Easter 2003
Revelation 1:18,19:
“...Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead: and , behold, I am alive evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
A GREAT FALLING AWAY!
II Thessalonians 2:1-17
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, accept there come a falling away(departure) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: ..And then shall that Wicked be revealed,...Even Him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie; That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness....Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle....Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
Have you ever known someone who at one time seemed to be on fire for the Lord and later on drifted away? People who were active in a church or ministry whom today does not even attend church anymore? People who at one time were seemingly spiritual leaders, but today are sitting on the sidelines, almost totally indifferent to spiritual matters?
I. WHY DO PEOPLE GO AWAY FROM JESUS?
Allow me to suggest four reasons:
A. Because They Object To His Teachings
How could this happen? Wasn’t it Jesus who said, “He who drinks of the water I shall give him, shall never thirst again?” Why do some souls go away from Jesus?
G. Campbell Morgan once said; “If men fall back after a period of following, it is not because of mystery, but because of light which they are not prepared to follow.”
A good example of this is found in John 6:47-66; Where Jesus said:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life...I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying , How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day...He that my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and in him...Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this said, THIS IS A HARD SAYING: WHO CAN HEAR IT?.. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?..Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
In Luke 14:33; Jesus again shocked his followers when He said:
“...Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
How many of us have heard people say, “I believe in Jesus Christ but I don’t believe in the legalism that says I have to give up everything for him.”
I remember when years ago when a divorced professional man occasionally attended our church with his two daughters. Sunday after Sunday he came and I could tell the word of God was getting to him.
One Sunday his daughters came forward to the altar for prayer and rededication. He came up with them. Afterwards I asked about his relationship with the Lord. He suggested we get together at his office that next week and we would talk about it..
When I entered his spacious, luxurious office complex I realized this man had been very successful. When I was ushered into his private office he was sitting behind a huge solid mahogany desk with every evidence of a most successful career.
As we talked he suddenly said, “Pastor, I do believe in Jesus, but this ‘holiness thing’ isn’t for me. I was lied to. I was told sin wasn’t fun, but that isn’t true. I am having a lot of fun and I’ll just have to take my chances. I do believe in Jesus Christ but I’m not going to let that spoil my fun.”
I didn’t see him in church again. About three weeks later I received a call telling me this man died in bed with a woman who was not his wife. He believed in Jesus, but he objected to His teaching in Matthew 16:24; “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”
The rich young ruler quit following Jesus for the same reason. Jesus said to him; Luke 18:22,23; “...Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.” Mark 10:22 says; “And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.”
The business man above and the rich man in the Gospels said, “It’s too hard;” but the bible says in Proverbs 13:15; “...the way of the transgressors is hard.” Who will we believe?
The second reason people go away from Jesus is:
B. Because Of The Fear Of Man.
In Mark 8:38; Jesus said; “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The bible is full of examples of those who had the fear of man, and what it did to them. In Matthew 26:32-39; we see how the fear of man made Peter deny his Lord three times. In Mark 15:12-15; we read about Pilate betraying himself for fear of the people. “...willing to content the people, released Barabbas to them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.” Again, John 7:12,13; tells us the people at the Feast of the Tabernacle celebration were debating who Jesus really was between themselves, but they wouldn’t say anything publicly; “...no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.”
There are many Christians and pastors in this category today. They don’t want to be criticized, confronted or ostracized by fellow members, their congregations or denominational leaders. They want big churches. They want the applause of men. Therefore, they water down what Jesus said and are ashamed to declare the whole counsel of God. Jesus says this is being “ashamed of Him.”
If we follow such leaders, we become partakers in their deeds and will be judged accordingly.
The Third reason for people going away from Jesus is:
C. Because Of The Power Of Pleasure.
Paul tells us in the II Timothy 3:1-5;
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves,..unholy,..truce breakers,..despisers of those that are good,,..lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
We read of men like Joseph who refused to be succumb to lust in Pharaoh’s house; Genesis 39:9; “...because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
We hear of some pastors today who tell the women in their church they are ministering to them spiritually to them when they meet their physical needs, and then stand in the pulpit urging their people to witness more and give more to this great ministry.
The greatest attrition rate in the ministry today is pastors being asked to leave the ministry because of an unwillingness to refuse the power of physical or financial pleasure. The highest segment of our society experiencing divorce and remarriage today is pastors. We need to pray for our pastors. There is much pressure on them to compromise, because “everybody else is doing it.” Some pastors today are divorcing their wives, marrying their pianist or secretary; Then standing up the next Sunday morning in the same church and saying, “I am more anointed than ever.” Congregations have been known to stand and cheer their pastors on. Joseph wasn’t like that.
In Hebrews 11:24- 26; we read of Moses who had an opportunity to have wealth, power, prestige and pleasure; but, “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.”
How we need to pray for those in our churches unknowingly going away from Christ because of the power of pleasure.
The fourth reason men go away from Christ is:
D. Because They Count On Tomorrow.
These are they who say, “my Lord delayeth His coming.” The Apostle John, when speaking of Christ’s return said; I John 3:2; “...when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shallsee him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
If those who, A. object to His teachings; B. who fear men, or are C. enjoying the power of pleasure, really believed Jesus Christ was coming back tonight, they would immediately repent. The truth is, they are gambling that he won’t. They are counting on tomorrow coming just like today came.
Jesus warned of this in Luke 12:45-48; “But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;..The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ‘And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. And that servant, which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes...For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:”
A good example of this truth is found in: Luke 12:20-21; concerning the rich young ruler. This man spoke of what he would do, with his possessions and how he had it made now and he could relax for the rest of his life. When he finished his foolish boasting, God spoke up: “...Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hastprovided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
The business man I witnessed to in his office counted on tomorrow. He gambled on tomorrow and lost. James 4:13-15 says: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away, For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
II. WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE GO THAT GO AWAY FROM GOD?
A. To Hell;
Matthew 24:50, 51; “...appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:
Matthew 25:30; “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
B. Away From The Bible;
Men’s conduct will always affect their doctrine. They suddenly go from; “Thus saith the Lord,” to “It can’t really mean that!”
`Someone once said; “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book. When people are away from God they want to hear how good they are, and the
Bible tells them how wicked they are. I have never known of an avid student of the Bible wanting to go away from God yet. Like Adam and Eve, they want to hide from God.
C. Away From And Against Great Testimonies Of Great People.
The last thing a person going away from God wants to hear is another Christian praising the Lord or telling what great things the Lord is doing for them. They don’t want to read “ Fox’s Book of Martyrs.”
D. AWAY FROM THE ONLY ANSWER FOR THEIR SIN, AND SORROW.
John 6:68; Peter asked the Lord; To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
May the Spirit of God convict us of this fact:
- To agree with those who object to the clear teachings of Christ:
- To remain quiet while we watch others compromise because of their fear of men:
- To allow those who call themselves brethren to live in sensual pleasure without rebuking them soundly:
- To remain silent when we see people violating divine principles within our church, acting like there is no tomorrow:
Since the word of God tells us we are to be “salt and light,” and “peacemakers,” if we fail to speak up, II John 10, 11; says; “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, (What doctrine? “The whole counsel of God.) receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” You will become a partner with him in his wickedness. You buy into his sin and become a participant with him.
How many families do you know of who have “bought into” the sins of their children, their parents, their pastor, their congregation and say “well things are changing and we have to adjust accordingly. We don’t want to be trouble makers?” These may not know it, but they too are going away from God. May God help us!
Perhaps we should all pray the 19 th century prayer of Octavious Winslow;
“Lord, is it your will that I should be holy? Then make me so in body, in soul, and in spirit. Subdue all my corruptions, break the power of my lusts; bring every thought, affection, word and look into sweet obedience to you.” AMEN!
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Point to Ponder:
Marvin Olasky, in World Magazine, January 23, 2003 told the following story.
A certain man drove his car into a ditch in a desolate area. A local rancher came to help with his big strong horse named Buddy. He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” Biddy didn’t move. Then the rancher hollered, “Pull, Buster, pull!” Buddy didn’t respond. Once more the rancher commanded, “Pull, Pokey, pull!” Nothing. Then the rancher nonchalantly said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” The horse easily dragged the car out of the ditch. The motorist was thankful and curious. He asked the rancher why he called his horse by the wrong name three times. The rancher said, “Oh, Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try!”
When I read this story, I thought, “That is why we keep sending out newsletters and tapes and call our precious partners. We want to remind them they aren’t pulling alone. We are pulling with them and we would probably quit trying if we didn’t know our partners were out there pulling too.” We do thank the Lord over and over and over and over for each of our precious partners helping us pull.
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One survey discovered:
- If both Mom & Dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful.
- If only Dad, 55% remain faithful.
- If only Mom, 15% remain faithful.
- If neither attended regularly, only 6% remain faithful.
The Conclusion: The example of parents and adults is more important than all the efforts of the church and Sunday School.
Source: warren Mueller in Homemade; contributed by Paul Fritz
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The number of unmarried couples living together skyrocketed in the 1990s, according to census data. Such arrangements rose 71 percent between 1990 and 2000, while the number of married-couple households rose only 7 percent. The number of moms living without a husband rose 25 percent.
A.W. Tozer said:
“The truth of Christ brings assurance and so removes the former problem of fear and uncertainty, but this assurance will be interpreted as bigotry by the fear-ridden multitude.”
“The soul dedicated to God’s truth is never popular with the multitudes. They make him pay for his love of truth. And that creates a problem for him.”
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