So many have the mistaken idea that the pastor is the minister (the servant) and everyone gets waited on by him. If you claim the name of Christian your mindset must be completely reversed as you learn the power of serving others!
If you read the Old Testament enough you start to see the horrible pattern of generation after generation of God’s people forget Him. Oh, they have a form of religious tradition and shallow faith but they blur the lines of obedience and copy and become like their ungodly neighbors. It is the same today in the church, Christians have forgotten much over the 2000 years since the church was formed.
What is the church in danger of forgetting today? The Apostle Paul asks, “Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.” Romans 3:31 (NLT)
Let’s look back on the timeline of God’s dealings with Israel.
After God sent Moses to Egypt to bring His people to the Promised Land, things got rough and many of the people quickly forgot God’s will and wanted to go back to slavery. They ran straight back to idolatry when Moses was on the mountain receiving God’s Laws. They resisted and fought against God in every trial of faith. They ended up stuck in the wilderness for their sins.
But the children were spared and remembered all God’s powerful miracles. They followed and honored God by following Joshua into the Promised Land and experiencing God’s power. But they failed to raise their children and teach them as God intended. They were to wholeheartedly immerse their children with the truth. They were told to talk about His law and teach His ways all day long. Their “God” conversations were needed constantly to raise up their children to love God.
They were instructed to focus on the education of their children. “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NLT)
But they failed to wholeheartedly obey and their children grew up and forgot God. As it explains in Judges, “Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.”
“After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD.” Judges 2:8-12 (NLT)
And we are told the ungodly neighbors would be a constant test and trial for Israel because they turned from God. The prevailing culture of the people who lived there before they got into the land would ruin them. All the spectacular festivals of the heathen gods, the food, and the fun would capture their kid’s hearts. Diversity and tolerance wedded the children together in mind and spirit.
They were warned in Judges 2:19-23 (NLT), “But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. So the LORD burned with anger against Israel. He said, ‘Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the LORD as their ancestors did’.”
“That is why the LORD left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all.”
Well since they forgot God’s ways in the days of the new generation they did not feel guilty about the evil they were doing and were not even aware that God was angry with them. They lived their lives absorbed with the culture and adventures of the “today”. Darkness and spiritual ignorance reigned.
In the 21st century, many Americans see the recent past with any God stuff and label it old fashioned. As if time erases God’s standards each new generation feels natural with new depths of sin and then condemn the old-fashioned preachers who call them to repentance. They see those old religious extremists as out of touch with reality and the new generation of “Christians” are pulled down with the spiritual darkness.
After Joshua and before Israel had kings they were led by judges. But Israel so forgot God they did whatever they decided was right and wrong. Oh, they still had the Law of God, they just did not bother to obey God. As it is written, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Judges 17:6 (NLT)
Somehow God and His commands were not good enough for the people, they needed to be forced to obey Him by the sword of a king.
Well not really, even after hundreds of years and many kings later, they still forgot God. Even the spiritual leaders did not read the book! They so neglected God inside their temple, sacrifices, and worship they finally found the lost Bible. In 2 Kings 22:8 (NLT) we find this sad story, “Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the LORD’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.”
Throughout the history of Isaiah God sent preachers to warn them and call them to turn back to His ways and restore His culture. They rarely listened. God’s ways were so forgotten they could only relate to the world of the ungodly who lived all around them. For example in Isaiah 51:13 (NLT), they were warned, “Yet you have forgotten the LORD…”
He did not care about the time. He demanded the same obedience that He ordered generations earlier when He met Moses and gave His Law and will. We find Isaiah the prophet calling on the Jews to turn back to the old forgotten ways of God. Even though that generation did not know God like the first generation of Israel God expected, no demanded, that they read His word and keep His traditions. He demanded that they obey His law.
But because the rest of you have forsaken the LORD and have forgotten his Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny, now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword. All of you will bow down before the executioner. For when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes— and chose to do what you know I despise.”
Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “My servants will eat, but you will starve. My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. My servants will rejoice, but you will be sad and ashamed. My servants will sing for joy, but you will cry in sorrow and despair.
Your name will be a curse word among my people, for the Sovereign LORD will destroy you and will call his true servants by another name. All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the God of truth. For I will put aside my anger and forget the evil of earlier days. Isaiah 65:11-16 (NLT)
And when I say they I mean the whole family. Even the kids loved the world. They loved the fun traditions of the other gods and celebrated fun holiday traditions with their parents. “No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods! Am I the one they are hurting?” asks the LORD. ‘Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.’” Jeremiah 7:18-19 (NLT)
Family traditions thought harmless for all the seasonal joy of family closeness and love had to be more important than the rigid law of God… right? They laughed, sang, made family memories, and did not really love the gods, it was just traditions passed on by their families over hundreds of years. All the region enjoyed the holidays. They still claimed they loved God.
They all enjoyed the festive foods, dinners, and fun. But God did not care how much fun they had! Why did God send those out of touch preachers to put such a negative spin on their joyful times together?
The preacher Jeremiah condemned their festivals of harmless fun and they pushed back with excuses. “‘Besides,’ the women added, ‘do you suppose that we were burning incense and pouring out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!’” Jeremiah 44:19 (NLT)
Another preacher was called to experience the hurt God felt from their “harmless fun”. Their happiness was God’s sadness. “Then the LORD told me, ‘Love your wife again, even though she is loved by others and has committed adultery. Love her as I, the LORD, love the Israelites, even though they have turned to other gods and love to eat raisin cakes.’” Hosea 3:1 (GW) Just like the heartbreak a husband felt from a cheating wife, the God of heaven feels the same gut-wrenching pain.
Even though the Jews had tried to keep up the sacrifice of animals for their sins, they were enslaved to those sins. It was a vicious circle of sin, grief, confession, and animal sacrifice. Each one cried, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” Romans 7:24 (NLT)
And so the circle of spiritual darkness covered the land of Israel even when Jesus arrived on the scene 2000 years ago. The Gospel of Matthew described the situation, “…the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” Matthew 4:16 (NLT)
After 2000 years has the church fallen into the same trap Israel was destroyed with? What have we forgotten?
“Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.” Romans 3:31 (NLT)
Has the church forgotten this old statement from the old Bible?
Romans 8:3-9 (NLT)
3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
(The law of Moses does not have the power to change people’s hearts. But faith in Jesus, the Good News of God’s salvation gives people a new heart of obedience… “only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.” Now sin DOES NOT control us!)
4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
(That we might be conformed to the law, or be obedient to its requirements, and no longer under the influence of the flesh and its corrupt desires. – Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament.)
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
(True Christians are controlled by the Holy Spirit, not their dead sinful nature like everyone else who is controlled and driven by lust and greed.)
6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
(Can Christians let themselves be controlled by their sinful natures? NO! But the wicked always do.)
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
(Only the Holy Spirit indwelling Christians is righteous and the grace of God powerful enough to change a hostile sinner into a passionate and righteous follower of Jesus.)
8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
(The lost man is in bondage to sin and has only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to free him. No one can will themselves to freedom from sin. No one can change themselves.)
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
(Make no mistake freedom from the control of your old sinful heart and ways come through faith. Real Christians are controlled by God.)
John 7:37-39 (NLT)
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
Jesus made it clear, salvation unleashes the Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit gushing forth from the spirit of the saved with floods of righteousness into their souls. Has the church forgotten, “You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”?
The apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Spirit warned the church about forgetting the power of grace, “They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” 2 Timothy 3:4-5 (NLT)
Let’s not be like Israel and forget the power and truth of God’s Word. Every Christian must remember they are equipped to fulfill the law! Jesus makes it real because “only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”
And, let’s not forget Christ’s warning. “On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” Matthew 7:22-23 (NLT)
Christian you are redeemed from sin, cleansed and changed into a new person to be “totally committed to doing good deeds.” Just like Moses, the thief on the cross and Saul redemption is offered to all people. And His grace is all-powerful and alters your life like a hurricane turning you completely around to become a mighty servant of God. This message was preached by Randy on August 26, 2012.
Titus 2:11-14 (NLT)
11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.
12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,
13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.
14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
George Barna’s book, THINK LIKE JESUS, is a devastating reality book, in a truer sense than the present menu of reality TV shows of the gross and the unusually weird. The facts are hard to deny when they stare you in the face. The truth is 90% of those in America who claim to be born again probably are not, but are deceived hypocrites like Judas Iscariot and will be stunned to find their place in the Lake of Fire.
By careful analysis about seven million people in the entire nation actually take the Bible seriously and read it and obey it.
The best case scenario would be that many are confused and deceived and do not “bear fruit” because they are immature, but the shocking reality is many want a free ticket to heaven without any obligation to change lifestyle or life direction.
So the alarming thing is most church goers have more in common with Judas than with the other disciples.
While the 11 apostles repented of their old sins and followed Christ, Judas followed but never stopped being a thief. [John 12:6 “This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.”]
When the fiery trial of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion came all ran, but Judas before hand went to his enemies and sold him out. [Matthew 26:15 “and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.”]
The differences between the saint and the sinner are clear, Peter cried and confessed his failures, but Judas gave up and quit. [Matthew 27:5 “Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”]
Do works get you into heaven?
NO! You cannot buy or trade your way past the Righteous Judge. But, your works prove what you have, eternal life or eternal death, because lost people cannot obey God, and only those filled with God’s grace do. Romans 8:4 explains, “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
You might be able to interpret this statement to make excuses for the vast majority of so-called Christians by saying, “Christ made me righteous in God’s eyes, therefore we do not have to change because no one is perfect.” And if it was an isolated verse, maybe you could, but wait there’s more, Paul explains.
Romans 8:6-9
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. [8] So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [9] But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Therefore, thinking like Jesus is not optional, it is mandatory and proof of life.
Thinking like everyone else in this world proves death is still the present and future reality of all disciples of Judas, even though they believe they follow Christ, not Judas. Remember Judas did not make it to heaven! Thinking like Jesus means understanding God’s way, and the evidence of this changed mindset proves you have new life. Not only that, it bears fruit, a real change of life, which is the fruit of God’s holy presence inside a real follower of Jesus.
Our Lord explained it using a story of farming:
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. [20] But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; [21] yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. [22] Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. [23] But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” [Matthew 13:19-23]
Summation: Therefore here are three clear signs of carnal mindedness that lead to eternal punishment and death:
1/ continued disobedience to the Lord’s clear commands in at least one area
Like Judas, you may be around Christ and claim to yourself that you are a Christian, or used to go to church and pride yourself in the hope that you are as good as those people and are going to heaven. BUT HEAR THIS, continued bondage to a sin only proves your hopes are false. You are still thinking and acting like Judas. You see, a person who receives the grace of God can say like John, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burden-some.” [1 John 5:3] No you are like Judas, if you do not stop disobeying God in that one sin you hold to, even though it seems insignificant to you.
2/ when trials or persecutions come the carnal person will sell out Christ or his followers and side with or even help the enemies of Christ
Like Judas, even if you are or were a faithful “church attender” for years, when the day comes and you get a chance to give up because of hard times and circumstances [tribulation], or people or family pressure you [persecution] and you quit serving Christ, you finally prove your real heart and carnal mindedness. The true child that is pushed around and gets hurt runs to their parents for help, the orphan has nowhere to run and gives up like Judas.
3/ when the carnally minded fail Christ they do not confess, repent and return – instead they quit the Lord and his church
All the disciples failed Jesus, but only Judas quit. Proverbs 24:16 declares, “For a righteous man may fall seven times, And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.” New babies learning to walk fall many times at first, but keep getting up and starting over. But within a short period of time they master the art of walking and rarely fall after the baby stage. “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” [1 John 3:9]
All the disciples failed Christ one time, but search diligently you won’t find they thought like or lived like Judas. All eleven died for their Master, without exception. Only Judas, who never changed his carnal mind, sold out and quit the Lord.
Application: How about you?
Are you sitting home on Sunday instead of obeying the commands of God and serving Him inside His local church founded and created by Him? Even if your local church is small in number, where two or three are gathered in His name, He promises to be with you because you are obedient.
Hebrews 10:22-27 commands: “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, [25] not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. [26] For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”
Stop making your excuses and get up and faithfully join the saints every week. Stop judging them and help them. Or stop lying to yourself, that what you are buying with the extra money you get for working on Sunday is necessary, it is not enough to make up for your obedience to Christ. Instead THINK LIKE JESUS!
Or stop telling yourself it is your only day off. Well, if you were working obviously you would not be able to join together with the church. Instead THINK LIKE JESUS! Or stop excusing yourself that you cannot find a church that meets your list of demands, you hypocrite, God tells you to love your brothers. Acts 2:42 is your instructions from the Lord, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
INSTEAD THINK LIKE JESUS! Prove you think like Jesus and love those He loves by committing to them, by faithfully studying God’s Word with them, joining them in friendship and fellowship, taking communion with them, and praying with them. Remember this warning from 1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
Now where will you be this weekend? If you are already faithfully attending church meetings, why not make the complete step and be a narrow road follower of Jesus everyday. Be the church, do not just go to a meeting. Where will your thoughts and actions be today? The greatest fear I have is not those who quit the church already, it is for those who quietly follow Judas Iscariot and do not THINK LIKE JESUS!
