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Spiritual Olympics - Part Two |
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Note: The sermon this morning began with a special "torch lighting ceremony". We purchased a "torch flashlight" from Oriental Trading Company that created the perfect effect. Our "Olympic Runner" ran into the auditorium to the back ground of "Olympic Fanfare" and "Chariots of Fire". While he ran in slow motion through the rows, he passed out Gospel tracks and held the torch high. At the conclusion of his run, he placed the torch in its holder and the "flame" came onto the projection screen. It made for a humorous, yet straight to the point illustration of carrying the light. Last week we introduced our Spiritual Olympics by stating the simple fact that You Need The Team and the team needs you! We need to understand that we need each other. We need the church and the church needs us. Sometimes we come to church and it’s all about us…I need the church. But we’re coming not just to get, but to give. We need the team and the team needs us. This week we want to "carry" that thought a little farther. We’re a part of a team that is meant to win. Listen to this verse found in 1 Corinthians. “You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win!” (1 Corinthians 9:24) Winning means running the race for the right purpose – to win! Our key verse this morning comes from the fifth chapter of Ephesians: “Now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it!” (Ephesians 5:8) “You are full of light…” The moment you give your life to Jesus Christ, He gives you His Spirit and with that Spirit comes His light. Much like the Olympic torch, the flame comes from an “eternal source” and once you give your life to Christ – you become the torch bearer. You are full of light. You are full of light and your behavior should show it. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:14-15, “You are the light of the world…don’t hide your light.” Don’t hide your light. Carry the light. The book of Acts says it this way, “ I have made you a light to the Gentiles to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.” (Acts 13:46) The passage is quoted from the Old Testament where God tells His chosen people, Israel, that they were placed on this earth for a purpose – to be a light to the rest of the world. Now we as Christ’s Church are His chosen people and we have been given the task of carrying the light! God wants us to affect the entire world with His light. What’s the purpose of His light? To bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth. We are pleased to have with us this morning the Missions Team from First Baptist Church of Redondo Beach, one of the earliest supporters of FamilyFellowship. Guys, you’ve carried the light to one of the farthest corners of the LA Basin. And now we as a young church want to carry it just a little bit farther! Carry the light. When you carry the light, when you take up the torch, there are a lot of emotions involved. I watched as the Olympic torch came through LA recently. Can you imagine what the torch bearers were feeling as they took the flame? I guess they would feel the honor and privilege of carrying the light. I would feel fear! I would be afraid I would be the guy who somehow let the light go out! Now what do we do? Remember that old Peter, Paul and Mary song? “Don’t let the light go out…” Man! I would be afraid of letting the light go out! But probably the most powerful emotion I would feel if I were carrying the light would be duty! Ephesians tells us “you are full of light… and your behavior should show it!” Our duty is to make sure that our behavior shows we are full of His light. Not only would there be emotions, there would be questions. How do I carry the light? How am I supposed to do this? Do I have what it takes to carry the light? Sometimes, as believers, we question if we really have what it takes to share God’s light with others. We’re glad God saved us, but we feel inadequate to really carry the torch. I know how I am and God is asking me to carry the light to someone at work or school? My family members saw me yesterday when I said…when I did…how can I carry the light? Notice verse five of Ephesians five. “For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” (Ephesians 5:9) Here is the good news. It’s God’s light and He’s the one that places it within me. God places His light in me and if I will just…HOLD IT UP…that’s all I have to do. It’s the light that produces what is good and right and true. Does it say that we have to produce what is good and right and true? Often that’s what we assume. We get up and tell ourselves that we have to do this and that, but all we have to do; the only thing we have to do is to carry the light. That’s all we have to do. When the runner’s running he’s not posing, he’s not doing anything but carrying the light. All we have to do as believers is carry the light. We don’t create the light, we just carry it. We just hold it up high. Go back to verse number one where it says, “Follow God’s example in everything you do.” That seems overwhelming doesn’t it? God’s example is…whoa… It’s sort of like going out to the pool to learn how to swim and meeting the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. “Just do what he does and you’ll be fine.” That would be a little overwhelming. But from God’s perspective all we have to do is carry the light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world…” (John 9:5) It doesn't have to be overwhelming, we're just asked to carry His light. OK, let’s go back to the first question? How do we carry the light? There are three main thoughts that I’ve pulled out of our passage this morning that tell us how to carry the light; in doing so we will make a huge, huge impact on Beaumont, Banning, and Calimesa, all of the Inland Empire. We’re going to make a huge impact on our world. The first thought is this: OUR ACTIONS MUST BE GIVING Ephesians 5:2 tells us “Live a life filled with love for others following the example of Christ.” Notice he’s said that twice now. “Who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice for your sins…” Circle the word sacrifice. “And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like a sweet perfume to him.” All we have to do to carry the light is be willing to sacrifice, to be willing to give. “Let your life be filled with love for others.” Now, how do you show love for others? Audience participation here...be kind…serve…pray for them…give them a hug…compassion…notice what it says at the end of verse two. “…that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.” Now let’s see if this works. Each of you, take your bulletin and smell it…notice anything? That’s right, it smells pretty good doesn’t it. That’s perfume. That’s Terrie’s perfume, and guys, that’s as close as you’re going to get to smelling Terrie’s perfume! Ladies, if you really like it, I have extra bottles in my car that I will sell at $15.95…no, never mind! You know how good that smells? In the Old Testament God had the Children of Israel make an Altar of Incense in the Tabernacle. It held a special blend of spices that smelled up the entire area. It symbolized their sacrifice to God and how pleasing those sacrifices were to Him. God told the Israelites that when they brought acceptable sacrifices to Him, they smelled just like perfume. When Terrie and I met (we were traveling with a college singing group in Texas), Terrie always carried a bottle of baby powder that she would dust herself with to deal with the humidity. I loved that smell on her. One evening another male team member and I were staying in the home of a church family where we were singing and the lady of the house was an Avon representative. Don’t ask me how or why, but we ended up sitting on the couch while this lady “demo-ed” her newest Avon collection. Though I sat there politely, I could have cared less; that is until she brought out this new fragrance that smelled exactly like the soft scent of baby powder. It was called Zany and from that day forward that was Terrie’s perfume. I bought what I could from that lady and to this day, I love the smell of that perfume. It’s Terrie. When I smell it, it reminds me of Terrie and how much I love her. When God smells a certain kind of perfume He always thinks of you and His love for you. That perfume smells like sacrifice. Love is always gauged by what we are willing to give…what we are willing to sacrifice for that love. In Second Corinthians we have an example of that kind of sacrifice. In 2 Corinthians 8 it tells us, “And they gave in a way that we did not expect: They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us. This is what God wants.” The churches of Macedonia that the Apostle Paul is talking about gave when they had little or nothing to give. But before they gave their stuff, they gave themselves. “They gave themselves (first) to the Lord and (then) to us.” Love is always shown by what we give. Our guests from Redondo Beach are a wonderful modern day example of that kind of giving. They have not only given their money, but they have given of their time to be here today to encourage us! Have you noticed how often we operate out of a position of need? We assume we always need more and never have enough. But the Bible tells us that “my God shall supply all your needs…” (Philippians 4:19) We always have more than enough. We don’t have to operate out of the position of need, we can live from the perspective of more than enough. I’ve watched as some of you who have had nothing or very little, come on Sunday nights with the big meals. Always more than enough. If I were Laura (and had all those egg laying chickens) I would be thinking very large omelets. But Laura brings eggs every week to share with others and as an offering to God. Tim and Robin Bloom are another great example. When Rudy, their next door neighbor’s home caught fire and burned completely. Everything he had in life was lost. But Tim and Robin took Rudy in and made sure he was cared for. And the blessings have gone both ways. One day a family came to church with an extra “child”. I asked who she was and they told me that they had sort of adopted the little girl. It seems the girl’s parents didn’t care where she was, what she was doing, or if she was really cared for. But this family cared enough to sacrifice and take her in and help her. They even brought her to church! That’s called sacrifice and that’s how we carry the light. We carry the light by always being giving. Now the second point and it gets a little more difficult. Our Conduct Must Be Pure. Verse three of Ephesians five starts out, “Let there be no…” and then it lists several pivotal sins we’ll call “THE LIST”. This passage is scary. It’s scary and it’s threatening. “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people” (Ephesians 5:3) Then he goes on, “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes – these are not for you…You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of God.” Whoa! If you’re immoral, or impure or greedy you can’t inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you are relieved because you’re telling yourselves right now, “I’m not immoral. I’m not impure. I’m not greedy. Haven’t told and obscene story or joke in a while – I’m safe!”
No, you’re not, this is just part
of the list. There are four other lists that have to go with
this one! idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, swindlers, eagerness for lustful pleasure, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealous, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, wild parties… And if none of those hit your specific sin he ends the list with “other kinds of sin”. God doesn’t leave anything out! Folks, let me tell you what the list says, it says there are none of us who are good enough to go – not one of us. Now, take a deep breath and let me show you the rest of the verse. “You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of God.” That verse is right, but something happened the day I gave my life to Christ. He forgave all those things. So God no longer sees me as immoral, or greedy or any of those things. And the truth is if you are a genuine Child of God you can not live with those kinds of things in your life and be happy. You may even have been guilty of some of those things since you gave your life to the Lord, but the point is you have the light in you now. The light is trying to get out. Have you ever done the experiment where you take a candle (I was sort of a "pyro" as a child), light it and then place a small paper bag over the top to cover the candle? At first you can sort of see the light flickering inside the bag. But before long the heat of the candle fills the bag and then the bag sort of spontaneously combusts into flame. First a little at a time, then it’s all consumed. When God’s light is inside you, the turmoil that you are feeling while doing “those things” is the heat of God’s Spirit trying to shine His light through you; because you are no longer any of those things. “For the light within you produces only what is good and right and true…” And then it says, “your behavior should show it!” “For though your hearts were once full of darkness now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it.” (Ephesians 5:8) Our conduct needs to be pure. If you’re saying right now that you’re a believer but some of that list is showing in your life, it’s time to be honest – your light is flickering. We need to be honest about the garbage in our lives and get rid of it – it’s not what God intended. If I’m going to carry the light I don’t want to dim it or quench it. Thirdly, Our deeds must always be investments. “Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord…” (Ephesians 5:10) That’s a proof text in the Bible for “Nike Christianity” – Just do it! “…Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness.” Ephesians 5:10-11 For several years a worked with a man who was a financial advisor. He taught me some things about the language of investing. One of the phrases he taught he is the first part of making sure our deeds are always investments. He called it “do diligence”. When you invest you want to make sure you are not investing in something worthless. So you do diligence. You check it out. So much of what we invest our lives in is really worth much. So much of what we consume our lives with is worthless, of little value. It tell us that we are to “take no part in the worthless deeds” Then in verse 14 it tells us…“Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Ephesians 5:14b) That verse is referring to an Old Testament passage in Isaiah, “Arise, Israel! Let your light shine for all nations to see! For the glory of the Lord is shining upon you!” Wake up, Israel, shine your light! When I was in Redondo Beach preaching at First Baptist several months ago I spoke on this topic – shine the light. I borrowed a little compact mirror and by aiming just right I was able to use the spot light shining on me and reflect it all the way to the back row of the church. If someone was nodding off I could just flash the light at them. It was great! God shines His light and we get to reflect it on others. God’s saying, wake up! Do diligence…verse fifteen says, “So be careful how you live…” Are we really making a difference? The second point is to make the most of every opportunity. “Make the most of every opportunity for dong good” (Ephesians 5:16) Lots of time we only have a brief opportunity. What can we do to make the most of every opportunity. One great opportunity we have as a church right now is our fall outreach. Remember at Easter when many of you received our Easter Mail Out? For some of you that was what brought you to FamilyFellowship. For others of you it was our Easter Egg Community Outreach. Both were opportunities that we make the most of to reach you and others. Now we have that opportunity again. Our goal is to place an invitation to FamilyFellowship in every new home each month between now and Christmas. That’s four mailings. Each mailing will cost us about $650 and will reach over 1,500 families. That’s about 44cents for family. The four mail out will cost us a total of $2,600. The Murphy’s are here today because we mailed into their home for over a year? Along with that we want to take part in this years Octoberfest and Winterfest. It will cost about $400 to participate in Octoberfest and touch hundreds of families. Both are opportunities that we have right how and we want to make the most of them. And we will if each of us is willing to sacrifice to make the most of the opportunity! Finally, Think before you spend! Look at verse 17. “don’t act thoughtlessly” If you really want your life to be an investment, think before you spend even a minute. Don’t act thoughtlessly. Think and then ask God what you should do. A couple of weeks ago a couple came up to me and asked a question of me on the fly. It was a question about dealing with someone else and it was pretty challenging. I remember quickly asking God for wisdom to say the right thing. Actually I shared something with them and then as I walked away I thought, “That was pretty profound, Newell, where did that come from?". I don’t ever remember reading or thinking about that before. Then I told God, thank You. I didn’t know what to say, but You did! Carry the light. What would happen to our young church if every one of us would say God I will care the light. We would each give sacrificially of our lives. We would to be careful that we don’t fit into “THE LIST” We would let everything we do be an investment in carrying the Light. Thousands of athletes are competing right now in Athens. Thousands are competing but thousands more are sitting in the stands watching. Many of them are watching because they have made investments personally in an athlete who is competing. They are witnessing their investments come to maturity. For years they sacrifices, just like the competing athletes. They gave when they didn't have to give. They stayed focused. They made wise investments of their resources. Now they are witnessing the results. Let me share with you what Hebrews chapter twelve tells us. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a large crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) Carry the Light. |
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(c) Paul Newell 2004 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |
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