What Now? – Country Christmas Week 5 – December 31, 2017
Pastor Kris Freeman, Revolution Church
Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
When Jesus arrived, the whole world CHANGED.
Does the church do a good job of changing when the world around us changes?
I would say a definite NO.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Top things that have changed about the church in 2017:
- What we say is no longer good enough.
Trust in evangelicals as an authority is at an all time low. We have a responsibility as the church to be better representatives of God in our world. Why has this changed?
- Decisions damage credibility
- Political polarization
- Everyone is a skeptic
Just because people doubt us, should the church stop it’s efforts to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
- What we do is no longer said enough.
Matthew 6:3-4 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
The church has become a promotional entertainment venue instead of a place of worship.
Three ways to serve like Christ:
- Do it no matter who sees it
- Serve it no matter who thanks you for it
- Promote it but only for the sake of planning it
Be careful not to pat yourself on the back for doing what the church should be doing in the first place.
- Where we are is no longer Sunday enough.
The modern church is no longer a Sunday morning church with Sunday School discipleship and Sunday worship Christians.
Your faith should be bigger than one hour on Sunday morning, but if you limit God to that one-hour how much more will you limit your potential to serve Him?
- God is everywhere and you should be too.
- God loves everyone so you should love them too.
- God is in everything, even if everything is not necessarily focused on Him.
Philippians 2:10-11 NLT
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
What does this mean for 2018?
- We cannot stop
- We cannot loose heart
- We cannot quit working together
Hebrews 10:25 NLT
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
#CountryChristmas #RevWhiteHouse
