God’s Great Approach

God's Great Approach

June 28, 2015 – Pastor Matt James – “God’s Great Approach”

 

Intro: With all the debate over the current events I would like to start this sermon out with prayer and with the Love of God in the forefront.

Story: Yellow jacket nest in flames.

  • They stung me and I wanted payback.
  • My way only causes more pain.

Text: Romans 2:1-4

Rom. 2:1       You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.  3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?  4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

  1. We all came from the same muddy mess.
  • We have no excuse for our bad behavior.
  • We all came from the same dirt and have made a mess of ourselves.
  • We are the ones that have brought sin into the world – fighting, selfishness, hate, murder, adultery …etc.
  • Sin is missing the mark of God’s righteousness, we are not gonna make it.
  • But sin is also like not even aiming at the mark.
  • We can make a judgment call because we recognize sin and its effects.

We are not qualified to sit in the judgment seat. My aim is not true and I have hit too many people with the arrows of my life.

  • When we judge we are aiming our arrows at others.
  • We are setting the nest on fire.
  • And however we judge others we are going to be judged with the same precision.
  • 7:2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
  • I hate my sins but I love my temptations.
  • We need to take a little pressure off our lives and don’t judge others.
  1. Relax – It is not our job to keep the world in perfect running order for God.

Let God do the judging:

  • The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. We don’t have to make everything right.
  • John 16:8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
  • I am not going to embrace homosexuality. To take sin away from the world would be like taking away the means of salvation. No sin, no repentance.
  • I will embrace the adulterer and the homosexual only when the are broken.
  • Our government is not our moral compass, the Word of God is.
  • We live in a free society to do as we please. How far will we go with the freedom we demand? Religion, alcohol, drugs, prayer, abortion, marriage… the problem is the sinful nature that pushes God on all His principles.
  • Our government is only a tool in the hands of humans. Good or bad.

God has given us a conscience:

  • Romans 2:14-15 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
  • Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you know how you want to be loved then you become a law of love for yourself.
  • A person who has something stolen from him can react one of two ways; Do the same thing or understand that stealing is bad.
  • Our job is to love God with all we have and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Sin has already entered into our world and it is going to stay until the Last Day.

  • The question we should be asking is not, “is homosexuality a sin” but “how are you with God?”
  • Our job is to raise Christ high so the world can see His Good Qualities.
  1. We need to rely on the good qualities of God to save the world.
  • We won a lot of people to the Lord in Ghana by simply portraying the Gospel in a drama.
  • We need to portray the Gospel of Christ to our neighbors.
  • God catches us by His good qualities: The Riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience.
  • There is depth to His goodness so He can give a lot to us.
  • He is holding off judgment so we will have every last chance to repent.
  • Its like catching butterflies, He does it super gentle.
  • To us using these techniques can seem like trying to use a butterfly net to catch a lion.
  • Caring is catching. That’s how He got you.

Prayer: God help us! Not to judge but to love. Help us to use your Great Approach to reach the world with Your Great Gospel.

 

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