Memorial Day 2018 Sunday Service
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith
Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
This Document is a
Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following
the link Online Audio Files located
above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.
For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, or Truth
Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find
us on facebook at House of Faith Church
SCRIPTURE READING
1
Corinthians 11:23-26
I received from the
Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was
betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of
me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it,
in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and
drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”
–
This is a Memorial to Christ
INTRODUCTION
Many
people see Memorial Day as just a day off; a 3 day weekend, no school, no work,
etc..
But
for those who have lost someone because of war or military action, it means
much more than a day off.
In
fact, every single one of us in the United States of America should recognize
this day and honor those who spilled their blood to make America what it is
today--free, strong, a nation worth fighting
for, and a nation worth dying for.
Because men & women have died for this country, we have the right to preach God’s word freely.
Because men & women have died for this country, we have the right to preach God’s word freely.
We
have the right to live at peace in our own homes. We have the right to pursue
peace, prosperity and happiness. We have the right to protect our families and
our selves. Thank God for those who died
to make us free because there are many who are not!
As we prepare to enter into a day to remember those who died for liberty, it is fitting to remember the one who died to set us free from spiritual tyranny.
As we prepare to enter into a day to remember those who died for liberty, it is fitting to remember the one who died to set us free from spiritual tyranny.
Jesus
defeated the armies of Hell that we might have liberty in His Holy name.
We
celebrate Memorial Day once a year to remember those who died for our freedom,
but every week, on the day of rest, we have a celebration of the Memorial of
Christ and a reflection of what He has done for us.
For
the Christian every Sunday is a Memorial Day.
Ephesians
6:10-12
tells us that our battle is Spiritual, we are at war! And if you are a member
of the body of Christ you are enlisted in the Lords army.
Knowing
that we are at war, my question to you today is;
“DOES
OUR CHURCH HAVE ANY BATTLE CASUALTIES?”
Today’s
Message,
“What kind of casualties are there in a spiritual battle?”
Luke
8:4-15 “While a large
crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he
told this parable:
5"A farmer went out to sow his
seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled
on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on rock, and when
it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and
yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he
called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9His disciples asked him what this
parable meant. 10He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the
kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so
that,
"
'though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.'
though hearing, they may not understand.'
11"This is the meaning of the
parable: The seed is the word of God.
12Those along the path are the ones
who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,
so that they may not believe and be saved.
13Those on the rock are the ones
who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They
believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
14The seed that fell among thorns
stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by
life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the
word, retain it, and by persevering
produce a crop.”
a.
Some are trampled on after hearing the word
and devoured by the birds.
i.
You may be
trampled on by friends, family, coworkers and such.
ii.
I remember when I first heard the word and
ran to tell my friends and family about accepting Christ. Strange though,
for some reason they weren’t as excited about it as I was. I remember telling my father that God had called me to the
ministry, and I was enrolled into a Seminary and I was going to be a Pastor. He looked at me shaking his head and
said, “Why would you want to do that? I
guess if that’s the way you want to spend the rest of your life.” I could have let the words of my
friends and family trample on me, breaking me down and leaving the seed sewn in
me to be devoured by the birds. But
what we have is a relationship that is between us and God. No one else can
understand this unless they have it. You
cannot speak spiritual things to those who do not have the spirit and expect
them to be excited or understand your words.
b.
Some
wither away because they had no moister.
i.
What is our
moister, our water? It is the Holy
Spirit.
ii.
They Fell on the rock (they had a strong
foundation of Christ) they believed in the beginning, but did not grow because
they did not have the moister, the Living Water, the Holy Spirit.
After we receive the word what are we
supposed to do about it? After you plant
a flower, are you not supposed to water it?
What happens if you never water your plants? Rebekah has a cactus in her room, even it
need moisture every month to survive!
iii.
Read God’s word. Reading God’s word will
cause your faith to grow.
As your faith grows, you spend more and
more time in prayer with God.
The more time you spend with God the
greater your relationship with Him will be.
He will fill you with the Holy Spirit, and
through the Holy Spirit, you WILL grow!
Remember Psalm 127:1 – God builds
us. We cannot build ourselves.
c.
Some were surrounded with thorns which choked
them out.
i.
Who chooses the
people we surround ourselves with?
ii.
If we accept
Christ, the word of God, do we keep surrounding ourselves with the evil thorns
of society? The scriptures tell us to separate ourselves from this world.
iii.
We’re not
talking about reaching the unsaved here. We’re talking about how you live and
who you spend your free time with.
iv.
The thorns in a new Christian’s life CAN be the death
of him and his walk with God. The scriptures proclaim so in Luke
8.
1.
People will bring you down when you accept God.
2.
Friends will discourage you when you accept God.
3.
Family will tell you you’re a fool when you accept God.
4.
The path of faith becomes narrower.
v.
Who are the thorns in your life?
1.
These Christian Solder’s, the ones who were choked out,
are those whom we mourn and pray for, killed in Action.
2.
A terrible thing which could have been prevented if
they had just made better choices of who they chose to surround themselves with!
II.
SOME ARE MISSING IN ACTION…”PRESUMED DEAD”
James
1:23-27
“Anyone who listens
to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in
a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately
forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into
the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting
what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If
anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his
tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion
that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by
the world.
a.
We must not only hear the word, but do the
word!
i.
We must change the world, not be changed by
the world!
ii.
We must remember who we are when we are in the world,
not just while we are in the church building.
WE ARE the church!
b.
There are those who are missing in action
today.
i.
There are those who used to be doers of the
word, but are now just hearers.
ii.
Forgetting who they are when they leave this building
and return to the world outside from which they came.
iii.
Putting on the church face, then like a dog returning
to their vomit once they leave here.
c.
They are missing in Action.
i.
No one sees or hears from them anymore, and
they are presumed dead.
ii.
Not dead in the physical sense, but because they are no
longer doers of the word of God, they have become spiritually dead.
iii.
Missing in action and presumed dead.
iv.
There is another type of missing in action;
III.
SOME ARE MISSING IN ACTION…”SURRENDERED TO THE ENEMY”
a.
There are those who have given up on living
God’s way.
i.
For whatever reason, they feel that living
the way of the world is better.
ii.
They say, “I’m tired of being a Christian. I want to do what I want, when I want. I’m sick of feeling guilt.”
b.
If your living the
way you want and it’s not godly
i.
Guess what, that’s not guilt you’re
feeling. It’s called conviction from the
Holy Spirit of God.
ii.
The Good Shepherd has placed His crook
about your neck and is trying to guide you back to His flock.
c.
To those who don’t obey the crook, a warning
to you, next comes the rod.
i.
Hebrews
6:4-6 “It is impossible
for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift,
who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of
the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall
away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss
they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public
disgrace.”
ii.
We all sin and fall short of the glory of
God.
iii.
We all make mistakes in our lives.
iv.
We all get lost and sometimes leave the narrow path of
righteousness.
v.
This is why we are sheep and He is our shepherd.
d.
However, to make the choice consciously
to go missing in action, surrendering to the enemy, because you’re tired of
God’s word, or you refuse to give up a sin, these missing who have chosen the
enemy, they cannot be brought back.
i.
This category is represented by those who
are seen on the enemy side of the lines... not ours.
1.
These are those who have deserted or purposely and
consciously given up the way of the Lord so they may indulge in their sin.
2.
They identify with the enemy.
3.
They laid down their arms, and ceased to fight... it
makes no difference about their oath of loyalty or their convictions now...
AS FAR AS THE
BATTLE IS CONCERNED, THEY ARE DEAD! WE MOURN THEIR LOSS.
IV.
SOME ARE MISSING IN ACTION…”DESERTERS”
a.
2 Timothy 4:9-11 “Do
your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this
world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to
Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and
bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”
i.
Paul writing to Timothy he calls him to his
aid.
ii.
Demas deserted Paul because he loved this world.
iii.
We don’t know what became of Demas other
than he loved the world and deserted Paul and the ministry.
b.
What has happened to some of us?
i.
Who do we know that has so loved the world
they have departed the ministry of God, deserting us.
ii.
Are they still on the roster? No one has seen them for
a long time.
c.
So what do we do about our casualties?
i.
Has anyone gone looking for them?
ii.
It’s time we take an aggressive mentality about
salvation and our position in this spiritual war we are in.
iii.
There are no Neutral Grounds in this battle. You are
either with God, or you are not.
iv.
It’s time we rescue those who have been taken captive!
It’s time for a rescue mission!
1.
And this rescue mission is carried out in the form of
sharing the Gospel of Salvation with the lost.
Luke
15:3-7
“Then Jesus told
them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and
loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go
after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he
joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his
friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost
sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing
in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.”
CONCLUSION – Our Commander (Christ) was so concerned about one
"missing in action" that He told us to leave 99 others in camp, and
searched for the one ’missing’ until He found him.
Do
you know of any battle casualties?
Do
you know of someone who needs rescuing?
Are you the one who needs rescuing?
If
so God has not left you and He is waiting patiently for you to return to His
service.
With
open arms
Perhaps
the Memorial we observed today is unfamiliar to you.
Maybe
you are outside of Christ and His Kingdom.
You
can have the forgiveness that is promised to all and claimed by few.
If
you want to know more about Christ, Be part of His family, this family here,
Come
forward; let us pray for you If you have a need or want a special prayer come
forward.
Want to learn more about
Salvation and Getting Saved?
Want to hear the audio to this sermon?
