friday, another teacher called and said he also was going to be out of town and wondered if he could combine his high school class with the middle school class. Of course he said yes, but could really teach the High School kids the lesson that was meant for the middle schoolers. So he pulled out a lesson he had heard previously….not by me….another bible teacher.
So here I sat listening to my son give a lesson to 30+ students.
He started off the class with the question I posed to you, “Why are you here today?” Can you imagine what sort of responses were said in the class.
1. “My parents told me to get in the car.”
2. “I didn’t have a choice.”
3. “It has always been what we have done.”
4. My parents began brainwashing me at a young age.”
There finally was an answer that said I want to be here and I want to please the Lord.
As I sat there I was thinking that out of all the individuals in that class, even the teacher, all of them were influenced by their parents. They were initially all there because of what their parents required of them. Except for me. I had a bit of different perspective as I was converted in my early 20s and not by my parents. Nobody in my family is in the church. I was also the only parent in the class and understood from also a different perspective of why a parent would want to influence their child in the first place. Obviously so they were not lost. This should be a “shoe in” for a conversion but we know that this is not always the case.
That was my son’s warm up question and then he went on with his lesson on Tyre from Ezekiel. Something that I found very interesting and had not studied in detail before.
My lesson is not about my son. I preach on my experiences that cross my path in life. Things that influence me. You see my son mentioned to me later that the question, “Why are you here today?” was something that was asked of him in a psychology class in college. However it was more along the lines of “Why do you go to church?” Do you know what the primary answer was? It basically went back to “My parents told me to go.”
So, a very long introduction into what boils down to “I go to church because of the faith of my parents or of others.” Can you imagine what the professor did to the students…..yep, he really tore into them for their lack of having their own faith. A borrowed faith isn’t what we need.
We have to have our own heart fully committed to the Lord.
Heart is mentioned 926 times….roughly…..all different types of hearts.
EZEKIEL 11:17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. 19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them,[a] and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.
EZEKIEL 18:30
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”
WHOLE HEART
3. Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
4. Psalm 119:58
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word.
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word.
5. Psalm 119:69
The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.
The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.
I ask you the question again, “Why are you here today?”
I am going GUESS that you originally became a follower of Christ because of maybe two things.
1. You loved him. You trusted him, you believe in him, you believe in his promise. You seek eternal salvation with him in Heaven.
2. The other part has to be that you fear him. You fear the other option that awaits you if it isn’t heaven. Hell. Eternal Damnation. Do you think you might be a bit uncomfortable?
Sunburn is a bit uncomfortable. Hell is more than a sunburn.
I am also going to GUESS that you are here because you believe is his WHOLE PROMISE.
What comes with a WHOLE PROMISE….A WHOLE HEART? Maybe the question isn’t “Why are you hear today?” but instead, “Why aren’t you here today?...tonight? Wednesday? Why aren’t you acting like a Christian all the other times? Why do you NOT put me first? You ask something pretty great of me but you give me little in return.
I really like that new car…..How much is it? OOO that is expensive…well I am committed to having this new car, can I pay half of what you are asking? Hmmm, sure we will deliver it to your front door tomorrow. The car gets there and it doesn’t have any tires, there isn’t any air conditioning in fact there isn’t any engine. You call up dealer and say, “Hey, you didn’t give me a WHOLE CAR…..yeah, you didn’t give me the WHOLE PAYMENT.
What if our salvation was like that? What if we got to Heaven and we had given less than a WHOLE HEART? You get to the gates and check in….Name? Eugene. Yes, we have your cottage over here…just beyond the gates…..What..Cottage? I thought I was getting a mansion? And why are we over here and not inside the gates…..Well you are in heaven…you are just in the Suburb of Heaven. Suburb? What? Hey, my cottage doesn’t even have a roof. Well that is true but we don’t get much rain here in Heaven so you should be okay.
It doesn’t work that way…..you are either in or out. He provides you a WHOLE PROMISE.
0 comments:
Post a Comment