Rev. David Holwick I Lies Christians Believe
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 1, 2015
Philippians 3:10-16
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I. We live in a world that thinks it is anonymous.
A. Confession websites.
1) You can air your darkest secrets without risk.
2) They are popular because many people want to know that
their hidden sins and closeted skeletons shared by others.
3) One site reads, "Every single person has at least one secret
that would break your heart."
#27126
B. The reality is that very little remains hidden.
Interesting link in a Facebook post to a mind-reader in
Brussels, Belgium.
He meets people on the street and invites them one-by-one
into a white yurt (white tent).
As they sit at a table and video cameras record them, Dave
the Mind Reader blows them away by revealing intimate details
of their lives.
He discerns the structure and color of their house, how much
they spent on alcohol the previous month, and even their
bank account number.
One young man says it is scary.
Then Dave reveals the secret of his power.
A wall of the tent drops down and the person sees a bank of
computers and people rapidly searching the internet.
Everything he knew about them was public knowledge, even if
they didn't realize it.
It's a warning about being careful when you surf the internet
but it also a great illustration of how we live in God's
world.
We like to think we are putting on a brave face but in fact
everything about us could be revealed in an instant by God.
#64771
C. What could God reveal about you?
1) Dinesh Joseph D'Souza is a famous Christian apologist and
political commentator.
Even though he was born in India, his parents were Catholic
and Dinesh attended a Calvary Chapel for many years in
the States.
He was an advisor to President Reagan.
In 2012 he produced the highest-grossing conservative
documentary of all time, "2016: Obama's America."
Dinesh served as president of King's College in New York
City, one of the few Christian colleges in our area.
Later that year, while visiting another city, he was seen
staying in a motel with a woman who wasn't his wife.
He blamed it on the fact his marriage was failing, but few
knew that.
It is not something he presented to the world until he
was exposed.
[1]
2) Everything is fine - even when it isn't.
a) Why do so many Christians present a false face to those
around them?
b) Is it possible to be open and honest about who you
really are?
II. Why Christians lie to the world.
A. Like everyone, we want to be liked and respected.
1) No one wants to be known as a repulsive dirtbag, even if
you are one.
2) Image has been important as long as humans have walked
the earth.
3) This is why we invest billions of dollars in clothes and
makeup.
B. The special burden of salvation.
1) Christians have a great blessing that is also a burden.
a) Being born again is the ultimate gift from God.
b) No matter what sins we have committed in life, we get to
start over with a clean slate. Jesus sets us free!
1> We can overcome any problem with Jesus's help.
2> Philippians 4:13 - "I can do everything through him
who gives me strength."
2) So if a Christian still has problems, something is
spiritually wrong with them.
a) It is like God is failing.
b) To protect God - and mostly our own self-image - we
pretend that our life is just fine.
c) It is an ancient game. 26 centuries ago the prophet
Jeremiah saw it in his own culture.
In 6:13-14 he says:
"From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for
gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice
deceit.
They dress the wound of my people as though it were
not serious.
'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace."
A few years later, their country was engulfed in war
and utter devastation.
3) The reality is that Christians continue to have problems.
a) Salvation doesn't change that, only death does.
b) Glossing it over like the false prophets did, doesn't
fix the problem.
III. Honesty is the best policy.
A. The truth always seems to come out eventually.
1) Multitudes of Christians have had their shortcomings exposed.
a) The book of Daniel describes a statue that had "feet of
clay." A stone hits them and the statue collapses.
We all have those feet of clay.
2) It is better to do the exposing yourself.
a) Search your soul.
b) Confess shortcomings and sins to another Christian
you trust.
1> (This is much better than an anonymous website)
2> It may not be sins, but fears and hurts you have.
c) Even without an outright confession, you could have
someone give their assessment of you.
1> They may see things you are completely oblivious to.
2> And not all of them will be negative - they may see
strengths in you that you didn't know were there.
B. Being honest with people will allow them to open up to you.
1) Becky Pippert, a Christian who popularized witnessing to
people in a natural way, tells of a conversion she had
with an atheist friend.
After the atheist had become a Christian, she told Becky
it was her open, genuine life that had drawn her to
Christ.
"All my life I used to think, 'How arrogant for someone to
call himself a Christian' ...
But then I got to know you -- and Becky, you are far from
perfect, yet you call yourself a Christian.
"So my first shock was to discover you 'blow it' like I
do.
But the biggest shock was that you admitted it, where I
couldn't.
Suddenly I saw that being a Christian didn't mean never
failing, but admitting when you've failed."
#5998
2) Opening up about your problems and weaknesses makes others
aware.
3) You will find that many other people struggle with the
same issues.
4) How many testimonies have we heard in this church about
living with depression, or going through a period of
rebellion and sin?
C. Honesty also allows you to get help and encouragement.
1) If people don't know you have struggles, they can't pray
for you or keep you accountable.
2) I don't think most people will look down on you for having
struggles. They are more understanding than you realize.
3) Facing our problems also gives us a greater appreciation
for Jesus.
a) In Hebrews 4:15 it says,
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one
who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are -- yet was without sin."
b) Jesus knows what it is like to be human; he also
knows how much more we can be with God on our side.
IV. Know your destination.
A. It's not about where you've been but where you're going.
1) In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul is defending himself
from false teachers who bragged about their credentials.
a) He gives some credentials of his own - he was born into
an elite Jewish family and he proved his zeal by
beating up Christians.
b) To the end of his life, he admitted doing this.
2) After he became a Christian himself, he gained a new
perspective.
a) He disparaged the things he used to brag about, and
focused only on Jesus.
b) Paul wanted Jesus to take hold of his whole life.
c) Ultimately, he wanted to experience resurrection.
1> This is when we are glorified by God.
2> We will have bodies that last forever and wills
that always choose to follow the Lord.
3> Sin and problems will be no more.
B. Perfection is still a long way off.
1) Some Christians in Paul's day thought that they had already
arrived at perfection.
2) They had a low view of perfection and a very high view of
themselves.
3) Paul knew they were wrong by a long shot.
a) The fact that we haven't arrived at the destination
means we still have work to do.
V. Press on.
A. Forget the past.
1) For Paul, it was positive things he had to put behind.
2) For many of us, it will be negative things.
a) Whatever problems you have in your life now, they
don't have to be there forever.
b) Healing and victory are possible.
B. Aim forward.
1) Paul talks about straining forward - he puts effort into it.
2) Don't let your failings and troubles hold you back.
C. Aim high.
1) Our goal is heaven and being united with Jesus.
2) In the civil rights era, they sang the song "Eyes on the
Prize."
a) That is how every Christian should live.
b) Do you?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
The theme of his message was inspired by Rev. Mark Schaefer’s sermon
“Lies You Hear In Church: Everything Is Fine,” September 9, 2012,
American University United Methodist Chaplaincy, Washington, D.C.
<link>, Kerux Sermon #64726.
[1] “Dinesh D'Souza,” wikipedia.org <link>.
He later was convicted for political contribution violations <link>.
Also see “Dinesh D'Souza Admits to Errors in Judgment in Personal
and Political Life, Says He's Come to Point of Restoration,”
interview by Alex Murashko, Christian Post, May 30, 2014.
# 5998 “An Atheist Was Impressed By Her Honesty,” derived from Becky
Pippert’s book “Out of the Saltshaker,” p. 29. Roddy Chestnut
collection.
#27126 “Unobscured,” Jill Carattini, A Slice of Infinity: Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries; <link>, March 21, 2007.
#64771 “A Mind-Readers Isn't The Only One Who Can Expose You,” Rev. David
Holwick, adapted from “Amazing mind reader reveals his 'gift',”
<link>, published on September 24, 2012.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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