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Grace Emmanuel Church Pastor Sam Chess Signposts on the Road to Godliness (part 1) (Paris Hilton School of Driving)
I just got back from vacation… I thought I would use this time to show you my vacation pictures.
Here we are looking at some road signs:
Here we are stopped at a red light…
Actually these pictures are not from my vacation…I took them Friday evening and it is the signs in these pictures that are the point of this message… When I travel on the interstate from here to my parents in NW PA… I spend most of my time between a white line and a striped line. ( If I drift over the white line strange noises fill the car…(it's a fun thing to do when everyone else is asleep) … if I drift over the striped line at the wrong time the noises turn into grinding and ripping sounds.) Twelve foot long stripes with 20 foot spaces in between. Between here and PA I pass 231,000 of these stripes and really don't even notice that they were there. Much of time when driving down the interstate we move along (depending on your level of spirituality) at 102 feet every second and we automatically keep the vehicle in between the stripped lines and the white line. Every twenty feet ( in Florida) there is a reflector in the middle of the road that your headlights pick up… every two hundred feet there are reflector stakes on the side of the road warning you not to drive there. What would happen if none of the lines were there? What happens when people ignore the lines and reflectors and travel, in places, where they are not supposed to go? (Plug that into your mind… that's the theme today…) … And then there are all those signs!!! Thousands and thousands of signposts… signs of instruction…signs of warning… signs of encouragement… Big bold flashing signs when something is very important….sharply painted signs set regularly to get key pieces of information buried into our subconscious minds. Do this!! Don't do that!!! Don't forget to do this!!! Slow down….move over….stop !!! All of this information feeds together in our collective minds to keep us all from ending up in a huge pile of crushed metal…. and the system really works… It's actually startling to travel through a big city at rush hour ….twelve lanes of solid traffic, and for the most part, everybody gets safely to their destinations. I. God's Word is a Vast Network of Signposts I'm struck by the similarities between this vast highway system that, if I follow it carefully, will move me safely from here to the farthest reaches of this country, and the Word of God that is designed to move us to our final eternal destination. Don't imagine that I'm going to make a simple application here and then we can go home…Where I'm going with this is not simple… The Bible is filled with road signs to guide the movement of our lives from living in bondage to sin, to embracing the payment for our sins provided by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ… but even beyond those key truths… God's Word gives us a carefully laid out system of signposts that are designed to guide our daily Christian living…. I can read the same paragraph I read earlier about road signs and it applies to Scripture as well… Thousands and thousands of signposts… signs of instruction…signs of warning… signs of encouragement… Big bold flashing signs when something is very important….sharply painted signs set regularly to get key pieces of information buried into our subconscious minds. Do this!! Don't do that!!! Don't forget to do this!!! Slow down….move over….stop !!! There are many people…way too many people… who believe God's Word applies to them up to the point about confessing their sins… but seem, then, to live their lives as if all the rest of the signposts in God's word simply don't exist….or don't apply to them. It's like the "Paris Hilton school of driving": that may apply to other drivers but that doesn't apply to me. How do you react when you're driving up the interstate and some dingbat kid goes by you 30/mph over the speed limit…weaving in and out of traffic? I saw one guy on this last trip that was using the right shoulder as a passing lane….passing semis at 80/mph on the right shoulder of the road. My thoughts go something like this: " Somewhere down the road, buddy, I don't know where it's going to be…I don't know when it will happen… but you are going to try that one too many times and you are going to get what you have coming!" I'm not innocent… When I was traveling to WVA to marry my wife 29 years ago next month... in one night I got pulled over four times. I was young… excited…. I was a member of the Paris Hilton " that sign doesn't apply to me" driving club…. I saw the signs… but they were obviously put there for old people ( like 50 year olds). In the last incident, I was over tired and as I got off an exit I unexpectedly changed lanes forcing the guy behind me into the median. Turns out the guy I forced off the road was a State Trooper. And he wasn't a bit kind to me about it… he obviously needed help with his manners…. Can I be blunt with you?? Many of us live our spiritual lives just like that…. perhaps all of us to one degree or another. The signs of God's word are everywhere…. giving us clear instruction on how to make our spiritual journey. God clearly set up his system of white lines, he installs the reflectors of our conscience and his built in checks to keep us in the lanes. God even promises additional help by giving us the Holy Spirit who ( from inside us) will keep us focused … prodding us and encouraging us, and correcting us, and convicting us when we (spiritually) weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. Yet many, many people who claim to be on the road to heaven… travel each day largely ignoring the signs that instruct them how to get safely to where they are going. The Bible has a term for driving in the lines, at the proper speed. It's called: Godliness…. Living ones life as a reflection of God The Christian life is designed such, that when we start the journey we are unsure of ourselves…. The signposts are new to us…. We often err and only the grace of God keeps us on the road moving safely in the right direction. But as we mature in the journey we are supposed to become more accurate. We don't have to stop along side the road and study every sign and every reflector. We unconsciously begin to move ahead picking up all the sign out the corner of our eye. It is supposed to become second nature to us to stay inside the lines, at the proper speed, avoiding the life-crashes that others get into. That called "growing in Godliness." Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ… (NIV) Godliness is learned! It takes conscious effort to "say no to ungodliness and worldly passions"… to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives… 1 Timothy 4:7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers. 11 Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. (NLT) We are encourages to train our physical bodies… I met a guy this week who was completely re-training himself in how he handled his finances. Far more importantly than any of those things is: how have you spent this week training in godliness? Your body and your money will be worthless to you once you finish this earthly part of your existence… your soul will live on forever. Soul training is infinitely more important than body training. So how we doing with that? I am deeply concerned that in much of Christianity, there seems to be a dumbing-down of the fact that the signposts along the road to heaven even matter. Some think, once you've accepted Christ you are on your way to heaven…why bother yourself with burdensome spiritual road signs. We had a very concerned discussion here on Wednesday evening that in many of our experiences ; 30 years ago many non-Christians had a better grasp on what God's Word expects the Christian to act like than many Christian do today. 40 years ago, a sinner could detail for you what a Christian was supposed to act like based on God's Word even if they didn't follow that pattern themselves. Today, many people who attend church, have trouble telling you what the signposts, in the Bible, are that are supposed to define the Christian's journey. Many churches are purposely dumbing-down the messages that they preach so they can attract more people and once the people arrive they are careful not to say anything that someone might find offensive. I got to tell you…. The truth of the Bible can be offensive…especially to sinners. That's kind of the whole point!!! If you're part of the "Paris Hilton School of Driving"…. road signs are offensive. They restrict you…. They force you to stay inside the lines…. They keep you from enjoying the thrill of unlimited speed… I can't possibly preach the truth of Scripture to us all as recovering sinners and not constantly be meddling around in the areas we need to be correcting. For instance: ( I gave you, in your bulletin, a handout that is part of a bigger WED EVE handout we are studying. The acrostic reads Godliness in Parenting. I found that online by a group called "Discover the Book" and while I don't want to talk specifically about parenting I have modified their acrostic to fit what I want to say here…)
Let me give you an example of "a road sign on the journey to Godliness"… off this first page: 2) NOT CHOOSING TO EMBRACE WHAT GOD CALLS EVIL. Psalm 101:3-4 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. 4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. (NLT) I'm not sure when David wrote this, but you remember that it was his willingness to look at another guy's naked wife that caused that whole adultery deal with Bathsheba. He probably wrote this after that event… but if he were here to expand on these verses to us today he would describe the grinding car wreck he found himself in because he ignored the signposts. David had to make the effort to walk out on his back porch and position himself just right, at just the right time of day, to fill his eyes with what shouldn't have been. We men have only to double click our computer, or click our remote, to see stuff that would have made David blush. Sadly, Christian men, ( and women) find themselves driving right by warning signposts, somehow imagining that that particular sign doesn't apply to them. King David would be screaming at us…. Yes it does…. That signpost is for you… if you ignore it you could have a crash ahead. My point is that this is one of hundreds of clear signposts designed to keep us traveling safely between the lines. These signposts cover, virtually, every area of our lives… let me give you another… 3) NOT USING MY MOUTH TO SAY WHAT GOD CALLS CORRUPT Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (NIV) This is one of those signposts that has lost it's punch over the last few decades. Forty years ago when Archie Bunker let loose with a stream of profanity on TV it was scandalous. Now "All in the Family" is found only in prime time on family stations. You can, now, hear more profanity Archie used at some church picnics. Gossip, malicious backbiting used to be the job of the town busy bodies. Now, we have entire TV series devoted to gossip. It is celebrated ….. encouraged. The danger is that Christians will loose track of the signposts that guide what is supposed to be coming out of their mouths. "only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome words proceed from your mouth, but only such words as are good for edification (building up) according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (NASB)Here is one more signpost that shows up like a speed limit sign every few miles on our journey… 4) SEEKING TO PLEASE GOD IN EVERYTHING I DO. 1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. (NLT)32 Don’t give offense….. try to please everyone in everything I do… don’t just do what is best for me…. do what is best for others so that many may be saved. (NLT) Conclusion: Will you join me??
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