“Rewarder
of Them that Diligently Seek Him” By Chris Ulrich January
7th,
2018 Amen. Good to see
everybody this morning. You may be seated.
Anybody here sick of the cold? I was out at Jewel yesterday, out there
in
Gurnee, talking to a guy, and just come to find out that we broke a
record for
the most consecutive days that the temperature did not go above twenty.
So, I
think, out there, right now, I think it just hit twenty, so praise God!
Praise
God! So, happy New Year! As Andy had mentioned, and
Parrish had
mentioned, we've got a theme for the month. The theme of the month is
to learn
of me. It comes directly from The Book of Matthew, chapter eleven,
verses twenty-eight
to thirty, which says: Matthew
11:28-30
Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light. I would like to ask right now, if Pete, he's
going to play a clip out
of a movie, it's a short clip, and, I appreciate his efforts on that.
I'm going
to ask Greg if he could dim the lights here in a moment.
Lights, please. I'd like to ask if you could bow
your heads in a
word of prayer, please. God, we just thank you, God, you brought us
through
another year. And, we thank you, God, for what you've given us, and,
sometimes it
may not appear to be as flashy, or as things that we always want, God,
but you
provide our needs, God. You give us our needs in due time, Lord, God,
and, we
ask right now, God, that you would bless this time, Lord God, that you
would
bless the message, God, that you would bless the messenger, God; that
you would
bless all of us here, God, that we would have ears to hear, and eyes to
see,
Lord, God, and understand what you would have for us to do, Lord, God.
We just
thank you God for what you've given us, and we ask these things in your
name,
Jesus. Amen. So, I know that wasn't as flashy as the one Kirk
had shown a
couple of weeks ago, with the Wonder Woman, and the shooting, and
blowing up,
and all that kind of thing, but… I appreciate that, because it shows
that if
you look at the people of nations and kind of a long journey, and it
shows the
struggle, but the thing that really gets me, is they look at the Statue
of
Liberty and they see that hope. “Give me your tired, your poor, your
huddled
masses yearning to breathe free...” And, I imagine a lot of us have
read that,
or heard that, that famous declaration where, weather we've been to
Ellis
Island or not. That's the beginning of the inscription is written on
the plaque
that's at the base of the Statue of Liberty. It's been a Beacon of Hope
to
millions of immigrants that have come to this country over the course
of
generations. So, what's it mean, and what's it look like, to
go to God? Do we
go to God as a first option, as a last resort, or somewhere in between?
Do we
go to God when we're legal, or financial trouble, or experiencing a
health
concern? What about when we feel like we're worn out, or just burdened
down
with life in general? What about when life is going well? What about
when things
are going smoothly, and everything seems to be going our way? What does
any of
that have to do with the Statue of Liberty? I'm going to ask you to
turn with
me to the book of Hebrews, chapter eleven, verses one through six.
That's the
faith chapter. A lot of us have read it before. Some may not know what
it is, but,
it says: Hebrews
11:1-6 Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by
it the
elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the
worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made
of
things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was
righteous, God
testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith
Enoch
was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because
God had
translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that
he
pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he
that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that
diligently seek him. Part
1:
Going To God And, I know it comes from the passage that we
read earlier, from
Matthew, eleven, where Christ said, come unto me, all ye that are labor
and
heavy laden. But, because it's Christ words, and it's Christ speaking,
I chose
to call this going to God, because if I say, come to me, it might get
misinterpreted. I don't think it will, but, I would rather say, go to
God. But,
however we decide, or whenever we decide, we need the Lord, and I would
suggest
the sooner, rather than the later, we need to believe that He is, and
that He
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, and we need to seek Him
wholeheartedly. We can't just do it with strings attached, or we can't
just do
it when we're going through problems, or if God does deliver—and God
will
deliver—then forget about it a week later, a month later, a year later,
twenty
years later for that matter. We’ve got to remember that that
Deliverance did
happen; we've got to remember that God changed our life for the better.
So,
some might ask, “What does that mean to just believe that He is, or am
I just
supposed to take that at face value, like, okay, I just believe that He
is?
What's that even mean?” We have to take a step back, and understand, we
have to
have faith. What does it mean to have faith? We have to look back at
Hebrews eleven,
one. And, we also have to consider that from the book of 2nd
Thessalonians 3:2,
it tells us that not all people have faith. Not everybody wants to go
to God. I
mean, we live in a world full of people and, far more than not, just
don't seem
to r4eally have any interest whatsoever. So, where does that put the
rest of
us? stand our ground. It's not as though we look at it in an envious
way, or in
a compromising way to what God has given us. We have to understand
that, I know
what God did for my life. I think about that passage in John, chapter
nine, I'm
not going to go to it, and I suspect a lot of us, too, where it talks
about the
blind man that Christ healed. And, the interesting point is that people
speculated, they said, well, who did send? Him or his parents, that he
was born
blind? And, Christ said, neither, but that the works of God might be
made
manifest. And, then, I think about where it talks about people
challenged him,
or questioned him, or second guessed it, or said, no, this didn't
really
happen, or who really knows? And, his parents, of the man that was born
blind,
said, “Well, go ask him, he's of age.” And, the man, after them
grilling him,
and questioning him, and second-guessing him, and here's something
that's
remarkable, just a miracle for the ages, and they're sitting there
acting like,
“No, we don't want this to have happened, because, we don't like the
guy that
perform the miracle.” That's really what it came down to. But, we have
to look
at it like what that man said was, “All I know is I was born blind, but
now I
see. Whether He's a sinner or not, or whether He's the biggest jerk on
the face
of the Earth, or whether you like Him or not, it doesn't matter to me.
It has
to matter to this miracle: I was born blind and now I see. Can't you
just be
happy for me?” And, yet, sometimes people just, “No, no, no, we want to
prove,
we want to figure it out, we want to study it, and analyze it, and
overthink
it, and try to come up with a different analysis as to what could have
happened, and how this could have happened.” Who cares? It’s a miracle,
that's
all we really need to know. Again, some might go to God, just as a result of
a major personal
crisis. And, that's not to be critical of them, if that's the case.
Because,
whether you're facing a crisis on the outside, whether it's legal, or
health,
or financial, or family crisis,—I appreciate what Arman, I know Arman
is in the
classroom, but what he shared, and the connection that was made, being
able to
deal with a family problem or issue—all of us are going to come to an
understanding, we're going to come to a point in time where God is
going to
deal with us. But, if we dismiss the ways of the Lord before we’re ever
even
born again, we short change ourselves. If we stop before we get to that
point
where the Word of God teaches us this is what we must do for our eyes
to be
opened, we're short changing ourselves. We're not hurting God.
Although, God is
looking at it like, “I want to see people do well. I want to see them
prosper.
I want to see them live a holy life, and a thankful life. And, it's not
like
God trying to boss us around, or being there like, trying to control
our lives;
He gives us choices, He gives us options. And, it's a matter of looking
back
and thinking, “I'm thankful for those choices; I'm thankful for those
options.”
But, I've seen God bless my life, and, I know, a lot of us—I'd say
every one of
us in this room—have seen that too, over and over and over again, to
where it's
proven to us that it works. It does work. But, I suppose that God deals
with us
in a unique way that is specific to you, that's specific to me, to get
our
attention. In Titus 2:11, it teaches us that the Grace of God that
brings
Salvation hath appeared to all people. Nobody's going to be able to
stand at
judgment and plead ignorance, or act like, “No, no, God never told me.”
We're
all standing there, and this is future tense, but, it's a matter of
wanting to
know now. It's a matter of trying to understand, well, what does it
take? What
is it that God is really wanting for my life? And, you'd be surprised
how much
God gives us than what He expects in return. Yeah, God does expect
something
from us. But, going back, and I know I'm jumping ahead a little bit, He
said, “My
yoke is easy and My burden is light.” It's not as though He said, if He
were to
say, “It's kind of hard, and it's really pretty difficult, and you may
not know
what you're getting yourself into,” if eternal life was at stake, I'd
venture
to say, there’s still people that would say, okay, I'm willing to do
it. Job
said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” (Job 13:15) That's
a pretty
bold declaration; that's a pretty strong stance. But, here's Christ
saying, and
don't get me wrong—I'm not saying, “Oh, yeah, it's going to be a piece
of cake.”—He's
talking about spiritual things. There will be some battles, we're going
to talk
about some of that. But how many remembers the first time that God
dealt with
you in a way that was personal to you? I know that, for me, I have a
lot of
good memories of that experience. And, I would hope that all of us do,
but I
can't speak for everybody. But, I know that, personally, the
recollections that
I have personally are memorable, and absolutely unforgettable. And, it
was
something that I knew existed, spiritually speaking, that there is a
truth out
there, and it's not —what is that? The X-Files? “The truth is out
there.” Or
something like that. That's an older show that they're now
resurrecting, like they're
starting to resurrect all these older shows. But, I think—is that
correct? The
tagline for The X-Files, it was, “The truth is out there?” Okay. I'm
just
making sure. So, what does going to God have to do with the
Statue of Liberty?
It might seem like kind of an odd comparison, but, going to God is all
about hope
and a rest from our labors and starting over. If we are right in the
eyes of
God, then we're going to be laboring. That's it, plain and simple. And,
that
means work, and that means effort. It's true; it's not all about work.
And, being
saved by Grace is not something that I'm leaving out of the equation.
I'm going
to ask Abbey Avellino if she could come up. She's going to read for us
from the
Book of 2nd Corinthians, six, one to seven. And, yes, being saved by
Grace, it’s
not all about work. But, we can't be serious if we think then we can
just sit
around with her hands folded, and that's going to be pleasing to the
Lord. By
the way, Abbey, welcome back from Florida. She was down there, her and
Ken, and
she was posting oh, it's 80 degrees, it's 85 degrees. And, then, you
got a cold
front, right? Welcome back. 2
Corinthians 6:1-7
We
then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive
not the
grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time
accepted, and
in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the
accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offence in any
thing,
that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves
as the
ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in
distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in
watchings,
in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness,
by the
Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of
God, by
the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, Thanks, Abby. So, we look at where it talks
about in stripes,
imprisonments, tumults, labors, and watchings, and fastings. And, if
you mishear
this, or misread it, or misunderstand to where, “Oh, I thought you said
the
Christ said, ‘It’s going to be, My yoke is going to be easy, and My
burden is
light,’ and yet, you're saying here, ‘Oh, imprisonments, tumults,
labors,
watchings, fastings…’” because, what Christ was talking about is
spiritual, and
it's a matter of looking at it, and having a good discernment, and
having an
understanding that it's not as though, all of our life, every single
second of
everyday, like even as Andy had mentioned, when he had talked about
this place,
this building —and I want to touch on that in a moment here. it's not
flashy,
it's not, you know, it's okay, kind of dull colored and… I mean, we get
it.
But, if I'm not thankful for what we've got, if I’m not thankful—if
we're not
thankful for what God has given us, are we really expecting to take it
to the
next step? I know that the place that I
live, when I first moved in there, probably eight years ago, I felt
like it
really needed some work, it needed flooring, and cabinets, and carpet,
and just
a whole bunch of stuff, a long list of—a laundry list as they say—of
upgrades,
and it took about eight years to get it to where, it really feel like,
this is
the way I like it. And, there's other things, because it's a four-unit
apartment building; it didn't just happen instantly, or overnight. But,
it's a
matter of looking at it like, okay, those labors have paid off; the
persistence,
and the time, and the patience, and praying to God. And, here's my
point: if I
looked at it back in the day, and said, “I hate it! I absolutely hate
this!”
Then it would be like, okay... Well, there's things that are going to
come
along in life where we may not like, but to be thankful for. We may not
always
like it, but to be thankful for it doesn't mean, we give up, or we
quit, or we
just think, “Okay…” You might not even like it at all. You may not like
the job
you've got, you may not like the car you drive come, you may not like a
lot of
things about your life, but are you thankful to know God? That's
ultimately
what it's going to come down to. And, there was a song that was quite popular
years ago; it became
kind of an anthem for a generation of people. The title of the song
was, “Give
Peace a Chance.” It was written as kind of a culmination of searching
for
answers and, relatively popular, as far as the guy that wrote it. And,
it was
searching for answers in many segments of society, whether it's in
politics, or
whether it's in Divinity, or whether it's in philanthropy, or whether
it's just
in human relations, or race relations, or whatever way you’d want to
look at
it, and, it was inspiring, and ultimately, a good message, but it's an
incomplete message. Parrish touched on something last week, and, now
that it's
officially the New Year, I can say, that it was a long time ago that
Parrish
mentioned this. Even though it was only last week, it was way back in
2017,
Parish mention this, he said—and he's a man of humility , and it's not
as
though he said it thinking, “I'm the first one that ever said this. I
want to
take credit.” Because that's not it at all — but, he said, “Give God a
chance.”
And, when he mentioned that, I really have to say, it sank down deep,
and it
brought back a lot of those memories of my life, and things that I know
God's
blessed my life in, in so many facets , in so many ways, that sometimes
it's
hard to even keep track. And, I'm not going to sit here and say, “Oh, I
haven't
had some hardships,” but, ultimately, we have to look at it like, “What
are the
other options? What other way would I want to live?” And, I have to say
that
I'm thankful to know God, and know what it means to be born again, to
be
baptized in Jesus name, and, yeah, give peace a chance is a great
thought, it's
a great concept, it's a great idea, but it doesn't hold a candle to the
one who's
the giver of peace, and not just the giver of peace, but a whole lot of
other
things as well. And, He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,
and that
just so happens to be the title of the sermon today. And, you know, I touched on this just briefly,
here, earlier, and
Andy did kind of allude to it, but God laid on my heart: about don't
equate
going to God with coming to this place, or just going to a Sunday
morning
service. Don't equate your walk with God as just, this is it. This is a
highlight, this is an important part of our life in God, but it's by no
means,
even close to, this is our walk with God: “I go to church on Sunday
morning and
that's it. The rest of the week, I don't seek out any Fellowship, I
don't seek
to read the Bible, I'm not seeking to do any visitation, I'm not
interested in
connecting with anybody else, I'll live however, act however, do
whatever, and
think that's going to be okay with God.” Because, if this was it, if
this is
our walk with God right here, it's okay, it's good, it's pretty good,
it's good
to see people, I think, more than anything, it's really good to be
connecting
with people, and in fellowship with people, and people that have a
like-mindedness about Christianity, and are serious about the Gospel.
But, we
all live in different places, so we go our separate ways, we work at
different
places, we have different families, and there are so many other
connections and
so many other interactions that we have with different people and
different
parts of society, that this isn't it. This is not it. Because, if this
was the
ultimate, it would be a letdown. It would be, “Uh, it's not that great.
You're
telling me that that's the…” But, I'll tell you this much, if this was
the
absolute, most beautiful place, and you could just pick one, I mean, I
like the
Southwest, so let's just say we're in Sedona, Arizona, and we were all
like, “Wow!
This is a great. Look at those rock formations, and the Grand Canyon is
close
by and those mountains are so beautiful. And, our Focus was just on
what we
were seeing, and not on each other, it wouldn't be long before, if
something
happened, and then we had to stake a step down, like, let's just say we
had to
go to, say, an old, renovated, building. It would be like, Wow!
Remember how
nice it was, up in Sedona? Remember how nice it was an Aspen Colorado,
when we
were there? Yeah, yeah, God must not be listening to us. God must not
be still
with us, because, we've really had to, we've really had to be humbled
down.
We've really had to go down, I don't know, I don't know if this is
worth
sticking around. It's not like that. That's not the case. God is still
with us. Part
2: Labor
to Enter Into That Rest. For those of us who trust in God, but still
fight battles—which is
everybody—it pays to remember what it felt like not to have peace in
our life. It
pays to remember what it felt like to be tossed to and fro with every
wind of
Doctrine, not having stability in any of it. To remember what it felt
like to
not know where you stood with God, come Judgement Day, which we all
knew, deep
down inside, that's coming. It is coming; I don't care how much,
articles on
the internet say, “Oh, well, we found that it's really not a
judgement.” I
don't care. I mean, that's, ultimately, some of these things aren't
even close
to moving us. And, really there, really, ultimately,
shouldn't be anything that moves us,
either. But, it just seems like there's so many naysayers, and second
guessers
and questions about, “I don’t know. Oh, I don't go to church. I haven't
been to
church in twenty years, thirty years, forty years.” Okay, give God a
chance.
Give God a chance. Don't just go somewhere that's just random, or, “Oh,
I don't
know, I'll just go somewhere just because it's close to my house.” Seek
God,
pray to God, read the Bible, ask people questions. God's going to bring
us,
God's going to show us. The Grace of God that bringeth salvation has
appeared
to everybody. So, nobody's off the hook. I'm going to ask if you could turn with me to
the Book of Hebrews,
three, verses fifteen through nineteen. And, before we read it, I just
want to
say that this Scripture is a little bit harsh. Because, it ends on a
note that
isn't favorable for what our end goal is. Hebrews 3:15-19
while
it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts,
as in the
provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not
all that
came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years?
was it
not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
And, to
whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that
believed not? [Highlight
verse 19] So, we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. It just got to a point where, “Ah, it can't be
that real. Too many
people say it's not, too many people are living contrary to what the
Word of
God teaches. And, it doesn't matter what those influences are, but
there are a
plenty. They are a plenty. And, I'll tell you that a passage of
Scripture like
that, is not the type that I like to read on a Sunday morning, or at
all for
that matter. Why? Because it's convicting to me, and I'm sure to
everyone else.
But, it's a good thing if it keeps us on the path of righteousness,
because God
chastens who He loves. He's not trying to do it just to knock us
around, or mistreat
us. If anything, God's going to treat us better than anybody could ever
possibly treat us, ever. Do you believe that? So, the good thing about
this
passage that we just read, it's not the end of the story. It's not even
the end
of the story for the Book of Hebrews. It's just the end of that chapter. So, I'll ask Ed Howes, if he could come up and
read. This is going
to be from the book of Hebrews, chapter four, which is the very next
chapter,
verses one through nine. Go ahead, please. Hebrews
4:1-9 Let
us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his
rest, any
of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel
preached, as
well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being
mixed
with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter
into
rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into
my
rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the
world. For he
spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And, God did
rest the
seventh day from all his works. And, in this place again, If they shall
enter
into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter
therein, and
they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
again,
he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a
time; as it
is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For
if Jesus
had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another
day. There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Thanks, Ed. The Bible says that we need to work
while it is day,
for the night comes when no man can work. It describes our walk with
God as a
race. It tells us we're going to have to endure hardness as a good
soldier. It
tells us we're going to have to die daily, and that we need to fight
the good
fight of faith. It tells us in the Old Testament that Satan is going to
try to
wear out the patience of the Saints of the Most High. And, it's not an
easy road,
but it's a rewarding road. And, again, we're going back to the theme:
“Take My yoke
upon you and learn of Me, My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” So,
I'd ask
you just not to mishear that, and think, “Well, He's giving us mixed
signals.
He's telling us it's going to be easy, and then He's telling us it's
going to
be hard.” That's not it. Because, if we interpret it that way, then
we've
already lost, or we've already given up, or we've already speculated
that, “I
don't want to live that life.” That's not the kind of message that I
would want
to give. That's not the kind of message that God wants us to hear. God
does
want us to have people that love Him, and serve Him, and love God with
all
their heart, soul, mind, and strength. No, it's not an easy road, but
it is a
rewarding road. It's not always fun, but I'd say there's more joy in
God than
anything else I've ever experienced. I would venture to say a lot of
people in
this room, too. And, it's not as though we all would get things exactly
the way
we like them, when we like them, and it's immediate gratification,
because
that's not the case. But I like, and I don't know if you can hear, I
know that,
when we watched that clip earlier, it was a little difficult, I
appreciate
Pete’s efforts, because he's been very flexible this morning. But, you
know, in
that clip, just towards the end, and, again, I know, maybe, you
couldn't hear
it that well, but we certainly did the best we could, that little kid,
as he's
looking out, and he's looking at the Statue of Liberty, he start
singing. And, I
mean, that touches my heart, it just does, because I know it's a movie,
but you
know what? It's a very accurately representative of the way things are,
the way
things were, as far as people coming here and seeing that hope. It's a
Beacon
of Hope. And, God is like that. And, you know, we may not have come to
America
through Ellis Island, or across the border from the South or the North,
we may
not have crossed the ocean with a goal of finding refuge in America.
Maybe you
were born right here in this country, I would speculate that's probably
most of
us. But, can we embrace that same hope, that many of those that came
here in
search for a better place, and a new lease on life, and a chance to
start over?
Because, that's what it means in God. When He says to learn of Me,
that's stark
and there remains therefore a rest to the people of God. Thank you very much and God bless.
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