Ephesians 2:1-10.
Paul wants to make absolutely sure we know the facts about our salvation. He begins by reminding the Ephesians and us that before Christ, we were dead. And he gives us some details about why we were dead. We were living in sin, following the ways of the world and the spirit of disobedience, we were gratifying the cravings and thoughts of the sinful nature. And he caps it all off by saying that we were by nature objects of wrath. That is not a very promising picture. We were dead wrong in our way of thinking and living. Dead.
What sets dead men apart from live ones? Well, for one thing, they aren’t expected to accomplish much. Not many dead men with to do lists, or five year plans. Why? Because dead men can not DO anything. Houdini, a famous magician, he did all sorts of magic tricks and illusions, and he was famous for his escapes. But what you may not know about Houdini was that he was a major antagonist of spiritists of his day. They claimed to have the ability to contact the dead, and Houdini thought that was preposterous! So he promised his wife that if it were at all possible he would return after he was dead and contact her with a specific message from the other side. He did this to prove it was impossible. This year will be the eighty-third anniversary of Houdini's death, and in spite of the fact that his followers have held séances every year, it has yet to happen. Why? Because dead men can’t do anything. To be dead is to be powerless, and by Paul’s description, our lives before Christ were ineffective, rotten and powerless. That is why we are saved by grace, because in our deadness, we could not do anything about our condition, we had no way to save ourselves.
In verse 4, it says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved”(NRSV). Paul says that in our rotten, sinful, ineffective lives God, who should have been wrathful towards us, instead had so much love for us that he made us alive in Christ. He loved us even when we were in sin. He saved us by his grace. He raised us up and seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms. Instead of objects of wrath, God made us recipients of his kindness in Christ, so that he could demonstrate the incomparable riches of his grace. Wow, that is amazing, that God would choose, not because he was obligated, but because he loved us with such a great love, to breath life back into these dead men and turn them from incapable, smelly, worthless corpses into living, glorified, beings fit to be seated with his son in the heavenly realms.
Everything that was said earlier about being dead is now true in the opposite extreme. Before we were dead, now we are alive. Before we were powerless, now the very power of God that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us. Before we were following the ways of the world, now we follow Christ. Before we were objects of wrath, now we are beloved children of God and co-heirs with Christ.
In this passage are some familiar verses. Paul closes this section of thought with this summary, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—not of yourselves it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast”(NIV). But wait, there’s more. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”(NIV). In three neat little verses, two sentences, Paul sums up our salvation and continued life in Christ.
It is these three verses that I want to focus our thoughts on this morning. These two areas are the most highly picked at areas of our faith: our salvation and our continued life in Christ. There are two extreme camps called “Grace” and “Works.” One side would emphasize verses 8-9 and skip 10. The other would do the opposite. So just to clarify what the Bible says on the issue, let’s read those verses again. Our salvation comes by grace through faith. It is free, not earned; but life in Christ requires action! Dead men can do nothing! Don’t expect them to! Anyone who makes a to-do list for a dead man is a fool. The same is true for us when we tell our unsaved friends what they ought to do to get themselves out of their bad circumstances and fix their own lives. Once we are alive, however, we must live! Life is required for action, and action is required to sustain life. When scientists were seeking to define life, one thing they decided was that in order for something to be alive there had to be movement, growth, some kind of action, even if it is microscopic. No movement, no growth, no life. It is the same with the Christian life. If there is no movement, no growth, no action taking place it can only be concluded that there is no life. That is why James says, “Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith in what I do”(Jas2:18NIV), and “Faith without works is dead”(Jas2:17NIV).
God did not make us alive, in order for us to die because we succumb to the effects of spiritual stagnation. We are not to be spiritual couch potatoes! He made us alive for a purpose. And verse 10 says this plainly. We are God’s workmanship; he created us to do good works. What good works? The ones we think up? The ones other people tell us to do? No, the ones God also prepared in advance for us to do. Some of those things are standard. God gives basic instructions on what to do with this new life in his word. Primarily we are responsible to walk with the Lord, to grow in a personal relationship with Him. And we are all responsible for living as his witnesses to those who do not believe. But more specifically, God has a reason for breathing life into each one of us.
II Corinthians 5:17 says that if we are in Christ we are a new creation, the old has gone the new has come. As he recreated us, God built in us the things we need in order to do the tasks he wants us to complete. And conversely he has prepared those things for us to do with each one of us in mind. God has created you for a purpose and has prepared a job for you to do! That means it is a perfect fit. God does not call all of us to do everything all of the time. Sometimes God calls us to a certain task or to a certain ministry for a season. Then he moves us on to the next task, the next season. Just because you were called to do something back there does not mean that it is still your responsibility—now it does not mean that it isn’t. But that is why we can’t just get our marching orders once, and consider it good. I know some people who only talk about what God did in their lives way back when, what he called them to thirty years ago. What is he doing now?
Ask a soldier how important it is to be in contact with their superiors. Sometimes orders for position, action, and waiting change daily, hourly, or even on a minute-by-minute basis. We can’t afford to take it for granted in our Christian walk that God’s orders for us individually are the same today as yesterday, let alone last week, last year, or ten years ago. We know the basic code of conduct, and we may even know the mission we are on, but that alone cannot tell us our specific role in today’s operations. We have got to be connected to headquarters, and we have to be open to change.
I believe that all of us today have unique God-designed potential that will enable each one of us to carry out the work God has prepared for us to do. Following the message is a short life inventory and prayer. I encourage you to pray over and answer the questions, and commit today to walk in the good works God has prepared in advance for you to do.
Life Inventory:
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” NRSV
1. What has God created YOU to do?
What are your specific talents, abilities, gifts, interests, vision, resources? What do you love to do?
2. What has God created FOR you to do?
Look at your current ministry to your family, neighbors, co-workers, in the church. What can you lay down? What do you need to pick up? What specific opportunities for ministry is God making available to you that match with your resources in question one?
God, "I am grateful for all you have done for me in Creation and in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and I offer back all of the gifts you've given me for the use in your service. Amen
Prayer by Richard Nelson Bolles from LEADERSHIP/90
Used by Permission
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Coming up in August
Tuesday August 18th- 9:30 am Coffee at Amanda's
Sunday August 23rd- 9:30 am Sunday School
Tuesday August 25th- 9:30 am Friends Women
Saturday August 29th- 2:00 pm Ladies Tea
Sunday August 30th- 9:30 am Sunday School
Sunday August 23rd- 9:30 am Sunday School
10:30 am Fellowship Time
10:45 am Morning Worship
Ephesians 2:10 Created for a Purpose
10:45 am Morning Worship
Ephesians 2:10 Created for a Purpose
Tuesday August 25th- 9:30 am Friends Women
Saturday August 29th- 2:00 pm Ladies Tea
Sunday August 30th- 9:30 am Sunday School
10:30 am Fellowship Time
10:45 am Morning Worship
Children Recognition Sunday
Children Recognition Sunday
This week's sermon: Ephesians 1:15-23
**This week's sermon notes are not the usual manuscript, but more of an outline. I hope that you can follow the breadcrumbs and find a treasure that moves you forward in faith and obedience, confident in God's power at work in you for the praise of his glory.
Paul writes to the Ephesians, first about how they are to praise God because he has blessed them by giving them every spiritual blessing wrapped up in Christ. In verses 15-23 of chapter one, he tells them that he is rejoicing on their behalf because of God working in them, their faith in Jesus and love for all the other believers. Paul not only rejoices, but he prays for them, that God would continue his work in them.
Paul planted this church, now he wants them to go deeper. He wants them to continue getting to know God, and in that process to discover three things. He wants them to know the Hope God has called them to. He wants them to realize that they are a part of God’s inheritance. He wants them to understand that God’s power is at work in them. For Paul all of this is so important, he says he continually asks the Father to give understanding, wisdom and knowledge to the Ephesian church to better understand God's promise to them, their place in his kingdom, and his power at work within them.
Our Inheritance is the eternal Kingdom of God. God also has an inheritance in his investment in the Saints, we are his possession, and he is waiting to redeem us. In a sense he is our inheritance and we are his.
Mt 25:34 - "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
1Pe 1:4 - an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you
The inheritance God has for the saints is eternity in his presence. But God is also awaiting a return on his investment.
Eph 1:14 - who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.
The hope that we have been called to is more than heaven. It goes beyond just escaping hell. Our hope is that our bodies, our lives will be redeemed and reclaimed. We hope that we will be like Christ, that our lives will be for his glory, we hope to share in bringing glory and honor to God through Christ. We also hope that the world will find redemption in Him. And our hope is not without cause—it gives us boldness. And our hope is not without reward—we carry with us the Holy Spirit who constantly fills our hearts with God's love.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
2Co 3:12 - Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
The boldness and courage we have for stepping out in faith and obedience comes from the hope we have that God will use our lives for his glory.
1John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Our inheritance is God and his kingdom. Our hope is to glorify him by having our lives redeemed—in a word our hope is holiness. We also need to know and understand God's power at work within us, because it is his power in us that produces holiness. Because of the Holy Spirit in us, we have what we need for life and godliness.
Ac 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The power at work in us is not for our own use, it is to make us Christ-like to empower us to be his witnesses throughout the earth, and bring him glory. The power is not our own, it comes from God and he is the one who works in us and through us.
2Co 4:7 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2Pe 1:3 - His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
It is because of his power in us that we can hope for a redeemed life that results in our receiving the inheritance God has prepared for us, and our bearing fruit as God's investment. Greater and deeper knowledge of these things can only produce in us a more tenacious faith, a bolder obedience, and a more thorough surrender to God's work in us to purify us and make us his own.
Paul writes to the Ephesians, first about how they are to praise God because he has blessed them by giving them every spiritual blessing wrapped up in Christ. In verses 15-23 of chapter one, he tells them that he is rejoicing on their behalf because of God working in them, their faith in Jesus and love for all the other believers. Paul not only rejoices, but he prays for them, that God would continue his work in them.
Paul planted this church, now he wants them to go deeper. He wants them to continue getting to know God, and in that process to discover three things. He wants them to know the Hope God has called them to. He wants them to realize that they are a part of God’s inheritance. He wants them to understand that God’s power is at work in them. For Paul all of this is so important, he says he continually asks the Father to give understanding, wisdom and knowledge to the Ephesian church to better understand God's promise to them, their place in his kingdom, and his power at work within them.
Our Inheritance is the eternal Kingdom of God. God also has an inheritance in his investment in the Saints, we are his possession, and he is waiting to redeem us. In a sense he is our inheritance and we are his.
Mt 25:34 - "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
1Pe 1:4 - an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you
The inheritance God has for the saints is eternity in his presence. But God is also awaiting a return on his investment.
Eph 1:14 - who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.
The hope that we have been called to is more than heaven. It goes beyond just escaping hell. Our hope is that our bodies, our lives will be redeemed and reclaimed. We hope that we will be like Christ, that our lives will be for his glory, we hope to share in bringing glory and honor to God through Christ. We also hope that the world will find redemption in Him. And our hope is not without cause—it gives us boldness. And our hope is not without reward—we carry with us the Holy Spirit who constantly fills our hearts with God's love.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
2Co 3:12 - Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
The boldness and courage we have for stepping out in faith and obedience comes from the hope we have that God will use our lives for his glory.
1John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Our inheritance is God and his kingdom. Our hope is to glorify him by having our lives redeemed—in a word our hope is holiness. We also need to know and understand God's power at work within us, because it is his power in us that produces holiness. Because of the Holy Spirit in us, we have what we need for life and godliness.
Ac 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The power at work in us is not for our own use, it is to make us Christ-like to empower us to be his witnesses throughout the earth, and bring him glory. The power is not our own, it comes from God and he is the one who works in us and through us.
2Co 4:7 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2Pe 1:3 - His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
It is because of his power in us that we can hope for a redeemed life that results in our receiving the inheritance God has prepared for us, and our bearing fruit as God's investment. Greater and deeper knowledge of these things can only produce in us a more tenacious faith, a bolder obedience, and a more thorough surrender to God's work in us to purify us and make us his own.
Monday, August 10, 2009
This week's sermon: God at Work in Us, Through Christ
Ephesians 1:1-14.
There are some interesting patterns of speech in this passage, some key words and phrases that Paul repeats here. Nearly all of the action in the passage is given to God. He gets all of the verbs. And all of that action takes place in Christ Jesus, or through Christ Jesus. Any time Paul talks about himself, his readers, or us today, he uses passive language. Mankind is pictured in the passage as receiving God's action, with only one exception, responding to what God has done in and for us.
Let's look at God's actions in this passage:
Paul tells us that God: blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; chose us to be holy and blameless; destined us for adoption; bestowed on us grace; lavished on us grace; made known to us his will; set forth his good pleasure; will gather up all things; accomplishes all things. All of this he does in Christ, and through Christ. All of it he does according to the good pleasure of his will, the riches of his grace, his good pleasure, his purpose, his counsel and will. And all of it to the praise of his glory.
Paul says that God blessed us "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Let’s think about what that statement means, to have been blessed with every spiritual blessing that exists in the heavenly places. Wow. And how did God give us this blessing? Did he dole out his spiritual blessings out of heaven one by one? No, he wrapped them all up and gave them to us in one big, all-encompassing blessing--Christ.
Growing up in the church, I always thought that blessings were something God gave out over time, if you got to a certain spiritual level, then you received a new blessing. But Paul here is saying that all of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms have already been given to us when He gave us his son. Those spiritual blessings are already ours, and they are given to us, we don't have to earn them. Verse four goes on to explain how it is that God gave us every spiritual blessing. "God chose us in Him, before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless." Before he created the world, God planned to make us holy, and not only that--verse five says he planned to adopt us through Jesus Christ to be his children.
This verse has been used through time to say that God sat down in eternity past and check heaven or hell by each name on his list. No doubt God knew and still does know the hearts of men and women, and which of those will accept and reject his truth. But Jesus himself said in Matthew 18:14 that the Lord does not desire that any should be lost, and in Luke 19:10 that the son of man came to seek and to save the lost, not the elect. God planned in eternity past to adopt everyone who would hear his truth and accept it, and to make those new children of God holy and blameless in His sight. And he did this for His own pleasure.
It made Him happy to plan for our adoption because of His grace. God planned before the foundation of the world to make us holy, to adopt us as his children because of who He is; because of His glorious grace; because He is the gracious God. And God has given us His grace freely in the one He loves, in His son. Because of that Grace, we have redemption through the blood of Jesus. Our sins have been forgiven, again because of God's grace. Paul says God lavished His grace on us. Lavished is such a great word! It carries a picture of like overflowing abundance, poured out, given fully, welling up. God did not give us His grace in little trickling streams. He poured it out on us, He gave us grace overflowing in His son.
In verse nine, Paul says something noteworthy, he tells us after God has given us every spiritual blessing, adopted us, lavished us with his grace by redeeming us, God made known to us the mystery of His will. He not only saved us, He let us in on His plan, that from beginning to end He is bringing everything together to make sense, to have unity, in Christ. We can now look back and see how God created the world with His plan in motion to reveal Himself, to draw us to Himself. And we can look ahead to Christ's second coming when at the end of all things He will bring everything together under Christ.
In verse eleven Paul reminds us that we are part of that plan, God's plan that He has been working out and continues to work out. We are part of that plan to bring Him glory. And here is the only time that Paul uses an active verb in reference to us as humans in this passage. He tells us how we become a part of this plan. We simply hear the word of truth and believe. Hear and believe. Not complicated, so simple a child could do it. From there we put our hope on Christ and live for his glory, just like those who were first to believe.
How many times do we struggle with feeling like we have to do a big long list of things to be "in" on God's plan? I know I have struggled with that feeling. But what we have to come to understand is that God is the active force and motivator. Our job is to follow and receive. Paul pounds that message out in this passage of fourteen verses he uses reference after reference to God actively involved in working out his plan, and reference upon reference to us receiving that action. The only active verbs Paul uses in this passage for our responsibility is hearing, and believing, setting our hope on Christ and living; the rest is up to God.
God even took care to give us a guarantee that we are a part of his plan, part of the family. God gave us a seal, a deposit, a down payment to prove that we are part of His family and heirs to the inheritance. God gave us the Holy Spirit, to be with us, guide us into all truth, to produce fruit in our lives. God wanted us to know that we weren't just some red-headed-step-children that He would grudgingly put up with. God loves us, and He wants us to know that we are full heirs to the promise of life eternally with Him.
So what do we need to remember? What is important to take with us? First, we need to remember that God has a plan to bless us by redeeming us, adopting us as His own and making us holy. Second, that plan is carried out in Jesus, his life, ministry, death, and resurrection on our behalf, and is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit at work within us. Finally, we need to understand that our job is simply to hear his word of Truth and believe it, to set our hope on Christ and live for his glory.
There are some interesting patterns of speech in this passage, some key words and phrases that Paul repeats here. Nearly all of the action in the passage is given to God. He gets all of the verbs. And all of that action takes place in Christ Jesus, or through Christ Jesus. Any time Paul talks about himself, his readers, or us today, he uses passive language. Mankind is pictured in the passage as receiving God's action, with only one exception, responding to what God has done in and for us.
Let's look at God's actions in this passage:
Paul tells us that God: blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; chose us to be holy and blameless; destined us for adoption; bestowed on us grace; lavished on us grace; made known to us his will; set forth his good pleasure; will gather up all things; accomplishes all things. All of this he does in Christ, and through Christ. All of it he does according to the good pleasure of his will, the riches of his grace, his good pleasure, his purpose, his counsel and will. And all of it to the praise of his glory.
Paul says that God blessed us "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Let’s think about what that statement means, to have been blessed with every spiritual blessing that exists in the heavenly places. Wow. And how did God give us this blessing? Did he dole out his spiritual blessings out of heaven one by one? No, he wrapped them all up and gave them to us in one big, all-encompassing blessing--Christ.
Growing up in the church, I always thought that blessings were something God gave out over time, if you got to a certain spiritual level, then you received a new blessing. But Paul here is saying that all of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms have already been given to us when He gave us his son. Those spiritual blessings are already ours, and they are given to us, we don't have to earn them. Verse four goes on to explain how it is that God gave us every spiritual blessing. "God chose us in Him, before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless." Before he created the world, God planned to make us holy, and not only that--verse five says he planned to adopt us through Jesus Christ to be his children.
This verse has been used through time to say that God sat down in eternity past and check heaven or hell by each name on his list. No doubt God knew and still does know the hearts of men and women, and which of those will accept and reject his truth. But Jesus himself said in Matthew 18:14 that the Lord does not desire that any should be lost, and in Luke 19:10 that the son of man came to seek and to save the lost, not the elect. God planned in eternity past to adopt everyone who would hear his truth and accept it, and to make those new children of God holy and blameless in His sight. And he did this for His own pleasure.
It made Him happy to plan for our adoption because of His grace. God planned before the foundation of the world to make us holy, to adopt us as his children because of who He is; because of His glorious grace; because He is the gracious God. And God has given us His grace freely in the one He loves, in His son. Because of that Grace, we have redemption through the blood of Jesus. Our sins have been forgiven, again because of God's grace. Paul says God lavished His grace on us. Lavished is such a great word! It carries a picture of like overflowing abundance, poured out, given fully, welling up. God did not give us His grace in little trickling streams. He poured it out on us, He gave us grace overflowing in His son.
In verse nine, Paul says something noteworthy, he tells us after God has given us every spiritual blessing, adopted us, lavished us with his grace by redeeming us, God made known to us the mystery of His will. He not only saved us, He let us in on His plan, that from beginning to end He is bringing everything together to make sense, to have unity, in Christ. We can now look back and see how God created the world with His plan in motion to reveal Himself, to draw us to Himself. And we can look ahead to Christ's second coming when at the end of all things He will bring everything together under Christ.
In verse eleven Paul reminds us that we are part of that plan, God's plan that He has been working out and continues to work out. We are part of that plan to bring Him glory. And here is the only time that Paul uses an active verb in reference to us as humans in this passage. He tells us how we become a part of this plan. We simply hear the word of truth and believe. Hear and believe. Not complicated, so simple a child could do it. From there we put our hope on Christ and live for his glory, just like those who were first to believe.
How many times do we struggle with feeling like we have to do a big long list of things to be "in" on God's plan? I know I have struggled with that feeling. But what we have to come to understand is that God is the active force and motivator. Our job is to follow and receive. Paul pounds that message out in this passage of fourteen verses he uses reference after reference to God actively involved in working out his plan, and reference upon reference to us receiving that action. The only active verbs Paul uses in this passage for our responsibility is hearing, and believing, setting our hope on Christ and living; the rest is up to God.
God even took care to give us a guarantee that we are a part of his plan, part of the family. God gave us a seal, a deposit, a down payment to prove that we are part of His family and heirs to the inheritance. God gave us the Holy Spirit, to be with us, guide us into all truth, to produce fruit in our lives. God wanted us to know that we weren't just some red-headed-step-children that He would grudgingly put up with. God loves us, and He wants us to know that we are full heirs to the promise of life eternally with Him.
So what do we need to remember? What is important to take with us? First, we need to remember that God has a plan to bless us by redeeming us, adopting us as His own and making us holy. Second, that plan is carried out in Jesus, his life, ministry, death, and resurrection on our behalf, and is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit at work within us. Finally, we need to understand that our job is simply to hear his word of Truth and believe it, to set our hope on Christ and live for his glory.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
This week's sermon: People as Priority III—Mind the Gap!
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
When we were in London, we had a long layover and decided to take the tubes—the subway—into the city and see London Tower. While we were riding the train, at every stop a voice would come on the PA and say, “Mind the gap!” No matter what the announcement was, no matter what stop, it would always say, “Mind the gap.” And they didn’t have that tacked on just to avoid lawsuits like they would here, getting on and off the train, you really did have to “Mind the gap.”
Sometimes it was a little gap. Sometimes it was a gap you could put your foot into. Sometimes it was big enough to step your whole leg into. Sometimes it didn’t look like there was a gap, but there was instead a step down. It really is mind-boggling to us in the states where everything is built or rebuilt to meet certain codes and standards, but some of those platforms looked like they were as old as the train system itself. Nothing was standardized. So I was glad of the reminders at every stop to “Mind the gap.” Because for us Americans—sleep-deprived and unused to having to watch every step—it could have been a really dangerous thing to step off the train and into the gap.
I think sometimes as Christians we need to hear the same warning. We need to be reminded that although our "Christian life" train-ride has been pretty smooth, when we go to interact with the people of the world, we may encounter a rather frightening gap between their standards and our own. We need to be aware that the gap exists. We need to see it for what it is. And we need to know how to bridge that gap so that we can reach people in the world with the message of Christ.
Two weeks ago, we started talking about this theme of making people a priority. We saw how Jesus chose to respond to people and make them a priority in his life and ministry. We looked last week at the idea of getting outside our comfort zone to interact with people who are different from us culturally. Today we are going to see what scripture has to say about how to reach those who are living by the world’s standards.
What are some of the world’s standards? You can answer: whatever works for you; do makes you feel good; look out for yourself; money is king; pleasure is the ultimate good… These are the messages we see broadcast all around us. And while we may be tempted sometimes to try out one of those philosophies, most of us don’t choose to live our lives there. Sometimes that makes it difficult to know what to do when we encounter those people who do.
The main verse I want to use to guide our thoughts this morning is Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” This verse shows us three things that God has given mankind throughout history as his basic guidelines: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. I believe this verse holds the key to unlocking the door on how to interact with those around us in a way that glorifies God and makes it possible to share the gospel with those in need.
The first thing the verse tells us is that we need to act justly. We need to focus on our own standard of living. We need to make sure that no matter who we are, no matter what our business is, no matter who we deal with, that our actions are just. What does that mean? That means if you are in business, don’t rip people off. If you are shopping and you get out of the store without paying for something, take it back in and pay for it. If you injure someone, or damage someone’s property, do the right thing in sticking around and helping to put things right. It is being a person of integrity. What business do we have going to those who live by the world’s standards and telling them that they are in the wrong, if our lives do not reflect the principles we are advocating.
Jesus addresses this very thing in the parable of the speck and the plank in Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.” People in the world can spot a fake a mile away. They see your plank in the eye, and they are not fooled when you try to help them with their speck. The first step in interacting with people in the world is to make sure your habits and behaviors match up to your own standards.
The second thing Micah 6:8 tells us to do is to love mercy. What is mercy? It is not receiving the deserved punishment for committing a crime. It is what we all have received from God, instead of death resulting from our sin, we have received a full pardon. To love mercy means to rejoice when someone gets off the hook. What? Yep. To love mercy means to rejoice when the unfaithful spouse is forgiven. To throw a party for the offender who gets a reduced sentence. To gladly choose to not seek to harm the person who has harmed you.
Paul says it this way in Romans 12:17-21, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” For us loving mercy means more than not seeking revenge. It means going beyond the call of duty to shower mercy and grace on those who live in a world where grace and mercy do not exist. These things only come from God. For many people, you are the only chance they have of knowing that God has mercy beyond their sin and grace to give them an abundant life. Practically that means loving those people in your life who are unlovely. It means seeking to build a friendship with those whose lives are a wreck because of their sin. It is embodying the person of Christ as you interact with those who, just like you, could never dig their way out of their own pit.
The final thing Micah 6:8 gives us is a command to walk humbly with our God. This is really the key to the first two things that God requires of us. We can’t act justly without knowing God’s standard for justice and allowing him to grow that in our lives. We can’t love mercy if we haven’t first received mercy from Christ. Walking humbly with God means to recognize who he is, and who we are in relation to him. It is knowing that he is the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and we are dust, our days like the grass, a fleeting breeze. It means having the proper perspective on who is better equipped to handle the challenges we face, who is better able to plan our lives, who has better wisdom in making judgments in our lives and the lives of others.
If we have this perspective in place, it is easy to trust God to judge those living by other standards; it is easy to then offer mercy to those who are in sin. If we can see ourselves in relation to God’s perfect holiness, it is easy to see how far we fall short and how much we depend on him for our righteousness. When we see God for who he is, and we see ourselves for who we truly are, it is hard to be arrogant. It is hard to be holier-than-thou, because we know that it is not by our own power or goodness that we are in relationship with God. It is only by his grace and mercy that we can approach the throne.
Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13a “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.”
Our job in interacting with people outside of a relationship with Christ who are living like the world is to offer them the mercy and grace of Christ. We are not to judge them or to condemn them, but to be to them what Christ has been to us, an extended hand of love that holds life and peace like they have never experienced. We hold a gift in our hands. We have the gift of salvation. We have the gift of peace with God. We have the gift of life eternal, starting now and going on forever. We can hold onto that gift and sit on the train, or we can “Mind the gap,” and step into the world offering to share that gift with others.
When we were in London, we had a long layover and decided to take the tubes—the subway—into the city and see London Tower. While we were riding the train, at every stop a voice would come on the PA and say, “Mind the gap!” No matter what the announcement was, no matter what stop, it would always say, “Mind the gap.” And they didn’t have that tacked on just to avoid lawsuits like they would here, getting on and off the train, you really did have to “Mind the gap.”
Sometimes it was a little gap. Sometimes it was a gap you could put your foot into. Sometimes it was big enough to step your whole leg into. Sometimes it didn’t look like there was a gap, but there was instead a step down. It really is mind-boggling to us in the states where everything is built or rebuilt to meet certain codes and standards, but some of those platforms looked like they were as old as the train system itself. Nothing was standardized. So I was glad of the reminders at every stop to “Mind the gap.” Because for us Americans—sleep-deprived and unused to having to watch every step—it could have been a really dangerous thing to step off the train and into the gap.
I think sometimes as Christians we need to hear the same warning. We need to be reminded that although our "Christian life" train-ride has been pretty smooth, when we go to interact with the people of the world, we may encounter a rather frightening gap between their standards and our own. We need to be aware that the gap exists. We need to see it for what it is. And we need to know how to bridge that gap so that we can reach people in the world with the message of Christ.
Two weeks ago, we started talking about this theme of making people a priority. We saw how Jesus chose to respond to people and make them a priority in his life and ministry. We looked last week at the idea of getting outside our comfort zone to interact with people who are different from us culturally. Today we are going to see what scripture has to say about how to reach those who are living by the world’s standards.
What are some of the world’s standards? You can answer: whatever works for you; do makes you feel good; look out for yourself; money is king; pleasure is the ultimate good… These are the messages we see broadcast all around us. And while we may be tempted sometimes to try out one of those philosophies, most of us don’t choose to live our lives there. Sometimes that makes it difficult to know what to do when we encounter those people who do.
The main verse I want to use to guide our thoughts this morning is Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” This verse shows us three things that God has given mankind throughout history as his basic guidelines: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. I believe this verse holds the key to unlocking the door on how to interact with those around us in a way that glorifies God and makes it possible to share the gospel with those in need.
The first thing the verse tells us is that we need to act justly. We need to focus on our own standard of living. We need to make sure that no matter who we are, no matter what our business is, no matter who we deal with, that our actions are just. What does that mean? That means if you are in business, don’t rip people off. If you are shopping and you get out of the store without paying for something, take it back in and pay for it. If you injure someone, or damage someone’s property, do the right thing in sticking around and helping to put things right. It is being a person of integrity. What business do we have going to those who live by the world’s standards and telling them that they are in the wrong, if our lives do not reflect the principles we are advocating.
Jesus addresses this very thing in the parable of the speck and the plank in Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.” People in the world can spot a fake a mile away. They see your plank in the eye, and they are not fooled when you try to help them with their speck. The first step in interacting with people in the world is to make sure your habits and behaviors match up to your own standards.
The second thing Micah 6:8 tells us to do is to love mercy. What is mercy? It is not receiving the deserved punishment for committing a crime. It is what we all have received from God, instead of death resulting from our sin, we have received a full pardon. To love mercy means to rejoice when someone gets off the hook. What? Yep. To love mercy means to rejoice when the unfaithful spouse is forgiven. To throw a party for the offender who gets a reduced sentence. To gladly choose to not seek to harm the person who has harmed you.
Paul says it this way in Romans 12:17-21, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” For us loving mercy means more than not seeking revenge. It means going beyond the call of duty to shower mercy and grace on those who live in a world where grace and mercy do not exist. These things only come from God. For many people, you are the only chance they have of knowing that God has mercy beyond their sin and grace to give them an abundant life. Practically that means loving those people in your life who are unlovely. It means seeking to build a friendship with those whose lives are a wreck because of their sin. It is embodying the person of Christ as you interact with those who, just like you, could never dig their way out of their own pit.
The final thing Micah 6:8 gives us is a command to walk humbly with our God. This is really the key to the first two things that God requires of us. We can’t act justly without knowing God’s standard for justice and allowing him to grow that in our lives. We can’t love mercy if we haven’t first received mercy from Christ. Walking humbly with God means to recognize who he is, and who we are in relation to him. It is knowing that he is the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and we are dust, our days like the grass, a fleeting breeze. It means having the proper perspective on who is better equipped to handle the challenges we face, who is better able to plan our lives, who has better wisdom in making judgments in our lives and the lives of others.
If we have this perspective in place, it is easy to trust God to judge those living by other standards; it is easy to then offer mercy to those who are in sin. If we can see ourselves in relation to God’s perfect holiness, it is easy to see how far we fall short and how much we depend on him for our righteousness. When we see God for who he is, and we see ourselves for who we truly are, it is hard to be arrogant. It is hard to be holier-than-thou, because we know that it is not by our own power or goodness that we are in relationship with God. It is only by his grace and mercy that we can approach the throne.
Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13a “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.”
Our job in interacting with people outside of a relationship with Christ who are living like the world is to offer them the mercy and grace of Christ. We are not to judge them or to condemn them, but to be to them what Christ has been to us, an extended hand of love that holds life and peace like they have never experienced. We hold a gift in our hands. We have the gift of salvation. We have the gift of peace with God. We have the gift of life eternal, starting now and going on forever. We can hold onto that gift and sit on the train, or we can “Mind the gap,” and step into the world offering to share that gift with others.
Monday, July 27, 2009
This week's sermon: People as Priority II
Speaking the language of love and service is louder than any spoken word.
My good friend and brother in the Lord Method is an example for all of us to follow. He was our driver while we were in Burundi. He spoke no English, and we spoke no Kirundi, but he found ways to communicate his love for the Lord and his love for us through acts of service. Method drove us through the Burundi hill country on our historic tour, and when we stopped at a church he came in and sang with us and played the drum. When we did not speak the same language, he gave us common words we could use to understand each other and even an inside joke. The road to Abeka, Congo was the worst road Method had ever driven, and some of our team had gone to Abeka before we arrived in Burundi. Whenever we would hit a bump in the road or particularly big pot hole, he would say, “Abeka!” By the end of the trip we would say it too. We didn’t speak Kirundi, and he didn’t speak English, but we knew Abeka meant hold on, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
When he bought sugar cane for his seven children, he cut some off and gave some to us. When we went shopping in the market, he bought us sweet potatoes so that we could experience that Burundi treat. When we were looking at cloth, he helped us find the best quality. When we were negotiating with the merchants, he would help us get a good price. He showed us all the best places to find fabric, hand-crafts, tools and other souvenirs throughout the market. All with a smile. All with love. All in service to us out of a brotherly love in Christ. He took care that we had safe travel, he protected us in public places. He spoke no English, and we spoke no Kirundi, but we understood his language of service and love.
Megan Frazier taught him how to say, “You are my sister!” and he would say that to us. On the last day our whole team was together, we told him, “Tura kunda Method!” which means “We love Method!” in Kirundi. He was so surprised and shocked that we learned his language just to tell him that we loved him that he laughed with joy and put his face in his hands. When we went, we spoke no Kirundi and he spoke no English, but together by loving each other in the Lord and acts of service and kindness, we found we understood each other just fine.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
There are people in our lives that God wants us to reach for the gospel. Sometimes, though, it seems like they are so different from us that they speak a different language. But we are not to give up. We are not to use their differences as an excuse to walk away and leave them in darkness. Rather, we are to show them the love of Christ in ways that go beyond language and culture. Like the ways that Method cared for us while we were in Burundi. He helped the older ladies out of the van, he helped to carry luggage and tie it down in the trucks and the jeep. He sacrificed some of his income to buy us special treats of sugar cane and sweet potatoes. It is the same way that Christ reached out and healed the sick, fed the hungry, and touched those with leprosy. These actions show caring and love no matter what language you speak or what culture you are in.
When we interact with those who are different from us, we are to even take on their language and culture to show them Christ’s love. In this way, my brother Method would say, “You are my sista!” and we told him, “Tura Kunda Method!” We learned enough of each other’s language to communicate and connect in the most basic way. While we were there, Method wore a stars and stripes jacket, he wanted to show us that he identified with us. It is the same way that Christ came and not only taught mankind in his divine form, no he emptied himself and took on flesh. He lived among us, pitched his tent among us. Christ came and spoke our language and learned our culture to show us his love.
The apostle Paul is telling us in this passage that just like Christ, our goal should be to demonstrate God’s love for mankind in whatever way the people we are with will understand. We need to find out what interests them, what their needs are, what their cultural patterns are so that we can present to them the message of the gospel in a way they not only understand, but are excited to accept.
Dave Robinson at the closing session of Ministry Conference yesterday said this—“The ultimate goal is not missions, or ministry, but worship. We are to be about the business of bringing more people to worship at the feet of our awesome, majestic God.” That is our job. To present God, his love, his mercy, his holiness before people and bring them to a place where they are fellow worshipers with us. That is the great commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel, to make disciples.
Sometimes we forget that all the world includes our neighborhood. All the world includes our workplace. All the world includes our family. All the world includes every sphere of our life, it includes every person in our life. Don’t let something as small as language and culture differences get in the way of you fulfilling the purpose God has for you—to share the gospel where you are.
I heard an interesting statistic this week. One third of the world is Christian. That is a lot. That is huge. That means that if every Christian were to win two people to Christ who had never heard, we would be done, and Christ could come back. The problem is that not every Christian sees it as his or her job to spread the word. We have lost touch with the Great Commission, and somehow we believe salvation ends with us. But salvation is a cycle where a person gets the gospel, God gets the glory, the person grows to maturity and then repeat. That person shares the gospel, God gets the glory, another disciple grows to maturity and repeat.
The command to go and tell; the statement that we will be his witnesses—they apply to every believer. We are all to tell; we are all to bear witness. No one gets off the hook. And the way we share the gospel is to become like Christ, to put aside our own culture and language and take up those of the people around us. Then we can speak their language, then we can communicate the gospel. Then the message can be embraced and Kingdom of God is built.
My good friend and brother in the Lord Method is an example for all of us to follow. He was our driver while we were in Burundi. He spoke no English, and we spoke no Kirundi, but he found ways to communicate his love for the Lord and his love for us through acts of service. Method drove us through the Burundi hill country on our historic tour, and when we stopped at a church he came in and sang with us and played the drum. When we did not speak the same language, he gave us common words we could use to understand each other and even an inside joke. The road to Abeka, Congo was the worst road Method had ever driven, and some of our team had gone to Abeka before we arrived in Burundi. Whenever we would hit a bump in the road or particularly big pot hole, he would say, “Abeka!” By the end of the trip we would say it too. We didn’t speak Kirundi, and he didn’t speak English, but we knew Abeka meant hold on, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
When he bought sugar cane for his seven children, he cut some off and gave some to us. When we went shopping in the market, he bought us sweet potatoes so that we could experience that Burundi treat. When we were looking at cloth, he helped us find the best quality. When we were negotiating with the merchants, he would help us get a good price. He showed us all the best places to find fabric, hand-crafts, tools and other souvenirs throughout the market. All with a smile. All with love. All in service to us out of a brotherly love in Christ. He took care that we had safe travel, he protected us in public places. He spoke no English, and we spoke no Kirundi, but we understood his language of service and love.
Megan Frazier taught him how to say, “You are my sister!” and he would say that to us. On the last day our whole team was together, we told him, “Tura kunda Method!” which means “We love Method!” in Kirundi. He was so surprised and shocked that we learned his language just to tell him that we loved him that he laughed with joy and put his face in his hands. When we went, we spoke no Kirundi and he spoke no English, but together by loving each other in the Lord and acts of service and kindness, we found we understood each other just fine.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
There are people in our lives that God wants us to reach for the gospel. Sometimes, though, it seems like they are so different from us that they speak a different language. But we are not to give up. We are not to use their differences as an excuse to walk away and leave them in darkness. Rather, we are to show them the love of Christ in ways that go beyond language and culture. Like the ways that Method cared for us while we were in Burundi. He helped the older ladies out of the van, he helped to carry luggage and tie it down in the trucks and the jeep. He sacrificed some of his income to buy us special treats of sugar cane and sweet potatoes. It is the same way that Christ reached out and healed the sick, fed the hungry, and touched those with leprosy. These actions show caring and love no matter what language you speak or what culture you are in.
When we interact with those who are different from us, we are to even take on their language and culture to show them Christ’s love. In this way, my brother Method would say, “You are my sista!” and we told him, “Tura Kunda Method!” We learned enough of each other’s language to communicate and connect in the most basic way. While we were there, Method wore a stars and stripes jacket, he wanted to show us that he identified with us. It is the same way that Christ came and not only taught mankind in his divine form, no he emptied himself and took on flesh. He lived among us, pitched his tent among us. Christ came and spoke our language and learned our culture to show us his love.
The apostle Paul is telling us in this passage that just like Christ, our goal should be to demonstrate God’s love for mankind in whatever way the people we are with will understand. We need to find out what interests them, what their needs are, what their cultural patterns are so that we can present to them the message of the gospel in a way they not only understand, but are excited to accept.
Dave Robinson at the closing session of Ministry Conference yesterday said this—“The ultimate goal is not missions, or ministry, but worship. We are to be about the business of bringing more people to worship at the feet of our awesome, majestic God.” That is our job. To present God, his love, his mercy, his holiness before people and bring them to a place where they are fellow worshipers with us. That is the great commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel, to make disciples.
Sometimes we forget that all the world includes our neighborhood. All the world includes our workplace. All the world includes our family. All the world includes every sphere of our life, it includes every person in our life. Don’t let something as small as language and culture differences get in the way of you fulfilling the purpose God has for you—to share the gospel where you are.
I heard an interesting statistic this week. One third of the world is Christian. That is a lot. That is huge. That means that if every Christian were to win two people to Christ who had never heard, we would be done, and Christ could come back. The problem is that not every Christian sees it as his or her job to spread the word. We have lost touch with the Great Commission, and somehow we believe salvation ends with us. But salvation is a cycle where a person gets the gospel, God gets the glory, the person grows to maturity and then repeat. That person shares the gospel, God gets the glory, another disciple grows to maturity and repeat.
The command to go and tell; the statement that we will be his witnesses—they apply to every believer. We are all to tell; we are all to bear witness. No one gets off the hook. And the way we share the gospel is to become like Christ, to put aside our own culture and language and take up those of the people around us. Then we can speak their language, then we can communicate the gospel. Then the message can be embraced and Kingdom of God is built.
Monday, July 20, 2009
This week's message: People as Priority
Matthew 22:37-40.
While we were in Burundi, it was easy to be overwhelmed by the conditions people live in. It was easy to become numbed by the statistics that 90 percent of the people live in poverty on less than $2 a day; that as many as 1 in 16 people have AIDS; that the average life expectancy is just over 50 years. I personally struggled to have compassion on individuals when surrounded by so many who are in need. Why am I telling you this? I want to share with you something that has been on my heart since we neared the end of our time in Burundi. It is this: Jesus made people a priority.
For most of us that is not a shocking concept, but I want us to look at how that translates to our lives. How do we make people a priority as Jesus did? The first step to making people a priority is addressing the biggest obstacle to our seeing the people in front of us, that is classifying everything as an “issue.” We have all kinds of “issues:” social issues, political issues, moral issues. We like to talk about issues, and who wouldn’t? Talking about issues only requires that you have an opinion, and who doesn’t have opinions they like to share? Issues are convenient like that, they give us an outlet for our opinions, but they keep us distant from the people to whom those issues have a daily impact.
What are the biggest issues right now? You can answer (Poverty, Healthcare, Homosexual Marriage, War, Abortion…). Issues we are all prone to have an opinion about, now I am not going to ask your opinion on those issues, but if I did, I think we would find as many differing opinions on those issues as we have people in this room! And some of our opinions may be right, others wrong, but what we do in discussing issues is put people to the side. When we debate issues we not only set aside the people directly affected by those issues, we often also set aside the person with a conflicting opinion--the one that is different from our own.
Issues separate, isolate, and cause us to grasp tightly to our own right-ness. You have seen it, a friendly conversation that turns ugly when one of these issues is brought up. Immediate division, and both parties walk away nursing their pride and each telling themselves that they are the ones in the right.
Issues do something else for us, they allow us to have an opinion without having to take responsibility for taking action. Can you solve the issue of poverty? Can you stop abortion? Can you eradicate war? No, of course not. By choosing to see only issues, insurmountable issues, problems too big for us to tackle as individuals, we give ourselves permission to do nothing. So what is the answer? The answer is to do what Jesus did.
He never addressed only issues, he addressed people. He didn’t react to issues, he reacted to people. He never responded to the enticement offered by religious intellectuals to enter the debates over issues, instead he redirected them to the people in front of them, or even closer to home: he redirected them to their own humanness.
Jesus never addressed the issue of poverty, but he fed the hungry who were before him.
Jesus never addressed the issue of healthcare, but he healed the sick before him.
Jesus never addressed the issue of sexual immorality in culture, but he told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more, and the woman at the well that he could give her living water springing up to eternal life.
Jesus never addressed the issue of Roman oppression, but he told the challengers to give to Caesar what bears his image, and give to God what bears His.
At every turn, Jesus points to the people and makes them the priority over issues. He does this in his words, teachings, and actions. The biggest statement of this is in the two greatest commandments that Jesus says sums up the law and prophets, or on which the law and prophets hang: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. He did not say that the two greatest commands were to join the right organizations and have the right opinion on all the pertinent issues. Although sometimes we act as though these are the commands he gave.
Instead of seeing the people around us and responding to their needs, we join organizations that will address the social issues of the world. Sometimes this is even how we see our church membership. Instead of responding to the people affected by AIDS, those torn apart by divorce, those haunted by abortion, we form an opinion on an issue and keep the hurting people at arms length. “But we can’t fix those problems they are too big for us!” You protest. Yea! You got the message. Issues are too big for us, problems are too big for us, but each of us has the ability, in Christ, to reach out to the person next to us and show them love, compassion and grace. And that is what Jesus calls us to do.
In his book, The Star Thrower, author Loren E. Eisley talks of the early morning when he finds himself with "writers block", he decided to take a walk along a sandy beach where hundreds of starfish had been washed up on the shore overnight.
"I awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As I moved through the misty dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion. I saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As I approached, I sadly realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea. I asked the youth the purpose of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the youth replied. "When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea." As the youth explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach, strectching in both directions beyond my sight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear to me and I countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference." The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he simply said, "I made a difference to that one." I left the boy and went home, deep in thought of what the boy had said. I returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish in to the sea."
As individuals, hanging onto issues is a comfortable way to avoid taking action. We have the excuse that the problem is so big there is nothing we can do that will matter. What a relief that Jesus does not call us to solve issues, but to love people. Jesus doesn’t expect us to save the world, but to introduce people to the one who can save their souls and heal their wounds. Living in that kind of love requires us to give up our comfortable place of righteous superiority and to get down in the trenches.
Paul puts it this way in Philippians: Philippians 2:3-8 (NRSV)
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
If we are going to do what Jesus did, and live life that impacts those around us, we need an attitude change. Our attitudes have to be the same as Christ before our actions can follow suit. How do we get there? Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, which only comes as we lay our lives down in living sacrifice—our acceptable act of worship before our Holy God. In surrendering ourselves, our pride, our right to feel self-righteous; in allowing God to come in with his Holy Spirit and renew our way of thinking, we can begin to see the people around us. We can begin to see the small part that God calls us to play in the lives of those around us that makes such a huge impact on their lives for eternity. Then, and only then, people become our priority, issues fall to the wayside, and Christ’s Kingdom is built.
While we were in Burundi, it was easy to be overwhelmed by the conditions people live in. It was easy to become numbed by the statistics that 90 percent of the people live in poverty on less than $2 a day; that as many as 1 in 16 people have AIDS; that the average life expectancy is just over 50 years. I personally struggled to have compassion on individuals when surrounded by so many who are in need. Why am I telling you this? I want to share with you something that has been on my heart since we neared the end of our time in Burundi. It is this: Jesus made people a priority.
For most of us that is not a shocking concept, but I want us to look at how that translates to our lives. How do we make people a priority as Jesus did? The first step to making people a priority is addressing the biggest obstacle to our seeing the people in front of us, that is classifying everything as an “issue.” We have all kinds of “issues:” social issues, political issues, moral issues. We like to talk about issues, and who wouldn’t? Talking about issues only requires that you have an opinion, and who doesn’t have opinions they like to share? Issues are convenient like that, they give us an outlet for our opinions, but they keep us distant from the people to whom those issues have a daily impact.
What are the biggest issues right now? You can answer (Poverty, Healthcare, Homosexual Marriage, War, Abortion…). Issues we are all prone to have an opinion about, now I am not going to ask your opinion on those issues, but if I did, I think we would find as many differing opinions on those issues as we have people in this room! And some of our opinions may be right, others wrong, but what we do in discussing issues is put people to the side. When we debate issues we not only set aside the people directly affected by those issues, we often also set aside the person with a conflicting opinion--the one that is different from our own.
Issues separate, isolate, and cause us to grasp tightly to our own right-ness. You have seen it, a friendly conversation that turns ugly when one of these issues is brought up. Immediate division, and both parties walk away nursing their pride and each telling themselves that they are the ones in the right.
Issues do something else for us, they allow us to have an opinion without having to take responsibility for taking action. Can you solve the issue of poverty? Can you stop abortion? Can you eradicate war? No, of course not. By choosing to see only issues, insurmountable issues, problems too big for us to tackle as individuals, we give ourselves permission to do nothing. So what is the answer? The answer is to do what Jesus did.
He never addressed only issues, he addressed people. He didn’t react to issues, he reacted to people. He never responded to the enticement offered by religious intellectuals to enter the debates over issues, instead he redirected them to the people in front of them, or even closer to home: he redirected them to their own humanness.
Jesus never addressed the issue of poverty, but he fed the hungry who were before him.
Jesus never addressed the issue of healthcare, but he healed the sick before him.
Jesus never addressed the issue of sexual immorality in culture, but he told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more, and the woman at the well that he could give her living water springing up to eternal life.
Jesus never addressed the issue of Roman oppression, but he told the challengers to give to Caesar what bears his image, and give to God what bears His.
At every turn, Jesus points to the people and makes them the priority over issues. He does this in his words, teachings, and actions. The biggest statement of this is in the two greatest commandments that Jesus says sums up the law and prophets, or on which the law and prophets hang: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. He did not say that the two greatest commands were to join the right organizations and have the right opinion on all the pertinent issues. Although sometimes we act as though these are the commands he gave.
Instead of seeing the people around us and responding to their needs, we join organizations that will address the social issues of the world. Sometimes this is even how we see our church membership. Instead of responding to the people affected by AIDS, those torn apart by divorce, those haunted by abortion, we form an opinion on an issue and keep the hurting people at arms length. “But we can’t fix those problems they are too big for us!” You protest. Yea! You got the message. Issues are too big for us, problems are too big for us, but each of us has the ability, in Christ, to reach out to the person next to us and show them love, compassion and grace. And that is what Jesus calls us to do.
In his book, The Star Thrower, author Loren E. Eisley talks of the early morning when he finds himself with "writers block", he decided to take a walk along a sandy beach where hundreds of starfish had been washed up on the shore overnight.
"I awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As I moved through the misty dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion. I saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As I approached, I sadly realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea. I asked the youth the purpose of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the youth replied. "When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea." As the youth explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach, strectching in both directions beyond my sight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear to me and I countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference." The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he simply said, "I made a difference to that one." I left the boy and went home, deep in thought of what the boy had said. I returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish in to the sea."
As individuals, hanging onto issues is a comfortable way to avoid taking action. We have the excuse that the problem is so big there is nothing we can do that will matter. What a relief that Jesus does not call us to solve issues, but to love people. Jesus doesn’t expect us to save the world, but to introduce people to the one who can save their souls and heal their wounds. Living in that kind of love requires us to give up our comfortable place of righteous superiority and to get down in the trenches.
Paul puts it this way in Philippians: Philippians 2:3-8 (NRSV)
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
If we are going to do what Jesus did, and live life that impacts those around us, we need an attitude change. Our attitudes have to be the same as Christ before our actions can follow suit. How do we get there? Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, which only comes as we lay our lives down in living sacrifice—our acceptable act of worship before our Holy God. In surrendering ourselves, our pride, our right to feel self-righteous; in allowing God to come in with his Holy Spirit and renew our way of thinking, we can begin to see the people around us. We can begin to see the small part that God calls us to play in the lives of those around us that makes such a huge impact on their lives for eternity. Then, and only then, people become our priority, issues fall to the wayside, and Christ’s Kingdom is built.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)