Mild Christianity - Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ never think of God power that he has what I think what you want to tell them is looking to understand he is absolutely in control because of his power, and he's also sovereign. What's going to happen. Israel is what God writes in his tablet of time God puts it. At the end of that sentence. It's over missing way it's going to be key. Not only is all-powerful, but is a sovereign providential everybody for joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastor will go for now is once again he shows up how God's word meets our world is I don't care if you're sons of Abraham. I don't care if you been delivered from Babylon. I don't care if you're working on the temple of God. Everything you do and everything you offer me from my point of view is on clean. Why because you only have a mild case believe is your heart is far from me thinking more about your own home, then you are about me is exactly the kinds of things that you see today you see if you're a Christian who is unhappy and join us if you're Christian for worry and anxiety angered him bitter and loving and selfish, greedy, unethical, apathetic and indifferent. Can you think that every time you show up at a setting you walk up to God to worship that he does. I'm so impressed you came is not let your heart is right is is please don't be vaccinated with a mild case of Christianity is not something God will accept it is not something that we can let go by. If you belong to God like Israel belongs to God he will deal with you. That's the side effects that he does on describes notice verse 15 pieces but now do consider from this day onward before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord in a time when one came to agreement to a grain heap of 20 measures.

He says there would be only 10 anyone came to the wine vat to draw 50 measures. There will be only 20 I smote you and every work of your hands with a blasting windmill doing Helen you did not come back to me. One of the side effects you know you been vaccinated with a mild case of Christianity.

The first is this you have low spiritual resources. Knowing you have low spiritual resources. Israel was a nation in order for the nation to overcome the difficult times times of war times of drought.

What they did is they took their excesses and he put in Barnsley put in the facts and so want to talk the hard times came they were going to the resources they would tap into the resources we say to principally save for the rainy day, so it is virtually no life. You have low spiritual resources when the drought comes when the storms come out of the storms of life. When the difficulties come in.

The thunder rumbles and the lightning strikes you do. See, instead of having 50 measures. You have only 20% having 20 only money 10. What you find is you just can panic in the situation because is no deep spiritual resource within you to grab on to this.

If that's the case in your life. There's a good chance you been vaccinated with a mild case of Christianity is a sad thing to see because a part of it is a trauma storms that all of us mimics a source that is a pastor because I know what's going happen eventually in your life it's going to hit that barn is empty it's empty and all those resources used to be reclaimed to an grabber God. That's why God said I want to come back and you did not notice verse 17 says something a little different.

You have low spiritual resources number 16 and 17.

He says you never seem to make much spiritual progress. I smote you in every work of your hands blasting windmill doing Helen you do not come back for some of us we never seem to make any spiritual progress.

We were last year's were we are this year where we were five years ago was where we are now were 10 years ago were still there seem to so instead of moving on were not moving, just sort of sitting still feel like that some I thought about what you do either, talk about how often your church with you lead by was a lot talk about any of that kind of stuff when I'm talking about is when push comes to shove, and it does hit the fan where you what's going on in your life do you tapping the war right then doesn't have meaning and purpose. You find yourself spiritually bankrupt because you don't have anything to offer. See that's a side effect being vaccinated with mild Christianity disorder first 19 he says, is the seed still in the barn even including the vine and fig tree, the pomegranate in the olive tree is not borne fruit understand this yet understand the culture in the month. This is the month of cheese. Blue this is the month of what they call the early rain. This is the month that you wait for the when it rains in Israel you now plant the seeds so that you can have a harvest in the summer and late summer he says of them was your seed is still in the barn.

Is he one of the side effects is knowing you have low spiritual resources. You never seem to make spiritual progress. But God is withholding blessing is withholding arrangement. See that's an amazing and sobering thought is he does know he doesn't for a purpose. Notice he says is not borne fruit because he said before, you have not yet come back to me. God withholds rain. He was holding rain in your life is your Israelites are two steps for three steps back to counterweights going if it is in your believer in Jesus Christ. You really have to examine yourself, do I have this mild case in my reading what I'm so because you cannot. So apathy and indifference with God Almighty and read blessing. It will not happen and he's consistent about that in the old and the New Testament. The good thing is there's a cure doing is here in these passages in order to be cured.

It simply takes a backward look and affordable goddesses. In other words, I have to look back to what I have sown in for the what God can do, that's what I need to do and that's what he's asking to do. Notice verse 15 but now do consider verse 18, do consider the end of verse 18 consider the a lot of profit on the son of one, but my thought here is of God says it three times. I don't think he stutters I think is important. So, like Jesus, and he who has ears to hear, let him hear. I think he knew it ears.

Most people did what he meant was, this is something to emphasize when he says here, consider consider consider is exactly what he said in chapter 1 verse five. Consider your ways. Verse seven. Consider your ways when you want to do is excite assess your life assess it. Look back on your life worse times, came where your spiritual fortress or your Sandcastle see what happened in those darkest times were you able to reline a tap on the resources of God. We are not.

See that's what you say and if you have this is built into the whole biblical doctrine of repentance.

Consider your ways. Is this saying. Assess your life change your mind, foot directions. That's what he saying Sunday school teacher asked the class of fourth graders. What does repentance mean billboard put up his hand said, repentance means being sorry for your sins and little girl always like to correct them in class raise her hand said it's being sorry enough to quit one of them exactly theologically online. She makes a really good point, but requires a change in the human being holy place and go with me to first John chapter 1 to get a New Testament view of the same idea that Haggai speaking of first John chapter 1 by the end of the Bible. John says in verse five, and this is the message that we, the apostles of her from him. That is Jesus Christ. And we announce to you, God is light and in him is no darkness at all was in me means exactly what we were singing all morning and we sing holy solely holy is the Lord God is like in him is no darkness at all, is not a word just to scare us. In fact, is not really a holy word is not being is not about some kind of deep mystical religious thing only simply means set apart holy means set apart God is set apart from everything. Is there anything like God. No ideas of something wholly other.

That's what it means God is holy we say, holy, holy, holy, what were saying is there is none like you. There are no other gods like you.

You are set apart when he tells us that Israel to be a holy nation hit me just to be set apart by God to be his people as a holy temple.

The temple set apart to worship God. We are a holy people. We are being set apart by God and so when God says in Leviticus and Peter being holy, for I am holy means live and act differently be set apart. That's what Christianity is all about notice.

Sometimes we going to some form of denial with that. Johnson verse six if we say that we have fellowship with him, and yet we walk in darkness, we lie, we do not practice the truth. You see, I cannot say that God and I are close God and I are bugs were together all the time and nothing in my life reflects it is not what I know about God is how I live in proximity to God and he said if we say all I have fellowship with God, the Lord and I are close but I live in darkness so that I am a liar.

Verse seven is is little we walk in the light as he himself was in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. Our only chance to have a very horizontal relationship with one another is that we have a vertical relationship with God and we walk in the light as he is in the light doesn't mean we walk in perfection. Nobody walked in the pursuit of holiness. We walk in the pursuit of holiness what God says is most important to me what God wants is the priorities of my life. What God says is sin I say is sin, where God says the go I go. My God says do not do.

I don't do through his grace. Verse eight if we say we have no sin, people sometimes say that I don't sin. If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Jesus had to make that clear. He actually ran across people so they want centers. That's why Jesus said if you even thought in your head. A lustful thought your center and angry thought your center. James writes if you're guilty of one aspect of the law, you guilty of all the law is why Paul wrote that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

There is no one in this room is never had a simplified role centers. He says if we decide were not in word, deceiving ourselves in verse nine if we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness that were confess means to agree with. If we are in agreement with God about the sin of our life is the key to our walk with him.

If God says to me, Bill. I hate the sin in your life and I say to God, I hated to that's confessing my sin, the sin, the greens God grieves me this is not a credit card verse is not a verse that I can say all boy I and I will first John one night I can sit next Friday night.

I would assume that a credit card with God will be fine with them.

That's not what this verse says God is not that naïve.

Even though we are verse 10 if we say that we have not sin, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Everyone is word. It's clear that were sinners, then he says John like my little children writing these things that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins, he means satisfaction from with God and not for ours only but for those of the whole world, what he is saying there is that the crystal I write these things that we don't submit we don't ever remember God is always for us.

We have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the love of Jesus Christ was not simply the Jesus came in on the cross for you, the love of Jesus Christ continues this moment he says things like, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. But he's also your advocate a stager case before God because he loves you. There's one thing you can say about all humanity about God one sentence.

You can say that God loves you if you don't know about yet he still loves you.

If you know he loves you if you failed him.

He loves you. If you are apathetic toward him. He still loves you man took his young boy up on top of the mountain said little boys and look out as far as you can see to the north and he did… And out into the horizon. He says now turn to the east.

Hello to the south to the west of the board and he said look, he's a good seal for outsiders. That's how much God loves you. That's the love of God in a little bit of news that he said is that true. If that's true, and were right here in the middle of an army and what we are right in the middle of. That's how God loves us. I don't understand I don't understand, but I sure love it that it's true. I found this little poem this week isn't it odd that of being like God sees the façade still loves the Claude he made out of sod. Now isn't that odd. It is is I am amazed how uncompromising his love is for me considering how compromising my life.

His friend fell back to Haggai. We need to take a backward look assess our lives, we need to repent and change our thinking to change the way we live.

We need to stop going one way and start going another. That's what he is saying. He said before he told look just get busy with the temple, stop doing this and get busy. That's kind of what we have to do as a believer.

That's one of the ways we cure this disease is mild case of Christianity, then he goes on and says, verse 20 then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month, saying speakers, rubble, governor of Judah, and say I'm going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the phones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations, I will overthrow the chariots and the riders and horses and the writers and go down. Everyone by the sword of another one that day, declares the Lord of host. I will take you, Zerubbabel, the son of CL deal. My servant declares a horse, and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts this incredible passage is prophetic really very prophecy that Haggai makes Jesus time come in the future when God is going to be the measure of all things, when God is kaput.

On that line the sentence of history when God is going to establish total dominion and role. She said he's going to do it through by the way, through Zerubbabel, my son Jesus Christ as descendents rubble. This is a prophecy of the millennial kingdom of our Lord noticed with this verse should do to us this for hope this these verses tell us of the power of God's sovereignty of God, the love of God that's always encourage us do everything enough about the power of God we say is somewhat how how powerful is God is all-powerful is omnipotent, was that I don't know is yellow power. See, we don't know that. Just consider the power of God. The same God. By the way, because he was child of his creation to think of it if you could travel at the speed of light is 186,000 miles in a second hundred 86,000 miles and second go to the moon about a second as fast right if you traveled that fast and you were just across the creative universe, it would take you 500 billion years. 500 billion years, just across the creative universe. No, I think you have to say people that's big net big bridges in Texas and it's a, that's big. That's the biggest 500 billion years at the speed of light created.

Don't think about it on. That's the macro think of the micro if you took one cup of water and think of the atoms in one cup of water to all the people on earth begin counting together right now. All of us started counting 6 billion of us counting and we would counter the normal 1234 we get altogether. All 6 billion of us count how many atoms are one cup of water in 180 million years and 1 cup water is the micro then about you, but that's pretty impressive.

See we have a tendency never think of God, and that kind of power that he has and what I think what I want to tell them is looking to understand he is absolutely in control because of his power, and he's also sovereign was going to happen. Israel is what God writes in his tablet of time when God puts it. At the end of that sentence. It's over. That's the way it's going to be key. Not only is all-powerful, he's a sovereign providential in everybody's life and then it says in the end I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen. That's as low gear refers to his love for his people.

Judah also prophetically refers to his love for his son Christ over and over again in the New Testament.

You are called his chosen people. That's it. That's us words people that's his love for us. He says I make you a joint heir with Christ we get the signet ring joint heirs. We have the authority not only do we win in the end will be when an unimaginable way we get everything for having done nothing because were recipients of his love.

Considering his power in his providence and his love. Shouldn't that just a little bit fire you up just a little dozen far as a book and far is up all-powerful and all-knowing, all sovereign, all loving God has a vested interest in you and he wants a relationship with you to not only be now.

But forever more. And he wants to bless you beyond your imagination.

Just thinking maybe we should respond with all right, all right, and that it I fill a love and passion for you. I'm full of gratitude. I want to make a difference. I would act a specific way to tapping your resources. I want to know you better as Christianity as it is in Scripture. It's amazing how we don't view it that way when I first became a Christian wasn't safe for very long, but I'd say this, I was saved and I was really on fire for Christ in the most disheartening thing was running in the questions because they thought it was knots girl was don't want you so excited about. There's a place on Sunday morning you go you give a few boxing of you Internet what so what are you excited about. I'm excited about the fact that the God of creation sent his son to die for me and not worry about hell and I can be rightly related to God I don't have to spend time with them that excited me and so those with vaccinations and hunters don't get you so excited about, people we just can't do that.

It's so easy to be vaccinated against the real disease we become apathetic. My Rd., Christian disorder is epidemic and is not pleasing to God. And it's not good for you and if you want that life of peace and hope and joy you want that life of meaning want to look forward to getting up every day and look forward to whatever comes your way. Look forward to the day you're born in a day you die you want to live that kind of life and you got a deal with that disease and you do it by first looking back and saying what is my perspective of Christianity got me to this point and it's usually nothing, except maybe a ticket to heaven and look forward to what God can do in your life is the God of the new opportunity every day and then just come straight up to the Lord, just as Paul said the Romans. In Romans chapter 12 present yourself a living sacrifice here I am God do with me whatever you want.

I know will be fine. That's what he wants from every single one of us is what he deserves. Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like the message one more time. Remember, you can Google great website called in one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online that website you will find on today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as well have Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible.

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