Sermon Prepared by James McCullen
Email Preach Him with Dr. Jim
A Sad Day for Dad
Mark 10:18-22
A Sad Day for Dad
Mark 10:18-22
18 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but
One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,'
'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,'
'Honor your father and your mother.'" 20 And he answered and said to Him,
"Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth." 21 Then Jesus, looking
at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell
whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;
and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22 But he was sad
at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
NKJV
1. It's Sad for A Dad To Go Away From the . . Instruction
of Christ for His Life. Mark 10:21-22 21
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said
to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the
cross, and follow Me." 22 But he was sad at this word, and
went
away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. NKJV
A. Sad for A Dad to Turn Away from Impassioned
. . Instruction. v 21 a
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him,
and said to him, . . . "
B. Sad for A Dad to Turn Away from Imperative .
. Instruction. v 21 b
"One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever
you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
C. Sad for A Dad to Turn Away and Interrupt . .
Instruction. v 22
22 But he was sad at this word, and went
away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Illustration
Several years ago Billy Graham preached his first Los Angeles Crusade.
Recently they went back fr another crusade. While recalling several events
Cliff Burrow said I was recalling this morning with a group of people about
Stuart Hamblen who was a legendary figure back in those days. He had a
radio program and he invited us to come on the program and he talked about
the crusade in a big tent. He said on the air, 'Go on down and tell them
that Stuart Hamblen sent you down.' Well Bill [Billy Graham] came to be
with us on the program one day and Stuart said the same thing, so Billy
said, 'Well, how about you coming Stuart' He stopped a moment and then
said, 'All right, I will.'
He came and we were praying for him. He had a Godly wife and Stuart really needed to know the Lord in a personal way. The upside was that he came and heard the message and he didn't respond to the invitation then, but he went home and he couldn't sleep that night and he came and met Mr. Graham at the hotel and gave his life to Christ. The news spread quickly and one day he was walking down Hollywood Boulevard with his friend John Wayne, and John Wayne said, 'Stuart, what's this I hear about you hitting the sawdust trail?' Stuart replied, 'Oh, that's no secret John, what God has done for me. He can do it for you or anybody else.' John then said, 'That sounds like a song, Stuart. Why don't you write one?' So he went home and wrote, 'It is no secret what God can do…" and Bev Shea has since sung it all around the world. That's the joy that we've had.
Application
Stuart Hamblen supposedly asked Billy Graham "do I have to give up my race horses." Billy Graham is supposed to have answered "I don't know if you will have to give up your horses or not but you need to be willing to give them up." That is a great answer regardless of who said it.
Hamblen DID take a stand against alcohol, which caused him to lose his radio program the Cowboy Church of the Air, over his refusal to do a commercial promoting alcohol.
His principled stand led the Prohibition Party to nominate him as their
candidate for President of the United States in 1952. Hamblen racked up
nearly 73,000 votes and finished fourth in a field of twelve candidates
despite appearing on the ballot in only twenty-one states. This
man in the text needed to be willing to get rid of every thing, but he
went away sad, and sorrowful. Jesus knew he trusted more in His riches
than anything else.
2. It's
Sad for A Dad To Go Away From the . .
Implications of Christ In His Life. Matt.
26:73-75
73 And
a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you
also are one of them, for your speech betrays you." 74 Then he began to
curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" And immediately a rooster
crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him,
"Before the rooster crows, you will deny
Me three times." So he went
out and wept bitterly. NKJV
A. Sad
When A Dad's . . Speech Turns Away from the
Implications of Christ. v 73-74
73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely
you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you." 74 Then he began
to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" And immediately a
rooster crowed.
1. Dad has anyone every said to you "I have never heard
you
use profanity, how come you don't talk like the rest of the
guys"
2. Simon knew his speech could be worldly or a witness
for
Christ.
3. Simon repented and was the Preacher on Pentecost.
B. Sad
When A Dad's . .
Steadfastness Turns Away from the Implications of Christ.
75
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the
rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly.
Intro:
The Bible only tells about two people
who wept bitterly. One was King Hezekiah and the other Simon Peter. The
Bible tells us Hezekiah prayed , "Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have
walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is
good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And the word of the
LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 "Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the
LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen
your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. (Isa 38:3-6 NKJV)
1. Simon wept because he failed the Lord.
Illustration Printed
in Proclaim Magazine
A young man at one of the iron works at Sheffield,
Alabama, was thrown accidentally on a red-hot armor plate. When he was
rolled off by fellow workmen, it was doubtful he would live. His work mates
cried, "Send for a doctor." But the suffering man cried: "Never mind the
doctor. I'm dying without God. Who can help me?"
Although three hundred men were around him, no one could tell him the way of salvation. After twenty minutes of agony he died. One man who witnessed the accident and heard the cries of the dying youth was inactive in his church. When someone asked him about the accident, he said, "I have heard those cries ever since, and I wished I could have stooped down and pointed him to Jesus, but my life closed my lips."
Application
It is sad for a dad who does not live for
Christ as he knows he should.
3. It's
Sad for A Dad To Go Away From the . .
Integrity of Christ. Matt. 7:22-23
22 Many will say to
Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast
out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then
I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!' NKJV
A. Sad to . . Attempt
to Misuse the Integrity of Christ. v 22
22 Many will say to
Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast
out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
1. Note this man is a preacher.
a. Prophesied in Your Name.
b. Mighty Works In Your Name.
2. He Tried to Use Christ Name etc....
a. They have substituted their works for Christ Righteousness
1. Christ said "I NEVER KNEW YOU."
a. Christ said "Depart from Me."
b. Christ doesn't even want to be around this person.
Illustration
(From The Sword Book of Treasures)
One Monday evening was reserved for an address to
atheists, skeptics and freethinkers. Atheists' clubs, led by Charles Bradlaugh,
accepted the challenge and came five thousand strong to fill the building
except room reserved for ministers and workers. The late Mr. George Soltau
tells of that wonderful service in these words:
The service commenced earlier than usual. After the preliminary singing, Mr. Moody asked the men to choose their favorite hymns, which suggestion raised many a laugh, for atheists have no song or hymn.
The meeting got well underway. Mr. Moody spoke from "Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges" (Deut.. 32:31). He poured in a broadside of telling, touching incidents from his own experience of the deathbeds of Christians and atheists, and let the men be the judges as to who had the best foundation on which to rest faith and hope.
Reluctant tears were wrung from many an eye. The great mass of men, with the darkest, most determined defiance of God stamped upon their countenances, faced this running fire attacking them in their most vulnerable points; namely, their hearts and homes.
But when the sermon was ended, one felt inclined to think nothing had been accomplished, for it had not appealed to their intellects, or their reasoning faculties had convinced them of nothing. At the close Mr. Moody said, "We will rise and sing 'Only Trust Him,' and while we do so, will the ushers open all the doors so that any man who wants to leave can do so; and after that we will have the usual inquiry meeting for those who desire to be led to the Savior." I thought, All will stampede, and we shall only have an empty hall. But instead, the great mass of five thousand men rose, sang and sat down again--not one man vacating his seat!
"I Can't!" "I Won't!"
What next? Mr. Moody then said, "I will explain four words: receive, believe, trust, take HIM." A broad grin pervaded all that sea of faces. After a few words upon "receive," he made the appeal, "Who will receive Him? Just say, 'I will.'"
From the men standing round the edge of the hall came some fifty responses, but not one from the mass seated before him. One man growled, "I can't," to which Mr. Moody replied, "You have spoken the truth, my man; glad you spoke. Listen, and you will be able to say 'I can' before we are through."
Then he explained the word "believe" and made his second appeal: "Who will say, 'I will believe Him'?" Again some responded from the fringe of the crowd, till one big fellow, a leading club man, shouted, "I won't." Dear Mr. Moody, overcome with tenderness and compassion, burst into broken, tearful words, half sobs, "It is 'I will' or 'I won't' for every man in this hall tonight."
The Atheists Confounded
Then he suddenly turned the whole attention of the meeting to the story of the Prodigal Son, saying, "The battle is in the will, and only there. When the young man said, 'I will arise,' the battle was won, for he had yielded his will; and on that point all hangs tonight. Men, you have your champion there in the middle of the hall, the man who said, 'I won't.' I want every man here who believes that man is right to follow him and to rise and say, 'I won't.'" There was perfect silence and stillness; all held their breath, till as no man rose, Moody burst out, "Thank God, no man says, 'I won't.' Now, who'll say, 'I will'?"
In an instant the Holy Spirit seemed to have broken loose upon that great crowd of enemies of Jesus Christ, and five hundred men sprang to their feet, their faces raining down with tears, shouting, "I will, I will," till the whole atmosphere was changed and the battle was won.
Quickly the meeting was closed that personal work might begin. And from that night till the end of the week nearly two thousand men were swung out from the ranks of the foe into the army of the Lord, by the surrender of their wills. They heard His "rise and walk," and they followed Him.
The permanency of that work was well attested for years afterward, and the clubs never recovered their footing. God swept them away in His mercy and might by the Gospel.
Application
It is not to late for you dad. You can make all of life be a joy dad in Jesus.
I urge you to obey the drawing of the Holy
Spirit in you hear today.