#2 The “Stumbling Blocks To Spirituality”
Series
“CONVERTED TO PERVERTED!”
TEXT:
Matt. 23:15; Lk.
6:27-36; 9:51-62; Gal. 1:6-2:10
INTRO: In the
early part of this previous century a young man was born who later proved to be a hard
worker, made great efforts to become a good artist, loved dearly his mother whom
he lived with trying to make ends meet after his father died. He was ambitious in his work, and
concerned about the people of his country. He fought hard as a soldier, earning one
of the highest awards for bravery. He was disciplined as a young man,
neither drinking nor smoking. He
had a gift for moving crowds of people when he spoke ... his name: ADOLPH
HITLER!
He was a man of great passions, devoted
deeply to those things he believed in, his conversion to these ideas led to a
perversion of most things considered sacred! WHY? Because he was devoted to the wrong
things! He was zealous ... but
without knowledge! You can be
sincere, and yet still be sincerely wrong! It is not enough to be devoted to
something ... it must be the right thing!
Image and perception are not the
ultimate goals, truth is, God’s truth.
ILLUS: Let's--all
of us--decide to stop trying to convince the world that Christianity is true
because Jesus makes us prettier, happier, thinner, wealthier, bigger, more
successful, more popular, healthier, stronger, and more influential than
everyone else. Do we actually
believe that the world is impressed with our fancy new churches, 12,000 in
Sunday School, five services each morning, the "millions" who are watching on
television, converted beauty queens and professional athletes, our book sales,
or our crusades? The world is
laughing at us--mocking us and the Jesus we supposedly are serving. -- Mike Yaconelli in The Door (Sept./Oct. l989).
Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 2.
PROP.
SENT: The Word of
God will teach us that we are to be devoted to the Lord our God ... and to keep
God's priorities in their proper order.
Where our devotion is, there our talents, time, and finances will
be. To not be devoted to the RIGHT
THINGS can lead to a perversion of our priorities!
A. Energy
Waste! Matt. 23:15a; Lk.
6:27-36
1. “Woe”
or “Alas” ... God's heart was broken and angry over
the way the leaders of the Jews had put so much energy into making converts, only to turn them instead into perverts!
a. They traveled over land and sea
just to gain one convert!
b. Much energy expended to add to
their numbers.
c. There is something seriously wrong
when “rules” become more important than people and their
needs!
ILLUS: One a warm
spring evening in May 1998, Christopher Sercye was playing basketball with a few
friends half a block from
As is often true, when we
legalistically insist on the letter of the law, the needs of others are
overlooked. By holding to standard
operating procedures, the "royal law of love" was pinned to the mat. Initially,
hospital administration vehemently defended their ER's lack of involvement.
Only after a barrage of community
outrage did
It was Jesus who observed
"Woe to
you teachers of the law, you hypocrites. You give a tenth ... but you have
neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and
faithfulness." (Matt.
23:23) -- Greg Asimakoupoulos. From the files of
Leadership.
2. They saw it important to make
converts ... this in itself was noble of them, but the kind of convert they made
was deplorable!
a. It is still true today ... many
cults go to great lengths and efforts to make one
convert!
b. We could learn from their example
of energy!
c. They are serious about making
converts!
d. What about us who hold the truth of
God's Word ... should we be any less energetic?
3. No energy put into missions means
zero converts!
4. It is all too often true that many
Christians don't make their own salvation and other's salvation an important
priority.
a. You can tell if they do ... look at
where their energy, resources, and time go!
b. That which is important to us we
will be devoted to!
c. There is often a connection between
those who have spiritual problems and those who don't have time for God and His
church! They are usually
related!
5. That's one reason the word
"DEVOTION" is used for Bible study at home, it takes devotion to do
it!
B. Enticing
Ways Lk.
9:51-62
1. "My
rights" mentality!
a. The disciples were interested in
how they looked, rather than on the reasons why the Samaritans refused them
lodging ... thus they responded with anger for their personal
loss.
b. Jesus saw beyond just the immediate
reaction ... and ended up rebuking His disciples rather than the
Samaritans!
c. In our zeal, let us not forget
who we are and what we are called to be and to do! If our concerns are our own appearance
we will have zeal for the wrong thing!
2. Let's be careful not to spend our
energy and time "calling down fire from heaven" against
everything and everyone that doesn't suit our likes and
dislikes!
a. Such as the problem of AIDS among
the homosexuals!
b. We should not rejoice over this,
but be broken for what sin is bringing on these folks; they are sinners in need
of a Savior, Jesus Christ!
c. Our own sins should break us, and
the sins of all sinners should move us to bring “good news” to those sinners –
Christ died for all.
d. If it were not for the Grace of
God, we too would be worthy of “fire from heaven!”
e. Our own efforts at “cleaning up”
other people’s lives often end up in disaster; it would be so much better to let
God handle that!
ILLUS: At their
school carnival, our kids won four free goldfish (lucky us!), so out I went
Saturday morning to find an aquarium.
The first few I priced ranged from $40 to $70. Then I spotted it right in the aisle: a
discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter for a mere
five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty dirty, but the
savings made the two hours of clean-up a breeze.
Those four new fish looked great
in their new home, at least for the first day. But by Sunday one had died. Too bad, but three remained. Monday morning revealed a second
casualty, and by Monday night a third goldfish had gone belly up. We called in an expert member of our
church who has a 30-gallon tank. It
didn't take him long to discover the problem: I had washed the tank with soap,
and absolute no-no. My uninformed
efforts had destroyed the very lives I was trying to
protect.
Sometimes our in zeal to clean up
our own lives or the lives of others, we unfortunately use "killer soaps" --
condemnation, criticism, nagging, fits of temper. We think we're doing right, but our
harsh, self-righteous treatment is more than they can bear. --
Richard L. Dunagin,
3. Too much zeal without godliness can
lead to perversion of the concepts of God's love and God's
grace!
4. We are to be fighting for the salvation of the lost,
conversion that is real! We are to
fight for conversion, not condemnation.
a. The turning from
sin.
b. To have God's
heart!
5. When we begin to feel too
righteous then we are becoming unrighteous!
ILLUS: You can
safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God
hates all the same people you do. -- Anne
Lamott in Bird by Bird. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 8.
a. Then our own conversion soon
becomes perversion!
b. We lose our perspective on
everything!
6. We must not be enticed to convert
people to our way of thinking, but to God's way of thinking ... or we will
convert them, and pervert them!
II. MISERABLE DISCIPLES Matt. 23:15b; Gal.
1:6-2:10
A. Eternal
Waste! Matt. 23:15b; Gal.
1:6-2:5
1. The Pharisees’ concern with the
temporal, outward conformity to man's rules created an eternal waste of human
souls!
a. Not only were they lost, they were
making others spiritually dead!
b. They began preaching a different
Gospel!
2. In Galatia the same problem broke
out, they had begun with salvation by repentance and faith in receiving God's
grace and cleansing; then they started adding to this other man made
things!
a. Some were being led astray by this
... they put much energy into making the converts, then creating
perverts!
b. Paul says that if they do this, he
ran the race in vain for them; in other words, he wasted his
time!
3. Many years ago people were told
that if they were to be a Christian, they must wear short hair as men, not
dance, play cards, wear jewelry, etc ... thus the true Gospel was perverted, and
many miserable disciples were created that were more concerned about external
things than eternal things.
ILLUS: The
problem with the church today is not corruption. It is not institutionalism. No, the problem is far more serious than
something like the minister running away with the organist. The problem is pettiness. Blatant pettiness. -- Mike Yaconelli in The Wittenburg Door (Dec./Jan.
1985). Christianity Today, Vol.
31, no. 15.
a. To be sure, there is something to
say about living a "holy" lifestyle, but this is the result of salvation, not the road to salvation! Holy living is driven by the internal
working of the Holy Spirit and not the external demands of man’s expectations
also.
b. IT IS LIKE CATCHING FISH ... THE
FISH ARE CLEANED AFTER THE CATCH, NOT BEFORE!
c. Yes there are things godly people
won’t do, but this is driven by the Spirit of God creating a desire against
those things which don’t “profit” a man/woman … and those things which
the Word of God declares are sin … not by cultural
decrees.
4. So much energy in many churches
goes into making people look and act like a Christian before they are saved (or
after!), (or their version of what they think one should look like!) more
devotion should be put on real salvation!
B. External
Walls Gal.
2:6-7
1. We put too much emphasis on
external appearances.
a. The Pharisees spent so much time
and energy on making the convert look right, and for them to do everything right
first
b. They taught them how to stand, what
to wear, how to speak ... but not how to touch God!
2. Their zeal was to make themselves
look good to the people and to have the people admire
them!
ILLUS: What was
so bad about [the Pharisees'] hypocrisy?
If we think of it as consisting merely in their teaching or pretending
one thing while in fact practicing something contradictory, we will miss Jesus'
main point. What He nailed them for
was that they were using God and the things of God as a means to some other
end. That's what was insidious
about the Pharisees' example.
"They do
all their deeds to be noticed by men"
(Matt.
23:5). ...
Theirs was a problem of priorities: their first priority was social status, to
which end God was but a means. What
greater affront to God could there be? Better to ignore Him altogether than to
exploit Him as a means to something else you value more highly. -- John Boykin in The Gospel of Coincidence. Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no.
5.
a. Some of the most spiritual people
DON'T draw attention to themselves!
b. You can almost imagine what these
Jewish leaders did:
(1. Had courses on "Discount land
travel & boat crossings for converts."
(2. Course on "how to convince
someone to become a Pharisee."
(3. "How to look
spiritual – bigger robe borders & phylacteries"
course.
(4. "Sincerity for
fun and profit" course.
(5. "How you can win
at least 1 convert a year" course.
(6. "Phariseeism
made easy."
(7. "Rule books
101-102-103-104 ad-nausea."
(8. "How to be
admired by others."
(9. "Praying In
Public 101" or "Long Loud Public Prayers
102."
3. These kind of "man-made" concepts of salvation only pollute the
Gospel that Jesus brought. The
Gospel is free upon request & repentance! It just creates external walls that no
man can climb over to find God!
a. It doesn’t require special “rules”
to win people to Christ!
b. It doesn’t require special “talents” to win people to Christ!
ILLUS: If this
world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and
women of average talent. After all,
there are comparatively few people in the world who have great
talents. -- D.L. Moody, Christian History, no.
25.
C. Eager
Workers Gal.
2:8-10
1. Note in these verses Paul's concern
that they work "together" to reach
all!
2. This way no one man gets glory, but
only God!
a. We are all fellow laborers in the
b. We are all called to "make disciples
of all nations."
3. Paul's call was for all to work and
be devoted to the same thing ... to God and reaching the lost for
Him!
a. All zeal is to be directed this way
and only this way!
ILLUS: When my
wife and I went to
b. Zeal that leads to anything else or
glorifies any other is misplaced zeal!
c. Are we trying to make converts to
our way of thinking, or to Jesus Christ and His glorious
kingdom!?
d. How can I know if my zeal is
properly placed?
(1. Where is my energy
spent?
(2. Where are my finances
going?
(3. Where is my time
spent?
(4. How much of me does God really get each
day?
4. It is the way we answer those
questions that will help us know where our devotion really is, where our zeal is
placed!
5. Are
we making CONVERTS or PERVERTS?
a. Ask these
questions:
(1. Am
I trying to make the person admire me or Jesus?
(2. Am
I trying to make them obey my system of rights and wrongs, or am I teaching them
to submit to Christ and His righteousness!
(3. Am
I allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to them through my life and from God's Word
... am I open to being honest about my own need for
growth!
b. Where’s the
focus?
6. God wants us to be zealous, but for
Him only! Many times in Scripture
God was honored when His servants became "JEALOUS FOR THE
LORD MY GOD."
ILLUS: If we can
convince people that we are onto something that's full of joy, they'll stampede
one another to follow us. --
William Treadwell, Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 3.
a. Such was
Moses
b. Such was
David
c. How about
you?
CONCLUSION: What you devote
yourself to will drain off your resources; your time, talents, and your
finances! That which is most
important in your life can be measured. Are you devoted to the right things?
If your conversion does not move
you and others to Christ it will only lead to
perversion!