Sunday, October 9, 2016 pm
DOES IT REALLY MAKE A
DIFFERENCE?
In
discussing religion with others today, some would tell you that it
really doesn’t make a difference what we believe, as long as we believe
(some don’t even demand that).
This has resulted in the rise of churches that focus more on
social issues and current events than they do on doctrinal matters in
scripture.
But, WHEN you study the Bible, does it make a difference what we
believe? Does it make a
difference what church we are a part of?
Does it make a difference how we worship God?
Does God care about the moral standards we set for ourselves?
Does God, in absolute terms, tell us how to be saved and how to
stay saved?
As
we study the Bible we see that these things DO matter to Him.
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus taught that it is not enough to simply
believe – we must DO the will of the Father.
Tonight, for a few moments we want to notice some passages that show us
that it DOES make a difference.
Let
us consider that it makes a difference:
a.
Mark 4:24, Luke 8:18 –
on more than one occasion, Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear.”
Similarly, He said often, “He who has an ear, let him hear…” (cf.
Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, etc.)
It is an expression similar to when we say, “Listen to me” or
“pay attention”.
But in His case, He challenged His audience to not merely listen, but
also to CONSIDER what was taught.
b.
What we hear is where it
all begins - Romans 10:17, faith comes by hearing.
c.
Acts 17:11, the Bereans
were more fair minded… because they received the word with readiness and
searched the scriptures daily to confirm.
In other words, they LISTENED!
d.
Luke 18:6, after a
parable about God hearing our prayers, Jesus said, “Hear what the unjust
judge said…” In that
statement He was calling for more than just an audible acknowledgment of
words, but a call to weigh those words and an expectation to make proper
application.
e.
Matthew 7:24-27, Whoever
hears these sayings of mine and does them…
f.
Friends it matters what
we hear – the source, the interpretation, and the application.
a.
Proverbs 23:7 (4:23) –
“as he thinks in his heart, so is he”.
Yes this text is dealing with one whose heart is stingy, but it
makes the point. Prov. 4:23
tells us out of our hearts the issues of life spring.
b.
Matthew 15:18-20, after
some strong rebukes, disciples of Jesus tell Him some of the Pharisees
were offended. Jesus
responded that was because they were not willing to follow Him.
He then notes that what proceeds from the mouth comes from the
heart. It comes from our
thoughts – these are the sins.
c.
There are many with evil
thoughts and that are in error.
John 16:2 – one will think he is doing service to God.
Paul in Acts 26:9 before Agrippa told how he THOUGHT he must do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus.
But he was wrong!
d.
Philippians 4:8, Paul
described the types of things we ought to be thinking about.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – the weapons of our warfare are designed to bring
every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
e.
Friends, your thoughts
CAN be wrong! If you are not
looking in the right place or with the right attitude, there is a good
possibility your thinking is wrong and it DOES MAKE A DIFFERNCE.
a.
Let us be reminded that
many of the sins we read of in scripture involve what we say – from
profanity and blasphemy, to lying and gossip, from hurtful conversations
to false teaching.
It might be just talking too much!
b.
James 3:6-12 describes
the damage that the tongue can do.
c.
Jesus warned in Matthew
12:36-37 that when we stand before God, we will give an account for what
we say.
d.
Conversely – Proverbs
13:3 says, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life…”
Proverbs 15:1-2 says, “A soft
answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of
the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth
foolishness.”
e.
IN this we learn that it
is not only what we say, but HOW we say it.
f.
Colossians 4:6 – speech
seasoned with salt.
James 1:19 – be swift to hear, slow to speak…
g.
Finally, consider Psalm
141:3 where David prayed, “Set a
guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”
h.
WHAT we say definitely
makes a difference and can determine the direction of a conversation and
even more.
a.
Far too many today
believe that it really doesn’t matter what we believe.
The Bible teaches differently.
b.
2 Thess. 2:10-12 –
speaks of the lawless one coming who with unrighteous deception cause
condemnation. The reason is
because some believe the lie, rather than loving the truth.
c.
There are many reasons
why people believe that which is false – ignorance, prejudice, they have
an agenda, relationships, consequences of accepting the truth, laziness,
etc. But if you
believe a lie, that doesn’t make it truth.
d.
John 17:17, when Jesus
prayed to the Father, He said, “Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word
is truth.” John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not
believe (obey) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides
in Him.”
e.
1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they
are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
f.
An example: Ephesians
4:4-6 – the 7 “ones” – these are exclusive.
These things matter!
We need to get them right!
a.
1 John 2:15-17 – do not
love the world or the things in the world
2 Timothy 3:1-5 – men
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, …
1 Tim. 6:9-10 – the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil
b.
Instead, we need to love
God and our neighbor – Matthew 22:37-39.
And this is more than an emotion – it is a responsive love.
Jesus said, “IF you love Me
you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15, 21).
c.
We need to love the
truth – Psalm 119:97, “How I love
Your law. It is my
meditation all the day.”
Psalm 1:1-2 – his delight is in the law of the Lord…He meditates day and
night.
2 Thess. 2:10- the unrighteous are deceived and perish because they did
not receive the love of the truth
d.
We need to love one
another as brethren – John 13:34-35, 1 Peter 1:22 – we love one another
fervently with a pure heart
e.
It does matter what and
who we love.
a.
Knowing the truth and
even loving the truth is not enough.
In fact, a study of scripture reveals that we demonstrate our
love and understanding by what we do.
b.
2 Corinthians 5:10-11
tells us that we will each answer for what we have done.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – God will bring every work into judgment…
c.
Matthew 7:21-23 – the
text we began with, we will also end with it.
Notice that Jesus said it is not enough to say you believe in Him
or “call Him Lord.” You have
to DO!
As
we can see, when it comes to God and our faith, it DOES make a
difference. Everything about
life centers around our understanding that it does make a difference.
AND how we respond to this will also have a bearing on the
difference we make in other people’s lives as well.
What about you? Will you
decide to do what God commands rather than what you want to do yourself?
Realize that the choices you make will determine where we spend
eternity – Matthew 25:46. And that DOES make a difference.
Think about it!