You know, one of the favorite words that we hear today used by
certain people is the word tolerance.
We hear it so much, people say, well you need, or we need to be
more tolerant of this or that or whatever it may be, and
tolerance, Ness isn't necessarily a bad word.
It's a good word, many things we learned to tolerate.
When I was at home, and mom would cook spinach.
And I tolerated spinach, I didn't like it, but now I tend
to like it. I tolerated it Mom would cook
liver and onions for dad every once in a while.
Couldn't tolerate liver and onions and still don't like it.
Some people just have an interest in those things, but I
didn't. But we have tried to stretch
tolerance and the world is tried to stretch tolerance today over
too large an area in life. We've applied it too often,
where it doesn't even belong. The word tolerant simply means
liberal. Broad-minded.
Willing to put up with beliefs that are opposed to one's
conviction. And the allowance of something
not wholly or completely approved.
Tolerance, in one sense, implies the compromise of your
convictions. That you will yield our ground
on important things on important issues that we Face everyday.
So, being over tolerant on moral issues, makes a person, soft and
lacking conviction. The world has become tolerant
about many things. Tolerance about divorce
tolerance about the use of alcohol tolerance about breaking
the law. Tolerance about wickedness,
tolerance about immorality, tolerance, about laziness
tolerance about murder of babies.
Unholiness godlessness, the world has become tolerant also
of unbelief. There's a clear tolerance
towards bad character and bad behavior.
These days broad-mindedness about what is actually moral or
immoral? These are characteristics of the
world we live in today, the world has been drained of
conviction, beliefs and faith. Let me give you an example.
This morning, I heard this story.
Maybe some of you may have heard it before I did.
But a couple of months ago I heard this story.
There's a man by the name of John sculley, knows.
He was the head coach for the baseball team at Cal Poly.
Pomona and he gave a speech at an annual Convention of coaches
in the baseball industry, all the way from Little League
Baseball all the way up to the big leagues.
It was invention of all these baseball coaches and he broke
down the problem that we have today on our country.
And what he considered, also the world with all the coaches that
were present all the way up to the big leagues.
He asked the question and you may know this answer, I didn't
know this answer. He asked the question.
How wide is home plate? You may know that.
How wide is home plate. So, he asked the Little League
coaches. He said how wide is home plate?
And one of them said, 17 inches. So we asked the Babe Ruth
coaches. He said how wide is home plate
in the Babe, Ruth league? What I'm spoke up and said, 17
inches He says You High School coaches.
How wide is home plate? One of them spoke up and said 17
inches. To the college coaches.
He asked how wide is home plate. A mansard 17 inches.
He said in the big leagues. How wide is home plate?
Said 17 inches. He says, what does that tell
you? He says when you have a big
league picture that comes in and he can't keep the ball over
home. Plate says, what do you do with
you said you sent him back to the minor leagues?
Because he can't control the ball and he can't get it over
home plate. But what he asked us question
also, He says is that okay? Is it okay that we just maybe
then widen home plate because this big league pitcher can't
get it over home plate. We make it 18, 19, 20, maybe 25
inches wide so that this big league player can get the ball
over home plate says no, absolutely.
Not, because there's a standard. Do we change it to fit him?
No, because there's a standard. There's a standard all through
baseball that home plate is 17 inches wide.
And and this is the problem with society today and it's a problem
in the home in the marriages in raising children.
It's a problem in the schools where we taken away, all the
tools that teachers need to be able to train and educate their
students and discipline their students we've taken it and
we've changed the standard. To wear.
Now, we just broaden the standard so that everybody fits
and everybody makes it over home plate. and he said, this is also
a problem in the churches today the religious world has widened
home plate. What was once sin is no longer
sin? There's no discipline or
accountability because there's no more sin sin, is tolerated
than the world. And now also in the religious
community, everyone's going to heaven and the plate has become
widened, but there is a standard and that standard has never
changed. Jesus said, the way is narrow.
I meant to hit that my didn't in the last couple of years.
We've heard so much about, you have to trust the science.
Well, science is something that we can trust.
Sarah science is very narrow-minded, water boils at
212 degrees, it doesn't boil it 200 degrees in or 100 degrees.
It boils at 212 degrees at elevation at.
Go ahead at sea level The sun rises in the East and sets in
the west every single day that we've ever known.
That, that's science, objects, have a heavier than than are go
towards the center of the earth. And we know it is gravity,
gravity doesn't change one day and everything starts going up.
That's not the way it works. We understand these things
because it's been proven over a period of time.
Also, in mathematics the sum of two plus two is four now with
the so-called new math, these Days.
It may be two and a half, three and a half, four and a half.
Who knows? But everything, I learned in
school was two, plus two is four.
The difference between a two points.
The closest difference between two points is a straight line in
geometry. We understand that So, science
is not. Broad-minded, it's very
narrow-minded. We understand that a compass
always points north magnetic north.
That's how ships are able to navigate and Pilots are able to
navigate. If we didn't have that, then
we'd have ships crashing into other ships or into land and
we'd have planes crashing in to other things as well because
they couldn't navigate correctly.
And if we ask someone today, if we knew, if they, if if they if
someone asks us if how to get to it from here to New York City,
we just say well just get out there on the Street and drive
around a little while. You might find it, but it
doesn't make any sense does it? Because we know that if we get a
map and we follow the directions, we were able to get
there, you know, in the world is said, basically, just be honest,
just be sincere, just have your heart in it and you'll make it
to heaven and you'll be just fine.
The Jesus said in John 14 and verse 6.
I am the way, the truth and the life.
And no man comes unto the father except through me also in
Matthew 7 verses 13 through 14 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 which
leads to life. And there are few who find it.
Jesus was narrow-minded about the way of salvation.
She clearly points out that there's two ways.
One is a Broadway, it's lacking in faith.
It's not a life of conviction. It doesn't have many morals.
It's an easy way. It's a popular way.
You don't have to be careful on that way because it's very
broad. You know, we broadened up these
sidewalks on the outside so you don't have to be as careful to
stay on them. We made it broader it's easier
to stay on the sidewalks that's the way the world thinks that
life ought to be just live however you want to and you'll
make it just be a good moral person and you'll make it But it
clearly points out that that is the way the majority goes, the
way of the world, and he says, there are many who go in by it.
But he pointed out this out that this road, as easy, as it may be
in popular, as it may be, and is heavily traveled leads to
destruction. But also even in his tolerance,
he says, enter at the narrow gate because narrow is the gate
and difficult is the way that leads to life.
So, it's not always easy. The way the world is easy, it's
careless. And it is tolerant but the way
to heaven. God said it is intolerant.
Our Lord was tolerant, Jesus was tolerant, never any things we
expect intolerance or in. There are many things that we
don't expect intolerance in excuse me, and and failure.
Like a pilot, flying a plane. We don't want him to be just.
Flying it haphazardly, excuse me.
Once I was flying back from Modesto Area back here to
Bakersfield and I was using what they call flight following,
that's where you file, a flight plan and the air traffic,
controller knows where you're at every moment of the way on your
trip. Well as I got down closer to
Bakersfield all of a sudden the air traffic controller comes on
the radio and says we just want to let you know that visibility
at Baker few knickers field municipal airport just went to
one mile. Well you may say well Mi quite a
ways I can tell you that I was flying by what they call VFR or
visual flight rules that's where you have to look and see and
know where you're going and point out points of interest and
things of that nature to navigate and watching your
compass. No pilot is flying in bad
weather uses what they call IFR or instrument flight rules and I
wasn't certified in instrument flight Crews.
I knew how to navigate, I might can do it, so I got on the radio
and I said, well, okay, so what should I do at this point?
He said, don't worry about it. He says, I'll guide you in so he
gave me certain Compass headings and when to turn and to turn
will on what heading and after a while he said.
If you look out your 10:00 you ought to see the beacon at
Bakersfield Municipal, right about now.
And I looked out 11:00 and there it was there was the beacon for
Bakersfield Municipal out here off of Union and plans Road.
But I had to stay on that heading.
And I had to follow, what the air traffic controller was
telling me to make it safely to where I was going to see.
I was supposed to be having three mile visibility to be
flying with visual flight rules, three miles.
I could have just said well you know I'll just try to do it by
myself and who knows? I may not have made it.
I may not have been made a wound up out in the hobby or something
for all I know because I couldn't see the ground or see
my, my landmarks and things, that nature is a nice when you
can trust what people say, people and things you can put
your trust in people, you can rely on.
I didn't want that air traffic controller to be broad-minded.
I wanted him to be narrow. - because he had Mike are in his
hands. Just so when we work toward the
goal of Heaven, I don't want to be broad-minded.
I want to come in on the right heading.
I want to come in on the right course, even though some may
consider that narrow-minded. And, you know, we hear that in
the religious world today, people will say, well, that's a
very narrow-minded view. Well, what does the Bible say
about that? If the Bible says it, then
that's what we need to do, beam doing what the Bible says,
doesn't mean more narrow minded. That means that we are
intolerant of failure and things of that nature.
God was so intolerant of man's lost condition that He sent
Jesus to this earth to suffer on the cross to purchase our
Redemption from sin man's broad-mindedness was so serious
that he couldn't look upon it lightly and he couldn't, he
couldn't be broad-minded about their about their sin anymore.
And their captivity in sin. When you think about the price,
Jesus, Paid for our sins to redeem us from our sins.
Jesus couldn't be tolerant about man's indifference toward him.
He said in Matthew 12 and verse 30, he who is not with me is
against me. He also said in Mark 16 and 16,
he who believes and is baptized, will be saved, but he, who does
not believe will be condemned. That sounds very intolerant,
doesn't it? It is, it's very narrow.
It's a narrow way. Just like he said, Jesus spoke
of two different roads, two different kingdoms, two,
different Masters, two different rewards in two different places
that we can spend an eternity. Jesus said in Matthew 6 and 24,
no one can serve two masters for either.
He will hate the one and love the other or else he will be
loyal to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and Mammon. we have the power to choose whom
and what we will serve today, but the opposite of choosing To
serve Christ. Brings destruction.
Christ said the Broadway, the wide way, the popular way leads
to death and destruction only the way of Christ and the cross
leads home and heaven. So let's notice a little bit
about playing both sides. The popular taller an attitude
toward the gospel is kind of like going to, let's say the
Dodgers and the Giants playing baseball down at Dodger Stadium
and we go down there and we root for both teams.
And we keep rooting for both teams and someone may say to
you, hey, make up your mind who you're rooting for because
people typically route for one side and then you wouldn't have
really much interest in the baseball game.
If you're rooting for both both sides, you want one side to win?
So you wouldn't be very loyal at all.
Christ. Said in Matthew 6 and verse 24,
no man can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and Mammon.
So we have to make the choice. One of the sins of the times, we
are living in these days. The sin of bronde binded us as
the old-timers would say a willy nilly religion Linwood might
say, Just however, you want to feel about it is is fine.
Just as long as you have a good heart and you're a good person.
And you don't kill somebody. That you'll make it happen.
Jesus was intolerant toward hypocrisy.
Jesus got onto the Pharisees more times than it did, any
other sector of the Jews because the Pharisees were more worried
about. The outward appearance then they
were the inwardly. They were Hypocrites.
They were fake, Matthew 23 and verses 25.
And 28 woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites.
He said for you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish but
inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence
even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men but
inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Counterfeit and fake Christian can do more harm to the church
and the damage and progress of the church.
Then then what the Brethren are trying to to advance the church
in the community or spread the gospel and Jesus was very
intolerant of the hypocrisy of those Pharisees.
Excuse me. That's why Jesus said in Matthew
6 and verse 16. Don't be like the hypocrites.
Jesus is intolerant towards selfishness, Luke 9 verse 23.
Then he said to them all if anyone desires to come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
You know, self certain centeredness of selfishness.
These days is one of the reasons why we have so many problems.
People have printed problems in their Christian Life is because
they can't give up their self and dedicate their life to
Christ. Murdered Christians suffer from
being spiritually nearsighted. They're interested in all the
things that they want to do, instead of what God wants them
to do to the wrong, the Rich Young Ruler.
He said in Matthew 19 verse 21. If you want to be perfect, go
sell. What you have and give to the
poor. Now it wasn't that that he was
wanting him to make sure that he gave to the poor and that was
the point. It was a point that he had to
give everything up. So all that you have give to the
poor He also said in Matthew 16:25 for whosoever desires to
save his life, will lose it but whosoever loses his life for my
sake will find it life. Jesus was talking about here was
our selfishness, lose our selfishness.
The type of life that is in conflict with God.
He he wanted Peter James and John to leave their occupations
and follow him. It wasn't that he had a problem
with those occupations. Those occupations were sinful.
That's not the point. It was sacrificing everything
they had to follow Jesus. That they might get distracted
with. So in our lives as Christians,
we have to give up our self. Jesus was also intolerant toward
sin is trawl tolerant toward the center but intolerant towards
sin to the Ultras. He said, John 8 and verse 11
neither do I condemn you go and sin no more.
He forgave her but condemn, the sin because he hated the sin You
know, people say, well, when you condemn sin today, you hate The
Sinner, you hate, that person, you hate them with, with
everything that you, that you have in your heart and you need
to be nice to them. And you need to be tolerant of
them and do what they do. No, we don't have to tolerate
what they do. We tolerate, we are tolerant
towards a sinner, not towards the sin.
We love the sinner, not the sin, God has always been tolerant
intolerant of sin. Excuse me, Peter said on the day
of Pentecost Acts 2:38 repent and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your
sins. Christ was so intolerant of his
sin that he died on the cross to make us free from the Captivity
of sin and John 3 and verse 16 for God.
So loved the world that he gave his only begotten, son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. Sin is the very root of the
problem that we have in a lot of society's problems in the world
today. You know, when we run that sin
is there, it separates man from God.
But it also separates man, from Man.
If leaders in the world today, acted the way they should be
enacted christ-like and followed God the way that they should and
puts in a way out of their life. Then that would solve almost all
if not all the world's problems today.
If mr. Biden would Do what is right and
christ-like of mr. Putin would do.
What is right and priced like if if the others around the world
would do what is right and christ-like and follow God.
Then that puts man in harmony with each other.
All of the problems in the world would be solved, but the Cross
of Christ is God's answer to sin to all who repent and are
baptized for the remission of sins Christ.
Sacrificed on the cross sacrifice, on the cross, cancels
out sin. You know we have these wildfires
in California here in the Summers and one of the things
that that Force Fighters forced firefighters do is they do a
back burner or burn back, whatever you want to call it or
they'll set a fire around a community wherever and burn up
all the fuel of the fire. So when the fire finally gets to
that spot, it has nothing left to burn.
The fire stops its advance in the poems and people are saved
from the fire. In other words, you're fighting
fire with fire, and that's what Christ did when he died on the
cross. He was fighting fire with fire.
Jesus Took upon himself, our sins. so, when we Repent and
were baptized it. Cancels out the same.
We deserve that but Jesus cancelled out, the send that
rightfully, we have coming to us in doing so Christ.
Created a place of Refuge for all of us to escape the Judgment
of sin that we deserve. So, we're asking everyone today
to not tolerate sin. To be intolerant of sin.
Don't be selfish. Sacrifice your life to him as
we're called to do and hearing the word of God, Romans 10:17.
So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God
and believing the word of God and believe that Jesus Christ
died for our sins, Mark, 16 and 16.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
But he that not, he that believeth not shall be damned.
Repent of your sins, Acts 2, and 38.
Then Peter said to them, repent. And be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ. Christ for the remission of sins
and you shall receive the gift of the.
Holy Ghost, or Spirit confess the name of Christ.
Romans 10, verses 9 and 10 that if Thou shalt confess with thy
mouth, the Lord Jesus. And shalt believe in thine heart
that God has raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved for with the heart, man, believeth unto
righteousness. And with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation and then be baptized into Jesus Christ.
For the remission of your sins, the like figure.
Our interview even baptism doth also now, save us not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And to those who are children of God, confess your sins confess,
your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that
you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of
a righteous man avails much. This is the plan that will save
us. This, this overrides sin.
It cancels out sin when we obey God's commands, we can't
tolerate sin anymore because God doesn't tolerate sin.
Jesus doesn't tolerate sin. That's the lesson.
Yours this morning. We hope that something has been
said that will benefit you in some way.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
would like any additional information or you would like to
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