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Sermon from April 4, 2010
Brother Joseph Barr
Matthew 7:21-23 “21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
I’m a man just like you. I’m a man with shortcomings that depends on the grace and goodness of God, just like you. I care so much for you, just like you care for me.
We’re having this day not only to worship God but to give thanks for food and rainment and ask the community to join us. The most important thing is that you’ll hear a message that will feed you spiritually.
You had read this morning Matthew 7:21-23. Verse 21 says, “21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Now, this is Jesus speaking and He’s saying, “Not everyone that says, “Lord, Lord” is going to heaven. Know what that means? There are religious people that believe in God, and believe Jesus is His son. So, the question I ask myself is, “Do I really want to go to heaven?” ‘Cause you only have 2 choices. You’re either going to heaven or the other place. Look at Mark 9:43, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Hell is a fire that will never, ever be quenched…so horrible that is is to be avoided at all costs. Jesus’ point is, whatever you have to put away from you to go to heaven…do it.
Let’s continue. Look at Mark 9:44-48, “44Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Now go to Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Take note – you’ve only got one chance at this life. You have one turn to get it right. So get it right this first time, because you’re going to one of 2 places. Not my words, but Jesus’ word.
Go back to Matthew 7:22, “22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” If you don’t believe anybody else, you’ve got to believe Jesus. There are people that are prophesying in the name of Jesus right now. People are casting out devils and many other wonderful works in the name of Jesus. But look at verse 23, “23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” People say, “Yes, I know Jesus!” But that’s not the point. The point is…does Jesus know you?
See, I want the Lord to know me. Don’t sit there and say, “Oh, I know He knows me.” Don’t wait till Judgment Day to find out. What is the problem? Why do we have this verse (23)? Why is it in the Bible? We have to heed this warning. This is Jesus saying, “You’d better get with me.”
Oh, we get in church and we sing and wave our arms and shout hallelujah! But none of that matters if you’re not doing God’s will. See, it’s up to me to seek out God’s will. You want to know what we do, what our mistake is? We have a ‘self-religion.’ We have opinions about Jesus and the Bible that are so strong that we just KNOW that it’s going to get us by the pearly gates.
No Ma’am and No Sir! The only way for me to be saved is to find out God’s will and do it. You can’t do what you want to do. Let’s go to John 4:23-24 (This is Jesus talking to the woman at the well): “23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” See, worship is not willy nilly or how we feel. Worship must be according to spirit and truth. Oh, we’ve got the spirit part but do we have truth?
John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Worship must be according to the word of God. If you’re visiting with us today, we’re so glad you’re here. What you see us do is because we’ve searched it out. We go to the New Testament because Jesus is the Lord of Lords. We study the Old Testament, but our commandments don’t come from Moses…they come from Jesus. You notice we have prayer, we sing, and you’ll notice some other things. We searched it out. Does it mean we’re better or holier than everybody else? No! But Jesus told us that not everybody that says, “Lord, Lord” is going to heaven. So I’m going to do what He says. I’m not an idiot.
See, people will say, “That’s just your interpretation.” And I’ve got my interpretation, and he’s got his, and she’s got hers and as long as you believe it, it’ll get you into heaven. That’s saying God is an idiot! God is NOT an idiot! If you write someone a letter, you know what it says. Well, if man can do that, why can’t God? That is a bold-faced lie. You’ve got to take it like it is. Look at Matthew 15:8-9, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
See, there’s such a thing as vain worship. Beware of the commandments of men. The commandments of men cannot save you. One more verse…John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” When you get to heaven and you show up with the word of Marvin Bradley, what good is his word going to get you? We’re all going to be judged by the word of Christ. If you reject the word of Jesus, how is it you’re going to be saved exactly? If you put the doctrine of men ahead of God’s, where will that get you? Can you see when you get to heaven and God’s done told you how it’s going to be, what do you think…he’s going to make an exception for you?
If it ain’t in the Bible, it ain’t right. If it ain’t in the Bible, don’t believe it. I’m talking about the parts that apply to us…the New Testament.
I just wanted to speak from my heart the words of God. Notice I read from the Bible? Now you’ve got to deal with it. Get the doctrines of man away from you! Run! Save your soul! You’ve only got one chance at this.
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Sermon from March 28, 2010
Brother Joseph Barr
Matthew 18:21-22 “21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
The subject this morning is one of the most important documents in the Bible. If any of us disobey this command, we cannot go to heaven. This is not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes it is, like when someone bumps into you and they apologize. You say, “Oh it’s alright,” and you forgive them. You’ve done that hundreds of times. But let your husband say something wrong and it’s hard to forgive him. He ends up in the doghouse for several days. I know…I’ve been there! Let’s look at our Bible verse above.
The number 7 represents perfection, completeness. So Peter thought when he said ‘7 times’, it would mean complete forgiveness. But no, when your brother comes to you, you always forgive him. There is no number. So he gives them a parable. We don’t like asking for forgiveness because it means we admit we’re wrong. There’s no excuse for sin. Now, look at verses 23-35: “23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. (The lesson Jesus is entering into applies to kingdom people. Kingdom people (church people (Matt. 16:18) answer to a higher call than the people of the world.) 24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
You see my friends, in the church we must be ready to forgive. Sometimes people can do you wrong. I’m aware that there are people that do you wrong and won’t admit it. Jesus said to forgive before you come to the altar. Go to him, straighten it out with him. The intent of you going is to forgive the person. Sometimes you offend somebody without realizing it.
You know a man has a little emotion but a woman has a huge amount so you can say something as a point of fact and you hurt your wife’s feelings without meaning to. Wives, please let us know what we’ve done so that we can ask for forgiveness, and learn from our mistakes.
How is it you can sit and worship when something is wrong between you and your brother or your spouse or your family? Fix your relationship with others before you bring your gift to the altar. You get in a bad fight with your wife on Sunday morning – and that’s when the devil brings it, right? – and then you come to church and try to worship with all those bad feelings. It can’t work.
If I offend you from the pulpit, I’ll apologize but if Jesus offends you – and I’m preaching Jesus – then you better check yourself. You’d better be offended if it’s Jesus offending you! Ask yourself why you’re so angry about what Jesus is saying to you.
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