Big Game Hunting

Against his better judgment, the big game hunter was talked into taking both his wife AND her mother along on one of his Big Game Hunting Expeditions.

One night after dinner, the hunter's wife realizes her mother is missing. Of course she panics, and rushes over to her husband and begs him to institute an immediate search.

He sighs, and together they set out. But before they've gone far, they hear a throaty type growling. Soon they come upon a small clearing in which the mother-in-law stands, backed up against thick, seemingly impenetrable jungle brush, and she is standing there facing a huge male lion.

The wife whispers urgently, "What are we going to do?"

I’m not sure that the son-in-law in our story was very wise but in the passage that I just read in your hearing this morning we hear the words of Jesus saying to us that if we are going to be wise we will not only hear the sayings of Jesus but we will do them!

Dr. Allan Brown, who has a PhD in Old Testament studies, and who is one of the most prolific scholars of our time in, what we would refer to as the IHC movement, made the statement in a Bible class, a class in which I was in, that the most alarming passage of scripture that he has ever read is found in Matthew 7:21. This passage says "Not every one that says Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of Heaven!"

What does it mean to say Lord, Lord? What does it mean to profess to be a Christian? To profess to be a Christian is {in reality} to be genuinely authentic in your walk with God. Have you ever heard of the Equate brand that is sold at Walmart? To be authentic is the antitheses (opposite) of the Equate brand at Walmart. You see, if you are accustomed to using Ny-quill to take care of your achy, scratchy, sore, and swollen throat, and you switch to the Equate brand you may find that the results will not be the same! The selling point is that the product is supposed to be equal at a fraction of the price!

There were at least three things that were typical of Christians in the New Testament that are mentioned here in this passage:

1. They prophesied in Jesus’ name v. 22

2. They cast out demons in Jesus’ name v.22

3. They did many wonders in Jesus’ name v.22

But somewhere along the line that went from professing Christ to digressing in their relationship with God!

Which brings us to point # 2....

I. Profess

What happens inside a person when they go from professing to digressing in their walk with God? Well, sometimes scripture is the best commentary on scripture so for our consideration this morning on this matter of digressing I would like to draw your attention to another passage of scripture that is very straight and to the point!

Let me read to you this morning, II Timothy 3:1-9

My friends, to make the practical application here in the middle of this message I believe it is necessary to ask a few questions this morning and I want you to be brutally honest with yourself!

"Are you professing without possessing?" In other words, are you saying "Lord, Lord," in public but in private you are denying the very power thereof?" Are you satisfied, my friends, with being less than authentic in your walk with God?

Jay Kesler, author of the book, Raising Responsible Kids, said shortly after he got his driver's license he was driving too close to the middle of a narrow road and he sideswiped another car. The crash tore the front fender, two doors, and the rear fender from his dad's car. After he found out everyone was okay, he stood in the ditch and prayed, "Dear God, I pray this didn't happen." He opened his eyes and saw that the car was still wrecked, so he closed his eyes again, squinted real hard, and prayed again, "Dear God, surely this is just a dream." Then he opened his eyes for the second time, and reality hit him like a ton of bricks.

My friends, if you are professing w/o possessing? If your walk does not match your talk? I would like to encourage you to allow reality to set in, like a ton of bricks, and you can find that the way up is down! You must humble your self which brings us to our third and final point:

I. Profess

II. Digress

I’m sure when my friend Donald, was humbled to the core, found it very difficult to admit to his friends and pastor that he was not even saved! But my friends, if you want to be genuine, if you want to be authentic, and you are in a place this morning where your talk does not match your walk, then you will want to find, just like those Christians in Titus 2 found, just like my friend Donald found, that God’s grace is sufficient even for someone who is a hypocrite!

He made free use of Christian vocabulary. He talked about the blessing of the Almighty and the Christian confessions which would become the pillars of the new government. He assumed the earnestness of a man weighed down by historic responsibility. He handed out pious stories to the press, especially to the church papers. He showed his tattered Bible and declared that he drew the strength for his great work from it as scores of pious people welcomed him as a man sent from God. Indeed, Adolf Hitler was a master of outward religiosity--with no inward authenticity!

Today in the Word, June 3, 1989.

Profess, Digress, Confess

I John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins...and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!