It’s a Shady Sunday

 

1. Introduction
   1. I recently had the opportunity to attend a service that brought me to a conclusion and the title for this message, A Shady Sunday.
   2. All of the upbringing and biblical training and perseverance in pursuing God’s Word seemed to be vanishing away in the hearts & minds of people.
   3. People are being taught in a way that dissolves the integrity, courtesy, & respect for God’s Word.
   4. Subtilty, pastors are changing the story that’s captivated the hearts and minds and souls of those who diligently are trying to understand and serve God in the best way they know how.
   5. It appears that pastors are going in a different direction. They’re becoming more liberal in their thinking & Jesus is becoming less of the focus in people’s minds..
   6. No matter how many people we have in our church, we’re going to preach, teach, train and equip the saints for the work of the ministry, with no compromise.
   7. I’ve said it in our services many times. If it’s just brought down to my wife, my friend mike, his fiancé and I, so be it.
   8. At least I’ll know that I stayed true to God’s Word with no compromise. We’re living in the Laodicean Church Age the civil rights of common people,
   9. where everyone thinks they have the right to say and do whatever they want.
   10. In God’s Word, there is order. There’s freedom of speech that we have in our country. Freedom to preach the Gospel. Is the Gospel being preached,
   11. or is it twisted and turned? Paraphrased and opinionated with no direction, and most of all, no understanding?
   12. Those teachers in the seminaries that teach and supposedly preach the principles and standards of God’s Word, may need to be taught themselves again
   13. and may need a complete overhaul and restoration process. Because a person has power, and authority doesn’t make them always have credibility or become credible.
   14. God’s Word is the same today as it was yesterday. God has never changed. The only ones that do the changing are you and me.
   15. I can tell you at The Greatest Gift’s Little House of Hope & Prayer, the gospel that is being preached there, is the same yesterday and will stand today, and tomorrow if it should come.
   16. In Luke 14:23: & the lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways & hedges, & compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
   17. We’re called to preach the gospel in season and out. 2nd Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
   18. I don’t see anything about “Judge not lest ye be judged” here. I see here that we are to preach the gospel. We’re to be in season and out.
   19. We’re to reprove & rebuke those who don’t come sound to the doctrine of faith. The book isn’t a spiritual book only. It’s a doctrinal book that’s filled with true facts & justifies its own actions.
   20. It interprets itself because there’s no private interpretation. It says what it says and means what it says when it says it. The problem is that people must believe it. Trust in it without compromise.
   21. 2nd Peter 1:20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
   22. If you’ll adhere to 2^nd Timothy 2:15, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth there won’t be a heavy cloud or any shady Sundays!
   23. Now let’s look into our message today,

It’s A Shady Sunday

 

2. What does the word shady mean?
   1. We have the following definitions for the term Shady.
   2. Producing or affording shade.
   3. sheltered from the sun’s rays
   4. of questionable merit: uncertain, unreliable. Disreputable. This is the definition that applies best to what we are talking about this evening.

 

3. In the introduction, can you see how this may apply in the world we live in today?
   1. In the introduction, I said that, pastors are changing the story that’s captivated the hearts & minds & souls of those who diligently are trying to understand & serve God in the best way they know how. The Old Testament predicted this in Jeremiah 10:21: For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. This is what is happening in church after church, as they are closing their doors one after another.
   2. I also said in the introduction that we are living in the Laodicean Church Age, the civil rights of common people. Let’s take a look at Revelation 3 verses 14 to 18 and we’ll break it down a bit.
   3. In verses 14 and 15 we have the diagnosis of the condition: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Have you ever drunk out of a water fountain that did not have a cooler, and the water was lukewarm. You wanted to get away from it as fast as you could. That’s the way much of today’s church has become.
   4. Verse 16 shows that our Lord has the same reaction. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Now it is important that Jesus is not talking to individual people. He is not going to spew born-again Children of God out of His Mouth. He is talking about the church as a whole.
   5. Verse 17 shows another issue with the church age we are in. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Oh I don’t need to pay attention to the gospel. I have everything I need already. What’s God going to do for me? I’m sure you have loved ones that think this way.
   6. Here’s what Jesus says to those folks in verse 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Are you rich in the things that matter? Eternal life, the Word of God, the peace, love & presence of God? That’s the antidote.

 

4. The Changing of God’s Word:
   1. Maybe you’ve heard the gospel being preached in other churches that have watered down and diminished the Word of God to make it say something it doesn’t mean at all. Ephesians 4:14: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; As we travel around and visit different churches in the morning, we see this happening more and more.
   2. Maybe you’ve been engaged in conversation with someone,& started scratching your head saying where in the world is this in the bible? 1st Timothy 1:4: Neither give heed to fables & endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. There are a lot of fables out there, but if you’re studying God’s Word, you’ll know how to steer clear of them.

 

5. What does it mean to be lovers and boasters of oneself according to scripture?
   1. The scriptural reference for this is 2nd Timothy 3:1-2: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. This is from a passage that describes perfectly the time we live in.
   2. People are caught up in their own world, boasting about what they are doing, and not looking on the things of others. Philippians 2:4: Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. This is the cure for what ails many Christians in this age

 

6. We’re living in a day & age according to God’s Word that men are;
   1. proud, and they are blasphemers of God’s Word as we read a minute ago in 2^nd Timothy 3:2: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Most are unthankful. It’s hard to find true, holy people nowadays. Kids are very disobedient to parents.  

1. Great men are boasting of their achievements giving God no credit at all. 2^nd Timothy 3:4-5: Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. It is God that made them, skilled them and talented them for every effort, and they don’t glorify Him with what He gave them. This is the day and age we are in.
2. Do you know people like this?

 

7. Who in the bible had set the stage for a lot of shady Sundays, only to later realize that their sins had found them out. Only those who serve and love God will be sustained throughout eternity.
   1. Peter denied he even knew the Lord. Matthew 26:74: Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. Jesus had warned Peter that before the cock crew twice, he would deny the Lord three times.
   2. Peter later went on to lead many souls to Christ. Acts 2:41: Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: & the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Peter was instrumental in launching the 1^st century church.
   3. Paul started out persecuting Christians. Acts 9:1-2: And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. When we first meet Paul, then named Saul, he was the worst nightmare of the church.
   4. But Then Paul went on to have a great impact for the Lord. It all started in Acts 9:4-6: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. The Great Adventure begins for Paul here, and as we know, he wrote 14 out of 27 books of the New Testament.
   5. Moses started out on his own strength, killing an Egyptian and then having to leave his country. Exodus 2:13-15: And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Moses had to stay in the strange land for 40 years before he was ready for what God had for him.
   6. Then 40 years later, Moses was able to go back and lead his nation out of Egypt. His journey starts in Exodus 3:1-3: Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. We know the story, how Moses had every excuse you could think of, but finally did go to Egypt.

 

8. Does the son shine in your heart when the world rains on a shady Sunday?
   1. Do you have the spring in your step and the attitude to endure and the foundational strength to adhere to God’s Voice and Word?
   2. The cloud hangs over this world, but you who are born-again and truly serve God until the end, will never end up in a shady Sunday.

 

9. Story: The Crossroads of Life
   1. If you are under the dark cloud and experiencing a shady Sunday, this story is for you.
   2. I stand at a crossroads in my life, wondering which direction I am supposed to take. So many things have come to an end recently.
   3. So many transitions have occurred to bring me to this point; changes that demand a reaction, an adjustment in the course of my life.
   4. One road looks safe & familiar, with easy resistance. It’s well-lit & I can see it is more or less a continuation of my past, an avenue of my day-to-day living.
   5. As I ponder that choice closer, I find myself wondering if it would be living, really living; or if it would be just existing.

 

 

1. There’s no fear in this choice, because I’ve lived on this road for most of my adult life, with various side trips that all ultimately led me back to the same safe existence.
2. It seems to me that to just carry on from day to day, would not be living. It would be sitting in the same box, watching each day pass from my sight, safe and secure but with no real eternal value.
3. I turn and look in the other direction and I feel an uneasy fear begin to take hold.
4. This road is not lit with familiarity. It is full of twists and turns and upward climbs that hide what is ahead of me.
5. I cannot see the outcome or where I would end up on the other side. I cannot see the potholes and stumbling blocks that litter that path.
6. It is definitely outside my comfort zone. It is outside the safe box from which I have watched my life go by.
7. I weigh my choices, knowing that I have to choose. I cannot go back, I must go forward.  But to go forward, I must make the choice of which direction to go.
8. I pause, trying to see down that road, groping blindly for some sense of direction into the unknown.
9. I take my options and hold them up to the Lord, asking for His wisdom and guidance, asking for His will in this decision.
10. I am reminded of Paul’s letter to the Colossians and I begin to pray his prayer for myself. “Show me Your will.
11. Fill me with knowledge and spiritual understanding so I can walk within Your will, and walk worthy of You and bring You glory.
12. Help me to be fruitful in all that I do, to give thanks for the hope that is in me.
13. Deliver me from the power of darkness, guide me as I step forward into the rest of my life.”
14. And then I see it. A tiny light coming through the darkness.  It grows steadily and I feel hands reaching out to take mine; hands that still bear the scars made by nails.
15. As those hands grip mine, a peace and joy fill my soul and I hear Him whisper, “Follow Me. Do not lean on your own understanding.”
16. I want to ask questions, but He tells my heart, “Follow Me. Do not be afraid. I will be with you all the way.”
17. I feel the pull of those hands as he urges me to follow Him; and I step forward.
18. Question: Which road would you take?

 

10. Conclusion
    1. Does the shady cloud hang over your head? Can you see how the world is going today and the bright & beautiful Sunday morning, the rise of victory through God’s Word, and the love we have for people that God loves?
    2. What can you do and what will you do to avoid the cloud that looms over the distant and complex world we live in?
    3. If the day is bright for you every day, what can you testify and say to someone else who’s living under the shady cloud to brighten up their days?