Live Deeply-Live the Claim!

Transcription

1 Live Deeply-Live the Claim! I John 1:5-10 October 1,2017 #2 of series After the hurricane there is assessment of the damages to one's property. Once you get a handle, if you can, on the damages, the next step is to call your insurance company to file a claim. As of last week, 562,262 claims had been filed with insurance companies regarding Hurricane Irma, with the estimated losses of $3,579,859,034! The question that many who filed the claims have swirling in their minds is: "Will the insurance company deny the claim or live up to the claim and pay for the damages?" Of course there are many other claims in life that you may have filed. Medical claims, disability claims or auto accident claims. Recently, I saw a commercial where a teenage son was making his first auto accident claim of a fender bender with his parents. Let me set the scene: The teenager walks into his parents bedroom. They are both in bed reading. They look up and the son begins his claim statement: "Mom and dad HI! I had a very minor fender bender tonight in an unreasonably narrow fast food drive thru lane. But what a powerful life lesson! And don't worry I have everything handled. I already spoke to our Allstate agent and I know that we have accident forgiveness. Which is so smart on your guys part! Like the fact that they will just forgive you " Page 1

2 (Mom interrupts and announces her decision on his claim ) "Four weeks without the car!" The son replies, "Ok! Yep! Good night!" You gotta love the way the son made his powerful and passionate and hopeful claim with his parents. However, in the end momma denied his claim and grounded him from the car for four weeks! He ended up having to live out momma's claim! You gotta love momma's "tough love!" We continue our series, "Live deeply" today and we come to the challenge to "live the claim!" I would imagine many of us could relate to the teenage son's claim. He tried to make the accident sound like it wasn't his fault and that he had taken care of it. He didn't want to have to live out the true claim momma's claim! One of the chief complaints that unchurched folks have towards us "church" folks is that they don't see us living out the claim. They call it hypocrisy! In our scripture reading, John, the disciple of Jesus, called it differently. He wrote, "If we claim to have fellowship with him (Jesus) yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth." vs. 6 A person who claims one thing with their words and another with how they live their life they are a liar. Jesus put it this way to his followers one day: "People honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me." Matthew 15:8 People can make a great passionate claim and yet Jesus sees through it and makes his "tough love" claim. There will come that day when God will deny our hypocritical claim. John 12:48 Page 2

3 The question then that comes swirling to us is this: Are we living the lie or living the claim? John then goes on to highlight 3 false claims that were being lived out during his time. They are still being claimed today. 1. We can claim that we have a relationship with God and still live in sin and darkness. vs. 6 Huh? We cannot court God and live an affair with sin. How can you claim to love someone and be unfaithful in your love towards them? That is someone not living the claim of love they have made to someone in their lives. That is hypocrisy! That is living the lie! 2. People claimed they had no natural tendency toward sin, that they were without sin, incapable of sinning. (vs. 8) This at best is self-deception and a bold face lie. It completely goes against the truth of God's word that states "all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) These folks wanted to have the tag "Christian" without the responsibility of living the Christian life. They saw no need to confess their sins. Which in turn meant they had no need for the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. They sought to justify their actions by their own selfrationalization. They will make the claim that at least they are not as bad as so and so. Self-deception! Liar! 3. The third false claim was that the people denied their conduct involved any sin at all. (vs. 10) They were above judgment. You see now and then people chanting or wearing the slogan of this claim "No one judges me but God!" True! But there will be the day he does. Jesus talked about those folks who called Him Lord but he knew them not. He asked them this question: "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not what I say?" Luke 6:46 He went on to say how their house is built on sand and the storm will destroy them. However, those who live the claim will have a house, a life, built on a solid foundation that will withstand the storms of life. (Luke 6:46-49) Page 3

4 The false claims of life in Christ will not hold up at the day of judgment. The false claims of life in Christ will not weather the storms of life. There is a real estate claim called a "quick claim." The real name for this real estate claim is actually called a "QUIT claim." It got the name "quick claim" because of the shortened time frame to process the claim. An interesting fact about a "quit claim" is that the grantor of the property does not have to provide assurance that they actually own the property. Imagine if we were to file a "quit claim" with God. We claim we love Jesus but really have no guarantee or evidence of this love relationship in the way we live our lives. Jesus desires us to live deeply to live this claim of love for Him in our daily. Jesus is right there with the unchurched folks of today. He has no place for hypocrites. Make the claim and live it! Jesus will not tolerate liars. (I John 4:20) Listen to how John put the claim into a practical everyday experience: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar!" I John 4:20 Jesus asked his disciples a question one day that really put them to the task of living the claim. He asked them this simple, yet heart deep, question: "Who do you say that I am?" Luke 9:20 Another way we could phrase this deep question of the heart would be: "Who do you claim I am?" Who do you CLAIM Jesus to be in your life? What claim are you living out? Page 4

5 There is a claim that the Apostle Paul gave to the church folks in Colossae. It is a claim that called them to live deeply. The "Colossian Claim" is: Imitate Jesus' compassion and forgiving attitude. (3:12, 13) Let His love guide your life. (3:14) Let His peace rule in your heart. (3:15) Always be thankful. (3:15) Keep God's Word, His truth, in you at all times in all experiences of life. (3:16) Live as Jesus' representative in your daily actions and interactions of life. (3:17) Those of us who make the claim that we are Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, are to live deeply in our relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior. There is no "quit claim" in our claim on Jesus as our Savior. To live the claim requires an honest, deep hearted humility. We commit all of who we are to Him. We seek to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, strength and daily attitudes and actions. Live deeply! Live the claim! Page 5

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