HeartsAlive - Sermon - Worship Our God & Faith
When a person is saved, something changes on the inside, there is now a desire to follow after God…, to seek to do the will of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:21
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. “
When a person trusts Christ as Savior, there is something that is continually drawing the believer to do the will of God.
We have all seen God by HIS Spirit at various times in our church services seeking to draw people to HIMSELF.
He was calling them
He was wooing them
He was pleading for men and women to Come To Christ
To Be ONE with HIM!
He was MANIFESTING HIS LIFE for all who would come to HIM and drink deeply of the water of life.
Throughout the gospels, Jesus challenged the religious. They did good works, but they were not trusting God for salvation because they saw themselves as being good enough.
In Matthew 21, Jesus asked a question of the chief priests of the Temple. These were the elders..., the religious teachers of the nation of Israel. These were the religious elite. Surely these people were doing the will of God.
Matthew 21:28-31 “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, the first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
Is Jesus saying that Bad people will go to heaven before good people. There are no good people. None. For the Bible says:
“There is none righteous, no not one.” “There is none good, but God!”
What Jesus is seeking to illustrate not only to the Nation of Israel, but to all who would read this scripture. He is showing to us the importance of repentance. The proud who will not repent..., will not go to heaven..., no matter how good they may appear to be on the outside.
Repentance is a turning away. There are some things that God wants us to turn away from, so that, we can enjoy all that HE has for us.
Job was a righteous man..., but God showed to him his need for repentance. Job 38:1-4 1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:33-35 33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? 34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? 35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
God said, If you know so much that you can complain about my treatment of you…, Answer for me these Questions…, I demand of you an answer. Job got silent all of a sudden.
Abraham was a man of faith and yet he made several decisions out of the will of God that called for repentance in his life.
And David..., whom the scriptures tell us was a man after God’s own heart..., needed to find a place of repentance.
These were individuals who knew and loved God, but failed and were in need of Repentance. I ask you: Are you seeking to do the will of God?
Ready to Repent when the Spirit of God calls. Or are we just religious?
Beloved lost people do not have Christ within.
They do not have the hope
They do not have the comfort
They do not have the wisdom to make decisions that will bring them to this place of blessing.
They do not have a desire to obey God and to honor him.
They simply seek to do righteous things:
Like going to church
Like helping others
Like trying to be good.
Doing things to relieve themselves of the continual grind of guilt that is in their souls.
When the guilt gets to be more than they can handle..., they will come to church or do other good deeds..., but they do not have the life.
The life is the life of Jesus Christ that is within the heart of every believer.
If we are to cooperate with God in the development of this life..., this life of Christ that has been placed within the soul of every believer..., we must learn to live a life of FAITH!
And faith calls us to repentance.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Therefore, if I am not poor in spirit…, I need to repent….
Mourning --- Meek --- Hungering & Thirsting ---
Are we simply religious…, Or, do we know how to repent?
Too many people think that if I am right with God then I won't have anymore tests. And if I have tests, I must not be right with God.
But what does God say:
1 Pet 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (KJV)
Again, Why should we greatly rejoice?
1 Pet 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
The test is ALWAYS only for a season. But it is God’s season and not mine.
Again..., Let me ask you a question: If we could choose several pounds of gold or another trip down "Trial Highway" which would we choose?
Gold is nothing to God, but the development of our faith is everything to God.
1 Pet 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
If we are to do the will of God, we must understand:
That Tests will come to all Believers
John The Baptist had a severe trial. He was preaching against the sins of King Herod and was throne in Jail.
Remember John the Baptist is the one who proclaimed "Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world."
Jesus said of John that there "...hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:...."
This mature man of God now finds himself in prison. All of a sudden, John has doubts. Jesus is not delivering him. His faith begins to waiver.
John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask this question. Matt 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
John was in a severe trial for his life and he began to have some doubts.
John must be wondering., Jesus don’t you know that I your servant am in prison awaiting execution?
John is not being delivered therefore, he begins to wonder. Are you the Messiah?
Jesus knew that John was in prison, but the call of God upon John the Baptist was that he would die in prison. That was the will of God for John the Baptist.
John I do know.
John I can save you.
But here is my message .. John:
Matt 11:5-6 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
John don't be offended. My plan for your life is that you die.
BELOVED, if we are to pass the trial we must understand that God knows EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON IN THE TRIAL.
He understands.
He has a plan.
And He is always with us.
God is Omniscience therefore, HE knows what is going on in the trial
God is the Comforter therefore, HE is with us during the trial
And when our faith is being tested we need to make sure that we believe that God is SOVERIGN..., HE is in ultimate control.
No matter how bad it looks.
No matter how painful it gets
No matter how long it lasts.
God ultimately is in control.
Are you a believer..., then I ask you..., This week will you choose to stay in faith. Will we cooperate with God as HE takes us down “TRIAL HIGHWAY”. And as we face the trials of life there will be times that we will need to repent.
If you are not a believer..., God wants to draw near to you and to bless you.
Will you acknowledge your sinfulness?
Will you repent and seek to do HIS will?
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