Relationships - Billboards and blasphemy - The Foundation for Relationships
Billboards and Blasphemy - The Foundation for Relationships
Today’s Passage
2 Timothy 3:1-6
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
A friend of mine the other day was driving and decided at the last minute he wanted to go to the bears game. So He drove up to Chicago and on the way up there he saw all these advertising billboards telling him about products, tell him what direction to turn to get the product he wanted and how to pay for it. So he followed the advertising off the billboard and followed the directions of the Billboard until he came to a place where he could purchase tickets. So he went into the building, went up to the teller and proceeded to tell the teller what he wanted. When he finished explaining his need for bears tickets, the teller looked at him and said, “We don’t sell bears tickets here.” My friend was irate. He said, “What do you mean you don’t sell bears tickets? I saw the billboard, I read the advertising, I followed the directions all of it told me you were selling bears tickets and it led me right here.” She calmly replied, “Between you and me we do that just to get people here. We sell tickets just not Bears tickets.” My friend screamed, “You can’t do that! That is false advertising! Then he walked out and never returned!
Now you may ask yourself what in the world does this story have to do with this passage of scripture? But the answer is simple. This passage of scripture is talking about false advertising. It’s talking about people who are supposedly the Lords Billboards. Supposed Christians that leave people with the wrong impression, Christian billboards that lead people in the wrong direction, and billboards that people see and are completely misled and in the end make not only themselves but everyone in there circles pay the ultimate price.
Some of people in this room are just like these Billboards. They have all the right words, maybe even good intentions, but underlying everything they say and do is their own words, their own direction, and their own desires waiting to be played out in the name of the Lord!
You see this passage of scripture, while it may speak to the sinner is intended for the person that calls himself a Christian. In essence it’s calling out to those who profess themselves Christians and saying you are an enemy of the kingdom rather than an heir to the throne. It’s talking to the “Religious Person.”
Now to me you can cuss at me, curse at my wife, curse at my son, but if you call me a religious Christian we are going to have a problem. Religious is what the Pharisee’s and Sadducees were. They often were on the other end of Jesus’ scolding because the weight of their religion was burdensome rather setting people free as God intended.
So what makes a person Pharisee?
· If you buy into a school of thought rather than the word of God you’re a Pharisee.
· If your interpretation (or opinion) of scripture is more important than scripture itself you’re a Pharisee.
· If you know everything about the Bible there is to know, and are willing to let everyone know how much you know, but are not integrated and submitted into a church, a ministry, or a fellowship you’re a Pharisee.
· If the tradition of the church and its rules are more important than the function of scripture in your life you’re a Pharisee.
· If you keep the law of scripture, but never experience its power you are a Pharisee.
· If you’re a Pharisee then you’re a Pharisee but your not a Christian.
Simply put if this is you then your not part of the Kingdom of God, but more like part of the kingdom of Bob. Meaning you are your own Lord, you got your own set of do’s and don’ts, got your own spiritual way of doing things, got your own legalities and rules for your own kingdom!
The problem with religious people and Pharisees is they are more interested in what they believe then what God wants them to hear and do. You know the type, the know it all. Now, before you shake your head yes and shout a big “amen”, you should examine yourself to see if you fit the description.
The issue is one of Divine authority. Take King Saul for example. Saul was a ruler anointed by God. He had gifts that were God-given, and he had sense of Diving Spirituality that he clothed himself in. However, the anointing he received was something that never penetrated his shell. Ultimately and terrifyingly once God gives a gift, He does not revoke it. Consequently, those who sometimes have divine authority misrepresent God thinking they are pleasing him. They may prophesy, devastate pagan armies, even bring forth mighty works, but they may also throw spears, hate God’s anointed, attack others, plot against the kingdom, cause division, kill, and even consult witches. All of these things Saul was and did, and he was anointed by God.
On the other hand, David showed true divine authority not by his earthly rule, but by his complete submission to God’s will and word. He did not reign and threaten by laws, rules, regulation and fear, nor was he established by them. Even in the pits, and the caves he lived submissively toward God. He didn’t look for quick fixes; easy ways out, or create rules and laws for his advantage, but instead he had patience and trusted in the Lord.
That patience and submissiveness led him to a place where God could lift him up in God’s glory, rather then finding acceptance and praise from man. In essence, God used the pits and the caves to take “the Saul” out of David. David didn’t question God’s call; he didn’t question God’s word, but rather found himself content in every situation God placed him in. Therefore, David was established by God, in God’s timing, as God’s King, while Saul was never established by God, just excepted by man.
You see David’s destiny was in God’s hand whether he was king or he was in a pit or cave. However, Saul took his destiny in his own hands and was left to his own destiny. David’s kingdom was Gods, but Saul perceived himself as King of the kingdom of God. God established David’s heart first and then he became his King, while Saul become King first while never letting God change his heart. Both men were anointed and called by God and both thought they were doing God’s will. However, only one fulfilled there purpose in God. Saul was a type of “Pharisee” and David was a King.
So what makes a person a Pharisee? Legalistic Pharisees are nothing but leaders that want to avoid suffering. They are women and men, preachers, and traditions that speak on authority endlessly, only proving that they have none. The truly anointed children of God spend all their time not talking about submission and authority because they recognize they are not on the throne. They do not interpret scripture they follow God’s word. They don’t claim revelation but submit to God’s will revealed. They do not establish themselves but rather are established.
This is what David did. He taught of losing rather than winning, giving not taking, he showed that the leader, not the follower is inconvienced. He entrusted his life to God completely even during rebellion. Is that you? Are you like Saul or are you like David? What I am talking about is something that the early New Testament Christians understood completely.
Some of you are like Saul and do not understand that the Kingdom is God’s and the Sovereign King is Jesus Christ. Until you take yourself off your throne and become a servant rather then a king you’ll never be able to understand what it means to live by the power of God. You will seek to establish and convince the world of your call rather then go through the right doors and allow God to establish you.
You will not allow Gods word to shape because you have sought to read and interpret God’s word from the lust of your own heart. So you become like the Israelites and build your golden calf and call it YAHWEH. You have just become religious and moreover, you will continue to live by your religion and its rules rather than be a true worshiper of God who approach there king through Spirit and truth.
So what does this have to do with relationships and love?
When God talks of relationship he talks in terms of himself being God and us being obedient. Jesus never tried to convince people there was a God. He spoke to man by putting them in there proper place. We often try to build or faith from the bottom up while Christ spoke of God from the top down. There was a different in Jesus because of it. So what’s the point? Unless you’re willing to conform instead of control there is no point talking about kingdom principles because they are intended for the children of the kingdom and not for children of their own fate. So you must ask yourself if you are a child of God or master of your own universe?
You see relationships are two ways, they call for clear communication, for respect, for honor and truth. They call for loyalty and love. They call for sincerity and selflessness. They call for sacrifice and admiration. A relationship calls for you to think beyond yourself. They are submissive and not aggressive. In our relationship with God we should be coming from the perspective in of our lives of submissive obedience. And please here me when I say this. Understand that obedience and submissiveness doesn’t even begin until we don’t agree or understand what God wants from us, or the Authorities above us are asking us to do.
So before we move on to the fundamental building blocks to relationship I want to ask you a few questions.
“Are you really ready to have a Godly relationship?”
”Are you willing to let God establish his will in your life?”
”Will you allow God word to speak into your heart and not keep at a distance from your heart by what you want it to say?”
Okay, then we shall move on.
First things First
We are going to build our foundation and understand how God being creator affects us and our relationships.
Genesis 1:1 states “In the Beginning God.” The context suggests that before existence there was God. So out of eternity became a beginning and that beginning can only be measured after the fall. In other words if God is eternal there is no such thing as a beginning. There is just the eternal God in eternity. Now when God created the heaven and earth he created it in eternity.
In other words there was no such thing as time just eternity. Time is a measure used after the fall. So the point here is this. All creation as we know it, every galaxy as we see it, every law of the physical universe, from molecule to man was made in eternity and was bound by nothing but eternity before the fall.
When man walked with God he walked with his eternal Sovereignty, his eternal joy, his eternal peace, his eternal kindness, and his eternal love. All the eternal characteristics that God is were given to man and creation as they were in complete harmony with him. In fact the Bible states in Genesis 1:26 that God made him in his likeness.
Genesis 1:26
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Notice here three things
1. Man was made like God, body, mind, and spirit
a. trichotomy - as God was the essence of 3 in one so he made man the same.
2. Man was given Divine authority
a. This authority was not higher than Gods but in the form of obedience. In this there was complete freedom.
3. The eternal characteristics of God were the substance of mans complete being!
a. All God’s eternal qualities were entrusted in man makeup.
b. Man didn’t have wrong feeling or emotion when he felt love he felt in harmony with God as God felt it.
We were truly God’s Children in complete harmony before the fall. Before we can move onto how we as children of God can act within God’s kingdom here are some things we must know and must understand to go forward, These are the Characteristics of God seen here for the most part by Jesus.
God is Creator
Genesis 1:1
In the Beginning God created the heaven and the earth
God is Eternal
Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’
God is Spirit
John 4:24
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.
God is Good
Matt 19:17
Why did you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied, These is only One who is good. if you want to enter life, obey the commandments
God is Glorious
John 11:40
Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the Glory of God.
God is True
John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
God is Loving
Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees, because yougive God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
God is Holy
John 17:11
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one.
God is Righteous
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
God is Perfect
Matthew 5:48
Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect
God is all Powerful
Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all thing are possible.
God is all Knowing
Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
God is Wise
Luke 11:49
Because of this, God in his Wisdom said, "I will send the prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute."
God is Sovereign
Matt 11:25
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
So before we can understand ourselves we must understand who God is. We must understand what He says about himself, and what Jesus says about him. Through scripture we find that he is the Creator, eternal, Spirit, he is good, glorious, true, loving, holy, Righteous, perfect, powerful, all-knowing, and wise. These are just a few things that are the make up the eternal characteristics of God. So when scripture tells us what we should be in Christ in a real way they are saying that because Jesus himself was God and through him we can begin to come to the knowledge of these eternal Characteristics in us as we were made in his image.
God is so supreme that all his characteristics are completely eternal. So when we say God is Love. We are saying in his very essence, in the depth of who he is, in his eternal make up he is eternally love. We could continue with every one of his characteristics or attributes all of them are eternal and transcendent.
So why is this important to foundations of understanding love, relationships, and so on? As we learned earlier we were made in the image of God. This means the eternal characteristics of God became the substance of what we were created out of. So our hearts, minds, and body where in complete harmony and understanding of God in all his eternal qualities. They were apart of whom we were as part of his creation before the fall. The fruit of God’s creation were found in his creation.
So when God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, before the fall of man, Adam and Eve knew exactly what he was talking about when he spoke of love. This held true for all knowledge. This is because their wisdom and knowledge, along with all God’s eternal Characteristics, was in complete harmony with God. There was no revelation it was all in perfect harmony.
Then something happened in Genesis chapter 3. Man rebelled against God. He was coerced into disobedience against God’s authority and so all hell literally broke forth. The implication of his sin had a resounding affect not just on man alone but on all creation.
All that was eternal in man, all the eternal characteristics of God in man, all of creation that was spoken out of the mouth of God was now cast outside of God. Why? Because from the depth of man came something contrary to the nature of God, something that transcended into all eternity and affected the divine authority given to them by God. Sin. This sin had affected everything. Just as we were created in eternity so was the entire physical universe. So Sin affected all creation from molecule to mankind. It transcended spiritually and manifested itself physically to everything entrusted to man.
In fact Paul states this:
Romans 8:19
19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed
Romans 8:22
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
So everything that now was created for eternity now was bound in time, and time brought death, and all that was eternal in us was now something that had to be revealed. We no longer could understand the eternal qualities of God because we were chained to time and the opposite of all that God created us. We now have become fallen, sinners, separated in our soul, body, and mind from God.
Where there was once harmony in all knowledge, attitudes, and emotions we found ourselves incomplete. Our knowledge is now limited, our wisdom has to be revealed. All that is love, peace, joy, goodness, kindness, self-control and so on was now nothing more than perversions of Gods intention rather than God’s intention in us.
We have now, through sin, exiled ourselves from God’s kingdom and made ourselves kings of our own kingdom, and we are lost to a dying world with no hope of understanding the God who withheld nothing from us. Our language was fallen, our feelings are fallen, and now we have been bound to time and death. This is the state we are in right now.
Understand that man rebelled against Gods kingdom, when it was his intention for us to live in obedience, eternalness, and in harmony. All eternity was placed in us and we perverted it in sin. Now when we think of relationships our perspective is no longer eternal as God intended, when we think of kindness that we try to show to each other, we know it now as a perversion of what it really is, when we think of love as we should express it and feel it, we know it as a perversion of God’s intention, and when we think of having a relationship and all it entails we can only come into it from a tainted stand point.
This is evident in the world around us as divorce is rampant and families are torn, as pornography runs widespread, co-habitation is the norm, and pre-marital sex has become a standard of living we are used to. All of these things are a direct attack on the intention and characteristics of God that he entrusted to man. This is why when you sin it is a direct violation against God. Because you violate the image of God entrusted on you.
So why is sin a violation of the image of God entrusted to you? When we pause for a second and realized that we were created in eternity we find that God’s creation becomes his billboard to the lost. His fingerprints are on the make up his creation including you and me. So in essence we are walking billboards of his existence, his eternal joy, and his eternal love.
So unless we find sanctity and within it obedience to God we are not children of God representing his kingdom we are merely “Religious,” or like the “Pharisee.” This brings us full circle today and back to the main scripture.
2 Timothy 3:1-6
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them
This Scripture was written to supposed Christians. However, look at a few of these characteristics it describes. Do these seem like the eternal characteristics of God?
· Lover of themselves
· Unholy (not sanctified)
· Without love
· Without self control
· Lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God
· Having a form of Godliness but no power
This scripture is for the Saul’s of the room who are obedient to 80% of what God intended but do not realize they are in absolute 100% rebellion against God. We must understand that our genetic make up is to be the billboard of God and the vessels of his will. But out of these attitudes in this scripture comes a different type of billboard.
John 17:17 Jesus states
Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.
So if God’s word is truth and it is what sanctifies us unto obedience you must ask yourself here today will you accept this word? The fruit of God as creator was his creation. It is his message to all of us. But what is your message? What words do you cloth yourself in? What is your Billboard screaming to the world? Do you allow God’s word to penetrate and reconcile the deepest hurts in your life? What is the message people receive when they watch your life? Is your Billboard one of Blasphemy?
Here is the Point?
If you are a Saul who will only receive 80 percent of what God has then what is the purpose of talking about love, God’s purposes, and relationships? Those who are not 100% God’s are not his children. Therefore, those who are not a part of the kingdom of God can’t have the reward of his word.
They remain in there perversion and bound by time. They are wrapped in the restraints of death, blind and deaf to revelation and God’s voice. They know no love because they don’t know God. They may have the form of God but lack his power so they wallow in their wants and are mastered by there desires.
Here is what I am saying tonight.
When 2 Tim. 3:1-6 makes a statement about lovers of themselves you have to ask why? What does there billboard scream? People that are lovers of themselves put themselves first, they care about there wants before anything else, they do what they want to get what they want despite who it hurts and the affect that it causes on others, its there word first. Let me give you an example out of my own personal life of this.
Many years ago I played in a band at Evangel College. I was one of the first, if not the first, to play Christian rock at the school. However, it was not received well by the leaders and ultimately I was kicked out of the school because when they asked me not to play it I disobeyed. Now, were those people wrong? Yes. Was Saul wrong for what he did to David? Yes. But that’s not the point. I was more in the wrong because I was in God’s will, but not willing to obey the authorities God had over me. I wouldn’t listen to the people God established above me even when I disagreed with them on legitimate basis. Again, submissiveness and obedience are not submissiveness and obedience truly until you disagree.
It wasn’t for me to decide the fate of my band and establish it, but it was up to me to be faithful where God had me, so he could establish the band in his timing for his Glory. But it was my band and my music and they were wrong. So what did I do? I ended up getting kicked out of the school, not finishing my Biblical studies degree and started my own ministry taking my band, and my music to the bars to try to save the.
You see I rebelled against the will of God by rebelling against the authorities and instruction over me. That is not all; it was here during this time my decision set the course for the next 17 years of my life. I conjured up, in my rebellion, that I would start a band that would play Christian music in the bars, because the church doesn’t reach those people. I said to myself, “They don’t get it but I do and I’ll do something about it!”
I look back on that thinking now and I realize that is the thinking of a child, a rebellious child at that. You know you’re a child and headed for rebellion against God, when you only allow pieces of God’s word to speak to you and none of the authorities he placed over you.
You rationalize your wants to God’s word. Through my rebellion I took my mind, my body, and my spirit and set it against God word without realizing it. Even in my good intention I set my self in opposition to God. I even called it a ministry! So what happened? The bar become more apart of me then God in me to the bar. I became Saul. Here is why?
2 Tim. 3:1-6 Tells us to have nothing to do with those type of people who are lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure more than God, those who are unholy, who have no self control, who have just a from of Godliness.
2 Corinthians 2:14 says not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, to touch no unclean thing, to come out and be separate from them.
1 John 2:15 tells me not to love the world or anything in the world because anyone who loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.
Yet in this room tonight, in your lives tonight, there are people who call themselves Christians, who have a form of Godliness, but have the billboard of the world screaming from them. I have seen it by the fruit of your actions, by the relationships you have been in, by your lack of self-control, and by what you have been advertising.
I got tot tell you. I went through and looked at your myspace accounts last week and was literally appalled. You put yourself on display, showing your bodies off, showing off how sexy you look in dresses and outfits. Don’t you know you are walking stumbling block, and will be held accountable before God not only for yourself but for those you have caused to sin! For God’s word says:
Matthew 5:27
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Some of you are causing others to sin be what you participate in, by what you wear, by what you think God word says to you, and like Saul and the Pharisees you actually think God wants you to do these things for his Purposes. But listen to what I am saying.
You can’t birth what you want spiritually from the Flesh. If your laying your life on the alter as some of you claim you are doing, then were is the fruit. God wants everything to be surrendered to him even your desires. You see God didn’t ask for Ishmael to be put on the alter, because he was birthed out of the flesh. God asked for Israel. So the real test is to trust God even with what he promises in your life. Why, because God wants your heart first before he will allow you to give it away.
You want to know how perverted some of our thinking is I’ll show you. Some of you without a doubt believe that God spoke and out of his mouth came existence. If I asked you in front of everyone you would take that truth with you into the grave. You believe it and would fight with people that would say otherwise. But If I said, Seek first the kingdom of God and then your desires will come, you will not apply that to your life Because, you don’t believe God can find you a mate.
How do I know? I am reading your billboards. I watching you dress. I here were you hang out. See what you are saying compared to what you are doing. Compare the word you hang around in with the ministries you involved with. And it doesn’t add up.
Ladies some of you need to watch how you dress, how much you reveal, not have skirts with you buts hanging out, or tops with your boobs hanging out. When you do so you only confirm what I am talking about tonight.
Here is a scripture for you 1 peter 3:3
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful..
In other words why try to establish a man from the flesh to be pleasing to him when God has promised he will establish a king in your heart if you put his kingdom first. Anything else is a complete description of 2 Timothy 3:1-6 reads like this
2 Timothy 3:1-6
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them
We must understand that there is a call for us to come out from among this world. This call is the will of God for your life and your purpose will start there.
2 Cor. 6:17
Therefore come out and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters
This is what it means to be saved. Because through sanctification come biblical graduation. In the latter chapters of Exodus and the early chapters of Leviticus it talks about the building of God’s sanctuary. This is the place where the presence of God would meet with man. In it was sacred vessels, tables, candles and oils. The priest wore special clothes and were required to wash themselves before entering. Everything in that room was to be set apart and anointed with oil. In fact the oils they used were not even to be made for anything else but this occasion.
All of it was to be sanctified for the purpose of God. Now if a priest walked in and didn’t follow the rules of sanctification he would die when Gods glory came upon the sanctuary. When any vessel or candle or utensil was not properly sanctified it was thrown out of the presence of God. I say all that to say this, you are called to be God’s billboard not the worlds!
1 Peter 2:9
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
What I hope you are seeing now is the importance of your position in this universe. You are either apart of God’s Kingdom or you’re a part of Satan’s. If your not part of God’s kingdom then you will never know what love is. If your not willing to be sanctified and set apart for the purposes of God’s kingdom then there is no point in your desires except for desires sake.
This should give us new meaning and hope when we read this scripture so often referred to:
Matthew 6:33
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
You see the king wants to show the people of the kingdom what a relationship is all about. He wants to show you what love, true love, really is. However, we were born into obedience and then fell. If we will be born again into obedience God has the desires of your heart waiting for you. In his time he establishes everything eternally.
This is where we start when we talk about relationships and love, God and his kingdom first and foremost, and obedience to the king first and foremost. Without it there is no knowledge to be had that neither matters, nor wants to be desire that will last. Our eternal God gives eternal rewards for those who have placed eternity in there hearts and have been set apart for his purposes.
This is the beginning of our talk of relationships. Search your heart and ask yourself what your billboard says.