Preacher: Pastor Noe Cedro

Text: Mark 10: 46-52

Theme: Bartimaeus – The Blind Beggar With A Clear Vision

DON’T LET THIS OPPORTUNITY PASS, COME TO HIM AND BE MADE WHOLE.

AMEN!!!!!!

FINDING GOD IN TIMES OF TURMOIL

Psalm 63

By: Pastor Noe Cedro

WHAT MAKES A CHURCH STOP GROWING?

A Sermon on Revelation 3:1-5 by Pastor Noe Cedro at New Life in Christ Baptist Church

Verse 1 “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”

Verse 2 says, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” That word "perfect" means complete.

Verse 3 “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

Verse 4 “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”

Verse 5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

1. Watchful

2. Strengthen

3. Remember

4. Hold Fast

5. Repent

Those were the five general commands to a church --and to any dead church. How do you tell if a church is alive or dead? Have you ever thought to take the church for granted? Have you ever attended a dead church? Sardis was a church that was ready to die. Have you ever walked out of a church service and thought, “That church is really dead!” Are those good criteria for deciding if a church is dead? Are those good indicators of whether a church is alive or dead? That church had a very different way of expressing joy than some churches. In our text today, Jesus declares a church to be dead. People think this church is great! Go to the Church of Sardis! Man! That church has life!” And yet Jesus says, “You are dead.” What does this tell us? A church can be overflowing, a church can have lots of programs, a church can have great singing, and a church can thrive in the absence of persecution. All these things can be true, and yet the church can be dead. The Church of Sardis is typically, symbolically, and historically dealing with restructuring and restoration of the church. This church had the reputation of being a living church, but they were spiritually dead. Outwardly, they looked very good, but the essential element was lacking. What kind of death did the church suffer? Spiritual death. People who did not even know Jesus Christ were operating the church. It's happening today to many churches like Sardis. There are dead men in the pulpits, dead men in the pews, and dead men running the machinery. Why are they dead? How does a church die? The church dies when live people are replaced by dead people.

The obvious indicators of life affecting a dead church:

1. Persecutions

2. False Teachings

3. Indifference

It happens when a church loves systems more than it loves Jesus Christ. And it happens when a church becomes more concerned with material things than spiritual reality. That's how a church dies. It all is a result of sin. What kills a church? Sin. Sins of commission and omission kill a church little by little. The church begins to die, and the people who really love Jesus Christ leave only to be replaced by people who don't know Him. There are many people in our church who can testify to the fact that they have come to a church like ours because they had to leave a church that was dead--it was in the hands of people who didn't love Christ. A church that does not faithfully confess the name of Jesus. A church is dead if it fails to confess the name of Jesus before men. A church is dead if it fails to assert the supremacy of God in all things – especially on those points which the culture would ridicule. Thus, a church is dead if it fails to proclaim that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is the only Savior. A church is dead if it fails to tell people that they are lost without Jesus that they are heading to hell without Jesus that their own efforts will never save them, that there is no name other than Jesus by which they will be saved. If believers, however, do not have the Spirit of God, and do not enjoy the fullness of the Spirit, then, their clothes are soiled. In this context, it suggests a relationship between the condition of the leader of the church and the state of the church. Spiritual death had entered the church through its leader. The church, too, was in constant danger. A church, once alive and powerful began to harbor sin will result, to a weak, blind, and dead church. Wondering how many churches that are dressed up and organized really have a congregation that is blind, weak, and dead.

What about us? On what cultural issues are we tempted to silence? Our culture often ridicules those who hold that abortion is wrong; that creation is the work of God; that God made men and women different and complementary to each other, for complementary roles. We must make clear that we hold to biblical truth on these and other issues – even if that leads to ridicule. So the first question to ask to discern if a church is dead: Is it confessing the Name of Jesus – as the only way of salvation and as Lord of the culture? A church is dead if there is prevalent unconfessed sin in its midst. Once again, we can discern the criterion from Jesus’ positive statement.

When Jesus speaks of “conquering” or “overcoming”, what is to be conquered? What fellow church members give in to: Pride in size, pride in status, self-righteousness, complacency; the temptation not to speak of Christ to the world. We must overcome all this. Thus, we must be effective witnesses for Christ in word and deed. So Jesus gives us a promise in verse 5: “I will never blot his name out of the book of life.

According to Revelation 3:5, what are the three promises that Christ has for the overcomer?

A) Meditate on them.

B) Take this time to thank God for the future that He has secured for you.

C) Make the commitment to live in that way.

Conclusion There are serious threats, serious warnings that all churches and all self-proclaimed Christians must take to heart. So “become one who is watchful”!

Every member of every church has a responsibility to help the church to stay on track, asking questions such as:

1. Is the church proclaiming Jesus faithfully – even when that is unpopular, even when that could lead to persecution?

2. Is the church watching, guarding against the insidious sins of pride and self-righteousness?

Joshua 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

1. Read the Word of God obediently

2. Meditate the Word of God continually

3. Believe the Word of God exclusively

A church which is watchful, a church that remembers, a church that is repentant: This church is alive.

WHEN PEOPLE GET REVIVED WHAT WILL THEY DO?

2 Chronicles 29

By Pastor Noe Cedro on 17 December 2006

Summary

Revival is nothing less than a full surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD I WILL
TEXT: LUKE 5:1-11
By: PASTOR NOE CEDRO
18 March 2007



Luke 5:1 ¶And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. INTRODUCTION: Have you ever had to do something that you just did not want to do? Maybe it was something at home, like a chore (Ill. When I was a child mine was clipping the grass around the house with hand trimmers!) or some other unpleasant duty. Maybe it was something at work. Maybe it was some dirty little job that nobody wanted, but which was placed in your lap. Even though you may not have wanted to do the job, you did it anyway. Why? Why did you do a job that you did not want to do? Perhaps it was out of a sense of obligation or of duty. Maybe you did the job out of respect for the person who asked you. Whatever the reason or the job, we have all had to do things that we thought were unpleasant. Jesus even spoke about this Matt. 21:28-30. This is just the scene that presents itself in these verses. Simon Peter is called upon to do something that he just doesn't want to do. However, because it was Jesus Who asked this thing of Him, Peter complied. This morning, I want to look into this passage for a while. While we are here, I want us to look at the way we are living our lives today. I would like for us to learn to develop the same mind set that Peter displayed. It is a mind set that does what the Lord asks, regardless of how we feel about it on a personal level. I am asking the Lord to work in the hearts of every person present this morning to bring us all to the place where we are able to echo the words of Peter in verse 5 of our text. Please do not close your heart and mind against the word of God this morning, but allow Him to have His way in your life today. Let's look into this passage as we think about this thought: Nevertheless, At Thy Word I Will. There are a few elements of this story that I would like to point out today. I. V. 5 A NIGHT OF STRUGGLE A. These verses tell us that Jesus was by the sea shore and was going to speak to the people who were gathering there to hear Him. As they pressed in upon the Lord, He got into Simon Peter's boat and asked him to move away from the shore just a little. When Peter had done this, Jesus sat down and spoke to the crowds. After He had finished His preaching, Jesus then commanded Peter to go out deeper so that he could let down his nets and catch a great load of fish. Peter immediately objected that he and his partners had labored all night and has taken nothing! In short, they had failed! B. Why did they fail? Surely it wasn't that they did not know how or where to fish. These men were experts. They were professional fishermen and knew how to fish and where to find the fish, and yet they fished all night long and caught nothing. (Ill. The word "nothing" means "not even one") Their failure had nothing to do with how they were fishing or where they were fishing. Their failure came about because the Lord wanted to teach them a much needed lesson. That lesson is that without Him, we can accomplish nothing! C. Friends, this lesson is still needed by the Lord's people this morning! Many times, our struggles and failures in the church are the result of our failure to do God's business God's way! He is the One Who should direct us in the steps we take. The modern church has all the machinery in place to do church, and yet we are still losing ground to the devil and the world. We are guilty of trying to duplicates the activities of others instead of relying on the Lord for ourselves. (Ill. Instead of merely implementing what has worked for others, we need to allow the Lord to chart a course for us that is as individual as our church!) D. Here is what we need to remember when we face opportunities to serve the Lord: Our success or our failure rests entirely on where Jesus stands in the picture! Here is what we are told by the Lord: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.", John 15:5. We often fail because we do not trust Him! However, there is another promise in the Word of God that needs to be inserted right here. When we leave Jesus out of the picture, we will fail, but when He is followed, there will always be success, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me", Phil. 4:13. I. A Night Of Struggle II. V. 4-5 A MORNING OF SURRENDER A. I can imagine Simon Peter and his partners were ready to call it a day. They had fished all night long and had caught not so much as a single little fish. They are tired, frustrated, discouraged, and defeated. The last thing any of them wants to do is go back out and fish some more. Yet, when Jesus tells Peter to do just that, he surrenders to the will of the Lord and goes out to fish. When they let down their nets this time, they caught so many fish that their net broke and they had to call their partners to help them get the catch loaded into the boats. What made the difference? Obedience to Jesus, even when Peter did not want to do what the Lord asked him to do! B. Friends, there are times when the Lord asks us to do certain things that we may not want to do, however, we must come to the same place Peter came. We need to decide that regardless fo how we feel about a certain matter, if the Lord has commanded it, then we will do it! (Ill. Some people say, "If your heart isn't in it, then you might as well not do it!" That is wrong thinking! You cannot trust your heart, Jer. 17:9! God will reward our obedience if we will go ahead and do what He has told us to do. When we obey in spite of our own objections, the heart will eventually follow our lead. Ideally, we should serve the Lord from the heart, Eph. 6:6. However, when the heart will not cooperate, we should mind God anyway! Imagine what would have happened had Saul simply minded the Lord instead of listening to his heart, 1 Sam. 15; 2 Sam. 1! Imagine what would have happened had David minded God instead of listening to his heart, 2 Sam. 11.) C. There are many areas of our lives where the Lord requires obedience from His children. Often, we do not want to surrender in these areas, but if we are going to be right with the Lord, then we have to do what Peter did and let down our nets. If we want the blessing of God, then we must do the will of God! Allow me to share some areas where this is attitude of surrender can and should be seen by every person in this room. 1. Toward God - James 4:7, (Submit - To yield to one of a higher rank); Eph. 6:6. 2. Toward Jesus - Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12. 3. Toward The Church - Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 6:2. 4. Toward The Bible - James 1:22 5. Toward One Another - Gal. 6:2; Matt. 22:37-39; Phil. 2:3. 6. Toward One's Wife - Eph. 5:24-33 7. Toward One's Husband - Eph. 5:22-23, 33. (Reverence - To be in awe, to venerate, to treat with deference.) You may not be able to reverence the man, but you had better reverence the position the man had been given! 8. Toward One's Children - Eph. 6:4 9. Toward One's Parents - Eph. 6:1-3 10. Toward Leadership - Heb. 13:7; 17 11. Toward Satan - Eph. 4:27. D. At the mere word of the Lord, Peter let down his nets. Is the Word of God enough for you? Or will you rebel against what God says in His Word? I. A Night Of Struggle II. A Morning Of Surrender III. V. 6-11 A TOMORROW OF SATISFACTION A. Because obedience ruled the day, they witnessed the immediate reward of a vast catch of fish, Beyond that, this miracle brought these fishermen to their knees in worship of the Person and Power of the Christ. When they submitted to Him, He revealed to them that all of their tomorrows would be different because of their obedience of today. When they heard this, they immediately left everything behind and followed the Lord Jesus. Surely, we can see that their lives were forever altered. B. This is a lesson that we all need to learn today. The secret to perpetual and deep satisfaction as a child of God is found in absolute surrender to the will of the Lord in every area of life, John 14: 15, 21. As long as we hold anything back from His Lordship we can never expect Him to bless us like He wants to. C. If you would like to see all of your tomorrows altered and your life filled with the best that God can give, then the secret lies in total surrender of everything in your life to His will! Conc: When the Lord told Peter to let down his net, he didn't want to. However, he did want the Lord said to do in spite of his own wants and wishes. The results were far better than he could have ever imagined! Friend, the same blessings wait for you if you will do what Peter did. Jesus has spoken in His Word! Now, I ask you, will you let down your nets at the Word of the Lord? He is calling someone to be saved. Will you let down you net? He is calling His children to faithfulness and surrender. Will you let down your net? He is calling husbands and wives to a renewed commitment to one another. Will you let down your net? He is calling His people back to the Bible and to the church. Will you let down your net? You may not like what the Lord is calling you to do today, but will you join Pater and say, "Master, we have toiled all the night and taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net."? No one can let down your net but you! Will you obey Him this morning?