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0884 Earth Holds No Treasures

0884 Earth Holds No Treasures. Matthew 10:16. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”. Convenient or Christian. Has our desire for Convenience come at the cost of our Christianity?. Convenience.

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0884 Earth Holds No Treasures

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  1. 0884 Earth Holds No Treasures

  2. Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

  3. ConvenientorChristian Has our desire for Convenience come at the cost of our Christianity?

  4. Convenience • the quality of being convenient; suitable • anything that saves or simplifies work, adds to one's ease or comfort, etc., as an appliance, utensil, or the like. • a convenient situation or time • advantage or accommodation • easy to obtain, use, or reach

  5. We live in a world intent on making things convenient… • remote controls • product packaging • fast food & fast religion • when was the last time you bought a popcorn popper? • technology, i.e., my iPhone & iPad etc… • I fear this type of thinking is creeping into our spiritual lives…

  6. Possible Warning Signs • Is our attendance dictated by convenience or out of a desire to serve, worship, and fellowship? • Do we complain about the length of the assembly because of our schedule, in others words, it’s not convenient for us? • Do we make time for prayer and bible study or wait until it’s convenient? • Do vacations include or exclude God?

  7. Jesus never promised us convenience… Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

  8. Jesus never promised us convenience… Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

  9. Jesus never promised us convenience… John 15:20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. 1 Corinthians 4:12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

  10. When we are called to serve… • Does it matter to us…? • Do we think about…? • whether it’s • CONVENIENT or • CHRISTIAN…

  11. Convenience once destroyed God’s people… Jeroboam, first King of Israel, 1 Kings 11-12

  12. The Deceived Church • We live in a world where “religion” is very fluid… • According to Pew Forum on Religious & Public Life 44% of the population has left the church they grew up in. 1 in 4 people are not affiliated with any religious group and this number is growing among young adults.

  13. The Deceived Church • The U.S. population is growing. And fast. • The nation's nearly 13,000 Churches of Christ — as a group — are not. • In a nutshell, that's the challenge facing a fellowship whose membership has increased only about 1.6 percent since the beginning of the Reagan era. • In the same quarter-century, America as a whole grew at a rate 20 times that.

  14. The Deceived Church • Why the slow rate of growth … ? • “For one, strict advocacy of doctrinal positions is no longer as strong with any church as in the ’50s. The U.S. society’s emphasis on tolerance has caused great shifts in thinking, and that thinking has touched the Churches of Christ.” referenced from The Christian Chronicle, February 2007.

  15. Who are we worshipping? • The Jesus of scripture or of modern religion? • The Jesus of modern religion offers: • convenience… • entertainment… • tends to be more emotional… • promises painless blessings… • fast fixes… • as well as a come and stay as you are…

  16. The Jesus of Scripture • Jesus came to change people and to call them to service, consider Saul’s conversion in Acts 9… • Consider a young preacher mentored by Paul who was counseled to endure hardship, 2 Timothy 2:3… • Consider the young, prodigal, son who learned the need of becoming a servant, Luke 15:19…

  17. God’s Word is not subject to change. • It is complete, that is why we are commanded not to stray from it, to the left or the right: Deuteronomy 5:32, Joshua 1:7, 23:6, Proverbs 4:27, • Revelation 22:18 also warns us not to add to the His words. • In other words, we can’t improve on God’s message…

  18. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It’ about sacrifice, Romans 12:1 • Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

  19. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It’s about commitment, Luke 9:59-62 • He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

  20. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It’s about service, Luke 17:10 • So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

  21. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It requires cost, Luke 14:25-35 • 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

  22. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It requires cost, Luke 14:25-35 • 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

  23. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It requires cost, Luke 14:25-35 • 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

  24. It’s time to stop thinking selfishly… • It requires cost, Luke 14:25-35 • 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

  25. So, what is there about it… • The answer is eternity… • Look within your heart, God has revealed Himself to you, Romans 1:18-20… • Don’t deny what you know is true…

  26. invitation An eternity without God will not be convenient…

  27. 0884 Earth Holds No Treasures

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