Does
the Gospel need help?
Hopefully this
is a redundant question for most of us. The answer is a resounding NO!
Yet, in our society there seems to be a large push to “help GOD”
accomplish His purposes as if the way He had already prescribed was
not enough. What do I mean? I am talking about the “softening”,
“watering down”, “sugar coating” or changing
of the Gospel message in order to make it more attractive or palatable
to the world. I am also speaking of using worldly methods of spreading
the gospel; again, in an attempt to “repackage” the gospel
to make it acceptable to the world. Thus the result is us saying to
GOD, “Lord, your ways are flawed, I have a better way”.
This is in fact what we are saying when we use our methods, worldly
methods or a method developed from mans wisdom to “spread”
the gospel. Today we will look at God’s attitude about us adding
our effort into His method from the O and NT’s and several ways
popular today where we try and help GOD out.
Let us look at our
first scripture today in Exodus 20, verse 24&25:
[24] An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice
thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and
thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee,
and I will bless thee.
[25] And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build
it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted
it.
Now we can see a
commandment AND a principle here. GOD commanded His people that if they
were to build a stone altar in which to worship Him; they were NOT to
hew or carve or cut any of the stones that the altar would be comprised
of. The stones were to be left completely in the manner they were found.
In fact, GOD went so far as to say that IF you were to change them in
any way, that you have polluted them and thus the entire altar. What
was GOD saying? He was saying that the fact that we even have the privilege
to worship Him is because of His mercy, because He ALLOWS us to. Our
own effort doesn’t earn us any points with GOD. True worship does
not involve any outward actions but a pure heart. Friend you can be
singing and waving your hands but thinking about the ball game after
church. Is that worship? Of course not. Yet at the same time you can
be driving in your car and thinking about the wondrous works of GOD
and communing in your heart with Him. Is that worship? Of course. Now
today’s sermon is not about worship but from this scripture we
can glean that when it comes to the things of GOD; He doesn’t
need our help. He makes the laws, He gives the commandments, He prescribes
the methods, we are simply to OBEY. Let me say that again. He makes
the laws, He gives the commandments, He prescribes the methods, we are
simply to OBEY. News flash, GOD doesn’t need your help. If you
throw a temper tantrum and get mad at GOD and refuse to serve Him, is
He somehow lessened? Hardly. GOD doesn’t need you and I and He
doesn’t need any pathetic amount of help we could give Him, He
simply wants our obedience. He doesn’t need our obedience; He
wants our obedience because He is a loving Father.
So what is GOD’s
method of spreading the gospel? It is preaching! We don’t need
a Halloween program, we don’t need a new movie, we need preaching.
But us, in today’s modern America, this just isn’t good
enough. No, we have to help GOD out because that simple preaching stuff
was for the old days. Well friend, GOD doesn’t change with the
times and His standards are consistent. The Bible commands us to be
filled with the Spirit. I’ll sum it up for you right now. The
main reason why people revert to worldly methods of preaching the gospel
is because they are NOT filled with the Spirit. The main purpose of
being filled with the Spirit is to receive guidance. Guidance in what
you ask? Leading others to Christ! What else? GOD knows everyone’s
heart and knows just what to say in order to speak to his or her heart.
But what happens instead? Well, we won’t pray and fast and weep
before GOD about this unsaved person and then we go and try to witness
without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So when we have done and said
what WE think that person needs to hear and they do not respond, THEN
we think that somehow we need to do something different. No, you need
to obey the methods that GOD has set forth, that is all, nothing more,
nothing less. Now I am not saying that when you do all these things
that people are instantly going to just fall down and repent instantly.
This is not some equation where you plug in the variables and everything
just works out. There will be some people (unfortunately) that will
not respond to the gospel and there will be those that it takes time
for GOD to soften their heart BUT for them to have ANY chance at all
we must allow GOD to work His work in His time and in His way. When
we do things our way we give that person virtually no chance of being
saved.
There are many verses
that speak about GOD’s method of saving sinners, but this verse
is probably best suited for this study.
1 Corinthians 1
[17] For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect.
You see that? When
it came to saving souls, Paul was sent to preach, nothing more, nothing
less. And if he were to put any of his effort into it by presenting
the gospel in the wisdom of mans’ words, then the power of the
cross would be negated. Now that is something to think about, let us
ponder this for a second. Now we have two scenarios here. On the one
hand Paul could preach the gospel with GOD’s wisdom, power and
guidance OR on the other hand he could preach that SAME gospel with
his own words, wisdom and guidance. Now let us observe that in BOTH
cases the gospel is preached. But in one of these cases the gospel was
striped of its’ power. Now imagine that! Imagine that the gospel
of our LORD Jesus Christ being raised from the dead being presented
powerless and resulting in no effect. Can you stop and think about that
for a minute? Maybe one reason (among many) that the church is powerless
in America is that because we have music programs, praise and worship
seminars, so-called Christian R&R and rap and Halloween houses at
the church all in the name of helping GOD out when what we ought to
be doing is preaching Christ crucified:
1 Cor 2
[1] And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of
speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
[2] For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified.
You see, Paul didn’t
come with a lot of hype or a circus. He didn’t have a praise and
worship band with him. He simply came with the simple message of “Christ
crucified”. That is ALL we need to do! That is it and it really
is that simple. I know that we as humans don’t like things this
simple. We like to have our gray areas and excuses and drama but friend
I am giving you straight gospel. All we need to know and be telling
sinners about is “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”.
Now some of the
things I am about to say you will not like. But I want to name a few
ways that we try and help GOD out. These are “mans methods”,
mans way of taking worldly devices and mixing in a little of the gospel
in; in hopes of “helping GOD” reach people.
Arena one. Music!
Now listen. GOD is not in all this so-called Christian R&R, Ch rap
and contemporary garbage. It is funny because when I walk into Christian
bookstores and look at the music today I can’t tell the difference
between what I remember seeing in the worldly stores and what I see
in the Ch bookstores. Are we supposed to pattern ourselves after the
world in order to help GOD save souls? “Well, all music came from
GOD” (suggesting that the devils music is a rip off of GOD’s).
Well, first of all, not everything the devil does is a rip off of GOD.
Find me a “Christian ouiga board” or a “Christian
crystal ball”. The fact is this is a lame excuse to justify helping
GOD out or to justify wanting to serve GOD the way YOU want to and not
submitting to His methods. GOD made poison ivy too, that doesn’t
mean you are supposed to make a salad out of it.
Let me break it
down. Who invented Rock’n’roll? Does R’n’R come
from, the Throne of GOD or the pits of hell? Isn’t the message
of the Gospel pure? Why then would it need assistance from an obviously
hell inspired music? My second point is what this music does to people.
I used to be in a “Christian heavy metal” band and listened
to this style of music. What does rap, metal, techno and rock do to
you? I do not know your experience friend but I can tell you I have
seen people beat each other almost to death in frenzied mosh pits. I
have seen people in dance clubs dancing and convulsing in sexually explicit
manners. Have you ever been into these styles of music? Remember the
feeling it gave you? It started up the flesh, it got your body to moving
and you could feel the beat resonate through you. Why? These beats and
styles are designed to get your flesh in control. Now why would we as
Christians want to take a hell inspired, flesh inspiring style of music
and package the Gospel of our Lord Jesus into it? My Bible tells me
that the flesh is an enemy of the Spirit and that they are at odds with
one another and that the person in the flesh CANNOT please GOD! (Galatians
5:16&17, Romans 8:8) So how do you reconcile that? A person being
honest with themselves can’t.
Arena two. Holidays.
The one thing that makes me sick is so-called “Christian haunted
houses”. Now what is really sad is the fact that this even has
to be said. Again, if preaching Christ crucified doesn’t save
them, then how is your defiled haunted house going to help? The Bible
says to avoid ALL appearance of evil (1 Thes 5:22), simple.
There are so many
other areas where we try and help GOD out but I am not going over them
all. BUT I do want to look more into these scriptures in 1 Corinthians
1.
[20] Where is the
wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath
not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
You see, GOD has made foolish our ways and methods. You see he chose
preaching and preaching indeed seems foolish to this world.
[21] For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not
God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe.
[22] For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
[23] But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock,
and unto the Greeks foolishness;
See how simple it is! Some people want signs and some people want intellectual
mumbo jumbo to convince them. Well, all you are getting in Christ crucified,
that is GOD’s method!
[24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God.
See here, Christ alone is the power of GOD.
[25] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness
of God is stronger than men.
You see here that the foolishness of GOD is wiser then men. You see
that when we become complacent, when we lose our fire for GOD and live
powerless lives, somehow we think that “new methods” are
needed. Somehow we are fooled into thinking that GOD’s methods
do not work anymore. But friend, even when GODs methods are seemingly
weak, they are still far more powerful than anything we could do in
our own strength.
[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
[27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty;
These methods are truly mighty worldly methods, that is why you are
using them. Now pay attention, a lot us say this and do this. We see
how big rock & roll and rap is. We see these big shows and how popular
these methods are because they seem powerful, they seem like they could
get the job done. And while they are powerful, they are so from a worldly
perspective. It says here that GOD chose “foolish” things
in order to spread His Word. Now Biblical methods indeed seem foolish.
Preaching seems crazy to the world. But to GOD it isn’t, that
is what he chose and He doesn’t need our help.
[28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath
God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things
that are:
[29] That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Did you hear that? (Repeat verse 29) You see, if we are to add anything
to the methods GOD prescribes then He doesn’t get all the glory.
If we had a hand in it, then flesh would have reason to glory and GOD
shares His glory with no one! (Isaiah 42:8, 48:11)
[30] But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
[31] That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord.
1 Cor 2
[1] And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of
speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
[2] For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified.
[4] And my speech
and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
Now when you share the simple gospel with someone and you are filled
with the Spirit and the Spirit begins to move in their heart and break
them down, THIS is the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power”.
Not rolling around in the isles and fireworks going off and people gyrating
uncontrollably. But the power is in the preaching the gospel.
[5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God.
[11] For what man
knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
[12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit
which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given
to us of God.
[13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things
with spiritual.
Now here is the real dilemma. Did you hear verse 12? “Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world”. Here is the danger friend.
When someone supposedly receives Christ at a rock and roll concert,
did they receive the spirit of the world OR the Spirit of GOD? That
is a problem. These promise Christ but GOD is not in those things that
involve our effort.
So think about this all
you “Christian R&Rers” and “Christian Rappers”
and all and any of you that would seek to use worldly methods of spreading
the gospel. Are the people coming down at your events receiving Jesus
into their heart and being born again OR are they receiving the “spirit
of the world” OR worse yet are they receiving a devil?
THINK ABOUT IT.