An Online Devotional from Pastor Chad Carter

W e ' r e m o r e t h a n j u s t a C h u r c h . . . W e ' r e a F A M I L Y !

"No Sloppy Living For Me"

Pastor Chad Carter

Excerpts of Pastor Carter's message

from Family Harvest Church

(Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the King James Version of the Bible.)

There are many sacrifices that must be made in the life of a believer if we will be considered by God to be a “faithful” Christian.

Mark 8:34, KJV

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34-37, TMB

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Matthew 10:38

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:38-39, TMB

"If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.

Jesus must come before anyone else, including family, including your life...

Luke 14:26

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 10:34-37, TMB

Don't think I've come to make life cozy. I've come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me.

Jesus must come before anyone else. He must come before anything the world has to offer...

Luke 9:25

For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

Luke 14:33, TMB

"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.

Another aspect of the cost of discipleship is that we must be willing to suffer for Christ. We must be willing to bear our own cross...

Luke 14:27

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Living in an ungodly world, we may find that following Christ sometimes involves ridicule and persecution.

2 Timothy 3:12, AMP

Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand].

When that suffering comes, will you be willing to endure the ridicule and persecution? Will you stand your ground as a true Christian, being completely dedicated and devoted to God? Will you be FAITHFUL to God, or will you be weak? Will you give in to the temptation to follow the crowd? Will you give in to fitting the mold of the world?

The persecution may be physical...

1 Peter 4:12-13, TMB

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

The persecution may be verbal...

Luke 6:27-28, TMB

To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person.

To be found faithful in serving the Lord, there are certain things God expects of you! There are certain things you should be doing, and there are certain things you should NOT be doing!

1 Corinthians 9:26-27, TMB

I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

“No Sloppy Living For Me!” The way I look today is a natural depiction of how some of us look on the inside in regard to our treatment of what is important to God.

I’ll not be sloppy in my life! I’ll not be sloppy (OR CASUAL) in how I treat my relationship with the Lord. I’ll not be sloppy in my prayer life. I’ll not be sloppy in my personal Bible study times. I’ll not be sloppy in witnessing. I’ll not be sloppy in how important I perceive church attendance to be.

I’ll not be sloppy in how I demonstrate to others what it means to be a Christian – my example will be a good one! I’ll not be sloppy in how I raise my children to treat their relationship with the Lord… my example will be a good one.

People have said to me, “I don’t understand it. I don’t understand why my children have turned out the way they have.” People use me and my brother as examples and say, “You guys sure turned out well; you’re both serving the Lord; you’re both used in the ministry; look at you, you’re a pastor now! I raised my kids in church too, so why are they backslidden? Why won’t they attend church? Why do they prefer to live in the world?”

((Pastor took some time to give some examples of young men and women that

he grew up with in the same church. He gave an example of one who is now

divorced and who's life is a mess. He gave another example of a freind who grew

up in the same church who became a drunkard and a drug addict and was killed

in an accident. He took time to ask the question, "what is the difference in how I

turned out and how they turned out?" He then took time to answer that question.))

WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE???? There were a lot of differences in our home lives, and I'm going to tell you what they were...

When there was church, we were there. They were there, too, unless they had something better to do.

When there was revival, we were there. Oh, they were there, too, unless they had something better to do.

When there was youth camp, we were there. They were too, so long as the baseball tournament was over.

When there was Vacation Bible School, we were there. They were too, until mom and dad got too tired from work, so they couldn’t bring them on the last two nights.

When there was a guest speaker, we weren’t just there, we were serving them. Oh they would have been there, except “who was preaching” was more important to them than the fact that church was going on.

When there was camp meeting, revivals, conferences, retreats, conventions and assemblies, I was there. They were there, ONLY if it was convenient for them and something more “interesting” wasn’t going on.

I was in band in school. You know what happened if a band concert happened on a church night? We went to church and I missed the band concert.

By virtue of the fact that I was in the band, we were required to play pep band at the high school basketball games. You know what happened if a basketball game happened on a church night, or during a revival? I went to church and missed the basketball game?

We didn’t miss all that school and get in trouble with the school because we were going on a vacation every other month or to the beach to let it all hang out… we were a GOD-Family, and GOD-things are what GOD-families do!

IT”S NOT YOUR OCCASIONAL SUNDAY MORNING OR WEDNESDAY NIGHT FLING – IT’S NOT YOUR CASUAL AFFAIR – IT IS TO BE YOUR VERY LIFESTYLE. It is to be the fiber and fabric, the very substance of who you are! NOTHING ELSE SHOULD COME FIRST!!!!!!!

I never asked to go to dances, number one, because we weren’t allowed to go and the answer would have been NO. There were too many worldly influences that could find their way in, so it wasn’t allowed! And number two, if there had been one that I wanted to go to on a church night, the answer would have been no.

We treat our relationships with the Lord casually, therefore our children treat their relationships with the Lord casually.

You say, well Pastor, aren’t you being a bit extreme? …Isn’t that a bit overboard? Examine the fruit of my tree and you tell me if that’s a bit extreme!

Look at those raised how I was, and those who were raised with “more important” priorities than that of church attendance and involvement, and the seriousness of a relationship with God, and you tell me which is extreme?!

My friend that I grew up with, in the same church, lifts his eyes in hell today because God, and the ways of God, were not the first priority in his life.

Am I being extreme? Let your teenage daughter come home pregnant out of wedlock and then come talk to me about extremes. Let your son come home strung out on drugs with his eyes darkened and sunken into his skull and then come talk to me about extremes.

Deuteronomy 6 will clear up for you your conflict of extremes…

Deuteronomy 6:4

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

The Lord is ONE LORD.

How does that compare with your life where you have allowed there to be many Lords?

…Many things that take precedence? …Many things that take priority? …Many things that would cause you to be out of church at the drop of a hat? …Many things that would cause you to decide to push church attendance, church responsibilities, and church obligations off till the last. Those things are LORDS in your life, whether you will admit it or not.

If HE is not first, you are an idol worshiper. If he is not first, you are not a faithful Christian.

Deuteronomy 6:5

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

There is no room for God to take second place in your life. He is either FIRST in your life, or HE is NOT in your life.

Deuteronomy 6:6

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: (The Amplified says, these words ”shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]) And thou shalt teach them diligently…

Diligently = Industriously; meticulously (paying great attention to the details); conscientiously; thoroughly; attentively; carefully. The Encarta Dictionary says: “showing persistent and hard-working effort in doing something.”

Deuteronomy 6:7

And thou shalt teach them diligently… unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The Amplified Bible says of verse 7:

You shall whet and sharpen them (these words) so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children…

Deuteronomy 6:8-9

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

The Message Bible says of verses 6 through 9:

Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Now, you want to talk to me about being extreme? Did you hear what the Word of God has commanded? ...This is not a once-in-awhile, casual type of activity - it is a LIFESTYLE!

The way you treat your relationship with God, and the way you treat your relationship with your brothers and sisters in the House of God, tells your children what you believe is acceptable or not acceptable, AND IT TELLS ON YOU!

The way you treat your commitment to God affects others. The way you treat your commitment to the local church affects others. The way you treat your activity and participation affects the overall ability of the local church to minister effectively. The way you treat church attendance affects others… it affects the person sitting in the pew next to you, and it affects the church body as a whole.

2 Corinthians 11:29, NLT

Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

Who's apathy and neglect produce slothful service? Who's irregular attendance makes it difficult to depend on them? Who's unwillingness to serve creates extra burdens on those who do serve? Who's murmuring hinders the efforts of those who try to do something? Who's whining and complaining, and self-centerdness and selfishness engenders strife and division in the body and takes us 50 steps back in stead of a single step forward?

Yes, being a faithful person God can use… a faithful person God can depend on… a faithful person GOD CAN TRUST… can be costly.

Being a person God can trust means witnessing your faith...

Being a person God can trust means being a faithful disciple...

Being a person God can trust means being a walkie-talkie, not a hypocrite...

Being a person God can trust means being a sheep that reproduces sheep...

Being a person God can trust means self-denial...

Being a person God can trust means setting what you want aside for what He wants...

Being a person God can trust means letting go of your personal wants and desires for what He wants and desires...

Being a person God can trust means being a person of self-sacrifice...

Being a person God can trust means being a tither and a giver...

Being a person God can trust means being a faithful church member...

Being a person God can trust means inviting someone to church...

Being a person God can trust means being at church on time...

Being a person God can trust means being at church at all!

Hebrews 10:24-26

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

Hebrews 10:22-26, TMB

So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.

It's interesting to note that Paul brings in sinning against the Lord in a Scripture immediately following his charge not to forget to come to church.

((Pastor spent a great deal of time elaborating on this point. For the sake

of time and space, this part has been edited out of the printed version.))

In Conclusion:

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

This message was preached at Family Harvest Church under a tremendous anointing of the Holy Spirit. This transcript can not do justice to the presence of the Lord and the intesity of Spirit in which this message was delivered. For that reason, we would like to make this service available to you on DVD or CD.

"No Sloppy Living For Me" is available on DVD for a donation of $15 or CD for a donation of $7. You can print out the online order form HERE.

If you would like to accept Christ as your Savior, we would love to

lead you in that process. Click Here.

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