February 5, 2017 NOTES NOT EDITED
“Bad Advice”: Pt. 1, “How To Drift From God”
“Bad Advice”: Pt. 1, “How To Drift From God”
Hebrews 2:1;
Revelation 2:1-7; and others
Series in a Sentence: The
fleshly nature is hard-wired to follow “bad advice” and the Devil is glad to
offer it in abundance so we need to fortify our faith so that we are not
vulnerable to deception.
Sermon in a Sentence: Following just a few simple steps, you can guarantee you will drift away from God.
Sermon in a Sentence: Following just a few simple steps, you can guarantee you will drift away from God.
As we enter this new series on “Bad Advice”
that includes the messages--How to Drift From God, How to Become an Addict, How
to Commit Adultery, and How to Be Dissatisfied With Life—let me say something
about the approach.
I normally preach what is commonly called, expository messages. This means I normally stick to one passage of a few verses and try to show how those verses support a central theme or principle, which I sum up as the Sermon in a Sentence.
This is not the only way to structure a biblically based, God honoring sermon. Another way is commonly referred to as a “topical” sermon. In this approach, several selected passages are explored to support a topic, principle, or idea. The end result is the same. Our desire is to live lives in obedience to God’s Word, whether presented verse by verse, textually, topically, or a number of different rhetorical ways.
This series, “Bad Advice,” will be approached topically. So, get your page turning fingers in shape as we explore the depth and breadth of what God’s word says about following bad advice.
At this point I feel obligated to say that “I don’t like to give advice, even what I consider ‘good’ advice.” Giving advice implies a certain foundation of expertise. One person somehow has a better grasp on a subject than another. That may or may not be the case in some instances. But, giving advice seems arrogant to me.
I prefer to share my expertise and even perhaps the accumulated wisdom of my years of education, but I prefer to do so as a “guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” I prefer to preach as a “fellow traveler, not one who has arrived.”
That being the case, I was somewhat excited by the prospects for a series on “Bad Advice.” It takes no great wisdom to give bad advice, or any great level of knowledge, so it seems I can qualify rather easily as perfectly equipped to give “bad advice.” I’m sure even some of my “good advice” was actually just a version of “bad advice.”
But, alas, “Bad Advice” is just a hook to get your attention. Of course I would never intentionally give “bad advice.” I don’t think any of us would argue against the proposition that there is plenty of “Bad Advice” available in our world, and plenty of folks that readily follow it. There are many sources of bad advice: doctors, lawyers, teachers, and certainly politicians.
I normally preach what is commonly called, expository messages. This means I normally stick to one passage of a few verses and try to show how those verses support a central theme or principle, which I sum up as the Sermon in a Sentence.
This is not the only way to structure a biblically based, God honoring sermon. Another way is commonly referred to as a “topical” sermon. In this approach, several selected passages are explored to support a topic, principle, or idea. The end result is the same. Our desire is to live lives in obedience to God’s Word, whether presented verse by verse, textually, topically, or a number of different rhetorical ways.
This series, “Bad Advice,” will be approached topically. So, get your page turning fingers in shape as we explore the depth and breadth of what God’s word says about following bad advice.
At this point I feel obligated to say that “I don’t like to give advice, even what I consider ‘good’ advice.” Giving advice implies a certain foundation of expertise. One person somehow has a better grasp on a subject than another. That may or may not be the case in some instances. But, giving advice seems arrogant to me.
I prefer to share my expertise and even perhaps the accumulated wisdom of my years of education, but I prefer to do so as a “guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.” I prefer to preach as a “fellow traveler, not one who has arrived.”
That being the case, I was somewhat excited by the prospects for a series on “Bad Advice.” It takes no great wisdom to give bad advice, or any great level of knowledge, so it seems I can qualify rather easily as perfectly equipped to give “bad advice.” I’m sure even some of my “good advice” was actually just a version of “bad advice.”
But, alas, “Bad Advice” is just a hook to get your attention. Of course I would never intentionally give “bad advice.” I don’t think any of us would argue against the proposition that there is plenty of “Bad Advice” available in our world, and plenty of folks that readily follow it. There are many sources of bad advice: doctors, lawyers, teachers, and certainly politicians.
This reminds me of a man walking past the
County Courthouse one day. As the man
passed by, he saw one of his neighbors sitting on the steps sobbing
uncontrollably. The man put his hand on
his friend’s shoulder and said, “What’s wrong?
Did your lawyer give you bad advice?”
The man, recovering from his sobbing enough to offer a reply stated,
“No, it is much worse than that.” The other
man said, “what could be worse than your lawyer giving you bad advice.” Nearly inconsolable the man on steps burst
out, “He sold it to me!”
Of course, it is not fair to pick on
lawyers. They often have some of the
best advice money can buy. Sometimes,
the advice you get from preachers is worth what you paid for it. Even the advice from doctors is not
perfect: “take one aspirin and call me
in the morning” probably won’t be enough if you have just fallen off the roof
on your head.
The best place to find advice is . . . well, we all know . . . the Internet.
Here’s a few gem among hundreds of thousands that I found.
ADVICE SLIDE SHOW
The best place to find advice is . . . well, we all know . . . the Internet.
Here’s a few gem among hundreds of thousands that I found.
ADVICE SLIDE SHOW
Well, as you can readily see, “Bad Advice” is
everywhere. We are going to examine “bad
advice” in light of the Bible—the only sure source for “good” advice—to see if
we can fortify our faith and insulate our hearts against the Devil’s scheming
propaganda. Let’s think for a moment
about this advice: “How To Drift From
God.” We will launch or study from two books in the Bible. Let’s read them together.
HEBREWS 2:1; REVELATION 2:1-7
The issues that cause Christians to drift
away from God are too many to address in a single sermon. Here are four sure-fire steps that will cause
you to drift away from God.
1) NEGLECT PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD (Ps 63:1-3)
1) NEGLECT PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD (Ps 63:1-3)
Let’s consider Psalm 63:1-3: O
God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary
land where there is no water. 2So
I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because
your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
The word that comes to my mind when I read
this is, “passionate.” Passionate almost
to the point of pain. Have you ever
loved someone so much that it almost hurt to be away from them? That’s the kind of love that David expresses
for the Lord—passionate, almost painful longing to be with the Lord.
You see this same kind of passion expressed
by people of God throughout the Bible.
Paul describes how much he longed to die and be in the presence of the
Lord. Paul said, “21 For to me, to live
is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the
body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not
know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is better by far (Phil. 1:21-23).
Paul literally fight himself being torn in
two because his ministry held him to the earth, but his heart felt the strong
pull of being in the Presence of God. It
was painful for both David and Paul to be out of God’s Presence.
For David, it was like dying of thirst or being starved by hunger. Thirst and hunger are two of our most powerful driving forces. Both thirst and hunger grow more and more intense the less they are fulfilled.
Do not neglect your personal time with God. Nothing—and I mean NOTHING—is more important than spending time in prayer and meditating on God’s Word. Yet, how many Christians go from Sunday to Sunday without satisfying the hunger and thirst for God’s Word.
I learned something sad about hunger. Do you know that if you starve yourself for an extended period of time, at first the hunger pangs would be intense, even painful, but after a period of time, weeks, you stop feeling hunger pains. This happens with people elderly people, or severely ill people. As death gets closer, one signal it is near is the patient has no desire for food. In fact, they have no desire for food because a dying body has no “NEED” for food.
The fact that a person does not “earnestly desire time with God,” indicates that the spirit of faith is near death, or perhaps even dead. Oh, I don’t mean that the person has “lost” the salvation they gained by accepting the gift of grace by God, but they have lost all the “joy and vitality” of their relationship with God. A person with a dead faith may go through all the religious steps of religion, but they are dead inside because they neglected to nourish their spirit by earnestly seeking God.
We see this in the Word of God when God condemns a faith that does not long to spend time with Him. Matt 15:8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9They worship me in vain.
For David, it was like dying of thirst or being starved by hunger. Thirst and hunger are two of our most powerful driving forces. Both thirst and hunger grow more and more intense the less they are fulfilled.
Do not neglect your personal time with God. Nothing—and I mean NOTHING—is more important than spending time in prayer and meditating on God’s Word. Yet, how many Christians go from Sunday to Sunday without satisfying the hunger and thirst for God’s Word.
I learned something sad about hunger. Do you know that if you starve yourself for an extended period of time, at first the hunger pangs would be intense, even painful, but after a period of time, weeks, you stop feeling hunger pains. This happens with people elderly people, or severely ill people. As death gets closer, one signal it is near is the patient has no desire for food. In fact, they have no desire for food because a dying body has no “NEED” for food.
The fact that a person does not “earnestly desire time with God,” indicates that the spirit of faith is near death, or perhaps even dead. Oh, I don’t mean that the person has “lost” the salvation they gained by accepting the gift of grace by God, but they have lost all the “joy and vitality” of their relationship with God. A person with a dead faith may go through all the religious steps of religion, but they are dead inside because they neglected to nourish their spirit by earnestly seeking God.
We see this in the Word of God when God condemns a faith that does not long to spend time with Him. Matt 15:8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9They worship me in vain.
How different this is from the passionate
love Jeremiah had for the Lord and His Word:
“When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight”
(15:16).
If you want to guarantee you will “drift
from God” neglect spending time with God through His Word, stay away
from worship where you meet God in prayer, song, and preaching. Neglect work days, banquets, fellowships, or
anytime you might experience the Presence of God.
2) HANG AROUND WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE (Ps 1:1)
Let me say this about that: if you practice the first step in drifting
from God, this next step will be much easier.
Remember, learning how to drift from God is a process. Don’t’ expect to get there overnight. Notice how the process works in Psalm 1
1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the
counsel of the wicked
or
stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
Do you see the process at work? Neglecting God begins by picking up the
“speech” of the world. We watch the
world’s movies. We get consumed by the world’s recreational activities. We just listen. Then, we begin to take a “stand” with the
world on issues, like pornography as free speech, abortion as birth control, or
same-sex marriage as, “loving who you love.”
I’m not talking about politics, I’m talking about faith. I’m sure one could find a “good” Democrat,
but one could never find a “good Democratic Party”—a party that not only
tolerates but celebrates reproductive freedom and mass genocide masquerading as
“women’s health care.”
That’s not a political viewpoint; that’s a biblical viewpoint. When we begin by adopting the speech of the world, pretty soon we will be standing side by side with the world. We have come full circle in sinful rebellion, totally drifting away from God when we actually, “sit down with the world as brothers and sisters.” We no longer just talk like the world, and walk like the world, “we are the world,” and I don’t mean in a Michael Jackson song kind of way!
Hanging out with the crowd is as sure fire step toward drifting from God. In case the Psalmist didn’t make the case strongly enough, listen to what the N.T. says, 33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame (1Cor. 15:33-34).
When God sees us walk like ducks, quack like ducks, and hang around other ducks, He doesn’t treat us like chickens!
That’s not a political viewpoint; that’s a biblical viewpoint. When we begin by adopting the speech of the world, pretty soon we will be standing side by side with the world. We have come full circle in sinful rebellion, totally drifting away from God when we actually, “sit down with the world as brothers and sisters.” We no longer just talk like the world, and walk like the world, “we are the world,” and I don’t mean in a Michael Jackson song kind of way!
Hanging out with the crowd is as sure fire step toward drifting from God. In case the Psalmist didn’t make the case strongly enough, listen to what the N.T. says, 33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame (1Cor. 15:33-34).
When God sees us walk like ducks, quack like ducks, and hang around other ducks, He doesn’t treat us like chickens!
Now, “don’t hear what I didn’t say!” I am not saying we should not have
“non-Christian” friends and associates.
In fact, the more the merrier!
But, you need to be very, very, very careful that you have these friends
for the purpose of loving them to Christ, not letting them teach you to love
the world! Kapish? (Capiche, Capisce).
So here’s where we are to this point. 1.
Neglect spending time with God.
2. Hang out with the wrong
crowd. Then
3) GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION (James 1:14-15)
Now, giving in to temptation isn’t as easy
for a Christian as you might think. We
have the Holy Spirit as God’s down payment for our salvation, and He, the Holy
Spirit, is always there to help us fight temptation. Remember that promise in 1Cor. 10:13:
13 No temptation has overtaken you except what
is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of
escape so that you are able to bear it.
I share that verse with you to warn you that
in your desire to drift away from God, giving in to temptation will not be
easy—but, with persistence, you can do it.
Look at what James 1:14-15
says:
14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn
away and enticed by his own evil desires.
15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to
sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
I miss the old NIV before the started
monkeying with the gender-inclusive language.
In the old NIV (1984) it says that we fall into temptation when we are “dragged
away and enticed.”
If you fall into temptation occasionally,
like we all do, it isn’t because you are evil and bad—well we are evil and bad,
but it would take too long to explain the difference between evil and bad
before we are saved and evil and bad after we are saved—no, it isn’t because
you are evil that you fall into temptation occasionally, it’s because you are
human. The Devil is persistent. He’ll keep pulling at you and pulling at you
until, in a moment of weakness, “you are dragged away.”
Don’t despair! When the Devil is dragging you down, God’s Holy Spirit is dragging you back. It’s a tug-a-war for your soul—and God always wins.
The issue with drifting from God by giving into temptation is not a matter of trying and failing, but not even trying! It’s not that you intend to stand strong against temptation and fail, it’s that you never really intend to beat off the Devil in the first place.
Don’t despair! When the Devil is dragging you down, God’s Holy Spirit is dragging you back. It’s a tug-a-war for your soul—and God always wins.
The issue with drifting from God by giving into temptation is not a matter of trying and failing, but not even trying! It’s not that you intend to stand strong against temptation and fail, it’s that you never really intend to beat off the Devil in the first place.
Finally, and if you have followed the first three
steps, this should be a cinch:
4) LOVE THIS WORLD MORE THAN YOU LOVE GOD
The Bible gives different advice in this
regard. The Bible says,
1John
2:15-16 15Do not love the world or the
things that belong to the world. If
anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For
everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride
in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world
Let’s be honest. If one were to examine our financial habits,
our recreational habits, and every other area of our lives, it would be
painfully obvious that “we love this world.”
We love its foods. We love its
fun. We love everything about it—just a little too much!
Materialism is like a giant pair of hands
around our necks strangling the faith our of our lives. Hey!
I’m not playing Mr. Holier-Than-Thou
here! I love worldly things,
myself. Just the other evening, after a
very, very long day, I decided to treat Shari and I to a blow-out meal at
Outback. I ate something I’d never eaten
before. I had Filet Mignon. That’s French for “tender filet, or dainty
filet,” and it sure was “tender and dainty!”
I don’t want to get a Pharisaical on you. There’s nothing wrong with having a good meal, even driving an expensive car—if that’s what floats your boat. If God blesses you, He blesses you because He wants to bless you! But, we must be careful not to take God’s blessings for granted, or soon, we will be loving the things of the world more than we love God—and drifting away from God will be complete.
I don’t want to get a Pharisaical on you. There’s nothing wrong with having a good meal, even driving an expensive car—if that’s what floats your boat. If God blesses you, He blesses you because He wants to bless you! But, we must be careful not to take God’s blessings for granted, or soon, we will be loving the things of the world more than we love God—and drifting away from God will be complete.
Let me get back to my filet mignon and
lobster for a minute. It was hard to
even say the words, “filet mignon.” I
hated French in high school. I felt out
of my league—but it didn’t slow down my appetite! But, do you want to know what is even better
than ordering “filet mignon?” It is
being blessed to have someone else pay for it!
One of our members was in Outback and saw
us. We chatted. During our meal, an unknown waiter came and
asked if he could take our “Payment Kiosk” (the little gadget on the
table). I said, “Sure.” I had more important things on my plate—I
mean my mind! I thought he needed to
change the batteries.
No, he was running to the other side of the
restaurant where someone who loves the Lord, loves us, and whom we love very
much, paid for our “very expensive” meal.
You see, that’s an example of “loving God more than we love the
world.” Love is an action. Our words may whisper, “I love Jesus” but our
actions may shout, “I love the world!”
So, there you have it. The worst advice I can give you about
drifting away from the Lord. Neglect
spending time with the Lord. Hang out
with the wrong crowd. Give into temptation.
And, most importantly, love the world more than you love the Lord.
I’m
sure by now you noticed I
was talking primarily to Christians. The
reason for this is that non-Christians cannot “drift away from a relationship
with God because they have never had one in the first place.” A person cannot “return to their first love
of God, or rise to the height that they once held,” if they have never fallen
in love with Jesus in the first place, and were “seated with Him in heavenly
places” by receiving the gift of salvation.
Maybe you realize today that you have not “drifted away” from God because you had never been “moored to God’s dock” in the first place. That’s where you need to start today.
Accept the free gift of grace offered by God and, as we read earlier in Hebrews, “pay careful attention to the Word of God so you do not drift away!” (paraphrase).
Maybe you realize today that you have not “drifted away” from God because you had never been “moored to God’s dock” in the first place. That’s where you need to start today.
Accept the free gift of grace offered by God and, as we read earlier in Hebrews, “pay careful attention to the Word of God so you do not drift away!” (paraphrase).
For those of us who ARE believers, but we
have drifted away, there is an old story about a farmer and his wife that may
motivate us to set a course for to dock in the harbor of God’s love.
Years ago a farm boy from Iowa married his high school sweetheart, right after graduation. The young man settled in an old homestead on the family farm. They didn’t have much in the way of material things, but a small house and an old red pickup. A Ford if my memory serves me. All the folks in town and parts thereabout knew of this young couple who were madly in love. The young farmer and his new bride could be seen driving down the old country roads. He’d have one hand on the wheel, and his other arm draped across the shoulders of his wife, who always rode cuddled up next to her beloved. Years went by. Folks still saw them driving up and down those country roads. Same roads, but a newer truck. The farmer still had one hand on the wheel and the other, draped across the seatback where his bride used to snuggle. One day, the wife, sitting over in the passenger seat, asked her husband, “why don’t we cuddle as we drive like we used to?” The farmer, a man of few words, spoke without even turning his head, “I’m still where I always was!”
Imagine that farmer is God, and we are the wife, his bride. If we find ourselves feeling distant from God, without the warm, passionate relationship we once had, we need to ask ourselves, “Who moved?”
Don’t let the Devil give you bad advice that would cause your love for God to grow cold because you have drifted away. Take the Bible’s good advice and, “return to your first love!” (Rev. 2:4)
Years ago a farm boy from Iowa married his high school sweetheart, right after graduation. The young man settled in an old homestead on the family farm. They didn’t have much in the way of material things, but a small house and an old red pickup. A Ford if my memory serves me. All the folks in town and parts thereabout knew of this young couple who were madly in love. The young farmer and his new bride could be seen driving down the old country roads. He’d have one hand on the wheel, and his other arm draped across the shoulders of his wife, who always rode cuddled up next to her beloved. Years went by. Folks still saw them driving up and down those country roads. Same roads, but a newer truck. The farmer still had one hand on the wheel and the other, draped across the seatback where his bride used to snuggle. One day, the wife, sitting over in the passenger seat, asked her husband, “why don’t we cuddle as we drive like we used to?” The farmer, a man of few words, spoke without even turning his head, “I’m still where I always was!”
Imagine that farmer is God, and we are the wife, his bride. If we find ourselves feeling distant from God, without the warm, passionate relationship we once had, we need to ask ourselves, “Who moved?”
Don’t let the Devil give you bad advice that would cause your love for God to grow cold because you have drifted away. Take the Bible’s good advice and, “return to your first love!” (Rev. 2:4)
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