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From touchandchange.com Devotions The Two Syllable Sledgehammer Moment The Moment (part two) John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(Note: Whoever is really a three syllable word, but for reasons to be illustated later it is called a two syllable word. Sadly, as you listen to the study time clicked away and in the moment this was not explained or developed. So the only way to understand the title is to read the illustration at the end)
We began celebration worship with the story of Cleopatra's Needle. If you want to read about when Cleopatra came to London follow the link below... http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/CleopatrasNeedle.htm Of course this story had something to do with Celebration Worship Remember the reason we talked about it? If not listen in...
Think about the odd nature of the statement that "all religions lead to God":
All roads lead to heaven. Well, the sentence makes good talk-show fodder, but does it make sense? Can all approaches to God be correct? How can all religions lead to God when they are so different?
We don't tolerate such logic in other matters. We don't pretend that all roads lead to London or all ships sail to Australia; all flights don't lead to Rome.
Imagine your response to a travel agent who proclaims they do. You tell him you need a flight to Rome, Italy. So he looks on his screen, and he offers, "Well, there's a flight to Sidney, Australia, at 6:00 a.m."
"Does it go to Rome?" you ask. "No, but it offers great food and movies." "But I need to go to Rome," you say. He says, "Well, let me suggest Southwest Airlines." "Southwest Airlines flies to Rome?" "No, but they win awards for on-time arrivals." You're getting frustrated, so you reiterate: "I need one airline, to carry me to one place—Rome."
The agent appears offended: "Sir, all flights go to Rome."
Well, you know better. Different flights have different destinations. That's not a thickheaded conclusion, but an honest one. Every flight does not go to Rome. And every path does not lead to God.
Jesus could have so easily confused the issue by inviting the whoever into whatever….
He could have said whatever you believe… As long as it is good…will get you to heaven…. Just try hard and all roads will get you there
But He loves us more than that
He makes it very clear….
Whoever believes in Him You get an invite and He tells you what you have to do
After all, who isn’t a WHOEVER? Aren’t you? I know that I am.
The word is a two syllable sledgehammer that destroys racial fences, social classes, educational boundaries, national borders, genders, and ancient traditions
Whoever makes it clear…. God offers His grace to every single person….
For any person that would attempt to restrict it, Jesus offers the two syllable sledgehammer….whoever!
Whoever acknowledges me before me, I will acknowledge before my father in heaven (Matthew 10:32)
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:39)
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16)
Whoever believes in the Son will have eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him (John 3:36)
Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst (John 4:14)
Whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:26)
The way life unfolds there are moments when we all wonder if God wants us, remembers us, forgets about us, or gets so frustrated with us that He kicks us to the curb…that is the way life unfolds for all
Whoever means however that whoever believes in him
Of all the messages the word conveys don’t miss this one: God takes you however he finds you! Cleary the message is here…. Whoever believes in Him
Believe reflects a heart trust…a deep rooted belief that changes and impacts who you are
So however you are…as you accept and believe
The difference between Jesus' holiness ethic and that of the Pharisees is this: the Pharisees refuse to touch any unclean thing. Jesus aims to make the unclean holy.
Just look up and get ready The God’s whoever policy has a however clause
So that means you don’t have to do anything except say “I will follow” The right here, the right now, the moment is yours for the taking
Whoever means whenever that whoever believes in him shall not perish
Whenever you hear God’s voice He welcomes your response Right now is a whenever moment for you…you have the chance today to respond to God again
God has an amazing way of speaking and allowing whoever to sledgehammer conventional wisdom
As a pastor, I get asked to take God’s whoever sledgehammer to people who are facing death…
The questions are quick and pointed Are you ready to face death? I think so… Do you want to be sure? Yes…. A moment, a prayer, and whenever is now
Request His grace with your dying breath, it is yours Whoever means whenever…
Whoever means wherever that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Wherever you are you are not too far from home
Remember the prodigal son from Scripture?
No matter what has happened to you over the past year…right now, in this moment….wherever you are….this moment is yours!
Will you follow!
We lose much in life…. We lose jobs, we lose relationships, we lose chances, we lose money, we lose youth, we lose idealism, we lose dreams sometimes…
We lose a lot, but we never lose our place on God’s whoever list
I am a whoever Since I qualify as a whoever…I am in that club…I say yes!
The question is will you? Not to the cake, but to God….
However Whenever Wherever
WHOEVER includes you FOREVER
(Note: Due to time constraits this was not included in the spoken sermon and gives you a reason the title ended up being what it ended up being. Without the explanation of course, Jeff Dixon appears to be extremely poor in handling the English language. While that is probably true, there is a reason based on a old sermon illustration that he decided to update. Sadly, in the moment he decided it was best to use the time and get in the main points as opposed to keeping people beyond their capcity to sit by illustrating with the following)
But wait a moment? You might be thinking to yourself as you have listened (or read) Whoever is not a two syllable word, it is a three syllable word...isn't it?
Actually it is. The word is prounoun with three distinct syllables..so why all of the sudden is it a two syllable word?
Simple, because it doesn't make sense. It doesn't work and it doesn't fit the rules as we know it. Now it might be because if you are from the north you speak clearer than those of us with deep southern roots...in the south after all we make all words condensed into a very few syllables.
As I have been teaching some of you have been so distracted by the fact that I have called a three syllable word a two syllable word that you want to jump up and correct me and tell me I am wrong. You want to tell me I have messed up and have blown the word.
Yes, that is what many think that Jesus has done. Surely whoever doesn't really mean whoever....heaven and eternal life can't be for all...but He doesn't add any extra spaces, no extra requirements, no extra meaning. I guess a better title would have been the one syllable sledgehammer...but you get the idea.
It doesn't matter how many syllables it has, it includes you It doesn't make sense and you just can't figure it out
One, two, three, or four syllables and it still is incredible Whoever includes you....
Now What?
Graeme Keith, treasurer of the Billy Graham Association and Billy's lifelong friend, says:
I was on an elevator with Billy when another man in the elevator recognized him. He said, "You're Billy Graham, aren't you?" "Yes," Billy said. "Well," the man said, "you are truly a great man." Billy immediately responded, "No, I'm not a great man. I just have a great message."
So breathe it in and breathe it out Listen to your heartbeat There’s a wonder in the here and now It’s right there in front of you Don’t miss the gift and miracle of the moment
He is the only One who knows what is in front of you He is the only One who knows what is waiting and what will happen next You have to be willing to trust and believe… He will get you where you want to go… The moment is His, the moment is now, the choice of what to do with the moment is up to you…. © Copyright 2003 by CCC Ministries |
