Starting March 4th, we will dive into a series of sermons titled, Every Day. Five things every Christian needs Every Day. Each week the sermon will start with the same introduction which Dylan Glastetter has helped me to put on DVD. Don't miss one week of this series! We want the passion, spirit, and results of revival to continue EVERY DAY. Below is the text verson of that video introduction.
Every day we are bombarded by our culture and our surroundings. “What are we bombarded with,” you ask? We are bombarded every day with pressure from Satan, and people who fight against God, to live our Christian life in a safe, harmless, little way that never affects our world. There is pressure to live an impotent life that never causes anyone to wrestle with conviction. To live a twisted Christian life that imitates the world and its values rather than Jesus Christ and His perfection. Just think about what we are bombarded with Every day.
First, we are bombarded Every Day by the Secularization of our culture. That is, our culture is telling us that in our public lives God and our personal values have no place. You can love Jesus and serve him at home, at church and in your private time, but don’t take him out in public, or to work. Leave your values, beliefs, and faith at home. Here is an illustration, how many comic book superheroes have faith? Think about most leading characters in movies, most have a completely secular character. You can not emulate their imaginary lives.
Second, we are bombarded Every Day by the Sexualization of our culture. Commercials, the internet, television, magazine and print ads all seem to scream, “sexy is important!” Sex and the power of lust are used to sell everything from Hardee’s Thickburgers to Cadillac’s. We are all sexual beings. Sex is good and created by God. When we function sexually outside of God’s plan we sin. It may be physically or it may be in our thought life, either way sexual sins are killing Christians Every Day.
Third, we are bombarded Every Day by the Sadism of our culture. Sadism is the enjoyment of pain and violence. Are you tired of watching people be murdered and graphically blown to bits in Movies and on Television? If you are not sick of it yet, then you are sadistic. That is you are finding pleasure and enjoyment in people’s pain. The devil wants to desensitize you to violence. When a news report comes across the screen where eight were killed in a car bomb Satan wants you first, to not care, second, to yearn for the gory stuff, and finally to enjoy viewing violent scenes.
Finally, we are bombarded Every Day by the Sadness of our culture. The view of reality that does not include a loving God is a view that is doomed to sadness, meaninglessness, despondency, and frustration. Without a just God our world is heartless at its core. Our world may hold wonder, but without God the wonder has no purpose! We may be fascinated by things, but the fascination is countered by a cruel lack of compassion. Death becomes the ultimate end for every living thing. Our greatest goal is to propagate our species, which will one day go extinct and be replaced by another. All our efforts ultimately lead to nothing. Every Day is meaningless.
Satan may never convince you to walk away from your faith in Jesus Christ. But, he has you completely defeated if he has you living for Jesus in his cramped little cage of fear and complacency.
Satan may never talk you into leaving your church, but he may make you so secularized, so sexualized, so sadistic, and so sad that you are completely void of God’s power.
How do we confront this Every Day bombardment of our lives?
We fight back! Jesus said in Matthew 11;12, “The kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”(the violent take it by force KJV) We fight back by bombarding our minds Every Day with the truth of God’s Word, the voice of the Holy Spirit and the encouragement of God’s people.
Consider this: -We all have 8760 hours in a year.
-Subtract seven hours of sleep per day and you will be awake for 6205 hours in 2007.
-If you attend church every Sunday and a Small group every week you will have less than 130 hours of specific God time!
-If you miss church or small group you will have far less.
-Now, what if you spend thirty minutes Every Day with the Lord? Add that to your 130 hours. You will have 312.5 hours of God time this year, almost three times as much! Still a small part of your time!
When you think about the tiny amount of time we give to God and how many hours our culture is bombarding us with its messages, it is a wonder that any of us serve the Lord!
This is why our relationship with the Lord must be an Every Day, all day experience, not an event in the day!
Lets’ get ready to live with God, EVERY DAY!
Every day we are bombarded by our culture and our surroundings. “What are we bombarded with,” you ask? We are bombarded every day with pressure from Satan, and people who fight against God, to live our Christian life in a safe, harmless, little way that never affects our world. There is pressure to live an impotent life that never causes anyone to wrestle with conviction. To live a twisted Christian life that imitates the world and its values rather than Jesus Christ and His perfection. Just think about what we are bombarded with Every day.
First, we are bombarded Every Day by the Secularization of our culture. That is, our culture is telling us that in our public lives God and our personal values have no place. You can love Jesus and serve him at home, at church and in your private time, but don’t take him out in public, or to work. Leave your values, beliefs, and faith at home. Here is an illustration, how many comic book superheroes have faith? Think about most leading characters in movies, most have a completely secular character. You can not emulate their imaginary lives.
Second, we are bombarded Every Day by the Sexualization of our culture. Commercials, the internet, television, magazine and print ads all seem to scream, “sexy is important!” Sex and the power of lust are used to sell everything from Hardee’s Thickburgers to Cadillac’s. We are all sexual beings. Sex is good and created by God. When we function sexually outside of God’s plan we sin. It may be physically or it may be in our thought life, either way sexual sins are killing Christians Every Day.
Third, we are bombarded Every Day by the Sadism of our culture. Sadism is the enjoyment of pain and violence. Are you tired of watching people be murdered and graphically blown to bits in Movies and on Television? If you are not sick of it yet, then you are sadistic. That is you are finding pleasure and enjoyment in people’s pain. The devil wants to desensitize you to violence. When a news report comes across the screen where eight were killed in a car bomb Satan wants you first, to not care, second, to yearn for the gory stuff, and finally to enjoy viewing violent scenes.
Finally, we are bombarded Every Day by the Sadness of our culture. The view of reality that does not include a loving God is a view that is doomed to sadness, meaninglessness, despondency, and frustration. Without a just God our world is heartless at its core. Our world may hold wonder, but without God the wonder has no purpose! We may be fascinated by things, but the fascination is countered by a cruel lack of compassion. Death becomes the ultimate end for every living thing. Our greatest goal is to propagate our species, which will one day go extinct and be replaced by another. All our efforts ultimately lead to nothing. Every Day is meaningless.
Satan may never convince you to walk away from your faith in Jesus Christ. But, he has you completely defeated if he has you living for Jesus in his cramped little cage of fear and complacency.
Satan may never talk you into leaving your church, but he may make you so secularized, so sexualized, so sadistic, and so sad that you are completely void of God’s power.
How do we confront this Every Day bombardment of our lives?
We fight back! Jesus said in Matthew 11;12, “The kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”(the violent take it by force KJV) We fight back by bombarding our minds Every Day with the truth of God’s Word, the voice of the Holy Spirit and the encouragement of God’s people.
Consider this: -We all have 8760 hours in a year.
-Subtract seven hours of sleep per day and you will be awake for 6205 hours in 2007.
-If you attend church every Sunday and a Small group every week you will have less than 130 hours of specific God time!
-If you miss church or small group you will have far less.
-Now, what if you spend thirty minutes Every Day with the Lord? Add that to your 130 hours. You will have 312.5 hours of God time this year, almost three times as much! Still a small part of your time!
When you think about the tiny amount of time we give to God and how many hours our culture is bombarding us with its messages, it is a wonder that any of us serve the Lord!
This is why our relationship with the Lord must be an Every Day, all day experience, not an event in the day!
Lets’ get ready to live with God, EVERY DAY!
