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Serving the Lord
Part 11: With All Our Heart
By Rev. Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON TIMELINE
1. Introduction to Serving
2. Serving the Lord through our Faith
3. Serving the Lord through our Relationships
4. Serving the Lord through our Marriage
5. Serving the Lord through our Family
6. Serving the Lord in our Home
7. Serving the Lord with our Friends
8. Serving the Lord in our Job
9. Serving the Lord in the Church
10. Serving the Lord in the Assembly
11. Serving the Lord with All Our Heart
INTRODUCTION
Today is Resurrection Sunday. April 28th, 2024
Today, we are completing our series on serving the Lord. This will wrap up nearly a year and a half journey through what it means to belong to the Lord, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, The Fruits of the Spirit, the Full Armor of God, Spiritual Gifts, and this last series, Serving the Lord.
In this world today, there are many churches of various sizes. Some are filled to overflowing, holding multiple services, and others are barely able to keep their doors open.
Some of them give the meat of God’s word, while others may offer a potluck of unprovocative messages. In this world, there is a literal smorgasbord of worship styles, preaching styles, congregation sizes, and so on.
However, the word of God makes it clear there is but one membership that truly matters, and that is membership into the Body of Christ.
Charles H. Spurgeon said, “Don’t go where it is all fine music and grand talk and beautiful architecture; those things will neither fill anybody’s stomach, nor feed his soul. Go where the gospel is preached, the gospel that really feeds your soul, and go often.”
Jesus did not have a fancy building, a laser show and fog machine, or a live band to stir one into an emotional response where feelings and personal experience trump the word.
We should never confuse or exchange personal experiences or emotional responses for the life-changing words of our Lord.
I’m not here today trying to say we should not have various worship styles and services in bible founded churches. I know many good brothers and sisters in various Christian congregations around the world truly love and serve the Lord.
But what I am saying is that we should take great care, first in ourselves, then in the way we share the gospel with others, so that the word of God works as it should and gets a response from the listener's heart and conscience rather than their feelings and emotions.
The drawn lights, heavy music with sorrowful words will always bring an emotional response, but our emotions can change once we step out into the light of day after service.
I have been to many conferences where hundreds, if not thousands, of people, make a “commitment” to the Lord after a service of a bit of scripture followed by a hefty dose of personal experience, loud music, and tear-jerking lyrics bringing people to the point of emotional response.
Do you know what the statistics say about those who commit with an emotional response at these events? Promise Keepers take the names of those who make a commitment at their event, then follow up a few years later to see if they are still reading their Bibles or going to church. Are they still committed?
Around 5% remain committed. An emotional response to the gospel is just that, an emotional response.
This is why time-share free lunches, door-to-door salesman, high-pressure sales, and the like WORK…they are designed to get you to a point where you commit without any heart or conscience involved. Emotional commitments seldom withstand the test of time.
I have spoken with many over the years who attended churches where they answered the altar call at the end of the service to commit to the Lord. Some even went weekly. The emotional cry out from the pastor tugging at the listener's feelings to respond, but the statistics do not lie. A few years later only a small percentage are still “committed.”
Today, we are going to talk about being committed with all our heart.
Today, we are going to talk about true and false conversion because there is a difference, and your soul and future eternal residence depend on knowing the difference.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Luke 13:5b
“…unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
I. FALSE CONVERSION
a. Immediate Triggered Results
i. Mark 4:5 “And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.”
ii. Mark 5:16-17 “these
are the ones being sown on the rocky places: those who, when hearing the word,
immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no root in themselves, but
are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the
word, immediately they fall away.”
iii. Luke 14:27-28 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”
iv. Luke 14:34-35 “salt
is good, but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
35 It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
b. False Converts do not thirst for the Lord
i. Luke 8:6 “And other seed fell on rock and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.”
ii. Luke 8:13 “And those on the
rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have
no root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”
c. False Converts gladly and effortlessly receive the word
i. Matthew 13:20-21 “And
the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears
the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in
himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
A true convert will have an emotional response to
their confession and true repentance to the Lord, but not every emotional
response is a true
confession and true repentance.
James 4:8-10 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9
Be miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and
your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He
will exalt you.”
The false convert comes to the Lord’s table without
humility, remorse for sin, or the desire to repent. They come to the table not
to give and surrender but to take from the Lord’s bounty.
Ask a random person on the street, “Do you want to
go to heaven when you die?” Nearly all say YES, except for the facetious and
arrogant. Everyone wants an eternal reward!
But most of those very same people are unwilling to
do what it takes. Confess their sin, repent, and submit to the Lord.
How can you tell if you are a true convert?
By judging.
II. TRUE CONVERSION
a. They have the Fruit of Repentance and Good Works
i. Matthew 3:8-10 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9
and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our
father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up
children to Abraham. 10 And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees;
therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire.”
ii. Luke 19:8 {the fruit of true
repentance} “But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my
possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of
anything, I will give back four times as much.”
iii. Colossians 1:10-14
“so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all
respects, bearing fruit in every good work and multiplying in the full
knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to His
glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the
inheritance of the saints in light. 13 Who rescued us from the authority of
darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
iv. Titus 3:8 “This is a
trustworthy saying. And concerning these things I want you to speak
confidently, so that those who have believed God will be intent to lead in good
works. These things are good and profitable for men.”
v. Matthew 5:14-16 “You
are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does
anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it
gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in
such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in
heaven.”
b. True Converts are truly thankful
i. Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through
Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is,
the fruit of lips that confess His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and
sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
ii. 2 Corinthians 9:15
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
c. True Converts have the Holy Spirit and Righteousness
i. Philippians 1:11 “having
been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.”
ii. Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”
III. EXAMINE YOURSELF
a. Do you justify your sin?
i. The
Christian sins against his will, but the hypocrite, the false convert, makes
provision for the flesh.
ii. If
you’ve ever said, “I know it's wrong, but…” then you are making provision for
the flesh, and you need to examine yourself and see if you are in the faith.
iii. 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
b. Are you saved?
i. Spiritual Fruits test - Galatians 5:22-23
1. But the fruit of the Spirit is love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. self-control
ii. Test your fruits – Matthew 7:16-24
1. You
will know them by their fruits.
Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from
thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears
bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So then, you will know them by their fruits.
2. 21
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in
Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your
name do many miracles?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
iii. Last Days test – 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:7
1. But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be
2. lovers of self
3. lovers of money
4. boastful
5. arrogant
6. blasphemers
7. disobedient to parents
8. ungrateful
9. unholy
10. unloving
11. quarreling
12. malicious gossips
13. without self-control
14. without gentleness
15. without love for good
16. Treacherous
17. Reckless
18. Conceited
19. lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
20. holding to a form of godliness
a. but having denied its power
21.Keep away from such men as these.
22. always learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth.
c. Are you led by spirit or flesh?
i. Spirit – Galatians 5:16-18; Galatians 5:22-26
ii. Flesh – Galatians 5:19-21
CONCLUSION
We must ALL test ourselves and examine whether or not we are truly of faith.
Maybe we said a “prayer of salvation” or what is sometimes called “the sinner's prayer,” and think that’s it, which is not scriptural.
Maybe we were baptized, thinking all is good, not realizing baptism is for the believer, not to make a believer.
Here is something you may not know. My wife Terri was a false convert.
WHAT? Yes.
Many of us were in the beginning of hearing about Christ. Some of those realized and corrected their walk, becoming true converts. Others remain blinded, for one reason or another, and live a miserable existence in false conversion, often wondering what they are doing wrong or why they are not experiencing the peace and joy of believers around them.
My wife Terri wrote an article titled “Are you
Really Saved?” a few years back that explains this situation perfectly. I will
include it in its entirety in the Mid-Week Encouragement this week, but for
today, here is a portion of it;
"Are You Saved?" by Terri Shields
“I said the prayer I was led to say and got "saved" when I was seven. I cried, my mom cried, the lady praying with me cried so it must have really happened right? I was baptized a short time later and was a good little soldier memorizing verses, wearing my dresses to church, handing out tracts and trying to get all my little friends saved. It was difficult though because when it came time to explain Salvation to them, my 7 year old mind couldn't really explain because I didn't fully understand myself.
Through the years I was sure I was saved, after all Id said the magic words, we all cried, emotion was high and the church assured me I was good to go for life no matter what sins I committed. Even as a child this sounded fishy to me.
As I went through my life living just as I pleased, I would get re-saved from time to time because something was missing. I didn't know what. The bible says in John 3:16 'For God so loved the world that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
Well I did believe. I really did. I believed everything Id been taught so I just went on hoping I was saved and trying to ignore the fact that something was missing. I would say I was sorry for my sins every time I got re-saved from backsliding but in my heart I knew I was sorry because I was supposed to be.
I wanted to be, but I wasn't really sorry. I knew I was born a sinner therefore not my fault. I didn't ask for this and Adam and Eve were to blame. I knew Jesus died for me but again my heart would say "I didn't ask him to". "Why put all this on me?"
After 37 years of living a self-absorbed sin-filled life I was watching a pastor preaching. One night while watching I heard him say something that made me sit straight up in my seat.
It was my line, the one I said in my head. He said "You may say "Well I wasn't in the garden". "I'm not Adam or Eve". "I would have listened to God and not eaten that apple". Then he explained that we all are in the proverbial garden and God is giving us many choices to obey or disobey and when we choose to disobey we are Adam or Eve and it is our fault and he knew we couldn't be perfect and so He sent His Son to die for us; and now I knew what had been missing all along. Repentance.
I didn't have it.
Suddenly my eyes were opened and I saw my sin for what it really was and for the first time in my life I was so repentant I could hardly look at myself. I was to blame.
I repented for every sin I could remember and then some more that came to mind later. I just couldn't stop I was so sorry. I thanked God for his forgiveness and Salvation and most of all thanked Him for showing me the truth before I died and went to Hell.
For the word says in 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
I had believed in God and Jesus and knew I needed to be saved but it wasn't enough. I needed to true repentance and to turn away from my sin and not just believe in God but turn my life over to Him and live for Him the rest of my days.
It has been over 20 years since that day and I still thank God all the time for that 1 tape that did what a lifetime of sermons couldn't do. Open my eyes to the truth.
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