This afternoon I just really there's lessons have four
different purposes. Sometimes it's to inform,
sometimes it's to encourage people to do what they've been
informed. And then you have other kinds of
purposes. Sometimes it's just to encourage
and of course to give knowledge, let all things be done for
edification. So there's there's different
purposes in this afternoon's lesson is a an examination of
direction. Once again, similar to this
morning in one sense, in the sense that I think we need to
recognize God is great and all the songs this afternoon I wish
we'd LED. I should have requested that
they be LED this morning because they were all reflecting the
greatness of our God. And this afternoon though, I
want to talk a little bit about drawing near to God and how to
do that. We're going to entitle our
lesson borderline living. Borderline means there's two
places in the Kingdom of God. But let me tell you where this
illustration comes from and then we'll go from there.
This is a picture of the Australian bite.
They called it a bite because it's on the South Coast, the
southern coast of Australia. The size of Australia is about
the size of America, but there's only the middle of Australia is
is abandoned. There's the great Simpson
Desert, which is horrible. I mean, it is really bad.
It's there. There's places where people can
live and then there's things where there's an area, a big
large area where nothing lives, not even plants.
It's really a a big place in the middle at one time because they
get no water there. They, the Australian government
thought about building a mountain over a Mile High to try
to scrape water out of the clouds.
And fortunately there was enough laughter that they finally
dropped that idea. But the whole point is, is that
the middle of Australia is nothing but a desert.
There is one highway that goes around Australia, around up
north, through the jungle, literally up there.
And then there's one that comes down and it goes down and
there's a out near Adelaide and Adelaide comes across the bite
into Perth, WA. Now the Bite, there's one road
and that there's a road that runs NS from Cooper PD, they
call it, which is up north, the whole town in the middle of
there is, there's a big huge rock up there.
They used to call it Ayers Rock, but the town is built
underground because it's so hot and literally it's underground.
You, you go underground to get around and that's where the
hotels are and everything. It's really an interesting
place. But the Bite, this is the
southern border down here in between Adelaide and Perth.
It drops off. It is that way all around from
Adelaide to Perth almost to WA and it's really, it's really
interesting area to see. That's it, that's down the whole
thing where you can hear water. But look where the beach, look
at the beach. There isn't 1.
And the people who drive across the top up there to get to the
other side, if they say gas, they mean that's the only gas
station there is for the next 200 miles.
You stop and get gas, you don't pass it.
That's how desolate that road is.
There were three gentlemen that drove on that southern Rd.
between Perth and Adelaide and they're going down this down by
the bike to get over there. And they decided to stop because
they were just going on and on and on and they decided to stop.
They pulled off the road and over to a camping area and they
were listening and they heard the water and they said well we
better stop, I can hear some water here.
We must be close to edge. Let's just park here for the
night. So they parked and they camped.
The next morning when they woke up, they were exactly 8 feet
from the edge of this Cliff that goes into the water and it would
be easy to drive off of that and be never heard from again.
It that's why they call it the bite.
It looks like somebody took a bite out of it and there's
nothing there. It's really a quite an
interesting place to to live in. Well, so it is with the two
kingdoms of our Lord. Sometimes we've been transferred
out of the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of his dear
Son, and we stopped the camp along the border, and we don't
realize how close we are to peril, how close we are to
absolute destruction. And yet those people, you look
at them and you either are grateful and thankful, or you
look at borderline living as the way that we often live.
We try to live as close to the border as we can get without
going over the edge, so to speak.
I don't know if many of you don't Myron McKinney, but Myron
used to live in the middle of Missouri up there, take pictures
and he used to be a shepherd and he said sheep are the stupidest
animals that live. He he said that they are the
greatest example of a Christian that he could think of because
they're really dumb. He said he went out one day to
take some pictures and three of his sheep died sticking their
heads through a square of of a wire fence to try to eat 1
sunflower. And three of them, literally,
they asphyxiated. They died trying to eat once 1
sunflower. He said, Can you imagine digging
before you take a breath? Because what you want is that
sunflower so bad you're willing to hold your breath and try your
best to get that sunflower over there.
And I go, yeah, that's a real good example of sins.
Sometimes. Sometimes we wake up dead, so to
speak, spiritually, because we're sticking our head to that
fence and trying our best to eat from the stuffs on the other
side of the fence. And we do.
We die trying. Yeah.
Many sheep have tried to live on that border, sticking their head
through the fence, trying to eat that which is forbidden by God.
And that's, I think, a perfect example of, of, of us for us.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness, the power of
darkness. It chokes us out.
It chokes our spirituality, deceives us.
It it we men love darkness rather than light, for their
deeds are evil. If our deeds are evil, we don't
want to know sometimes. And so the deceitfulness of sin
entraps us and we, we get to thinking, well, it's not that
bad, it's not that far. And I'm only going to hold my
breath for so long and then I'm going to get out of this and go
back. Well, we have transferred.
He has transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love
or the Kingdom of, of those whom we love, in whom we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians says there are two kingdoms.
There's the Kingdom of Satan, the Kingdom of Christ, and are
we still on the border trying to stick our head through the
fence? That's not very bright.
The power of darkness is great, and we need to get away from it.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 7, either by the narrow gate, enter
by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way
that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by
it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way.
I like newer translations because it it shows that what
that word really means. Difficult is the way that which
leads to life. And there are few who find it.
God says, I don't want you walking on the edge.
I want you to be as close to me as as possible.
In James Ford verse 8, the Bible says draw near to me, draw near
to him and he will draw near to you.
Clinch your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts, you double
minded. Double mindedness is our
problem. We live in a world where we
don't walk by faith. We have to deal with the real
world. Our job deals with the real
world. We go Glenn, I got to deal with
the real world. I got day and night and I have
hunger and I have all of these things.
And we sometimes get deceived into thinking that we're still
in the Kingdom of the flesh and not that of the Spirit.
We're not. We've been transferred into the
Kingdom of God. We're his children.
And he will knows. He knows what all of our needs
are. He knows those things.
The Bible tells us in Timothy a verse that I didn't get to quote
this morning in Timothy it says verse in chapter 3, second
Timothy chapter 3, verse one. But realize this in the in the
last days, difficult times will come because men will be lovers
of self, self love if you will, lovers of money, boastful,
arrogant, revellers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful and
unholy. Now just what I told you this
morning, the spiritual disciplines that God gives us
when we come to worship Him are working against this
development, the development of being self-centered and
narcissistic and believing that the temporal world is the only
real world. The spiritual world, my friend,
is very, very real, and we need to draw near to God in this
world, while we're in this world, treacherous, reckless,
conceited, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.
Remember that worship, prayer, Bible study, and the communion
and the collection are designed by God not only for His glory
and for the perpetuation of His message, but they're for us to
develop a spiritual mind and so draw near to God.
Draw near to God. He will draw near to you.
We occupy one of three positions.
Clearly in Satan's Kingdom, clearly in the Kingdom of the
Son of his love, or trying to live on the border between the
two. That's what we don't want to do,
try to live on that border. Two kinds of people live on the
border, the citizens of the Kingdom of heaven.
I'll let you go, you know, but I love the statement in Exodus 8.
Let my people go. No, no, no, I'm not going to let
them go. But here's what I will here it.
Let's compromise. OK?
Notice what he says in Exodus 8. So Pharaoh said, I will let you
go. Oh, but he stopped.
Here's here's the conditions. I will let you go that you may
sacrifice to the Lord your God and the wilderness only you
shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.
Is that the way some of us are living, trying to live in the
Kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of Christ?
God says let my view. All right.
God set me free for the bondage of sin.
I'm free from the Kingdom of darkness.
I'm in the Kingdom of the Son of his life.
I'm going to work. Really.
I'm going to go and worship God, Tried to draw near to God, but
the devil says, oh, you can go. Just don't go very far.
Don't become a fanatic about it. Have you ever heard anybody say
that to you? Has anybody said that to you?
Oh, yeah, you can be religious. But look, don't be a fanatic
about it. Are you?
Are you, are you a little bit fanatical?
I want you to know I want to be known as a fanatic and so should
you used to say I believe in God.
I'm going to act like it. I'm going to walk like it.
I'm going to talk like it. I'm going to draw near to God.
I'm going to be upset when I need to be upset, righteously
indignant about bad language and different kinds of things.
I'm going to be drawing near to God always.
Now, I don't mean act like a freaky.
I'm just saying don't be. That's well, it's one of the
great satan's greatest phrases. Yeah, go worship God.
Just don't go too far. That's borderline living.
Don't. Don't buy into it. 22 areas
along the border that Christians need to watch.
Areas where the line is clearly marked.
It's clear. There's no doubt about it.
It's right there and between honesty and dishonesty.
There's some people who are dishonest about where the line
is and they don't need to be recompense.
No man evil for evil. Provide the things honest in the
sight of all men. We need to be honest all the
time. We need to be straightforward,
not deceitful like sin is. We need to be faithful.
You know, sometimes our friends out in the world are hungering
and thirsting after righteousness too, but we're
almost trying to cover up our spirituality, and they have
nobody to follow because we're trying to cover it up.
We're trying to deceive people. Don't do that.
Let people know whose side you're on.
Let it be faithful. You know, I was taking
introductory psychology at school and my professor was a
well, he was a jewel of a person and he enjoyed destroying the
faith of many young people that had never had their faith tested
in this class before. He delighted in it.
And I was defending them at every chance that I got.
AI got out. You guys don't know about
apologetics. There's a a greater defense you
can give for this and everything.
And I was fighting my teacher and finally came time for the
midterm and I wrote my thesis against his and I said, listen,
you're not very helpful person. And I just wrote about what the
truth is. He come up to rides.
He said, Glenn, come here, I want to talk to you.
I went, well, here goes. My grade is going down the tubes
and everything. He said, were you considering
psychology or sociology as a as a career choice in life?
And I said, well, I'm considering it.
He said, I'm here to tell you, I'm giving you an A on your
midterm paper. That's good, he said.
But I want you to know that's generous because you're going to
have be fighting this the whole time.
You're going to be fighting people like me the whole time.
He says. I am going to be in on your back
and I'm going to be testing you all the time.
Now, in Oregon, there was only 8% of the people that really
actively exercise their faith at all.
And he felt like he was the, you know, but he's the big guy and
he knew what he was going to do. Here's my point.
I was in his face about faith and he respected that for a
little bit and had enough guts to warn me that I was going to
have a hard time getting the paper chase after getting the
certificate that I wanted to have in this class.
All I'm telling you is that was one of the greatest compliments
I ever had is whenever somebody says to you, I'm glad you're an
authentic person that will stand up for their faith and you're
not like everybody else. Your faith is different than
everybody else's, my friends. That's a compliment.
That's something wonderful. That's when you stand fast.
You're giving a light to others in darkness, to others that need
that encouragement. I'm telling you, you don't live
on the border. Don't try to compromise your
faith. Stand fast and stand up for what
you believe and let let the devil he loves darkness.
He's not going to stay where your light is.
He's going to flee. Resist the devil, the Bible
says, and he will flee from you. So I'm telling you, if you're
honest and you're straightforward and you're
faithful, you will accomplish what God wants you to do and you
will accomplish putting the devil to flight.
You will. And that's why we need not live
on the border. Don't live on that border at
all. Be there's a difference between
stealing and honest labor. Let him who stole steal.
No longer that I I use this passage to talk about how to
read with emphasis. No, the passage doesn't read.
Let him who stole steal no longer let him labor.
You can read it that way, you know.
Yeah. I want you to get at it.
No, I want you to steal no more, but let it labor with his hands.
In other words, you have to read it with the proper inflection.
Working with his hands. What is good that he may have
something to give to him who has need.
There's a purpose. Whenever you accumulate wealth,
as long as it's not self-centered or about yourself
esteem, you use it for the glory of God.
You view it as a talent. As a talent, thankfully, I know
some very rich people. I know some very rich people.
But guess what? They are humble people who
recognize their wealth is a stewardship from God.
And that is a wonderful place to be.
And that's what we're talking about here.
We need to be faithful no matter what our talent might be.
Notice between lying and the truth, we need to not be
vacillating and obtuse is what I call this.
Don't be as vague as you possibly can be.
Don't be that way. Speak the truth in love.
You can speak the truth in love. You know.
Here's what I always say. If somebody offers you a mint,
take it Now. That's what I mean.
That's the nicest way they can tell you.
You have bad breath. Take the mint.
The Christians, we can tell one another the truth, but we can
speak the truth honestly. We can say, I don't know if
that's the proper way to go. I think we maybe need to
consider that. Have you prayed about that?
We can talk without being bossy, without being overly taking
control. We could be thoughtful with
people and say, is that a spiritual?
Is that the spiritual? Is that drawing near to Christ?
You know, and ask those kinds of questions, but don't be vague.
Don't be lying. A lie is when you tell somebody
they're all right when they're not all right.
That's the most horrible lie a Christian can tell is that oh,
you don't need to worry about it.
You need to can be concerned about it.
That's not loving to love somebody to hell to tell
somebody not to check if they're in the wrong vein.
That's not loving. That's not Christ like behavior.
A Christian would tell somebody if they're going to be lost and
would share that would be concerned.
Pray and help somebody counsel them, for we're members one of
another. We need to be concerned about
each other. There's a difference between
fornication and marriage. Nevertheless, because of sexual
immorality, let every man have his own wife and every woman
have her own husband. First Corinthians 7 two, it's a
sin to live in fornication, to live as if you're married.
When you're not married, get married.
That's what 1st Corinthians 7 tells.
Let every man have his own wife and every woman have her own
husband. Stop living in sin.
Try to draw near and close to God encourage each other and we
need to not put make a distinct we need to make the distinction
and say this is this is not permitted in in the Kingdom of
heaven areas where the lines clearly marked areas where the
lines not so clearly marked. Yes, sometimes the area is in
modesty. We he wants women to adorn
themselves in modest apparel, moderate apparel.
That's what we have to try to not be gender bending
Christians. We need to be men and women,
especially in this age. Especially in this age.
We need to try to be the best men and women that we can be.
And that's what I'm trying to say.
Yes, it may be vague because somebody, some apparel here
might not be appropriate in a foreign country.
And sometimes in a foreign country, their parable might not
be appropriate in our country. But we can live as men and
women. Masculinity and femininity is
something that we should have awareness of.
And yeah, it's sometimes vague, sometimes it's conditional, but
sometimes it needs to be known and appropriate.
Masculine and feminine does not even nature itself teach you.
If a man have long hair, it's a dishonor to him.
But if a woman has long hair, it's a glory to her for her hair
is given to her for covering. This is scriptures.
It reads this way because God wants us to be aware that we're
not speed supposed to be messing around in this area.
Try to be as masculine or as feminine as you can be in the
Christian graces and they're opposites.
We should know what it is. Faith, virtue, knowledge,
self-control. New American Standard says
perseverance. Not patience, perseverance,
holding on, not holding back, but holding on.
Godliness, brotherly kindness and love.
These are the virtues that we should strive for and teach our
children to strive for. We've got to help them to grow
in their faith, to recognize the limits that God's constraints
that God puts on them, and help them to be faithful in keeping
their word and keeping the appropriate things of God in our
in our lives, things about which we may have doubt.
We must choose the safe path, the Bible says.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not
eat from faith. Faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, a conviction about saying things not seen.
Hebrews 11 / 1. If we can't have that kind of
conviction about something, then step back and maybe reconsider.
But try to be confident in the right things in the in the walk
that we have, because we're trying to walk not on the
borderline, but as close to the middle as we can get.
We need to walk by faith, for whatever is not from faith is
sin. The Bible says in Romans 14 and
verse 33 there's two kinds of people.
Once again, they're citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and
citizens of the Kingdom of Satan.
Many live their lives near the Kingdom of God, but never in it.
Notice what Jesus says and the on in Mark 12.
In Mark 12 verse 32, listen to what it says to the scribes.
He said to them, well said teacher, you've spoken the
truth. For there is one God and there's
no other but He, and to love him with all of your heart, with all
his understanding, with all the soul, with all the strength, and
to love one's neighbors, oneself as more than all the whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices. This is a response somebody's
given Jesus. Now when Jesus saw, listen, when
Jesus saw that the answer that he answered wisely, he said to
him, you are not far from the Kingdom of God.
He still wasn't in it, but he wasn't far from it.
He said you're not far from the Kingdom of heaven, my friends.
That's what we need to be is not far.
We need to be constantly drawing as close to God as we can get.
Nevertheless, even among the rulers, many believed on him.
But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess.
If they knew they should have, lest they be put out of the
synagogue, they didn't want the consequences.
They should have had enough courage to speak the truth like
Felix now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control and
judgment to come. Felix was afraid and answered.
Go away for now. When I arrive, a convenient
season, a convenient time, I will call for you.
Yeah, but we don't think he ever did.
Then the GREEP has said to Paul, you almost persuade me to become
a Christian. Yeah, sometimes we're almost
persuaded, but we just never really make the commitment.
Not everyone who says to me this is one of the scariest passages
in the Scriptures, Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of
heaven, but he does the will of my Father, which is heaven.
We got to do what we know is right, try to get, try to get as
close as we can to the Lord, not as close to the border, but as
close as we can to the Lord. Moses got close enough to see
Canaan, but he didn't get to enter.
In foolish versions could hear the Lord through the door, but
they couldn't go in. The rich young ruler was close
enough to lack only one thing, but he didn't get in.
Where do you live? I just want to.
I just want to encourage you folks.
We need courage. We need courage and faithfulness
and commitment to be successful in this generation or we are
going to be overwhelmed and dismissed as irrelevant.
We need to be relevant because the Lord is relevant.
What he did was expensive. He gave his life so that others
could be saved. Don't disrespect that sacrifice.
Be faithful. Confess His name proudly,
confidently. See how close you can get to the
Lord, not how close you can get to Satan.
The Lord is the one you need to thank.
Lesson. George, today I kept you awake.
I'm successful. I'm glad.
I'm happy. I kept you awake.
That was my objective. Thank you very much.
But do you agree with me that we need courage?
Do you agree with me that we need to see how close to the
Lord we can get and how far away from the border?
All those guys that were driving by the bite, there was no
lights, only their headlights and they couldn't see out in
front. They were getting close and all
they could do was hear the water.
Do you hear the water? Do you hear the water?
Are you going to slow down? Are you going to stop?
Are you going to drive right off the edge?
Let's see if we won't stop and be faithful to the Lord as best
we can. You know, this year, I, I'm, I'm
over 70 anymore. I know I don't look like it, but
the point I'm getting at about all this is that I'm fearful for
the kids. I don't see very much courage
anymore. I don't see courage and really
bothers me. Courage.
Brothers and sisters, we need parents that are willing to be
courageous in their stand for the Lord.
Let's, let's not, let's get away from borderline living.
Let's get away from that. If you stand in need of
obedience tonight in your faith, repent of your sins.
Luke 13, three, confess his name if you haven't, Matthew 1032,
and be baptized for the remission of your sins
courageously, faithfully. If you're a Christian, you've
fallen away because you've been intimidated your faith.
It's time to confess your faults and pray and ask God to
forgiveness if you need to. But for all of us, it's time the
church stopped borderline living and tried to see how close we
could come to walking with Jesus with no question where we stand.
If you stand in need of changing your life in some meaningful
way, come while we stand in, while we see.