Matthew 7:21-29 (KJV)
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.
Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise
man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:
and great was the fall of it.
And it came to pass,
when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
For he taught them as
one having authority, and not as the scribes.
The act of Thanksgiving IS one of the most Christian acts of
all.
Thanksgiving
is a happy subject – there is no question about that.
But there
is no such thing as thanksgiving without having experienced hardship.
Those who
first celebrated Thanksgiving did so after barely surviving the winter.
When George Washington first proclaimed that
Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a national day of thanks he said, “the necessity for such a day sprung from the
Almighty’s care of Americans prior to the Revolution, assistance to them in
achieving independence, and help in establishing the constitutional
government.”[1]
They had
endured the most difficult of times and had survived.
That not
only gave opportunity for thanksgiving, but necessitated it.
By the
way, it was not a thanksgiving to family, friends and government, but to the
Almighty.
Examining
our passage for this morning we find two familiar passages:
· Not
everyone that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven and
· A wise man
which built his house upon a rock
What I
wonder if most of us have ever considered is that the two are so closely
connected.
Jesus
said, “Not everyone that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven”
Therefore, He said, whosoever heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built
his house upon a rock.”
Because
some people behave like Christians do but will not go to heaven, we ought to
build our house upon the rock which, we know, is Jesus Christ.
I want to
get right up front with you right now….
Why are you here?
Why did
you come to church this morning?
Why do
ever come to church?
Some people go to church because that’s the
way they grew up.
I know
people who attend the same church they have attended for the last fifty years;
rather, they go to the same building they have gone to for 50 years. The church
has changed pastors, changed doctrine, changed what they do and even changed
names.
But they
go their every Sunday because that’s what they have always done.
Some people go to church because their parents
still make them go.
There will
come a day when they quit.
Some people go to church because they feel
good about being in church
There’s
nothing wrong with that. I just wonder what will happen when they don’t feel
good about it any more.
Some people go to church because they find
there a group of people who think, for the most part, like they do.
Church is
a refuge from a world going crazy with liberalism, socialism, environmentalism
and social activism.
Why did you come to church today?
Let me
tell you why I am here.
I came to
church today because I am convinced beyond question that:
· Jesus Christ is God, that
· He died for my sins and rose again three days
later, that
· When I asked Him to, He forgave me of all my
sins and that
· He built this church and expects me to be here
I am here because I believe.
I. I BELIEVE
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
1
Corinthians 15:3-8 (KJV)
For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that
he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:
And that
he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After
that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater
part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After
that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last
of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Do you
realize that there is no religion in the world that teaches anything remotely
similar to the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Religions
have what they consider to be:
· Miracles
· Mystics
· Martyrs and
· Messiahs
They have
stories of people they think were in a higher level of consciousness than the
rest of us.
They have
teachers they lean on that they believe were in touch with the divine.
But they
have nothing like the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.
And
because they have no resurrection, they operate from an entirely different
premise than true Christianity does.
They use
their religion to press people into their moral code.
They try
to make men good by making them religious.
· Christianity, true Christianity, isn’t trying
to make people good.
· True Christianity is simply telling people
about the One who has made them good.
· Religions use their versions of moral teaching
to make people behave the way they want them too.
· Christianity introduces people to Jesus, who:
lives forever, but died and now ever liveth to make intercession for them.
It is
faith in the resurrection of Jesus that makes Christians different than any
other group of people on this planet.
· Faith in the resurrection is the means by
which we are saved[2]
· Faith in the resurrection is the reason we
have hope for eternity[3] and
· Faith in the resurrection is why we need never
be miserable in this life[4]
The
resurrection of Christ isn’t even a question because, secondly
II. I BELIEVE
THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF TRUTH
2 Timothy
3:16-17 (KJV)
All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The number
of passages that assure us that the Bible is:
· Given to us by God and therefore
· Without error
Would be impossible to cover in one message.
A. The Bible says it is from God
2 Peter
1:21 (KJV)
For the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.
These are
not the words of men, but of God.
2 Timothy
3:16 says they are inspired, “breathed out” by God
B. The Bible says it is without error and
Psalms
12:6-7 (KJV)
The words
of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified
seven times.
Thou shalt
keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
The Word
of God says that it is not only pure, but purified seven times.
The reason
why it is profitable is because it is perfect.
C. The Bible says it is preserved
Matthew
5:18 (KJV)
For verily
I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
God said
it is purified and God promised to keep them forever so that, not even one jot
or tittle of the Word of God will ever fail.
Now, here
is the argument most people will use against what I have just said,
“Yes, but you proved the Bible is true with
the Bible. You can’t do that – the rules of philosophy reject that line of
argument.”
The rules
of philosophy call this circular reasoning. You can’t prove a thing with a
thing.
I have a
ton of objections to this:
First, science does it all the time.
Science teaches that the way to prove something is true is to do it again.
Second, who made philosophers god?
The one
thing I know about those who say they know, is that they don’t know.
Have you
ever heard some doctor or scientist or researcher say, “We now know…”
They
should say, “We now think…”
· They used to know the earth was flat, now they
know it is round
· They used to know that Pluto was a planet, now
they know it is not
· They used to know that eggs will cause heart
attacks, now they know that is wrong
They don’t
know anything – they just think they know.
So while
the philosophical rules of logic and argumentation might have value in debate –
I do not believe I have to believe their rules are infallible.
Third, the Bible is in a class all by
itself.
What rules
might apply to any other book, subject or concept does not apply to the Bible
because man did not write it.
It is a
field all by itself.
It makes
its own rules.
I am here
today because
· I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
· I believe the Bible is absolutely true and is
the only true source of truth
Further
III. I BELIEVE
THAT THIS CHURCH AND OTHERS LIKE IT EXIST AS A GIFT FROM GOD
Matthew
16:17-18 (KJV)
And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I
challenge anyone to find in the Bible a church that is invisible and mystical.
A church
is always an assembled body of believed, called together and united for God’s
purpose.
The New
Testament can be grouped into three parts:
· The Historical books[5]
· The Epistles and
· The Revelation
You will
find the church to be a key feature in every one of those three parts.
Those who
think they can be practicing Christians without being a member of and faithful
to a local church have deluded themselves.
I am here
today lastly,
IV. I BELIEVE
HEAVEN AWAITS THOSE (AND ONLY THOSE) PLACE SAVING FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
Romans
10:9-13 (KJV)
That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there
is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him.
For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I called on Jesus Christ
and asked Him to save in back in April of 1977.
Honestly, I did not know
a thing about what it meant to be a Christian.
I hadn’t been to church
five times in my whole life.
But I knew deep in my
heart that there is a God in heaven.
When I heard that Jesus
was His Son and that He rose from the dead, I knew it was true. And,
When I heard that I
could call upon Him and He would forgive my sins and make for me a home in
heaven, I did not hesitate.
Now, I had a lot of
growing to do.
I was a long way from
understanding all that being a Christian meant.
But I can tell you this,
having gotten saved, it wasn’t long before the Spirit of God drew me into a
local church.
And I have never wanted
to be anywhere else, since.
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a
Christian act that can only be accomplished if it is established on the
foundation of faith:
· In the resurrection of Jesus Christ
· In the truthfulness of the Bible
· In the importance of the church and especially
· In salvation by grace through faith in the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ
[1]
http://www.mountvernon.org/education/primary-sources-2/article/thanksgiving-proclamation-of-1789/
[2] Romans 10:9 (KJV)
That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[3] 1 Peter 1:3 (KJV)
Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead,
[4] 1 Corinthians 15:19-20
(KJV)
If in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen
from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
[5] The Gospels and Acts, everything
from Romans to Jude and the Revelation
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