Category: Church

(Continued from last Sunday.)

There are those out there – our family, our friends, our coworkers, our colleagues, our neighbors, our acquaintances, and those who come within 6 feet of us. That’s a lot of people who we come in contact with. We realized just how many people that really is when we were recently introduced to the term “social distancing”.

So some of those people near and dear to us worship other gods of this world – while mocking our God. Maybe they worship money. Or maybe it’s possessions. Or maybe they worship a singer, or an actor, or an athlete, or a politician. Don’t judge them, for we have many fellow believers and followers of Jesus Christ – our brothers and sisters – who secretly – or perhaps even publicly – worship our God – as well as other gods of this world. Beware:

Exodus Chapter 34 Verse 14:

You must worship no other gods, but only the LORD, for He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.

That’s actually from the very first version of the New Living Translation from almost 25 years ago. It was updated for the 2ND edition, and the word “jealous” replaced “passionate”. That brought it in line with most of the other major Bible translations:

You must worship no other gods, for the LORD – whose very name is Jealous – is a God who is jealous about His relationship with you.

His very name is “Jealous”. God is passionately opposed to us when we worship false gods – which are all other gods – other than Himself. He’s the One and only true God. There is no other.

The Bible says (Exodus 20:5a):

You must not bow down to them, or worship them, for I – the LORD your God – am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

He’s a holy and jealous God. He created each and every one of us to be in a personal relationship with Himself.

You know those people out there – God’s beautiful creations – His marvelous masterpieces – the ones that don’t yet know our God like we know our God. Well our God will never give up on them, and we must never give up on them either. Our God always has His arms wide open for all, and we should too.

Revelation Chapter 22 Verse 17:

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

The “bride” is the wife of the Lamb. It’s the church body. It’s God’s people.

You know the Bible taught me that God will change me a little at a time. He’ll never give me more than I can handle. He’ll always be there – guiding and directing me. He’ll transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will know what God wants me to do, and I will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. (Romans 12:2b)

And as God transforms you into a new creation – His church will cheer you on.

In the WWE that’s called a “face turn”. You were once a heel – a miserable heel. But then you repented. You turned away from your sins. You’re being cheered on now. It’s a great and glorious sight to see.

You see in wrestling a “face turn” is quite simply when a longtime heel (a bad guy) turns face (a good guy). He or she was evil – and was jeered, but now he or she is kind – and is cheered. It can be a gradual turn, or a sudden turn.

It’s like the start of salvation. My face turn was gradual. In the beginning nobody really noticed my salvation. The changes in me were slow and subtle. It didn’t happen in an instant. It took a while. After many months as a face – friends and coworkers began taking notice. The subtle changes had become somewhat noticeable over time. Some of those friends began “social distancing” themselves from me. In their mind Chris had gone cuckoo.

Now please don’t misunderstand me, and don’t misquote me. I am not saying that all of those people out there who don’t yet believe – who don’t yet follow – the God Almighty that we believe and follow – I am not saying that those people are heels – or bad guys. There are plenty of faces – or good guys out there. They may not believe in our Lord & Savior. They may not follow Him. Maybe they do, but maybe they don’t belong to a church family. Maybe they are just honest and hard-working people who always try to do the right thing, and are kind and generous and loving to others.

My friends – just as there are faces and heels out there in the world – we have faces and heels right here in God’s Kingdom. The enemy loves our heels. The enemy uses our heels against us to create trouble and strife from within.

As the Bible says:

These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised !  Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (or as godly ministers). In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Now a little “Behind The Scenes” here. The original manuscript of this sermon – written in 2017 – included a large section on “Satan & Hell”. I actually referenced “Hell In A Cell” – which is another monthly WWE PPV. Due to time constraints I’ve decided to spinoff that section and expand it into a new sermon that I plan to write right after Easter.

Earlier in the Apostle Paul’s 2ND letter to the Corinthians he writes about his preaching ministry, and I’ll close Part 3 of this multi-part sermon with this Scripture:

Therefore – since God in His mercy has given us this new way (this wonderful ministry) – we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We do not try to trick anyone, or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. (2 Corinthians 4:1-2)

The Apostle Paul was privileged to have the God-given ministry of sharing the message of the Good News. See Paul considered himself to be the least of all of the apostles. He believed that he wasn’t even worthy to be called an apostle after how he had previously persecuted God’s church. He thanked God. He thanked God for His grace – unmerited special favor. He thanked God for His mercy. He believed that God was working through him during his face turn.

My friends – I am privileged to share the message of the Good News – thanks to God’s grace and mercy. Thank You God for this wonderful ministry.

(To be continued next Sunday.)

All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

(Continued from last Sunday.)

I think a lot of people will never know my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ because they think that they are too far gone – that they’ve done so many bad things in their lives that God doesn’t want to have anything to do with them. As believers and followers of Christ we know that can’t be further from the Truth. We know that our God loves everyone, and He wants a personal relationship with everyone. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter where you came from. We know that nobody in this world is too far away to be reached by our Almighty God. Don’t underestimate our Almighty God. He can reach you – right where you are. He’s already accepted you. He’s waiting on you to accept Him.

Isaiah Chapter 59 Verse 1:

Listen !  The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear you call.

First Peter Chapter 4 Verses 4 and 5:

Of course your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do, so they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God – who will judge everyone – both the living and the dead.

You know during my reckless teens, 20s, and 30s – I was made fun of – I was slandered here and there and everywhere – for just being myself in the world and of the world. But it doesn’t really compare – not at all – to the slander that I’ve received over the past nearly 14 years as a born-again / evangelical / Christian. I mean that’s a triple-threat right there. (Remember that this is a WWE-inspired sermon.)

I think that most Americans still acknowledge that they are a Christian. I think that we’re still above 50% there – maybe even 60%. Just 30 years ago coming out of the 1980s we were up around 85% identifying as Christians, so the numbers are way down. Our nation has slowly moved away from God.

And then there’s “born again”. I am born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. (My) new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

I’m a 100% – all-in – 1 Peter 1:23 believer. About 35% of Americans identify as being “born again”, so a little more than half of all self-described Christians. Personally I don’t understand how one can believe and follow Christ, but not believe in being born again. I really need to explore that concept further. (That can be its own sermon right there.)

Finally – I am an evangelical. I am proud to evangelize – to preach the Good News of the Lord. I proclaim and teach online and offline. I preach to my brothers and sisters of my church family, and I preach to strangers I’ve never met. About 5% of us Americans identify as an evangelical. We’re clearly in the extreme minority. 95 Americans out of 100 are not like us. There’s a lot of slander to go around since we’re so different than most everyone else. We are radicals. We are extremists. Just like Jesus.

The Bible says that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12)

You’re going to suffer for being a Christian – especially if you proclaim that you are “born again” – and definitely if you preach the Gospel to the world. I’m not one to knock on neighbors’ doors and preach the Gospel to them. You also won’t find me on street corners, or in shopping center parking lots, or inside malls, or outside arenas preaching God’s Word – or trying to convert you. I didn’t like it when I encountered those radical extremists during my teens, 20s, and 30s when I was wild and destructive. I believe that there are times and places for God’s Good News. This blog is one of those many places. This is my online ministry. I thank you for being part of my ministry here.

The First Letter Of Peter is almost entirely about suffering and persecution against Christians. I really like these 2 verses from First Peter Chapter 3 Verses 15 and 16:

Instead – you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope – always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you – they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

That’s something that many of us Christians can do better at – preaching in a gentle and respectful way – towards those who do not yet believe and follow Christ.

I’m going to close Part 2 of this multi-part sermon with this Scripture from First Peter Chapter 4 Verses 7 and 8:

The end of the world is coming soon; therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all – continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

There was once an annual WWE PPV (pay-per-view) titled “Armageddon”. It was the final pay-per-view of the year – held on the middle Sunday of December. In fact I attended “Armageddon” for 2 years in a row in 2002 (Sunrise Florida) and 2003 (Orlando Florida). Part of the stage was literally a blazing fireplace, and you could feel the heat from the fire if you sat close enough to it (which I did).

It was the WWE’s vision of the end of the world – absorbed into its storylines at the time.

The storylines of today’s news cycle suggest that the end of the world is coming soon. Some believe that it’s the end of the world as we know it, (and I feel fine).

I believe that we are in the last days. As such we should be earnest and disciplined in our prayers. We must pray intentionally and specifically during these uncertain times – and at all times. We must continue to show deep love for everyone – including our former friends who slander us because we surrendered to the 3-in-One God we know. We must completely forgive them for what they have said or done to us.

You know that my greatest enemy (happens to be at my workplace) is the one who I consistently pray for the most after my family and church family ?  He intentionally damaged my career forever, but he was one of the first that I forgave during the early years of this fantastic journey. And I continue to forgive him. My God commanded me to forgive. He forgave me, so I must forgive others. That’s Grace – a gift from God. It’s a gift that we must never stop giving, for He gave.

(To be continued next Sunday.)

All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries