No Easy Task

Today's message is the first in a series entitled, Pushing the Easy Button. We'll be looking at the difficulties we face as Christians, especially the demands Jesus places on we who follow. Our text this week is Matthew 19:16-30, the story of the Rich Young Man. Here are some of the notes of the message.

Living as a Christian is No Easy Task. The demands are great.

1) Wouldn’t it be great to have a Christian Easy Button? It would sure make difficult things easier. But we don’t.

2) Being a Christian was never promised to be easy.
a. “There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.” (1 Peter 1:6, NLT)
b. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble, calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?...No!” (Romans 8:35, 37a, NLT)
c. Jesus promised a Cross in His life and in ours.
d. Living as a Christian means giving up your vision, dreams, self (identity) in order to find God’s vision, dreams, identity for you! Give up life in order to find it.
e. It means sacrifice.

Too often Christianity has promised false security, safety, prosperity and peace.

3) When the young man came to Jesus he expected the good without cost.
a. He didn’t expect the price (book or dvd clubs: benefits as long as you pay.)
b. We forget that we must pay a price every day.
c. It’s different for everyone.
d. What’s your problem? We all have at least one.
e. Even the disciples had to learn this lesson. Just because they were with Jesus meant nothing if their lives didn’t start reflecting his. There are daily expectations for them, and for us.
f. Christianity is a daily struggle, not a one time acquisition.

4) What’s expected of us as Christians?
a. Keep God’s ways (i.e. commandments)
b. These are minimum expectations not suggestions, for all God's people!
c. They help us focus on what’s really important
i. Honoring God in the first 4 commandments
ii. Honoring God by honoring others in the last 6 commandments
Living by the commandments is a life truly in the way God expected, desired. It's ethical living and doing right by all.

5) What’s expected of the Church?
a. "What do we get?" Is the wrong question.
b. "What do we get to give away?" Is the right one.
c. Jesus wanted to give us an attitude toward mission. Focusing not on ourselves, but first on God and then on all others.
d. Not a Holy Huddle (where outsiders see only butts) It tells those on the outside that we don’t care. Or more plainly, the church that seeks its own way and not the way of Christ, or is not focused on those who are not there yet (mission) is telling it to go to hell!
e. Not Keepers of the aquarium, but fishers of men. (there’s not much sport fishing in a tank.)
f. The church is never about me.
g. Once I get inside, I’m part of the team.
h. Not easy, but the right answer.

Peace ><>
PC