THESIS: To show that because we are all "JUST DUST" we should be merciful, forgiving and loving towards each other.
INTRO:
A. We have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think and to think more lowly of others than we ought to think. God alone has the proper perspective on all of us: "He knoweth our frame; He remembereth we are dust.""JUST DUST!"
ILLUS: John Berridge, a Christian in the 1800's had pictures of famous preachers in frames on the walls. In a matching frame he had a mirror. When showing the protraits he would say, "That is Luther...Calvin...Bunyan... etc." Then to the mirror and add: "And that is the devil." The guest would object and say: "But that is me!" His reply would be: "Ah, there is a devil in all of us!" 😢Whenever we have too high an opinion of ourselves we need to look in the mirror. Staring back at you will be what God evaluates as "JUST DUST!"
B. God, when looking for a servant does not choose the "wise...noble ...mighty" but the "foolish...weak...base...and the despised." Why?"That no flesh should glory in His presence." I Cor. 1:26-29JUST DUST!
TRANS: God has a way of humbling us. 🔸Someone said if you want a humbling look at your importance, stick you hand in a bucket of water and look at the hole you leave when you pull it out! 🔸When God decides to take some of us to heaven, He is just "dusting off the earth!" Let's get a Divine and Biblical view of ourselves...
I. THE BEST OF US ARE NO BETTER THAN THE WORST OF US:
A. God Remembers What We Forget: We Are JUST DUST!
1. There is no need to lose confidence in anyone else if you remember you are both JUST DUST! 2. Even the best of us are JUST DUST! We have "dust brothers"!
ILLUS: 🔹Abraham disobeyed God and didn't go all the way to Canaan, stayed in Haran for years. and even went down into Egypt. 🔹He disobeyed God when he took Hagar with him from Egypt. 🔹He disobeyed God when he went in to Hagar and bore an illegitimate. child. 🔹But when he dies God places this epitaph on his tomb: "Abraham, My friend!" Why? "He remembereth that we are dust."JUST DUST!
a. All our slander and gossip against each other is because we refuse to remember what God does ...we are JUST DUST!
ILLUS: Moses 👉murdered, 👉married outside the will of God, 👉numbered the people for war when God told him not to and 👉committed the sin unto death. 👉👉As soon as he died God's eulogy was "Moses MY SERVANT is dead!"Why? God "remembereth that we are dust." JUST DUST!
b. All our criticism and complaints against others is because we refuse to remember we are JUST DUST...but God does!
B. We Forget What God Remembers: We are JUST DUST!
1. There is no need to lose faith in a brother-in-Christ if you remember you are both JUST DUST!
ILLUS:Lotmoves to wicked Sodom, sits in the city gate with the homos, offers his daughter to the Sodomites for sexual abuse and even has sex with his 2 daughters and gives them each children of incest! 👉But listen to God's summary on Lot: "JUST Lot!" Not "crooked Lot"! Why? Because "He remembereth that we are dust."JUST DUST!
2. None of us should sit in judgment on anyone else if we remember we are all made of the same sinful material: JUST DUST! 3. None of us should condemn others for their sin since we are made of the same sinful flesh: JUST DUST!
ILLUS: Peter forsakes the Lord, warms himself by the enemies fire and curses the Savior. 50 + days later Peter preaches the great Pentecost sermon and 3000 people are saved. Why? Because "He remembereth we are dust."JUST DUST!
a. The only preachers God has are crooked, fleshly preachers.
1) When you find out your preachers faults, thank God He uses him anyway! 2) When you find out your preachers sins, realize that no preacher has ever been without sin! 3) When you find out your preachers shortcomings, pray for more grace for him (and you)!
b. The only people God uses are fleshly, sinful people!
NOTE: Some who heard Peter preaching on Pentecost probably missed salvation because they remembered the day he cursed, instead of the day he preached!
II. THE WORST OF US ARE NO WORSE THAN THE BEST OF US:
NOTE: The principle of remembering, with God, that all of us are JUST DUST will save you a life of criticism, griping, gossiping and church-hopping!
A. God Forgives Our Sins Because He Remembers We Are JUST DUST!
1. Thus, like Abraham, He calls us His friends! 2. Thus, like Moses, He calls us His servants! 3. Thus, like David, He desires we be men and women after His own heart!
a. We don't always do right and we must pay for our sins here, but He wants our goals and ambitions to be in line with His! b. We often fall into sin, but He desires us to keep on going after confession of that sin.
4. Thus, like Lot, He can call us "just" even though our outward actions do not match our inner cleansing and desires.
NOTE:"Lot vexed his RIGHTEOUS soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." II Pet. 2:8
a.We cannot condone sin, but we must remember we are no better than anyone else, even Lot! b.We cannot excuse sin, but before we begin judging others we had better examine our own hearts!
B. We Remember Our Sins and Forget We Are JUST DUST!
NOTE: Someone asks "How can you maintain confidence in people, preacher?" I tell them, I never had any! I am not shocked at the things folks do. It is their fleshly nature. I am never surprised when a bird flies, or a fish swims or a snake bites or a dog barks. We are all JUST DUST! I get disappointed in myself when I don't measure up to what God expects of me! My goal must be "Be ye holy, as I am holy!" But I know I am JUST DUST!
1. We must be certain we are not "First Stone Christians!"
a. The only preachers God has are sinful preachers. b. The only deacons God has are imperfect deacons. c. The only S.S. teachers God has are faulty teachers. d. The only Christians God has are saved-by-grace Christians.
NOTE: No Christian is a "saved-by-good-works" Christian! Why? We don't have any GOOD works! Only BAD works! In all our flesh is "no good thing".
2. We must be careful we don't become Pharisaical Christians:
a. We are to rescue the perishing, not throw rocks at them. b. We are to restore the backslidden, not renounce them.
ILLUS: If I warn ________________ not to pick up hitch-hikers (he did once and married her!) and he does and is robbed and beaten up, I am not going to say: "I told you so!" and leave him bleeding to death. My resp. is to help him up, give him medical attn. and try to save his life and restore him to effective service. That what we are to do for the lost and our "dust brothers"!
3. We must not allow familiarity to breed contempt:
a. The closer we live to the inner workings of the church the more faults we will see! b. The closer friends you make in the church the more sin you will see. c. The closer we get tot he leadership in the church the more inconsistencies we discover!
ILLUS: The farther I travel from our church, the better reputation we have and the greater preacher I am thought to be. (I want you to know what a "high class puff of dust" you have here!) This principle reveals why some folks never stay in one church too long. THEY SEE THE SIN and FORGET THE DUST!
CONCL: If God Almighty remembers that we are JUST DUST...why can't we? But you say: "I know some things about him!"Yes, and God knows some things about you too! One rattlesnake has no right to criticize another rattlesnake for his deadly venom. One skunk has no right to criticize another's foul odor! Unsaved, the next 2 verses describe your life. You had better hurry and get saved before your "dust" blows away to hell!