July 16th, 2000, Sunday Morning

"Crucified with Christ"
The cure for what's wrong with the church today

OPENING: Galatians 2:20, KJV


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Today we are living in the dispensation of grace in the church age.

• The dispensation back in Old Testament times (when there was no bible and Jesus had no come yet thus salvation was only for Jews), people believed that there was a savior, that he had yet to come, and die, and come again.
  
  
  • The Holy Spirit moved "in and out" of certain people. I.e., the legendary story of Samson and his superhuman strength was a result of the Holy Spirit being within him and when Samson's hair was cut, the Holy Spirit left him thus Samson lost his superhuman strength.
    
    
  • But today, due to the dispensation of (now) Grace, Jesus Christ lives within all of us and will never leave. He will never flow in and out. He is within us always.

Revelation 3:14-22: Here we see the failure of what we are living in as the final stage of the church age (right before rapture); the failure of the church to speak God's Word--the church's ultimate duty!

• We find today that Jesus Christ is placed outside the church.
  
  
  • In verses 15-16, "thou" is the church. It says the church is yielding to the wickedness and beliefs of the world ("...that thou art neither cold nor hot ... thou art lukewarm...")
    
    
  • Verse 17 implies that the church is saying, "Hey! We have all the riches, power, and information right here! We don't need God anymore. We can make do with our own power and working ability." Churches today are self-reliant and self-righteous. They have no needs to bring to God. They rely on their own programs to be successful.
    
    
  • Verse 18: refer to "eyesalve" as the Word of God.

SO WHAT CAUSED THE FAILURE OF THE CHURCH?

• Ephesians 5:17-18 then Galatians 5:16-17,19-21: Indulging in that which promotes defiling of the body and yields to the rest of what is considered "the lusts of the flesh."

WHAT IS THE FAILURE OF THE CHURCH?

• The church is failing because Jesus Christ has been placed "outside" the church.
  
  
  • We're failing the spreading of the gospel. Consider: as a whole, people are not being threatened with jail or being fed to hungry Lions for speaking God's Word. So what's the problem? The problem is the message and the messenger.
    
    
    • MESSAGE: Churches today tailor the Word of God to suit their needs and feelings. The next time you go to church, see if you're being read to from the authentic King James Version bible.
      
      
    • MESSENGER: Some television evangelists call being "filled with the spirit" some guy crying with tears running down his eyes and his arms outstretched and with a wave of his hand, a group of people fall before him. You see a woman shaking uncontrollably, foaming at the mouth, undergarment exposed... and the preacher claims sin is leaving them. Something may be leaving them but it's not sin because sin doesn't come in a liquid form.
  
  
• Everybody on earth battles with their flesh every day even if they don't acknowledge it. The reason we do what we're not supposed to is because we're battling with our flesh and our flesh is winning.

THE CURE FOR THE CHURCH:

• Galatians 2:20: Paul says the cure is to be crucified with Christ (not in the literal sense). Paul's saying we, as saved Christians, must die daily for Christ. But how is this possible?
  
  
  • Romans 7:13-25: Explains how sin and carnal lust is such a powerful bondage that NO MAN (OR WOMAN) can resist. To rectify ourselves, we must crucify ourselves from the world.
    
    
  • Galatians 6:14: We must be "crucified from the world" because the world doesn't care or abide by the Christian directives from God.
    
    
    • The world mentality today: "I work five days a week and I'm declaring the entire weekend Miller Time! I put in my 40 hours and I deserve a break! I'm taking the whole weekend for me. Nah--I don't need church"
      
      
      • Some services are performed early in the morning so people can "get it out of the way."
      
      
    • 1 Corinthians 1:20: People think they're so smart. The theory of evolution is based on scientists who say how the world started and what people thought and did back in the beginning... "I wasn't there but I know!" mentality.
      
      
    • James 4:4: Christians, instead of drawing away from the world draw to the world. Even David of Israel in the Old Testament was weak.
    • 1 John 2:15-17: To be "crucified in Christ," we need to "not love" the things of this world. You don't love THINGS you love PEOPLE. If you're devoted to anything more than God then you do not love God.
      
      
    • Romans 8:36: Being one of God's means you do not belong to the world; If you are not of the world, then you will be hated by the world. Be happy because of that.
      
      
    • Ephesians 2:2,4-6: In the beginning we were all apart from Christ and practiced wickedness and lusts of the flesh. This is because we see the nature of this world. The world's course is death, destruction, and hell. But Jesus says, "Hey! Eternal life is this way! Through me!"
      
      
    • It is a good idea to separate yourself from your friends who are bad influences. How often do you let your friends drag you through the mud (sin) when you put on a fresh tuxedo (sin forgiveness)?
      
      
    • 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: The cares of this world will draw you away from Jesus Christ; we've become to materialistic. While we should be looking for Jesus Christ's return, we end up looking how we can please ourselves tomorrow. We're supposed to live our life for the One who died for us; not for ourselves

WHO IS TO BE "CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST"?

• Galatians 5:24: Those saved in Christ. Only those born again.

HOW TO BE "CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST"?

• Romans 8:8: Per the verse, we cannot please God with our evil flesh.
  
  
• Galatians 5:24-26: We "crucify" our flesh by depriving it of its desires.
  
  
  • #1: Fast from the world
    
    
    • Just like if you don't eat, you become weak. Therefore, if you discipline yourself from yielding to temptation, the need for the evil desires weakens. (Just like when you don't go to church to get the Word, you eventually get spiritually weak... hint, hint.)
      
      
    • Put someone to the "$1000 Test": Would someone who is physically ill go to church on Sunday? That person would say, "*cough, cough* I feel too sick to go to church." What if they could go to church, get $1000 out of it, and leave? That person would say, "*cough, cough* Let me get my coat."
      
      
      • For those who despise church so much they wouldn't travel 10-13 miles for $1000: would you prefer to drive 28-40 miles roundtrip to make $8.50/hr a day? Because that's what you're getting out of your employment (for those of you in that category).
      
      
    • Fasting will result in a spiritual awakening. If you restrain yourself from food for one or two days, you will begin to think spiritually and your next meal will help you appreciate how the Lord puts food on your table.
    
    
  • #2: No television for 24 hours.
    
    
  • #3: Faith - taking God at His Word

CLOSER

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God wants us to submit to Him through:

• Worship
• Giving (cheerfully)
• Showing love toward one another

Some say the church is failing because its members are not witnessing. The church's members are not witnessing because the church is not being fed properly.