1/22/23 AM Sermon Outline:
Details, Details, Details
Bro Carey Scott
Where would we be without the details?
Chaos is the answer to that question.
Out of touch with God is the answer to that question.
Introduction
Details are important in every facet of our lives.
They are so important that we cannot live without them.
This is so true until we get to religion and the structure that God gave us, and then we just want to throw out the details.
Well, maybe not everyone feels this way.
Some of us appreciate the details God has given us, and we expect to continue doing what God has commanded.
Malachi 1:13 “You also say, ‘My how tiresome it is! And you disdainfully sniff at it, says the LORD of hosts, and you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand? Says the LORD.”
The King James Version reads, “Ye say also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith Jehovah of hosts; and ye have brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye bring the offering: should I accept this at your hand? saith Jehovah.
Why would serving God be tiresome and weary?
Because the people wanted to do their own thing.
But don’t we expect details in our lives?
Would we expect the pharmacist to get the details right on our prescription?
Would we want the engineer to get things right on our car, or jet we are about to board?
Would we want the doctor to know the details of the upcoming operation they have planned for us?
Would we prefer a judge who knew the details of the law to oversee our case?
Someone once said: "We are so focused upon the details that we have lost the real message of Christ".
His point was that often times, as we concentrate on the details of "book, chapter, and verse" teachings, we are prone to omit the love we are to show towards our neighbor.
{This quote is a valid comment, but only partially true}.
Now the person who said this was not at all interested in following the commandments of Christ.
That was evident by his teaching.
His real problem is with “Bible teaching” that instructs people in doing things God’s way.
Now he and many others have rejected God’s ways, and have chosen to be accepting of all people, and have left teaching God’s ways to make God more appealing to the masses.
It does not matter if you appeal to the masses if you are not teaching the truth.
Many times, this chiding takes place because someone was faithfully strong enough to point out someone's error in teaching or practice.
There have been many calls for a turning away from book chapter and verse teaching.
Many have called for the "thus saith the Lord" teachings to just go away.
Their claim is because they who quote the Bible are mean-spirited.
Translation: "I do what I want to do, and you showing me from the Bible that it is wrong is just horrible of you"
When we preach the Bible, we know that many people will not endure sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:1-4).
They will choose what they want to do and do it regardless if they have Bible authority or not.
Usually the resistance against the details are used to incite some emotional feelings.
And their hope and purpose is to silence you from teaching God's word.
So let us take this idea that the details are not important but love is the most important.
Let us start by quoting John 14:15 "Jesus said: 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
Also, in John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.“
Remember also that Matthew 7:21 tells us that "not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven.“
Commandments are nothing more than details of how God wants us to live.
Doesn’t it appear that these details of love are important?
So, let us review some characters from the Old Testament.
Let us notice if they took the details seriously or see if they had this same attitude.
And we should ask: Would God have approved?
Adam and Eve
Genesis 2:16-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”
Once again, details, details, details.
It is not like they did not understand the command.
Genesis 3:2-3 “And the woman said to the serpent, from the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.”
Noah
Genesis 6:14-16 “then God said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. And this is how you shall make it; the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and it height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.”
Notice if Noah paid attention to the details, details, details…..
Genesis 6:22 “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did”.
Moses
Exodus 25:8-9 “(God speaking) And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”
This is quoted in Hebrews 8:5
What if Moses had this idea that details were bothersome and caused people to not focus upon the greater things?
Would God have been pleased with him?
You see where we are going here, and we could bring up many other people that were given specific instructions from God.
The modern-day church is also given many specific instructions of worship that is acceptable to God.
Of course, we should not leave out love because all of God’s law is based upon the foundation of love (Matthew 22:40).
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
When we follow God's specific commands, we are demonstrating the greatest love of all.
When we teach God’s detailed commands, we are showing the greatest love to our fellow man.
You will find that those who seek to remove the specifics by advocating a greater or higher principle are not interested in doing God's things in God's ways.
So, their call for love is not really love at all.
Their teaching will cause souls to be lost.
Conclusion
Do not allow anyone to tell you that details are not important in our service to God.
Realize that they just want to do what makes them feel good, and they are wrong for doing so.
So rather than do what is right, they have to resort to name calling for those who will stand up for the truth and teach the commandments of God, and warn of the consequences of failing to obey God’s commands.
Details, Details, Details are so important in everything.