“Jesus Isn't Glamorous, But He
Will Save Our Souls”
By Chris Ulrich
November 6th,
2011
Click here to download printable sermon
notes in pdf format.
Before I get
started, I want to ask a few questions.
I don’t want anybody to shout out answers, just consider these
queries: How are we positioning
ourselves? Who are we looking to rub
shoulders with? What kind of lifestyle
are we looking to aspire to?
Isaiah 53:1-3 …a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief…
I want to be
careful in this message not to get overly critical or judgmental of a segment
of our society that is real and affects us all in different ways. It’s not about living lavishly, although we
hope to have a decent quality of life, it’s not about eating like a king every
day like the parable about Lazarus and the rich man addresses, although we all
have to eat, and it’s not about trying to rub shoulders with only the top brass
in life, although there are times God uses us to be a testimony to people in
high places. There are times we will eat
at a very nice restaurant. There are
times we might be able to afford a nice car.
There are times we might be able to afford a nice house. Thank God for those things as well. Jesus didn’t say we have to grovel for every
morsel of bread, or that we all have to be poor, or that we all will have to struggle
our entire life for every last possession.
But we do have to remember that life is filled with ups and downs and
that sometimes we get blind-sided in ways that set us back a lot more than we
hope or anticipate. And we need to be
prepared for that.
Philippians 4:11-13 …I know how to be abased, and I know how to
abound…
Don’t get me
wrong, we’ll have our brushes with glamour at times in our life and when we do
we just need to pray to God to keep the right perspective, be humble, and not
get carried away in pride. Believe me,
I’ve walked through plenty of nice stores, been to my share of nice
restaurants, even been to a few vacation hot spots in my life. It’s at times like that people don’t always
expect a Christian in their company. And
I like to think a lot of times that people see us, and thank God for this, as a
breath of fresh air in the midst of all the pretentiousness. Don’t get me wrong, there are places that God
tells us that are definitely off-limits and we just need to pray to God to know
those boundaries.
Matthew 6:19-21 … where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
One of the
nicest church buildings I’ve ever been in is at the corner of Route 43 and
Route 60 down in Lake Forest. I was there for the wake of a co-worker about
four years ago and I have to say it was well designed, it was spacious, nicely
lit, and on and on and on. So what’s the
point? I don’t know what that church
teaches, and it’s really not that important, but I know that God has called us
to this ministry. So look around? This building doesn’t even come close to
comparing as far as beauty, and spaciousness, and glamour, but guess what? This is the ministry where I heard the gospel
truth and this is where God has called us.
Colossians 3:1-8 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth.
Ministry isn’t
always pretty and it isn’t always easy.
In fact, most of the time ministry requires effort to do a lot of things
we wouldn’t normally do on our own. It
means visiting people, taking time to help others, looking for opportunity to
fellowship with fellow believers, but also looking for opportunity to invite
strangers to know the Lord. It means
giving in ways that aren’t selfish, in other words we don’t just give to get
more in return, spending time on things that aren’t comfortable, and it means
doing the tasks that are about as far from glamorous as we could possibly
imagine.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you…
There is a reason that we
have the power to do the things we do, and sometimes put up with what we do
beyond what would be considered reasonable for any normal human. It’s the fact that Jesus has promised us
eternal life and it’s a promise that’s real if we have faith to believe it.
So what are your
impressions of this ministry? What do
you think as we go day to day and week to week and a lot of times the success
of this ministry rides on your shoulders and it rides on my shoulders? I’m talking to those who just started coming
as well as those who’ve been here for 25 years or more. This isn’t a glamorous lifestyle, this isn’t
a glamorous place, and I would venture to say that seeking the Lord with all
our heart, soul, and mind, is not a glamorous thing. But it’s what keeps us. Jesus isn’t glamorous but he will save our
souls.
Matthew 11:1-10 … behold, they that wear soft clothing
are in king’s houses…
Sermon
notes by Pete Shepherd
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