No.9937-Revival

What hinders you 
from being a Christian?
A sermon by Roosevelt Wright, Jr.
For the Tabernacle Baptist Church
Monroe, La.

April 2020

Ê SCRIPTURE:ÊAnd as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. ÊActs 8:36-38

Introduction

ÊÊYou've thought about it, but you keep putting it off; what stops you from making a change you know you need?
ÊÊMany people have looked at their lives and concluded that they need to start over or at least backtrack to a point where they can get a grip on things.
ÊÊThere is an even smaller group that has gone further; they have decided that the life they are living needs direction and guidance from a power greater than themselves.
ÊÊThey are not alcoholics, but the 12 steps of alcohol recovery are staring them in the face: Step 1: They have admitted that they are powerless to straighten things out themselves, and their lives have become unmanageable. Step 2: They have to believe that a Power greater than themselves can save them.
ÊÊMany never make it to step three, even though they know they should. Step three says, "I will turn my will and my life over to the care of God."
Ê ÊAlthough the remaining steps would improve situations, they all require us to take an inventory of how we ruined ourselves, the others that we have hurt, and to ask God to forgive us, give us strength, and to put us back on the right track and to keep us there.
Ê ÊMany know we need to make a move, but we can't bring ourselves to make a complete change.
Ê ÊEach time we start, we put it off until another time, and it never gets done.
Ê ÊWe procrastinate.
ÊÊSuppose God was a procrastinator; the world would never have been created because he would've put it off until tomorrow. In fact, there would be no tomorrow because he would never have gotten around to creating a day. If God were a procrastinator, the universe, as we know it today, would not exist; we would still be waiting for God to make up his mind about the placement of the galaxies and constellations.Ê
ÊÊThankfully, God is not a procrastinator. He moves in a timely way and responds to the needs of his creation. He hears and answers prayers and supplies blessings, direction, and correction just in the nick of time. He never puts off anything for tomorrow because He is bigger than time. He's never late and always provides our blessings just when we need them. The old saying is true; "He may not come when you want him, but he's always on time."
ÊÊAs Christians, we often put off until tomorrow, those things that need to be done today. However, our God never sleeps or slumbers; He is always protecting and providing for us in the present rather than waiting until tomorrow. If God waited until tomorrow to give us blessings that we need today, our lives would be miserable. Thank God, our Savior provides what we need one day at a time and never waits until tomorrow.ÊÊ
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Exposition
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ÊÊThis text focuses on Philip as he offers Christ to an Ethiopian.
ÊÊPhilip was one of the great evangelists of the New Testament who was ordered by God to preach in the desert instead of the crowded cities of Asia Minor. It seemed strange because there was nothing in the desert except desert creatures.
ÊÊIn obedience, Philip went to the desert, and after a while, he came upon an Ethiopian man riding in a chariot reading a Hebrew manuscript.Ê
ÊÊThe man read from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the messianic description of the coming Christ, his suffering, and humility. When Philip asked whether the man understood what he read, the man responded, "How can I unless someone teaches me?"
ÊÊPhilip explained the Christian faith to him, and the way by which believers were brought into the Christian Church.
ÊÊAfter hearing about Christ and the baptism of water and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the man asked, "What hinders me?" On the profession of his faith in Christ, when they found water, they went from the chariot into the water. While Philip was instructing him, and he professed his faith in Christ and was baptized in the desert.
ÊÊWhat hindered his belief? Nothing.
ÊÊWhat hindered his conversion? Nothing
ÊÊWhat did he gain? Everything.

What hinders us?

ÊÊThere are a variety of reasons that many have not become Christians. The reasons themselves become hindrances. Among the reasons are:
ÊÊMISINFORMATION CAN HINDER US: There are millions of people who have not followed Christ because they have been misinformed about the Christian Faith. They have been influenced by media images, social media misinformation, and those who have used the faith as a method to scam would-be believers.
ÊÊPaul challenged Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "Study, to show thyself approved, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."Ê
ÊÊThe church is compelled to show unbelievers the true meaning of the faith. This is what convinced the Eunuch in the chariot. He was not impressed by Phillip as much as he was impressed with the word of God explained to him in a way that prompted him to ask, "What hinders me?"
ÊÊThere is a need for increased instruction in Biblical understanding and in Christian living. There is a need for unbelievers to know Jesus as the Savior and his plan of salvation.
ÊÊTo counter misinformation, we must give the correct information through Bible Study, Leadership Training, and discipleship instruction. If the church does not follow Jesus' command to "teach them to observe whatsoever things I have told you" unbelievers will be turned away from the cross because only Christ and his blood can draw the unsaved.
ÊÊJesus said, "And I, if I, be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
ÊÊIf Christ is lifted up through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, nothing will hinder the lost from benefiting from the grace of God.
ÊÊTOO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE: Some delay following Christ because they are so occupied with concerns and issues that they cannot focus on the promises of God. When Israel moved into the promised land, it took some tribes many years to claim the promise because they were trying to do everything except claim the promise. Some began to emulate the habits of the Canaanites by worshipping the gods of their neighbors, intermarrying with Canaanite women. This resulted in several legal, personal, and relationship issues that kept them so occupied that they could not claim God's promise for them.
ÊÊEven today, many have so many irons in the fire that they have little time for the kingdom of God.
ÊÊYou have seen it so many times. Before you can finish dealing with one issue, there is another and another. In fact, on a daily basis, you deal with so many issues that you have very little quality time for your family, the service you promised God, or the spiritual life that you need.
ÊÊThe Christian life requires us to remove some of our irons from the fire and focus on Christ. The issues of life, which are virtually meaningless when compared to the challenge of the kingdom, become dead weights that hold us back. Hebrews 12:1 suggests that we should turn aside from issues that are weighing us down. It says,ÊLay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
ÊTo follow Christ, we should abandon pursuits that would hinder us from getting closer to him every day.
ÊÊMANY ARE HINDERED BY DOUBT: Many have not decided to follow Christ because they don't believe in Christ, his kingdom, and purpose. Neither do they believe the testimonies and witnesses who testify of his presence and acts in their lives.
ÊÊMany doubt that the entire Christ-centered world mission is from God. Doubt means that there is distrust. The difference between our modern experience and that of the Eunuch on the road is that after being taught and receiving Christ, he trusted God Those who doubt God today don't trust him to handle our situation.
ÊÊWhen we are faced with the hard circumstances that life presents, there many who doubt that the Man from Galilee is sufficient to help them as we work to build his kingdom.
ÊÊDoubts keep us from doing what we should be doing. They detain us. They restrain us. They hold us back.
ÊÊIt should have taken Israel about two weeks, a month at the most to leave Egypt and make it to the Promised Land. However, because of their doubts, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Doubt is why it took them so long. If we want to claim our promise, we must trust God. To trust God is to stand in the face of adversity like the three Hebrew Boys when questioned whether God would deliver them.
ÊÊOur response should be the same as theirs, "Our God is able to deliver us..." It should be the same as Daniel, faced with a tenacious and horrible death in the lion's den, but he entered it confident that God would make a way.
ÊÊOur faith should be the same as that expressed by songwriter Daryl Coley when he said,ÊBut if the storm don't cease and if the winds keep on blowing in my life, my soul has been anchored in the Lord.
ÊÊWe are challenged to trust God and never doubt him.Ê
ÊÊIf we trust him, nothing will hinder us from being a Christian.

When God gets ready

ÊÊFinally, we must consider that we may allow some things that we think are important to delay us for a while, but when God gets ready, "you got to move."
ÊÊWe may procrastinate, but the time will come when God will shake us into action. When He gets ready for us to move, we won't be able to resist Him; we will move.
ÊÊThat's the lesson that Jonah learned, when God gets ready, you may run, but you won't be able to hide.
ÊÊIt's the lesson that pharaoh learned, when God gets ready, even the mighty armies of Egypt won't be able to hold back His hand of deliverance.
ÊÊIt's the lesson that Saul learned on the Damascus Road, when God gets ready, even those with power and influence to hurt God's people, must change their direction.
ÊÊWhen the world suffered from a lack of direction, sin-stained lives, and moral corruption, God needed somebody who come down to the earth and make the eternal sacrifice.
ÊÊIn the fullness of time, God scanned the roll of His saintly warriors and asked the question,Ê"Whom shall I send?"
ÊÊIn the fullness of time somebody's coming from heaven to say, `And God shall wipe all tears away.`Ê
Ê ÊIn the fullness of time, nothing will hinder us from beginning our walk with the Lord.
ÊÊIf we walk with the Lord, he will give us strength for the journey.
Ê ÊIf we walk with the Lord, we may meet sorrow, but God will take sorrow and turn it into joy!
Ê ÊIf we walk with the Lord, we may meet weakness, but God will take weakness and turn it into strength!
Ê ÊIf we walk with the Lord, we may meet defeat, but God will take defeat and turn it into victory!
Ê ÊIf we walk with the Lord, we may meet confusion, but God will take confusion and turn it into understanding!
Ê ÊIf we walk with the Lord, we may meet hard times, but God will take hard times and turn them into good times!
Ê ÊIf we walk with the Lord, he'll lift us up when we stumble!
Ê ÊIf you walk with the Lord, he'll carry you when we can't take another step!
Ê ÊNo wonder the songwriter declared, "Walk with me, Lord, walk with me! While I'm on this tedious journey, Lord I want Jesus to walk with me!
Ê ÊI don't know about you, but I have decided that nothing will hinder me or separate me from the love of God.Ê
ÊÊ I'm going to keep my hand in God's hands!
Ê ÊI've got to tell somebody about Jesus!
Ê ÊI've got to tell them how he gave me a brand-new walk and a brand-new talk!
Ê ÊI've got to tell somebody how he died out on Calvary!
Ê ÊI've got to tell somebody how he arose early Sunday morning!
Ê ÊHis name is Jesus!
Ê ÊHe walks with me and talks me!
Ê ÊI'm going to walk with him until I make it to the Promised Land!


