Gtcotr/ss040719
Here
we are again on the first day of the week, what the Bible calls “The Lord’s Day”,
called together to fellowship and worship together, to hear the Word of God and
pray. God’s hope today is that you would leave here better, wiser, stronger,
more at peace and more like Jesus than when you came. It’s my privilege to
break the Bread of Life with you once again.
God
has no grandchildren, He has only children. Salvation can be modeled but it
cannot be inherited, bestowed, or even taught to us by a parent, pastor or
priest. In order for a person to be saved they must be born- again. People must be introduced to the person of Jesus Christ, not
the practice of Christianity.
If
you’re not saved, God will invite and encourage you to be born-again today. He
is that kind of God. He wants to include everyone in His family. If you have
already received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God is going to inspire you with
principles this morning that will help you make a better living, build a better
life and make a greater difference this coming week.
Since
God has no grandchildren and since salvation cannot be inherited, it is God’s
hope that every person will have what we call a “First-Generation” experience with God.
A first-generation experience can be marked by a few basic fundamentals of
faith. We will get to 3 of those in a moment but first, let’s read our
scriptures for today.
Philippians 2 NLT
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try
to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
4 Don’t look out only for
your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same
attitude that Christ Jesus had.
8 When He appeared in human
form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a
cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated Him
to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names.
Romans 15 (The Message)
1 Those of us who are strong
and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and
not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not for status.
2 Each one of us needs to
look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I
help them?"
3 That’s exactly what Jesus
did. He didn’t make it easy for Himself by avoiding other people’s troubles,
but waded right in and helped out …
What
would you do if you could do absolutely anything in the whole world? If leading
someone to Christ is not at the top of your list, you’ve missed the boat!
Everything else is perishable … only eternal life is worth forever.
By The Way: When I use the terms, first, second and
third generation Christians today, it will have nothing to do with whether or
not your parents or grandparents were Christians. Every person, whether or not
they are from a Christian or non-Christian family and without consideration as
to whether or not they have been born-again, has an open opportunity to have a
first-generation experience with God at any time they choose. Today you can
choose to go all-in with Jesus. That being said, allow me to share:
Three Fundamentals
of a 1st Generation Born-Again Believer
1. An Unshakeable Faith in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – this is the Gospel – it includes)
a. Jesus was born of a
virgin
b. He lived a sinless
life
c. He died an atoning
death
d. He was buried and
rose again on the 3rd day victorious of sin, death, hell and the
grave.
e. He is coming again
and will reign forever as King of all Glory
f. Jesus will give
eternal life to every person who believes in Him and sincerely calls upon His
name to save them from their sin.
g. A 1st
Generation Christian holds this unshakable faith …
2. An Unquestionable Loyalty to the Church of
Jesus Christ (Psalms 69:9 – Jesus was consumed with zeal
for the House of God.)
a. The Church is the Body
of Christ
b. The Church is the Bride
Christ
c. The Church is the Family
of God in Heaven and Earth
d. Jesus lived for the
Church
e. Jesus died for the
Church
f. Jesus is coming
again for the Church
g. Jesus will live
forever as the Head of the Church
h. The Church is Jesus’
vision and promise
i. If you want to be
like Jesus you’ll have to go to Church, He did!
j. If you don’t want to
go to Church, you don’t want to go to heaven.
k. Don’t disrespect the
Bride of Christ … Jesus don’t like that – Just ask Saul of Tarsus … it’s like
kicking against an ox goad.
l. Jesus is counting on
you to make the Church a better and more productive place to serve, worship,
grow, be encouraged and reach the world with the Gospel.
m. God wants you to
make a difference in and through your Church.
n. A 1st
Generation Christian has an unquestionable loyalty to the Church.
3. An Unquenchable Thirst for Souls (James 5:20)
a. The Inclusive Gospel of Salvation
i. Pharisees felt they were better than others
ii. Jesus spent time with everyone
iii. We don’t say “no” to Jesus for anyone.
iv. We don’t make it hard … Jesus made it easy
v. We let our light shine to everyone in every place
vi. Because we love the lost; the poor; the needy; the hurt.
b. An Undying Commitment
to Discipleship
c. An Unwavering
Message of Righteousness
d. We are successful
when we have shared a clear message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without condemnation.
e. A 1st
Generation Christian has an unquenchable thirst for souls.
King
David had a 1st generation experience with God. He put his life on
the line for the Kingdom and fought for His God. David spent his time praising
the Lord and although he wasn’t perfect, he was repentant, and his heart
belonged to God. God took David and made him a king.
·
A
First-Generation Believer holds to the fundamental truths of God and remembers
what it was like without Him.
King
Solomon had a 2nd generation experience with God. He was raised in
the Tabernacle in Jerusalem and inherited the Kingdom. God visited Solomon but
they didn’t spend quality time together … the things of God were just a little
too easy and familiar. Solomon began to be influenced by his wives and he
allowed idols to be brought into his house and the Kingdom. God offered Solomon
a 1st generation experience, as He does everyone, yet Solomon was
wooed by other things … good things, just not God things.
·
A
Second-Generation Christian wants to have all of God, they just don’t want God
to have all of them.
King
Rehoboam had a 3rd generation experience with God. He was purely
selfish and cared for no one but himself. He was not raised in David’s house
but in Solomon’s house worshipping Jehovah and his mom’s idols. They had a new
church building for God on Zion, but daddy allowed mama to build a worship/arts
center for Molech, the god of fire, on the Mount of Olives. Ezekiel says the
Jews would sacrifice their children to Molech in the mornings and then come to
the Tabernacle of Jehovah to worship Him in the evenings, (Ezekiel 23:37ff).
They were more religious than ever. Rehoboam knew about God, but he was
personally as lost as a goose, and he divided the Kingdom and it has never been
unified ever again.
·
A
Third-Generation Christian it’s just organized religion. One way is no better
than another. No real personal investment … it’s just not their thing … they
have different goals. Just let everybody do whatever and worship whatever they
want. It really doesn’t make a difference. Rehoboam had God, but he had a lot
of gods …
A
First-Generation Believer
·
Holds
a Biblical World View instead of a worldly view of the Bible.
·
Knows
right from wrong; good from God; sweet from bitter.
·
Is
more concerned about being relevant to God than relevant to the world.
We
all need that unshakable, unquestionable and unquenchable fire of the Holy
Spirit that makes us unashamed of the Gospel and unafraid of the costs.
Jesus willingly threw Himself between us and God … He intercepted our sin, and paid our penalty. This He
did because He loved us with the love He received from the Father. And, this is
the love with which He expects us to love others who are sinners. You can know
and show this love!
Have
you had a 1st generation experience with God? Instead of trying to
control God … let Him control you! You have Him … Does He have you?
