The Rock Church of Fenton Sermons

The Bible tells us that those who stray from the truth can be restored by the Lord to the path of righteousness. People are restored through discipline as God chastises the flesh in order to bring correction to the spirit. People are restored through prayer when, along with their leaders, appeal to God for healing in the Name of the Lord. People are restored through confession and repentance as they confess their sin before God and man and receive forgiveness. Do you know Jesus as Savior and redeemer? Are you walking in obedience to His Word and at peace with His people?

God’s people are to be people of truth. Jesus is described as being the way and the truth, and Christ followers are to be accurate ambassadors for Him. A disciple’s yes and no are to be completely trusted by those who hear it. When a Christian makes a vow to God, they are to be careful to perform whatever they speak. Have you said “yes” to the invitation to believe in Jesus for salvation? How true is your yes and no? (edited) 

The sure fire evidence of whether someone’s religion is pure or not is in what they say. The Bible says that if our tongue is not bridled, our religion is worthless. The true Christ follower’s mouth is bridled by the Holy Spirit. Someone indwelled with the Holy Spirit speaks with wisdom and not foolishness, righteousness and not wickedness. Isaiah confessed that he was a man of unclean lips and the Lord purified him of his iniquity. Do you need to be cleansed of unclean lips and heart so that the religion you assert is truly pure?

God does not show any regard for one person over another when bestowing His grace. The Bible commands that disciples of Jesus also show no partiality or favoritism. Ambassadors of Christ are to demonstrate impartiality in their assembly, love and faith. Have you come to God and received His offer of salvation? Do you demonstrate the same to all people regardless of wealth, status or sin background?

The Bible describes pure religion as keeping oneself unstained by the world. Those truly belonging to Jesus by faith are given a new heart, free from the past stain of sin. By His grace, God is able to cleanse our defiled conscience resulting in pure conduct. A believer’s conduct often determines how bright or dim their light for the gospel shines. Have you come to Jesus to have all your stain of sin washed away?

When the Word of God describes pure religion, we see Jesus proclaimed, according to the Scripture, as God in the flesh with nothing added. Everything presented about who Jesus is can only be trusted if it is backed by the authority of Scripture. The true Jesus came into the world as God in flesh, forgiving sin, commanding creation, accepting worship, claiming to be God and being crucified for the same. Pure religion preaches Jesus without adding traditions, denominational preferences or political overtones. Jesus is the Savior of the whole world without bias or partiality. 

In the parable of the wedding feast, the king invites many guests to attend in honor of his son. Upon hearing that they were unwilling to attend, he urged them to come to the feast a second time. After another harsh rejection, the king became enraged and sought to invite new guests. When a man arrived not wearing proper wedding clothes, he was promptly bound and cast out. Faith in Jesus adorns our lives with the righteousness of God. All who masquerade among the righteous will one day be likewise identified and rejected. Are you truly covered in the righteousness of Christ that comes only by faith?

When Jesus told the parable of the Bridegroom, He was clearly urging the listener to be ready for His arrival. The wise virgins awaited His return with oil in their lamps, but the foolish virgins brought no oil. Though their lamps appeared the same on the outside, they were drastically different on the inside. Many people appear to be awaiting Christ’s return, but they still have not prepared their soul by receiving the oil of salvation through faith in Jesus. Are you prepared to meet your God?

Jesus described entry into the kingdom of heaven like a landowner hiring laborers for his vineyard. He went out hiring workers at various times of the day from morning until evening. At the conclusion of the work day he had his foreman call the laborers and pay them all the same. When the ones who had worked the longest grumbled against the landowner, he explained that he was generous and merciful to all workers. Regardless of when a person comes to faith and enters the kingdom of heaven, they will be met with the same spiritual blessings as those who followed the Lord for their whole lives. When did you come into the kingdom by faith?

When Jesus told the parable of the treasure and the pearl, He was teaching the heart of total surrender that all true believers must have to inherit the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom is discovered by all people at some point in their lives. The kingdom has a great cost to all who will receive it. Every soul must make a choice as to what they will do with the kingdom. Have you made your choice?

Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed as well as the leaven in the dough. The Kingdom is first and foremost a spiritual one. The Lord did not come to overthrow the government of His time and establish an earthly empire. Jesus came into the world to save His people from their sins. This Kingdom begins small, like a mustard seed and begins to grow in reach and power. One day His kingdom will permeate the entire world and He will come in victory to establish His eternal rule. The seed of the kingdom falls upon the hearts of men in the good news of the gospel. What kind of soil is your heart to receive it?

When the younger son returned home in humble repentance, his Father called for a great celebration. Upon hearing the music and dancing, the older brother became angry and questioned why there had been no such party for him. The heart of the older brother reveals the hypocrisy of the religious class in the time of Jesus as well as now. Many believe they are entitled to certain privilege and status based upon their long, external pattern of religious observance. This sense of entitlement only reveals that the older son is as lost as the younger son had been. Which son are you?

As Jesus was traveling along, a man declared that he would follow Him wherever He went. However, when the man was told that there would be nowhere to lay their heads, the man was gone. Others came promising to follow Jesus but only after they were permitted one last delay. Many today in moments of spiritual high or temporary inspiration declare that they will follow Jesus only to later offer many excuses why they cannot. Jesus chillingly pronounces that such people are not fit for the kingdom of God. Are you sold out to Jesus today? Or are you still offering reasons for your delay?

The world longs to have hope and is willing to place their faith in anything they think will produce it. Hope is the expectation that something will happen in the future, but true hope hinges on the expectation that what is being promised will come true. It is only with the promises of God that we can anchor our trust into a sure hope that does not fail.Romans 15:13 says | “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”In this message titled Promise of Hope, we will look at the promises God makes to His followers and how important it is for us to anchor to those promises for the hope we have set before us. When we do this it can deeply impact the growth of a Christ follower as well as the impact we can make in sharing truth in a hopeless world.

Upon being cut to the heart by the truth of Stephen’s testimony, the crowds gnashed their teeth at him, covered their ears and drove him out of the city and stoned him to death. As the Spirit of God is at work in the lives of believers to convict the world of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come, people still cover their ears and gnash their teeth. When we bring attention to Jesus and our lives are a reflection of His, we can expect to be treated like Jesus. However, as Stephen gazed into the heavens as his life was fading away, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God ready to receive his spirit. In God’s divine irony, the very man cheering the violent death of Stephen would one day prove to be his successor as a great gospel preacher. Saul of Tarsus.

When Stephen was put on trial, he was charged with speaking against Moses, God, the temple and the law. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, Stephen answers all of these charges. He explains that Moses was a forerunner of Christ rejected by the people. The holy place was merely a shadow of the true and eternal temple not made with hands. The law was our schoolmaster, showing us our depravity and need for a Redeemer. All of these things pointed to the fullness of God in the person of Jesus and just as the patriarchs rejected the forerunners, the present council had rejected Jesus and now the messenger Stephen. At times, our gospel witness will be on trial in the same way. Will you be as faithful as Stephen? 

Stephen was a man described as full of faith, the Holy Spirit, grace and power. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Stephen possessed the kind of faith that trusted wholeheartedly in the One who commanded his eternal destiny. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, empowering him to accomplish great wonders for the Lord. The Bible warns us to not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit, as this will cost us the opportunity to be used of God in all the ways He intended. When we are fully surrendered to the Lord, it will show in our conduct as well as our countenance. When they gazed upon Stephen’s face, they saw him having a face as that of an angel.

Dan Smither from Key of Hope shares the heart of his ministry in South Africa from Isaiah 58:10. “If you pour out yourself for the hungry…then shall your light rise in the darkness.” This is how Jesus’ lived—a life of serving and selflessness. By pouring out himself, He brought us salvation. By pouring out ourselves, we shine the light of Christ.What is God asking you to pour out for Him?