Sermon Outline
Time To Get Things Right
Scripture: Matthew 7:24-29
Originally preached: May 21, 2011 @ Berkshire Hills Baptist Church, Lee, MA
Thorough Outline of the Sermon
[shorter version posted on June 15, 2011; take and edit as necessary]
Capture People’s Attention at beginning of service: Although it wasn’t time yesterday, it’s time today … time for what you ask … can’t tell you, until it’s time. So, stick around for our worship time.
Introduction: The time of Christ’s return will not come with a particular date that is given to us as in May 21, 2011; instead, it will come as a “thief in the night (Matthew 25, 1 Thessalonians 5). We will not be able to delay our sinfulness until His return and do a quick repentance; instead, we ought to be repenting every day in preparation for a return we do not know of. Having said this, how we occupy our time, in the meantime … it is time to talk about it. This message is the crown of all previous messages and all future messages that could be said about being good stewards … it is, hopefully, what you have heard before, but in a different way.
1. Sermon Time. When it was the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), Christ came … while He was here, he preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. People from far and wide came … we know this from the use of the term “multitudes” in Matthew 5:1. [briefly explain the gospels use of MULTITUDES, DISCIPLES, APOSTLES.] He preached on several things:
a. How good it is to be blessed
b. Being Salt and Light
c. Learning how Jesus came to fulfill the law
d. How to love each other correctly
e. Who is our neighbor and our enemy
f. Almsgiving and piety
g. Prayer and fasting
h. Personal Possessions
i. Prayer and the Golden Rule
j. Judging
k. The strait and wide gates
2. Listening Time. Listening to a sermon is important, no question. We are always listening, considering, contemplating. One may pat themselves on the back about the time they took from their busy schedules to attend church, love the Lord, serve Him, etc. However, as we shall see in our text: Jesus does not regard listening time alone as a good use of one’s time.
3. Summary Time. Matthew 7:21 is the summary text, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter in the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” There is
a. Hearing & b. doing. Notice: The hearing & doing is compared and contrasted: Matthew 7:21, 7:24; 7:26. Notice what is said but not approved of: 7:22
b.
c. Contrast verse between positives and negatives: Not every … but he that
i. Saith Lord, Lord
ii. Doeth the will of my father
d. Notice; the “works” that are done are actually not equated as doing. Notice the works: a) Have we not prophesied in thy name? b) In thy name cast out devils? C) In your name, DONE many wonderful works. Someone might ask: Didn’t these believers DO. According to Jesus, they did not “do”; this is all cheap talk and even the works they mention are pointless. Are these things useless?
e. Notice the play on words of the Son: he “professes” that I never knew you.
4. Building Time. If we are to “redeem the time” as our master calls for, he is very specific on what we need to do. Our “I’s” might not all be dotted; our “t’s” might not all be crossed. We are not going to be perfect in this life though we are always reaching more and more to perfection. Our Lord says this. Without BUILDING, all we are doing is HEARING … and if all we are doing is HEARING, then we are completely wrong and we are not using our time correctly. Hearing not enough. Doing is building. The Lord says we are “wise” because we are building our “house” (our lives, what we believe, our affections, what we love, what we adore, what we worship, what we think) on his teachings. OTHERWISE – all the words Christ has just said in 3 chapters will mean nothing.
a. Christ’s word’s not magic and will not absorb through osmosis
b. Christ’s words are effective and life changing … as we build and practice. The Christian life is one of doing; while we should pray as He taught us, we should do as He taught us as well.
5. Rain Time. Storms are coming. They are mandatory in the life of the Christian. You cannot be excluded; don’t think the Rapture is some sort of magical escapism in the Christian life. Though the Rapture will rescue some from God’s wrath, it does not exempt us from persecution or tribulation in general. Look for example at the Christians in Burma. a. Christians in Burma: They are gentle people who love the LORD. The government knows this; the government has said, “Use their gentleness against them.” b. Pakistan and other nations where Christians are persecuted just for being close to Christ. To them, the doctrine of escapism means little. They are living through incredible turmoil. c. Why do American Christians believe they will be exempt.
d. Rain Time is Coming because …
i. Jesus promised it … John 16:33 …
ii. Jesus leads people into it … Matthew 14:22 (Jesus knew the storm was coming, yet He led His disciples into the boat anyways)
iii. Jesus prayed concerning it … John 17:15
6. Safety Time
a. It so follows that if we both HEAR and DO, we are using our time wisely. In so doing, WE have built a fortress that will keep us settled. Of course, it is the Lord’s doing – but it came about because we complied
i. The rain descends … the floods come … the winds blow. In other words – problems come from above, problems come from beneath, and problems come from wherever it is blown in. It beats upon a CHRISTIAN or a PERSON
ii. CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE BEEN HEARING AND DOING: They are solid; they do not fall; though tempted, their courage is nothing more than fear that has prayed and they do not quit. All for Jesus, less of them! More, more about Jesus. John the Baptist – He must Increase, I must decrease.
b. Rock: Rock formation takes some time; they found a key from the 60’s in the ocean in 1994. Rocks take time to form; we are constantly exposing ourselves to Christ, to His church, to sermons from the church, from daily Bible reading, etc. This continue exposure wraps us up so when it is time, that which we have learned is not easily destroyed.
7. Destruction Time, v. 26
a. What about hearers only? What of those who just hear good messages or talk a good talk? They have the right Christianese to say; they heard the right things. They showed up to church when they were supposed to. However, they did not actually do what they were told to do. It went in one ear and out the other?
b. Guess what? The storms still came. Why?
i. Jesus promised it … John 16:33 …
ii. Jesus leads people into it … Matthew 14:22 (Jesus knew the storm was coming, yet He led His disciples into the boat anyways)
iii. Jesus prayed concerning it … John 17:15
c. PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEARD ONLY: They are unwise; in fact, many of them do not know Christ (7:23; 7:27)
d. End result: These people were destroyed whether it is spiritually or emotionally, they are not ready or prepared for the coming tribulations of the world.
e. SAND: There is sand everywhere on beaches. Some people are GREAT with their sand castles …. Their sand art work. Same for many Christians: they look great; they sound great; the sand artwork is magnificent and better than most. Yet, what happens to great sand castles when the storm or the tide comes in? It fails.
8. Decision Time
a. Notice, Jesus does not give a typical invitation. Instead of directly inviting his hearers to actually do something, he has ended His sermon on this note: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:27)
b. Illustration: A preacher boy, after his college course was finished, went to his Bible professor and complimented him on such a great job he did. The Bible professor looked at him and said, “What are you going to do about it?” Shocked, the preacher boy just assumed one polite act should turn around another. It took some years for the preacher boy to understand his Bible professor. Was his professor being rude. Yes. What he being harsh, taut? Yes. But why? Because his professor was not there to merely sound good, look good, be good … his professor was there to give the preacher boy the Word of God … and if the preacher boy was to receive it – he had to do MORE than HEAR IT … he also needed to RECEIVE IT.
c. Decision Time: This is not your typical stewardship sermon on Time. In the past years, we’ve told you to redeem the time. In the past years, we told you everyone has 168 hours they are given in a year. We’ve told you that everyone has a responsibility to do with God’s time what He would have. We’ve told you that you need to do daily devotions, and daily time.
i. This is the conclusion to all previous messages about stewardship from all past years. That is not to say there is no more to say … it is to say that all that could be said revolves around this:
ii. Chinese Christians came to America; when they returned, they were asked “So how were the American Christians.” The reply: “Oh … there is a lot of talkie-talkie and not enough walkie-walkie!”
Decision / Invitation
Sermon Creation Date: May 2011
Long Version: If I preached every point on the long version, the sermon would last an hour or more. I simply publish the long version for you to see the development of the sermon. While preaching, I will cut things out that suddenly do not become relevant or it is not timely to preach or because the Holy Spirit causes me to "forget" a few things. Don't be afraid to have "too much" prepared if you are able to seamlessly delete along the way. Thank you.
Inspiration: I needed a sermon to conclude the Stewardship of Time series; however, I didn’t want the typical sermon and decided, based on an examination of a devotion done by a Methodist church, to use Matthew 7 and create a different outline. The original Methodist sermon only prompted me to use Matthew 7 as a message on Time.
Tips: To ensure I never forgot the outline on my longer 4-page document, I found it useful when I preached this message to place the following words at the top of the sermon in the header area of Microsoft Word so it would appear on every page:
