We are in a period of conflagration of many things. The events of Egypt and the Middle east have certainly occupied a lot of our time in the last 2.5 weeks. What we saw yesterday was certainly, as many are saying, history in the making. We need to keep our eyes open and our prayers lifted for Israel and what is happening in the nations around them. Someone, well, several people have commented that this may be a sign of Christ’s near return. It may be. Next week we are going to begin a series out of II Thessalonians on “Are we in the last days?” And these recent events of Egypt may be opening our eyes to the very real possibility that we are in the last days. So, I will leave that for now.
A second happening is that today starts a week of action against poverty in our Community. Kenora is beginning a week of events that will be bringing some of the needs of our community to the foreground. As a part of this myself, Adriane Penner and Tabitha Marshall from our church are participating in a challenge of living in another’s shoes. It has been enlightening and yes challenging. See the bulletin for more.
Also tomorrow is valentines day. Maybe not a big deal, but guys, let me encourage you “DO SOMETHING!” Take advantage of the day to say or show in some way you love her.
My message today is on what our passion is. What are you passionate about? Everyone is passionate about something –something that you enjoy or get excited about. Our passion may not be a jumping up and down passion, but it is there. It may be your kids, your grandkids, your job, fishing, hunting, car, reading, cooking, or travel. It could be more than one thing. But as people get to know you, they will soon learn what you are passionate about. It is something you talk about, you spend time on, you spend money on. But mostly you’ll talk about it.
If I were to ask people who know you what you are passionate about, what would they answer? More to the point would they say you are passionate about Christ? Would he even enter into your top 10, your top 5, your top one? I don’t know that people would say that about even me! I would like it to be, I long for it too be –that Jesus is my all and all, that He is my centre, my focus, my passion. But if you were to look at my life, listen to what I say and watch the things I do –what I spend my time on, would you, could you say, yes Jesus Christ is a passion for me?
Now I need to be careful here because the word passion, when used in the Bible, is often, when seen, used in a negative context –sexual passion or earthly passions. But there are some definite expressions in scripture that capture this -thirsting, longing, adoration, “love the Lord your God with all your heart mind, soul and strength.” And so I am using the word passion to capture these things, these ideas in scripture to say “having a single minded focus or preoccupation.”
I believe that everything we do and are as followers of Jesus emerges out of this, out of our passion, our obsession, our thirst for Jesus Christ. But sadly I think that many, perhaps most of the church today, I not passionate about Jesus Christ –we are as John records in Revelation 3:16, lukewarm. And the response of Jesus to the Lukewarm is what, “I am about to spit you out.” The word for spit is actually much harsher, more descriptive than just spit out, it means to wretch, to spew or vomit. Not a pleasant picture of those who are lukewarm.
When Jesus calls us, when we are called by God to become like Jesus (Romans 8) and to do good works which he prepared for us (Ephesians 2), what does he ask of us? Jesus only ever asks us to give him one thing –all of ourselves –all of ourself! Isn’t that what the great command is? Jesus spoke of this often as did the disciples. Let us turn to Luke, for example in 9:57-62 and hear the words of Jesus.
This passion, this focus drives us in all other areas of our life. It affects our worship, our fellowship, our service and our witness. If you are passionate about something you invest in it, you spend time doing it or time with them, you talk about it. Again, are you passionate about Jesus Christ?
No matter where you are in your Christian experience, there are things that you can be doing to grow in your passion for Jesus Christ –become less lukewarm or even cold and move to being hot, on fire, passionate about Him. This morning I am just going to touch on a few –some basic ones you may have heard before and need to grow in, or maybe something new.
First and foremost is delighting in Who God is. Last night I went to plug in the car. I looked up and went, WOW! A clear night, no wind to speak of, half moon and the brightness of the stars. My God did that! It was not some random explosion of cosmic debris but a created, organized breath of an eternal God who spoke and set every star in its place and ordered the heavens! Sometimes we forget the fascinating and incredible details of God’s creation –from the minute complexity of a DNA strand to the immense complexity of this world we live on to the vastness of the heavens. (Psalm 19:1-4) This incredible, holy, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal loving and graceful God.
In the very next chapter in Revelation from when John is told by Jesus about the church that he is ready to spit out we read of the awesome glory of His throne and the tingling resonance of his praise being declared. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord almighty! Do we stand in awe, do we delight in the glory, do we see his handiwork and give praise? I feel that all too often we forget who God is, we do not live in wonder and delight of Him. We do not thirst, we do not long for him. We forget. Friends, the best way to become hot again to remain hot is to delight in the Lord, to see his work, discover him and stand in awed silence.
One of the ways we do that is to take serious His word. Nature and creation is a general revelation, a general display of God showing himself, but the word is a specific revelation given to us so that we can discover more of Him. I was asked last week, how many bibles do I have. A little embarrassed I said around 15. How many do you have? Do you read? Do you discover? Do you find the wonder of His revelation for us and to us drawing you closer to him, igniting you?
But even more, as you read do take it seriously? When you come to a place where God directs action, do you obey? When he speaks through His words to pray? To forgive, to trust, to obey, to worship, to cast aside idols, to focus on him, to give your anxieties and worries, to rejoice? Do we take His word and draw closer, do we find out more about him, do we marvel at the way he dealt with his people? Do we weep at Jesus giving life to a little girl or delight in His healing a blind man? Do we know Him, do we know Jesus?
A friend of mine in Alberta said often about Jesus, we think we know, but we don’t know. And more we don’t know what we don’t know. We are happy being lukewarm in our knowledge of the one who delights in us and died for us. But what do we face the danger of? Being spit out! How can we talk about Jesus f we do not know about Jesus? How can we delight more and more in him if we do not know more and more about him? A big step is reading, study in, meditating on his word. Know Him more and more and more! And as we read more and more, we do more and more (James 1:22 –“do not just be listeners and so deceive yourselves, but be doers!”) Jesus said, whoever hears my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. John writes, “the man who says I know Jesus but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.” WOW! Take serious the word of God given to us.
Along with that is to begin to compare our life to scripture not to others. One of the dangers in our being lukewarm is that we look at others who may be cold or also lukewarm and think we are okay. As you read the Bible and as things are brought to light how do you measure up against that standard? Remember Romans 8:29? Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness or image of His Son. We are not conformed or saved to be slightly better than someone else, we are conforming to the image of Jesus Christ! That is our goal, that is our focus, that is our destiny. When we are measured in our temperature it is against the one Whom the Father loves best –Jesus! And as we read, as we delight, as we grow we seek to conform and are shaped into Christ-likeness.
As you look at him and discover more and more of Him, as you read His word and get to know Him, delight in the awesomeness of His love for you. This past week I was at a prayer retreat with our district Coach, Loren Miesner and several other pastors ad we spent a lot of time meditating and prayer this passage in Ephesians for our churches. Let me read it to you, in fact, let me pray if for you right now. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
How much does God love you? How much does He delight in You? How much does he care for you? How much does he long for you to know Him and experience His love and grace and mercy? Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus who gave himself for us –for you, for me! Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus beyond all measure. Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus who stands at the Father’s side making intercession for us. Of the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus who gives us His Spirit to lead, teach, comfort, guide, protect, assure our salvation, chastise us and correct us and draw us closer. Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus Who eagerly awaits the day when he can and will come and take us to be with Him! Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus who is deep in mercy and overflowing in grace. Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus how heals our wounds, and lifts us up. Oh the depths of the riches of love in Christ Jesus who forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
How can we be lukewarm? How can we not be passionate about such a great God? Such a great savior? If we do not pursue this relationship, if we do not delight in His creation, if we do not seek to grow in our knowledge of His, if we do not let him transform us into the image of His Son, if we do not know and grow in the knowledge of His love, we will have our relationship with him deteriorate, it will grow colder, cooler lukewarm.
But s he becomes our passion, as we delight in him, it affects every aspect of our life. Worship becomes sweeter, service becomes joyful, fellowship becomes loving, and witness becomes exciting. The secret to better worship, better fellowship, better service, and better witnessing –passion for God! Growing in Him.
We are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, to do good works he prepared for us to do and to live and speak this reality to others. As we fall more and more in love with him Who loves us beyond all measure, what a transformation will happen in our lives and in our church.
Prayer/Reflection: -not as passionate
-lukewarm
-want to grow
Rev. 3:20 Behold… directed to the church, to Christians who are lukewarm. Renew the relationship, grow in the knowledge, delight in his fellowship, experience his transformation purpose.
Praise to the Lord, who sits on the throne, holy, holy is your name.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Christ makes a difference in our service February 6
Are you becoming more Christ-like? That is a tough question to answer. Last week we looked at this goal, this purpose that God has for you-to become more Christ-like. We looked at three passages that use a form of the word transform, or in the greek –morphis. Paul, in Romans 8:29, makes a powerful and challenging statement –Those God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Jesus), that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
God has a goal, a purpose, that we would conform to the image of His son –that we would become like the One He loves best –Jesus Christ. This word, actually summorphos, means to take on the shape of, to be like. That a child of God who has given his life to God by faith through Jesus would become more like Jesus. Like him in actions, thoughts, heart, attitude –that when people look at us, see what we do, they see more and more of Jesus. So gain, are you becoming more Christ-like?
Like me, you probably struggle with this. I get up in the morning and see Allan, not much Christ-likeness. I stumble and fall, and often feel far short of this goal, this purpose that God has set up long beforehand, for me to be like. I often feel like the child who sees his dad or bigger brother do something and I long to do it as well, yet I just can’t –I am not strong enough, tall enough, dexterous enough. I can remember as a child trying to help my dad build a fence. He gave me a hammer and a nail and showed me where to pound it in. I tried and tried but could not get the hammer hitting the nail right, and when I did it took forever plus the numerous times it bent over! I became frustrated, angry, despondent and even wanted to give up. But my dad was there to encourage me, show me again –even hold my hand with the hammer and the other with the nail.
And that is our heavenly Father. He knows we are still maturing, he knows we have much to learn –that is why he gives us His Holy Spirit to help us, to hold our hands and guide us.
Let me read for you something you are familiar with but let it sink into your hearts and minds and give you great encouragement. John 14:16-21, then 26-27.
The question I asked was, are you becoming more Christ-like –not are you Christ-like. It is a process, a maturing and growing process that we need to be striving in. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, comes and guides us, helps us to grow and mature. The question is are you becoming more Christ-like? Are you morphing into Jesus?
Growing, maturing is to be a natural part of our Christina experience –it is to be the normal thing. Just a child grow physically so are we to grow –to become more Christ-like. That is what God prepared ahead for us to do. To use Paul’s own word, we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ.
We are saved and by God’s grace and plan, predestined to be in the image, the likeness of His son! This great God, creator of the universe has a purpose, a plan for us. Billy Graham, perhaps one of the most influential evangelists in the world in this last century, has a little tract which begins, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”
His plan? First in His love to draw us to Himself –to provide for us a way of restoring, renewing our relationship with Him. Do you believe? Do you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God come to doe for your sins, to bring you from a broken to a whole relationship with Him –from death to life, from dark to like, for despair to hope, from separation to restoration?
It is not until we are in this renewed relationship with Him that we begin to see His purpose for us realized. Then He begins this marvelous wonderful process of maturing us, conforming us to the image of His son Jesus. As a Christian, as a child of God, as one who has found life in Christ and trust Him, are you becoming more like Him?
That is God’s purpose in you, in us! To morphes into Christ-likeness. Let me read again two passages we looked at last week Romans 8:29 and then 12:1-2.
So what does this Christ-likeness begin to look like? Let us look at a few Bible passages that I hope will give us one of the most clear pictures of how this takes shape in our lives.
We look again at this passage in Romans 12:1. Our spiritual act of worship we read in the NIV or service in the KJ. Why this different translation? The word literally means service in the worship of God. In the OT it is the word “abad” in the NT the word “Latreuo.” In the NT it is always used in connection to service in a religious sense. It is the work of a priest for God or in the temple (cf. Hebrews 9:14). I Peter 2:5 gives us a clearer picture of this. (read) and then verse 9.
Our service, our worship is directed to the house of God, for God, for His family, his temple. As we are transformed and renewed –becoming more and more the image of His Son, we take on this service, this worship, in honor of the one who saved us and loves us and gave his son for us. This holy and supreme God who has predestined us to become like his Son Jesus. We honor and work, we serve we worship this God through our actions, our service to Him. Paul begins to give us some more practical guidance in this later in chapter 12 (verses 8, ff.)
The second verse I would like to have us look at is in Philippians 2:1-11. A familiar passage which so clearly states our attitude should be like Christ –our demeanor, our seeking to worship to serve. These first 4 verses tie in with what we just read in Romans 8:1-4 but now Paul adds something important. Your attitude, your approach to all this, you transforming heart and mind should be the same as Christ! What was his attitude? Here, we read, Jesus took on the attitude, the nature of a servant. As we are conformed to His image we take on his attitude, his approach to things. This is an attitude of service.
The word here different than the latreuo used earlier but is familiar to us –servant –diakoni where we get the word deacon from. The deacon, this servant, was a household servant –his service, his work was for the household, the family of the master. This has some incredible implications for us as followers of Jesus. We are saved to be conformed to the image of Christ, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to be more Christlike and to take on his attitude –that of a servant –a household diakoni.
We can get so busy doing the things of life that we fail to be busy doing the things of God –particularly serving the family, the body of Christ! Again we go back to Romans 12:1-2. This verse 2 we looked at last week, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world –we are letting the patterns, the pressures of the world tell us what is important –this pressing in on our minds, our hearts, shaping us that things of this life, this world are important, more important than the things of God, than building supporting, encouraging, serving the body of Christ –this body that is being in a large sense, shaped as the body of Christ, His church, his people, and yes, his temple!
Our transformation is to be more and more like Christ (romans 12:2, his mind, his attitude, his servanthood. Doing Good works for His glory, his people, his family which leads me to our third passage in Ephesians 2:8-10. This really brings it home for me.
God has chosen us to be formed into the image of His son Jesus and he has prepared good works for us to do –prepared in advance! This word works is one which John in His Gospel ties to the unique activity of Jesus –eg. My Father is always at work and I too am working [his work]. (5:17) Paul ties this work with positive deeds, missions, ministry and service. Paul also uses this word later in Ephesians 4 where God’s people are to do works of service so that the whole body of Christ (there again is the idea of the diakoni serving the body, the church). Verses 12-13, 15-16.
See the tie back with Romans 8:29? God calls us and predestines us to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus and we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works –which God prepared in advance for us to do!
One of the ways we can judge for ourselves is, are we doing good works? What are good works? Paul expands this later in Ephesians 4 where he says we are to do works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up! (4:12).
Largely, in the NT, when we are called to do good works, the writers of the NT place it in the context of the body of Christ. Yes we are to care for the poor, minister to the sick and do good works in order that others may praise God and come to Him, but largely when Paul especially speaks of our doing service or good works he is referring to our works that build up the body of Christ. Even here in Ephesians 2 where we read that we are created in Christ to do good works, the context is in regards to the fellowship, the body of Christ. Just a few verse down Paul talks about our citizenship, our unity, one body, that we are no longer foreigners or strangers but members of God’s household being built up together to become a dwelling place in which God lives by the Spirit.
The scriptures refer to our doing good works or service several times. There are 4 key passages that talk about this body life –I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4 and I Peter 4. Two we have looked at –Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. The one in I Corinthains 12 speaks of the various body parts working together, needing each other, supporting each other. I encourage you to read that section closely. This fourth one, I would like to look at briefly. I Peter 4:7-11.
The writer, Peter, gives us several key things that we should carefully take note of. But for this morning let’s focus on this idea of service. The return of Christ should have us in a state of readiness –that we are doing his work in readiness for his return –which can happen any time. Peter uses the word twice here in verse 10 , use you gifts to serve others, and then verse 11 serve with the strength God provides.
Note here this strength is God working in and through us, going back to the morphes idea, as it is through Christ that he works in us.
The ultimate purpose is the glory of God, He is the power at work in us. He seeks to transform us and use us –to work in us and through us those works that he prepared in advance for us to do! What a high calling, what a high privilege, what a high honor!
This wonderful creator of the universe has re-breathed life into us through His Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus, taking great value in us to love us and empower us for works that he has prepared in advance for us.
I want that verse, verse 10 to sit there for a second –in light of His choosing us, in light of his purpose for us to become like his son, in light of his preparing us for good works, “Each one of us should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
Reflect. There may be some questions: what are my gifts, what can I be doing, what should I be doing? I invite you to prayerfully be asking God these things. I would be happy more than happy to meet with you and talk about this with you. Maybe there are some barriers you feel are in the way –time, business, age –young and old, maybe lack of training or knowledge. Are these just excuses? Or do you need to re-adjust something to come in line with what God has directed. Are you serving? If so, great! Continue to grow in service. If not, why not? This is something you need to wrestle with God about, not me or the nominating committee, or the Sunday School super intendant. Ultimately you will stand before the throne of God to answer.
And when he returns –WHEN he returns he will ask us what we have done! We will be held to account we read and have to give an answer –we, the followers of Jesus, the ones he has been working to transform into the image of His son the ones he has gifted, empowered, commanded to serve, to work to build up the body, we will be standing before the judgment seat of Christ himself and asked, what have you done with what I gave you?
I offer you these words of challenge and power –For those God foreknew he predestined to be conformed into the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among the brothers. For by grace we have been saved through faith, and it is not yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God has a goal, a purpose, that we would conform to the image of His son –that we would become like the One He loves best –Jesus Christ. This word, actually summorphos, means to take on the shape of, to be like. That a child of God who has given his life to God by faith through Jesus would become more like Jesus. Like him in actions, thoughts, heart, attitude –that when people look at us, see what we do, they see more and more of Jesus. So gain, are you becoming more Christ-like?
Like me, you probably struggle with this. I get up in the morning and see Allan, not much Christ-likeness. I stumble and fall, and often feel far short of this goal, this purpose that God has set up long beforehand, for me to be like. I often feel like the child who sees his dad or bigger brother do something and I long to do it as well, yet I just can’t –I am not strong enough, tall enough, dexterous enough. I can remember as a child trying to help my dad build a fence. He gave me a hammer and a nail and showed me where to pound it in. I tried and tried but could not get the hammer hitting the nail right, and when I did it took forever plus the numerous times it bent over! I became frustrated, angry, despondent and even wanted to give up. But my dad was there to encourage me, show me again –even hold my hand with the hammer and the other with the nail.
And that is our heavenly Father. He knows we are still maturing, he knows we have much to learn –that is why he gives us His Holy Spirit to help us, to hold our hands and guide us.
Let me read for you something you are familiar with but let it sink into your hearts and minds and give you great encouragement. John 14:16-21, then 26-27.
The question I asked was, are you becoming more Christ-like –not are you Christ-like. It is a process, a maturing and growing process that we need to be striving in. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, comes and guides us, helps us to grow and mature. The question is are you becoming more Christ-like? Are you morphing into Jesus?
Growing, maturing is to be a natural part of our Christina experience –it is to be the normal thing. Just a child grow physically so are we to grow –to become more Christ-like. That is what God prepared ahead for us to do. To use Paul’s own word, we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ.
We are saved and by God’s grace and plan, predestined to be in the image, the likeness of His son! This great God, creator of the universe has a purpose, a plan for us. Billy Graham, perhaps one of the most influential evangelists in the world in this last century, has a little tract which begins, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”
His plan? First in His love to draw us to Himself –to provide for us a way of restoring, renewing our relationship with Him. Do you believe? Do you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God come to doe for your sins, to bring you from a broken to a whole relationship with Him –from death to life, from dark to like, for despair to hope, from separation to restoration?
It is not until we are in this renewed relationship with Him that we begin to see His purpose for us realized. Then He begins this marvelous wonderful process of maturing us, conforming us to the image of His son Jesus. As a Christian, as a child of God, as one who has found life in Christ and trust Him, are you becoming more like Him?
That is God’s purpose in you, in us! To morphes into Christ-likeness. Let me read again two passages we looked at last week Romans 8:29 and then 12:1-2.
So what does this Christ-likeness begin to look like? Let us look at a few Bible passages that I hope will give us one of the most clear pictures of how this takes shape in our lives.
We look again at this passage in Romans 12:1. Our spiritual act of worship we read in the NIV or service in the KJ. Why this different translation? The word literally means service in the worship of God. In the OT it is the word “abad” in the NT the word “Latreuo.” In the NT it is always used in connection to service in a religious sense. It is the work of a priest for God or in the temple (cf. Hebrews 9:14). I Peter 2:5 gives us a clearer picture of this. (read) and then verse 9.
Our service, our worship is directed to the house of God, for God, for His family, his temple. As we are transformed and renewed –becoming more and more the image of His Son, we take on this service, this worship, in honor of the one who saved us and loves us and gave his son for us. This holy and supreme God who has predestined us to become like his Son Jesus. We honor and work, we serve we worship this God through our actions, our service to Him. Paul begins to give us some more practical guidance in this later in chapter 12 (verses 8, ff.)
The second verse I would like to have us look at is in Philippians 2:1-11. A familiar passage which so clearly states our attitude should be like Christ –our demeanor, our seeking to worship to serve. These first 4 verses tie in with what we just read in Romans 8:1-4 but now Paul adds something important. Your attitude, your approach to all this, you transforming heart and mind should be the same as Christ! What was his attitude? Here, we read, Jesus took on the attitude, the nature of a servant. As we are conformed to His image we take on his attitude, his approach to things. This is an attitude of service.
The word here different than the latreuo used earlier but is familiar to us –servant –diakoni where we get the word deacon from. The deacon, this servant, was a household servant –his service, his work was for the household, the family of the master. This has some incredible implications for us as followers of Jesus. We are saved to be conformed to the image of Christ, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to be more Christlike and to take on his attitude –that of a servant –a household diakoni.
We can get so busy doing the things of life that we fail to be busy doing the things of God –particularly serving the family, the body of Christ! Again we go back to Romans 12:1-2. This verse 2 we looked at last week, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world –we are letting the patterns, the pressures of the world tell us what is important –this pressing in on our minds, our hearts, shaping us that things of this life, this world are important, more important than the things of God, than building supporting, encouraging, serving the body of Christ –this body that is being in a large sense, shaped as the body of Christ, His church, his people, and yes, his temple!
Our transformation is to be more and more like Christ (romans 12:2, his mind, his attitude, his servanthood. Doing Good works for His glory, his people, his family which leads me to our third passage in Ephesians 2:8-10. This really brings it home for me.
God has chosen us to be formed into the image of His son Jesus and he has prepared good works for us to do –prepared in advance! This word works is one which John in His Gospel ties to the unique activity of Jesus –eg. My Father is always at work and I too am working [his work]. (5:17) Paul ties this work with positive deeds, missions, ministry and service. Paul also uses this word later in Ephesians 4 where God’s people are to do works of service so that the whole body of Christ (there again is the idea of the diakoni serving the body, the church). Verses 12-13, 15-16.
See the tie back with Romans 8:29? God calls us and predestines us to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus and we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works –which God prepared in advance for us to do!
One of the ways we can judge for ourselves is, are we doing good works? What are good works? Paul expands this later in Ephesians 4 where he says we are to do works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up! (4:12).
Largely, in the NT, when we are called to do good works, the writers of the NT place it in the context of the body of Christ. Yes we are to care for the poor, minister to the sick and do good works in order that others may praise God and come to Him, but largely when Paul especially speaks of our doing service or good works he is referring to our works that build up the body of Christ. Even here in Ephesians 2 where we read that we are created in Christ to do good works, the context is in regards to the fellowship, the body of Christ. Just a few verse down Paul talks about our citizenship, our unity, one body, that we are no longer foreigners or strangers but members of God’s household being built up together to become a dwelling place in which God lives by the Spirit.
The scriptures refer to our doing good works or service several times. There are 4 key passages that talk about this body life –I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4 and I Peter 4. Two we have looked at –Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. The one in I Corinthains 12 speaks of the various body parts working together, needing each other, supporting each other. I encourage you to read that section closely. This fourth one, I would like to look at briefly. I Peter 4:7-11.
The writer, Peter, gives us several key things that we should carefully take note of. But for this morning let’s focus on this idea of service. The return of Christ should have us in a state of readiness –that we are doing his work in readiness for his return –which can happen any time. Peter uses the word twice here in verse 10 , use you gifts to serve others, and then verse 11 serve with the strength God provides.
Note here this strength is God working in and through us, going back to the morphes idea, as it is through Christ that he works in us.
The ultimate purpose is the glory of God, He is the power at work in us. He seeks to transform us and use us –to work in us and through us those works that he prepared in advance for us to do! What a high calling, what a high privilege, what a high honor!
This wonderful creator of the universe has re-breathed life into us through His Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus, taking great value in us to love us and empower us for works that he has prepared in advance for us.
I want that verse, verse 10 to sit there for a second –in light of His choosing us, in light of his purpose for us to become like his son, in light of his preparing us for good works, “Each one of us should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
Reflect. There may be some questions: what are my gifts, what can I be doing, what should I be doing? I invite you to prayerfully be asking God these things. I would be happy more than happy to meet with you and talk about this with you. Maybe there are some barriers you feel are in the way –time, business, age –young and old, maybe lack of training or knowledge. Are these just excuses? Or do you need to re-adjust something to come in line with what God has directed. Are you serving? If so, great! Continue to grow in service. If not, why not? This is something you need to wrestle with God about, not me or the nominating committee, or the Sunday School super intendant. Ultimately you will stand before the throne of God to answer.
And when he returns –WHEN he returns he will ask us what we have done! We will be held to account we read and have to give an answer –we, the followers of Jesus, the ones he has been working to transform into the image of His son the ones he has gifted, empowered, commanded to serve, to work to build up the body, we will be standing before the judgment seat of Christ himself and asked, what have you done with what I gave you?
I offer you these words of challenge and power –For those God foreknew he predestined to be conformed into the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among the brothers. For by grace we have been saved through faith, and it is not yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Christ makes a difference in our maturity January 30
This morning I am going to speak on something that is difficult in many ways. It is difficult because it sets up for us a seemingly impossible goal to achieve and secondly it is difficult because this preacher is striving to get there as well. I was told early on in my ministry that you should never preach on what you do not know –what you have not experienced. And honestly, I feel more and more, the longer I serve as a pastor, the longer I live as a follower of Jesus, that I have a longer way to go. And so, the more I preach, the less adequate I feel in preaching something that I can say, “hey, come on and follow me!”
And I also know that this is something that a majority of us here who are followers of Jesus, whether we are new in our faith or have been a follower of Jesus for many years –perhaps decades, deal with as well. I have seen and talked with people whom I have considered very mature, very grown in their faith express their what can I say, discontentedness about where they are in this area. And I have seen many who just don’t seem to care –they don’t strive to grow in this area. So, rather than follow me I ask, come along with me. What is it I am talking about?
It is the area of maturing in our faith. Maturity in Christ is one of those hard to judge things. It is in some ways like growing up physically –we can see evidences that we are maturing physically –we start to crawl, walk, develop hand eye coordination, our thought process moves from gratification to concrete to analytical. We can look at someone and say, “My, how you have grown!” But when it comes to our spiritual growth it is not as easy. God works in each of us differently and just as some of us grow and mature differently physically –I walked at age 8 months but my brother was at 14 months for example, we all do grow and mature at different rates and in different ways.
And there are some indicators of maturing –the evidence of the spiritual fruit in our lives, our fulfilling the commands of Jesus to love one another, forgive one another, share the good news, use our gifts. These are things that we can look at on the outside and see if someone is maturing in their walk with Christ. But they do not let us see the heart –the inside of the person. One leader in a church I served many years ago made a very astute comment when a young man came into our church and seemed to have all the outward appearances of maturing in his faith –he was gifted and used his gifts, he was talking to people about being a Christian –he attended church, bible study and had the look. But after a few weeks of attending something seemed lacking. The outward zeal didn’t seem to have any substance. Everything seemed on the surface –but he held some deep resentment towards others in his former church, he had a critical spirit against others, he just didn’t seem to have the substance of a deep faith. The leader said, when this young man’s name was brought up to teach a Sunday school class, “I don’t know how else to describe it except the lights are all on but there seems to be no one home.” He had said it almost in jest, but there was real truth to it and as we talked we agreed, something was not connecting, he was not maturing and growing on the inside –his zeal was there but the substance seemed lacking.
Now, I say that again with some hesitancy because spiritual maturity is something that is often hard to judge. We can look on the outside and someone who is very active in their faith, doing a lot of things and yet may be complete empty inside, or struggling with some deep issues. And we can look and see someone who seemingly does little in the way of spiritual life stuff and may be somewhat inactive and yet they have deep, deep mature faith.
The purpose of God in us, the goal of God working in us IS consistency –that we are maturing, growing in our inward self as well as out outward. Let us look at a couple of key passages this morning and let God speak through His word to us. I invite you to stand as we read together Romans 8:28-29, 12:1-2, Philippians 3:20-21.
The words that Paul uses in these three passages for transformation or conform are based in the Greek word morphis. We are familiar with this word as morph or transform or metamorphisis. It means, of course to change. But it is more than just a physical outward change. Let’s take a brief look at each of these three passages and gain an understanding of what Paul is teaching.
In Romans 8:28 we have an often quoted verse when people are going through a tough time. “God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Trust God to know what he is doing. And we should. This is a key aspect of faith –trusting God that He knows, that He is at work, that nothing surprises him, and as tough as things may be it will work out for our good and His glory. One of the keys to understanding this is that it is God who is at work. He has a purpose and his purpose is given in verse 29.
“Those He foreknow he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…” God has in his calling us, in calling us to faith and belief in His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and the atoning sacrifice for our sins, He has a purpose, a purpose he chose long before us, a purpose he seeks to work in us –he predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. The word conform is based on that word morphe. The actual word is summorphous and means having the same shape.
God has predestined, planned, that when we become His children, when we come to faith in Him and believe in the One He sent, Jesus, that we become the children of God and that we would take on the same shape as Jesus –His image or likeness. This word likeness which is used is of Jesus himself when Paul writes in Colossi ans 1:15 that Jesus is the image or likeness of the invisible God. The implications of this are huge for us as followers of Jesus. God has it in mind, in his plan, that we would be summorphous, conformed to the image, the likeness of Jesus Christ. When people see us they see Jesus! Let that sink in a little –God’s Goal, his plan, is that we would become like Jesus even to the point that when people see us they see Jesus.
We could stop there and almost give up in despair. I know what I am like, I know who I am, I know I am nothing close to being like Jesus. And I could become very discouraged, and honestly sometimes do. At least I could if not for two things. First is to realized that I am a work in process. This conforming is a present action with future results. The old saying, be patient, God is not finished with me yet, could apply here. More on this in a moment. And second, as that saying implies, It is God at work in me. This does not release me from responsibility, I am directed, even commanded to continue to work out my salvation (Philippians 2:12).
God is working in me (and that is one of the implications of summorphous) on the inside and outside to conform to the image of Christ –not to become Christ, but to be like Him, to bear his likeness.
The second passage I would like for us to note today is a little later in Romans. 12:1-2. Here in verse 2 Paul says that we are to be transformed, metamorphousthe, by the renewing of our minds. Just to note, in the NIV we read in the first part of this verse, do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world. The word transformed is not the word morphe by a different word that means the outward shape or mold. This picture is one of the outside forming and shaping the inward. Paul is talking to Christians here who are facing pressure to conform to the image, or the ways of the culture. Rome is the centre of many forms of worship –particularly emporer worship. But even more subtly is the pressure to conform to be like everyone else –to fit in, to do as they do. Paul speaks a lot about this elsewhere in our not conforming to the world around us in places like Ephesians 4-5, I Thessalonians 4 and other places.
This “conformity,” this molding from the outside will have and does have an impact on the inside. Paul says we are to live the other way –being shaped, metamorphousthe, from the inside as Christ through His Spirit shapes us and matures us to be more in His image.
This word Paul uses, metamorphouthe, means transformed from the inside. This use of the word is clearly a word of process. It is a continuing process of transformation that changes our thinking and therefore our actions.
This word is used in some particular places in the scripture. It is used of Moses in the OT when he came down from Mount Sinai having met with God. In Exodus 34 we read that the skin of his face shone after his conversation with God. (cf. II Cor. 3:12-18). It is used in the NT when we read of Jesus and His transfiguration. Matthew 17:2 reads, “There he was transfigured (metamorphouthe) before them –his face shone like the sun and his clothes shone like white as the day.”
The renewal of our minds, the transformation, the metamorphosis of our minds, our intellect, our thinking is a process which reflects the glory of God! But note something essential in both examples –that of Moses and that of Jesus. Both times this word metamorphouthe is used it is in the context of having met with God –Moses went to the mountain and talked with God, Jesus in the transfiguration, has this cloud come (just like with Moses) and the voice of God speak. I don’t think there is any doubt that the heavenly father came and met with His son on that mountain. The presence of God transforms us. The presence of Christ transforms us. The renewing of our minds happens when we focus on and meet with the living Christ. What is renewing our minds? It is the continual focusing on Christ, that finding of newness and freshness in Him.
This renewal, this newness is spoken of over and over in the NT. We are new creatures, we are new wineskins, we are a new creation, we have a new covenant, we are given a new commandment to love one another, we serve a new way. Paul says in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.” Earlier in 4:16, Paul says we are being renewed day by day. This renewal comes as His Spirit works in us. Turn just a few pages back in II Corinthians to 3:17-18.
His purpose to conform us to the likeness of his son by the renewal, the transforming of our minds as His Spirit works in us. And this metamorphouthe, this summorphous, is both inside and outside. It is the inside eking out to the outside, the inside affecting and changing our outside, our actions our speech, our relationships, our attitude.
Let’s turn lastly to Philippians 3:20-21.
This time when Paul says transform he uses a another variation of the word this time it is synmorphos, but it carries a strong impact for us. The word used here means to alter or change the outward appearance. Although Paul, here in Philippians, uses it to speak of our future bodies –that we will have bodies that are transformed like Jesus’ from corruptible to incorruptible, from flesh into spiritual, we cannot ignore the connection between our inner and outer life in the here and now.
This prefix “syn” means with. It is not a covering like putting on a piece of clothing, but the transformation permeates the inner and outer. Our inner self is controlled and transformed by Christ and “by the power that enables him to bring all things under his control, will transform, synmorphos, our lowly bodies…” Christ seeks not just to change our thoughts but our entire being –to become more like himself in mind, soul and body! But even more this word synmorphos carries something important for us to note.
There is the danger here in thinking that we can and will lose our own personality, our identity. This word “synmorphos” means that Christ works with our essential character not dissolving our own persons, but shaping us to conform to Himself. That we take on that which is Christ-like in our mind –renewed thinking, that we live out this Christ-likeness which the Father prepared –had in mind for us to do when he called us and justified us through His son Jesus Christ –the firstborn amoung many brothers and sisters –us! That we are Christ-like in our mind and in our actions –the inside reflected on the outside –a consistency of being.
We read that we are to live such godly lives that people will give glory to God. We are to live in such a way that our faith is evident –that the inside is lived out on the outside. James speaks of this in his letter when he admonishes he church to show our faith by what we do, and faith without deeds is useless. To try and separate our inner life from our outer life is quite frankly, heresy. The early church fought against this with the rise of a teaching known as Gnosticism. Gnosticism in its various forms basically said what we do in the flesh, in our bodies, has no bearing on our inner self. I can be saved on the inside and sin on the outside! Friends that is hypocrisy, it is spiritual schizophrenia. To live in a duality –a separation of our inner self and outward actions is counter to what the Bible teaches and to what God calls us.
We are saved by God through Christ to be transformed and conform to the image of His Son Jesus, inside outside, heart mind body soul, words, deeds, in the totality of our being. And in this we live out the great command –love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength!
I know I have a long way to go. I look at my life, my actions, my thoughts and I say, who are you to talk? But like Paul earlier in Romans 7:25, can say, But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! The life I live in the body I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).
I cannot live this life, live this Christlikeness on my own. I can only do it as He lives in me –transforming me from the inside out –metaporphouthe to completely change me, synmorphos into His image (summorphos) by the power of His Spirit at work in me.
Reflection: Are you becoming more Christ-like? Are you giving is Spirit control of the inside and the outside? Are you letting Him conform you more and more into the likeness of His Son? If you are called, if you have accepted the call of God to come to Him through Jesus Christ, that you believe Jesus is the son of God, died for your sins, redeemed you and brought you life, if you believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus and his coming again, then you are called to a purpose –to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
And I also know that this is something that a majority of us here who are followers of Jesus, whether we are new in our faith or have been a follower of Jesus for many years –perhaps decades, deal with as well. I have seen and talked with people whom I have considered very mature, very grown in their faith express their what can I say, discontentedness about where they are in this area. And I have seen many who just don’t seem to care –they don’t strive to grow in this area. So, rather than follow me I ask, come along with me. What is it I am talking about?
It is the area of maturing in our faith. Maturity in Christ is one of those hard to judge things. It is in some ways like growing up physically –we can see evidences that we are maturing physically –we start to crawl, walk, develop hand eye coordination, our thought process moves from gratification to concrete to analytical. We can look at someone and say, “My, how you have grown!” But when it comes to our spiritual growth it is not as easy. God works in each of us differently and just as some of us grow and mature differently physically –I walked at age 8 months but my brother was at 14 months for example, we all do grow and mature at different rates and in different ways.
And there are some indicators of maturing –the evidence of the spiritual fruit in our lives, our fulfilling the commands of Jesus to love one another, forgive one another, share the good news, use our gifts. These are things that we can look at on the outside and see if someone is maturing in their walk with Christ. But they do not let us see the heart –the inside of the person. One leader in a church I served many years ago made a very astute comment when a young man came into our church and seemed to have all the outward appearances of maturing in his faith –he was gifted and used his gifts, he was talking to people about being a Christian –he attended church, bible study and had the look. But after a few weeks of attending something seemed lacking. The outward zeal didn’t seem to have any substance. Everything seemed on the surface –but he held some deep resentment towards others in his former church, he had a critical spirit against others, he just didn’t seem to have the substance of a deep faith. The leader said, when this young man’s name was brought up to teach a Sunday school class, “I don’t know how else to describe it except the lights are all on but there seems to be no one home.” He had said it almost in jest, but there was real truth to it and as we talked we agreed, something was not connecting, he was not maturing and growing on the inside –his zeal was there but the substance seemed lacking.
Now, I say that again with some hesitancy because spiritual maturity is something that is often hard to judge. We can look on the outside and someone who is very active in their faith, doing a lot of things and yet may be complete empty inside, or struggling with some deep issues. And we can look and see someone who seemingly does little in the way of spiritual life stuff and may be somewhat inactive and yet they have deep, deep mature faith.
The purpose of God in us, the goal of God working in us IS consistency –that we are maturing, growing in our inward self as well as out outward. Let us look at a couple of key passages this morning and let God speak through His word to us. I invite you to stand as we read together Romans 8:28-29, 12:1-2, Philippians 3:20-21.
The words that Paul uses in these three passages for transformation or conform are based in the Greek word morphis. We are familiar with this word as morph or transform or metamorphisis. It means, of course to change. But it is more than just a physical outward change. Let’s take a brief look at each of these three passages and gain an understanding of what Paul is teaching.
In Romans 8:28 we have an often quoted verse when people are going through a tough time. “God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Trust God to know what he is doing. And we should. This is a key aspect of faith –trusting God that He knows, that He is at work, that nothing surprises him, and as tough as things may be it will work out for our good and His glory. One of the keys to understanding this is that it is God who is at work. He has a purpose and his purpose is given in verse 29.
“Those He foreknow he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…” God has in his calling us, in calling us to faith and belief in His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and the atoning sacrifice for our sins, He has a purpose, a purpose he chose long before us, a purpose he seeks to work in us –he predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. The word conform is based on that word morphe. The actual word is summorphous and means having the same shape.
God has predestined, planned, that when we become His children, when we come to faith in Him and believe in the One He sent, Jesus, that we become the children of God and that we would take on the same shape as Jesus –His image or likeness. This word likeness which is used is of Jesus himself when Paul writes in Colossi ans 1:15 that Jesus is the image or likeness of the invisible God. The implications of this are huge for us as followers of Jesus. God has it in mind, in his plan, that we would be summorphous, conformed to the image, the likeness of Jesus Christ. When people see us they see Jesus! Let that sink in a little –God’s Goal, his plan, is that we would become like Jesus even to the point that when people see us they see Jesus.
We could stop there and almost give up in despair. I know what I am like, I know who I am, I know I am nothing close to being like Jesus. And I could become very discouraged, and honestly sometimes do. At least I could if not for two things. First is to realized that I am a work in process. This conforming is a present action with future results. The old saying, be patient, God is not finished with me yet, could apply here. More on this in a moment. And second, as that saying implies, It is God at work in me. This does not release me from responsibility, I am directed, even commanded to continue to work out my salvation (Philippians 2:12).
God is working in me (and that is one of the implications of summorphous) on the inside and outside to conform to the image of Christ –not to become Christ, but to be like Him, to bear his likeness.
The second passage I would like for us to note today is a little later in Romans. 12:1-2. Here in verse 2 Paul says that we are to be transformed, metamorphousthe, by the renewing of our minds. Just to note, in the NIV we read in the first part of this verse, do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world. The word transformed is not the word morphe by a different word that means the outward shape or mold. This picture is one of the outside forming and shaping the inward. Paul is talking to Christians here who are facing pressure to conform to the image, or the ways of the culture. Rome is the centre of many forms of worship –particularly emporer worship. But even more subtly is the pressure to conform to be like everyone else –to fit in, to do as they do. Paul speaks a lot about this elsewhere in our not conforming to the world around us in places like Ephesians 4-5, I Thessalonians 4 and other places.
This “conformity,” this molding from the outside will have and does have an impact on the inside. Paul says we are to live the other way –being shaped, metamorphousthe, from the inside as Christ through His Spirit shapes us and matures us to be more in His image.
This word Paul uses, metamorphouthe, means transformed from the inside. This use of the word is clearly a word of process. It is a continuing process of transformation that changes our thinking and therefore our actions.
This word is used in some particular places in the scripture. It is used of Moses in the OT when he came down from Mount Sinai having met with God. In Exodus 34 we read that the skin of his face shone after his conversation with God. (cf. II Cor. 3:12-18). It is used in the NT when we read of Jesus and His transfiguration. Matthew 17:2 reads, “There he was transfigured (metamorphouthe) before them –his face shone like the sun and his clothes shone like white as the day.”
The renewal of our minds, the transformation, the metamorphosis of our minds, our intellect, our thinking is a process which reflects the glory of God! But note something essential in both examples –that of Moses and that of Jesus. Both times this word metamorphouthe is used it is in the context of having met with God –Moses went to the mountain and talked with God, Jesus in the transfiguration, has this cloud come (just like with Moses) and the voice of God speak. I don’t think there is any doubt that the heavenly father came and met with His son on that mountain. The presence of God transforms us. The presence of Christ transforms us. The renewing of our minds happens when we focus on and meet with the living Christ. What is renewing our minds? It is the continual focusing on Christ, that finding of newness and freshness in Him.
This renewal, this newness is spoken of over and over in the NT. We are new creatures, we are new wineskins, we are a new creation, we have a new covenant, we are given a new commandment to love one another, we serve a new way. Paul says in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.” Earlier in 4:16, Paul says we are being renewed day by day. This renewal comes as His Spirit works in us. Turn just a few pages back in II Corinthians to 3:17-18.
His purpose to conform us to the likeness of his son by the renewal, the transforming of our minds as His Spirit works in us. And this metamorphouthe, this summorphous, is both inside and outside. It is the inside eking out to the outside, the inside affecting and changing our outside, our actions our speech, our relationships, our attitude.
Let’s turn lastly to Philippians 3:20-21.
This time when Paul says transform he uses a another variation of the word this time it is synmorphos, but it carries a strong impact for us. The word used here means to alter or change the outward appearance. Although Paul, here in Philippians, uses it to speak of our future bodies –that we will have bodies that are transformed like Jesus’ from corruptible to incorruptible, from flesh into spiritual, we cannot ignore the connection between our inner and outer life in the here and now.
This prefix “syn” means with. It is not a covering like putting on a piece of clothing, but the transformation permeates the inner and outer. Our inner self is controlled and transformed by Christ and “by the power that enables him to bring all things under his control, will transform, synmorphos, our lowly bodies…” Christ seeks not just to change our thoughts but our entire being –to become more like himself in mind, soul and body! But even more this word synmorphos carries something important for us to note.
There is the danger here in thinking that we can and will lose our own personality, our identity. This word “synmorphos” means that Christ works with our essential character not dissolving our own persons, but shaping us to conform to Himself. That we take on that which is Christ-like in our mind –renewed thinking, that we live out this Christ-likeness which the Father prepared –had in mind for us to do when he called us and justified us through His son Jesus Christ –the firstborn amoung many brothers and sisters –us! That we are Christ-like in our mind and in our actions –the inside reflected on the outside –a consistency of being.
We read that we are to live such godly lives that people will give glory to God. We are to live in such a way that our faith is evident –that the inside is lived out on the outside. James speaks of this in his letter when he admonishes he church to show our faith by what we do, and faith without deeds is useless. To try and separate our inner life from our outer life is quite frankly, heresy. The early church fought against this with the rise of a teaching known as Gnosticism. Gnosticism in its various forms basically said what we do in the flesh, in our bodies, has no bearing on our inner self. I can be saved on the inside and sin on the outside! Friends that is hypocrisy, it is spiritual schizophrenia. To live in a duality –a separation of our inner self and outward actions is counter to what the Bible teaches and to what God calls us.
We are saved by God through Christ to be transformed and conform to the image of His Son Jesus, inside outside, heart mind body soul, words, deeds, in the totality of our being. And in this we live out the great command –love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength!
I know I have a long way to go. I look at my life, my actions, my thoughts and I say, who are you to talk? But like Paul earlier in Romans 7:25, can say, But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! The life I live in the body I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).
I cannot live this life, live this Christlikeness on my own. I can only do it as He lives in me –transforming me from the inside out –metaporphouthe to completely change me, synmorphos into His image (summorphos) by the power of His Spirit at work in me.
Reflection: Are you becoming more Christ-like? Are you giving is Spirit control of the inside and the outside? Are you letting Him conform you more and more into the likeness of His Son? If you are called, if you have accepted the call of God to come to Him through Jesus Christ, that you believe Jesus is the son of God, died for your sins, redeemed you and brought you life, if you believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus and his coming again, then you are called to a purpose –to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
Christ makes a difference in our unity January 23
Presence makes a difference. Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the difference the presence of Christ makes in our lives. We are assured of His presence because of the resurrection. It is the resurrection that makes the difference for us –all the difference. Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church “If Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (I Cor. 15:14)
Notice the wording of this verse for a moment. If Christ has not been raised form the dead then our preaching is useless. This word for preaching is not the normal word used or the word most often used with is “euangelion”-the act of proclaiming good news. Rather it is the word “kerugma” which carries a meaning of substance. In other words, the good news we proclaim has no substance-it is empty, it has no power, no truth, it is empty. And that is emphasized by the next word “kenon” or usless in the NIV.
The good news of Jesus Christ coming to this earth is meaningless and empty of He has not been raised from the dead. That is a powerful statement Paul is making. If Jesus has not been raised from the dead our words are empty, our good news worthless, our preaching about Jesus useless. But even more, we read in I Corinthians 15, so is your faith! Not only are our words meaningless but so is your faith in Jesus. Paul goes on to say in verse 17 that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead then your faith is futile, null, empty. He uses the same word when he speaks to the people in Lystra in Acts 14: 15, “We are bringing you good news telling you to turn from these (worship of Zeus and Hermes) worthless things to the living God.”
But, Paul goes on to say in I Corinthians 15, “Christ has been raised form the dead…” (verse 20). Therefore, our words are meaningful, they are good news, they are worthy, your faith is not useless or empty or futile. Why, Because Jesus is raised from the dead –the resurrection changes everything!
And because he is raised form the dead he can and does keep his promise to be present –“Where two or three gather in my name I am in the midst.” I am there! And last week we looked at how this impacts our worship. When we come together and gather in his name, when we come to worship or pray or celebrate Jesus has made it a promise that he is there –he is here. How does His presence, how does the realization of his presence, affect your worship?
But even more than our worship, when Jesus says, “where two of more of you are gathered, in my name I am there,” it also affects our fellowship, our meetings, our service together, our marriages, our connecting times.
The realization and the reality of his presence makes a difference in our lives –in our relationships. We know relationships can be tough. We know this from observation and from experience.
When I was growing up my brother and I got along terrifically. We never fought, argued, bothered each other or had any kind of picking on each other –we got along perfectly –while we were apart. But when together… You know what it is like! When we had a fight my dad would come along and that quieted us down. His presence made a difference. If we fought he would make us stop, shake hands and tell us to get along and stop fighting. And we did –as long as he was there. But when he was gone and we were together… His presence made a difference.
We see this in all kinds of relationships even within the church can be tough as well. Even though the church should be and could be a place where unit and love and peace should reign, after all didn’t Jesus tell us too! But we find often it is not. And the Bible gives us a lot of directives about how we are to live with each other –the commands to love, forgive, submit, serve. We have heard these sermons, read them, and possibly even tried to live them. Some of you may already be tuning out with the –“Yeah I’ve heard this before,” attitude. We’ve tried it and failed, or found it a struggle, or, let’s be honest, we haven’t really tried. We are too get along, to live in unity, but we find it difficult.
I have heard and used the phrase, imagine if Jesus were here, what would it be like. I think we would all, outwardly get along much better if Jesus were present –physically standing here telling us to get along. Much like my dad we would be influenced by his presence –shakes hands and get along, but inwardly still harbor resentment, anger, jealousy, or whatever other emotion is there. We still have difficulty getting along –living in unity.
I think it is because we miss something essential, something vital in this –Immanuel –God with us. Just as His being present when we come to worship Him impacts how we worship, our relationships are impacted by His presence. But even more than his presence in our midst is his presence in our very lives. THAT makes a BIG difference –His presence in us!
I want to stop at this point and bring in two key scripture passages for us today. One from Jesus and the other from Paul. Listen to the impact of Jesus’ words in John 17. We need to take careful note here that these are amoung the last words of Jesus before he went to the cross and they reflect His heart for us, His church. Secondly they are offered in prayer –He is asking, laying before the Father this desire for us. Listen carefully to these familiar words (John 17:20-23). This morning take note of verse 23 “I in them and you in me.” He is speaking to us, His church, His people who have come to trust in Him as Savior and declare Him as Lord –we who have placed our hope in Him as the way to heaven. He who is Christ crucified and risen. “I in them and you in me.” Now listen to Paul’s testimony in Galatians 2:20.
Christ in me, Christ in me, Christ in me; the King of Glory! Christ in us –Father, I in them as you are in me! And this makes all the difference in our unity, in our togetherness. More often than not, I believe, we try to do the unity thing on our own strength, our own terms. And we fail. I have to love this person because Jesus said too. I have to forgive this person because Jesus said too. I have to serve this person, help this person. God give me strength. The emphasis on “me!” And we fail.
Paul follows his statement in Galatians 2:20 of Christ in me with this startling declaration, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness, living right, living out the commands, could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” If I can do these things on my own, if I can live the godly life, and live in unity and peace and love and forgiveness on my own –Christ died for nothing! I fall short, I cannot do it, I like Paul and saved by grace, not works, I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live! If I try to live this out on my won –I fail! And even more, Paul says it here and I have to take it seriously, If I seek to live by my strength, by the law, Christ died for nothing!
But the resurrection changes everything –For Christ did die and my sins are forgiven and he rose from the dead and gives me hope. And because he rose he is Immanuel –God with us and I no longer live but Christ lives in me and the life I live I life by faith in the son of God Who loved me and gave himself for me.
And all that he asks, all that he directs me to do in living in unity with others comes by Him and through Him. Everything that Jesus asks us to do, to live out in unity, he did in his life here on earth. Love one another –He has loved us and has given us his love. Be at peace –He is the prince of peace and gives us His peace. Serve one another –he became a servant and even knelt to wash our feat! But more he became a servant even to death on the cross. Forgive one another –He forgave us our sins and even some of the very words he spoke on the cross –Father forgive them! Accept one another, just as Christ accepts us in order to bring praise to God. Teach one another –he has taught us and even gives us His Spirit to remind us and continue to teach us. You go through the list of all He asks us to do in order to live in unity –He did!
And now go back to Galatians 2:20. I no longer live but Christ lives in me! I am not talking about a universal presence of Christ or a new age belief of Christ in all of us or we are Christ. We cannot confuse what Paul is saying here of what I intend. It is only when we accept the gift of life given to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that He comes and is in us.
Further, we do not become Christ, we have him simply and profoundly in us through His Spirit. Paul outlines this for us throughout his letter to the church in Rome. Let me read part of this for you, Romans 8:5-11. It is in this power, this presence, this Immanuel, that we then can live in unity. As we surrender ourselves, and let Him rule in our hearts, our lives, as His presence fills us w can know and do what he has asked. Let me read again from Romans a more familiar passage, Romans 12:1-2, 9-21. How can we do this? How can we live this way? Not by our own strength, Paul has already made this clear earlier in Romans –there is nothing righteous in us, nothing good. The law and living by the law fails. It is by His Spirit at work in us, His presence in us.
And this unity, this living in His presence has an ultimate goal –not that we all simply get along, but that the world may first know we are His, believe in the Father, that Christ has been sent as a sacrifice and atonement and hope, and that others will come to the Father. And even more, ultimately as Jesus said earlier in His prayer –to bring glory to the Father.
Paul echoes this in Romans in a powerful way. Romans 14:5-6.
His presence makes a difference –I no longer live but Christ lives in me. His Spirit at work in me in order to love, forgive, serve, be at peace with one another. Yes, where two or three gather he is there, but even more –he is in us working to bring unity that others will know the Father, come to salvation and that God will be glorified! His presence makes all the difference!
Thought/reflection: are you struggling to be at peace with someone –to forgive, to live in unity and harmony? Realize first that as a believer in Christ Jesus, as one who has accepted the gift of life through his death and resurrection, that you have His Spirit in you. Know that as you let Him work as you, like Paul says, that you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. That He is seeking to work in and through you to live in unity, love and forgiveness. And his purpose is to bring others to himself and to glorify the Father.
His presence makes all the difference in our living together as Jesus prayed –in unity that the world will believe that the Father sent the Son and loves us. Read John 15:25-26.
Close with #8 To God be the Glory!
Read in benediction Romans 15:13, 25-27.
Notice the wording of this verse for a moment. If Christ has not been raised form the dead then our preaching is useless. This word for preaching is not the normal word used or the word most often used with is “euangelion”-the act of proclaiming good news. Rather it is the word “kerugma” which carries a meaning of substance. In other words, the good news we proclaim has no substance-it is empty, it has no power, no truth, it is empty. And that is emphasized by the next word “kenon” or usless in the NIV.
The good news of Jesus Christ coming to this earth is meaningless and empty of He has not been raised from the dead. That is a powerful statement Paul is making. If Jesus has not been raised from the dead our words are empty, our good news worthless, our preaching about Jesus useless. But even more, we read in I Corinthians 15, so is your faith! Not only are our words meaningless but so is your faith in Jesus. Paul goes on to say in verse 17 that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead then your faith is futile, null, empty. He uses the same word when he speaks to the people in Lystra in Acts 14: 15, “We are bringing you good news telling you to turn from these (worship of Zeus and Hermes) worthless things to the living God.”
But, Paul goes on to say in I Corinthians 15, “Christ has been raised form the dead…” (verse 20). Therefore, our words are meaningful, they are good news, they are worthy, your faith is not useless or empty or futile. Why, Because Jesus is raised from the dead –the resurrection changes everything!
And because he is raised form the dead he can and does keep his promise to be present –“Where two or three gather in my name I am in the midst.” I am there! And last week we looked at how this impacts our worship. When we come together and gather in his name, when we come to worship or pray or celebrate Jesus has made it a promise that he is there –he is here. How does His presence, how does the realization of his presence, affect your worship?
But even more than our worship, when Jesus says, “where two of more of you are gathered, in my name I am there,” it also affects our fellowship, our meetings, our service together, our marriages, our connecting times.
The realization and the reality of his presence makes a difference in our lives –in our relationships. We know relationships can be tough. We know this from observation and from experience.
When I was growing up my brother and I got along terrifically. We never fought, argued, bothered each other or had any kind of picking on each other –we got along perfectly –while we were apart. But when together… You know what it is like! When we had a fight my dad would come along and that quieted us down. His presence made a difference. If we fought he would make us stop, shake hands and tell us to get along and stop fighting. And we did –as long as he was there. But when he was gone and we were together… His presence made a difference.
We see this in all kinds of relationships even within the church can be tough as well. Even though the church should be and could be a place where unit and love and peace should reign, after all didn’t Jesus tell us too! But we find often it is not. And the Bible gives us a lot of directives about how we are to live with each other –the commands to love, forgive, submit, serve. We have heard these sermons, read them, and possibly even tried to live them. Some of you may already be tuning out with the –“Yeah I’ve heard this before,” attitude. We’ve tried it and failed, or found it a struggle, or, let’s be honest, we haven’t really tried. We are too get along, to live in unity, but we find it difficult.
I have heard and used the phrase, imagine if Jesus were here, what would it be like. I think we would all, outwardly get along much better if Jesus were present –physically standing here telling us to get along. Much like my dad we would be influenced by his presence –shakes hands and get along, but inwardly still harbor resentment, anger, jealousy, or whatever other emotion is there. We still have difficulty getting along –living in unity.
I think it is because we miss something essential, something vital in this –Immanuel –God with us. Just as His being present when we come to worship Him impacts how we worship, our relationships are impacted by His presence. But even more than his presence in our midst is his presence in our very lives. THAT makes a BIG difference –His presence in us!
I want to stop at this point and bring in two key scripture passages for us today. One from Jesus and the other from Paul. Listen to the impact of Jesus’ words in John 17. We need to take careful note here that these are amoung the last words of Jesus before he went to the cross and they reflect His heart for us, His church. Secondly they are offered in prayer –He is asking, laying before the Father this desire for us. Listen carefully to these familiar words (John 17:20-23). This morning take note of verse 23 “I in them and you in me.” He is speaking to us, His church, His people who have come to trust in Him as Savior and declare Him as Lord –we who have placed our hope in Him as the way to heaven. He who is Christ crucified and risen. “I in them and you in me.” Now listen to Paul’s testimony in Galatians 2:20.
Christ in me, Christ in me, Christ in me; the King of Glory! Christ in us –Father, I in them as you are in me! And this makes all the difference in our unity, in our togetherness. More often than not, I believe, we try to do the unity thing on our own strength, our own terms. And we fail. I have to love this person because Jesus said too. I have to forgive this person because Jesus said too. I have to serve this person, help this person. God give me strength. The emphasis on “me!” And we fail.
Paul follows his statement in Galatians 2:20 of Christ in me with this startling declaration, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness, living right, living out the commands, could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” If I can do these things on my own, if I can live the godly life, and live in unity and peace and love and forgiveness on my own –Christ died for nothing! I fall short, I cannot do it, I like Paul and saved by grace, not works, I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live! If I try to live this out on my won –I fail! And even more, Paul says it here and I have to take it seriously, If I seek to live by my strength, by the law, Christ died for nothing!
But the resurrection changes everything –For Christ did die and my sins are forgiven and he rose from the dead and gives me hope. And because he rose he is Immanuel –God with us and I no longer live but Christ lives in me and the life I live I life by faith in the son of God Who loved me and gave himself for me.
And all that he asks, all that he directs me to do in living in unity with others comes by Him and through Him. Everything that Jesus asks us to do, to live out in unity, he did in his life here on earth. Love one another –He has loved us and has given us his love. Be at peace –He is the prince of peace and gives us His peace. Serve one another –he became a servant and even knelt to wash our feat! But more he became a servant even to death on the cross. Forgive one another –He forgave us our sins and even some of the very words he spoke on the cross –Father forgive them! Accept one another, just as Christ accepts us in order to bring praise to God. Teach one another –he has taught us and even gives us His Spirit to remind us and continue to teach us. You go through the list of all He asks us to do in order to live in unity –He did!
And now go back to Galatians 2:20. I no longer live but Christ lives in me! I am not talking about a universal presence of Christ or a new age belief of Christ in all of us or we are Christ. We cannot confuse what Paul is saying here of what I intend. It is only when we accept the gift of life given to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that He comes and is in us.
Further, we do not become Christ, we have him simply and profoundly in us through His Spirit. Paul outlines this for us throughout his letter to the church in Rome. Let me read part of this for you, Romans 8:5-11. It is in this power, this presence, this Immanuel, that we then can live in unity. As we surrender ourselves, and let Him rule in our hearts, our lives, as His presence fills us w can know and do what he has asked. Let me read again from Romans a more familiar passage, Romans 12:1-2, 9-21. How can we do this? How can we live this way? Not by our own strength, Paul has already made this clear earlier in Romans –there is nothing righteous in us, nothing good. The law and living by the law fails. It is by His Spirit at work in us, His presence in us.
And this unity, this living in His presence has an ultimate goal –not that we all simply get along, but that the world may first know we are His, believe in the Father, that Christ has been sent as a sacrifice and atonement and hope, and that others will come to the Father. And even more, ultimately as Jesus said earlier in His prayer –to bring glory to the Father.
Paul echoes this in Romans in a powerful way. Romans 14:5-6.
His presence makes a difference –I no longer live but Christ lives in me. His Spirit at work in me in order to love, forgive, serve, be at peace with one another. Yes, where two or three gather he is there, but even more –he is in us working to bring unity that others will know the Father, come to salvation and that God will be glorified! His presence makes all the difference!
Thought/reflection: are you struggling to be at peace with someone –to forgive, to live in unity and harmony? Realize first that as a believer in Christ Jesus, as one who has accepted the gift of life through his death and resurrection, that you have His Spirit in you. Know that as you let Him work as you, like Paul says, that you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. That He is seeking to work in and through you to live in unity, love and forgiveness. And his purpose is to bring others to himself and to glorify the Father.
His presence makes all the difference in our living together as Jesus prayed –in unity that the world will believe that the Father sent the Son and loves us. Read John 15:25-26.
Close with #8 To God be the Glory!
Read in benediction Romans 15:13, 25-27.
Christ makes a difference in our worship January 16
Have you ever had that awkward situation when you were talking about someone to another person and then you suddenly had this realization the person you were talking about was right behind you? One of my favorite TV shows is NCIS and often in the show one of the characters, Tony, will be talking about the boss, Gibbs, to another person and suddenly Tony will stop and say, “He’s right behind me isn’t he?” To which he receives a swat on the back of the head from Gibbs who was standing behind him. It has even come to the point where tony will sometimes go, He’s standing right behind me isn’t he and actually Gibbs is not, but he reacts as if he is.
Presence and awareness of presence changes things. We talk different and act different if certain people are around. I get this quite often, “Oh it’s the pastor we can’t say this or we can’t do that.” If I was not there how different would people be? Makes me wonder sometimes. Presence does make a difference. Just think back to high school, or think about high school, and having your mother along on a date! Or at the high school dance as a chaperone. Changes the dynamic of our actions. Presence makes a difference.
Last week we looked at the importance –the essential key reality for Christians –God raised Jesus from the dead (I Peter 1:21). Take this truth, this reality, out of the equation and as Paul says we are still in our sins, we are preaching useless as is our faith (I Corinthians 15:12-20). This truth, this reality of Jesus being raised from the dead changes everything for us, for he is indeed with us always, in our midst, where we gather, when we pray, as we walk, when we witness, as we worship –he is present, he is Immanuel –God with us!
And that is a great comfort to us, but it is also a great challenge, a challenge I think many Christians struggle with and probably just plain don’t grasp. Immanuel –God with us. If we really grasped this, if we really understood this it would radically change just about everything in our lives. Jesus standing with you when you write a test –look at the next desk? Jesus with us when we do our taxes (yes it is coming to that time of year!). Jesus with us when we watch TV or movies. Jesus with us when we are on a date. Jesus with us when we drive in Winnipeg traffic. Oh we take great comfort in the fact Jesus is with us in times of struggle or heartache, times of loss. We use the words, God be with you! But the rest of the time? How much would it affect our language, our jokes, our purity, our honesty, our integrity, our treating of others? How would his presence affect our obedience to him? Oh, that is a tough one!
Obedience! Just picture yourself cruising along nicely on your way to Winnipeg doing a comfortable 120-125 on those empty stretches between Falcon Lake and Prawda. Oh, there’s never a cop there. Obedience to the speed? Oh I can push it a little! But suddenly in your review mirror or just up ahead you see the telltale bar across the top of a vehicle and suddenly your more obedient! Presence makes a difference. Over the next few weeks we are going to be looking at several areas that would be transformed with this awareness, this Immanuel awareness.
Let’s start with one area that we experience today that will be carried into eternity. Stand and read with me Revelation 4:2, 8-11. Pray.
The first area that we will look at is worship. Worship is a sometimes, well, often, a contentious issue. I know of very few churches (in fact none) where there is not some conflict expressed over that 75 minutes we spend together as God’s people each Sunday morning. The music is too loud, I can’t hear it, too long, too many songs, no enough singing, sermon is boring, too many announcements, organ is off tune, guitars are to twang-ee, it’s too hot, too cold, pews are too hard, can’t see, too much, too little, too…Sometimes the concerns expressed are legitimate, but more often they are expressions of preference based on “me.” I know –I’m one of those “me’s!” We have become so deluged in our culture that we are consumers rather than worshipers. We approach worship much like we do a shopping experience or a restaurant. We look for what we want and if it is not there we complain or go somewhere else. If we don’t like it we take it back.
But look closely at Revelation 4. Who is the focus? The one sitting on the throne! He is holy, He is worthy, He is Lord and God. When God is present, things change –there is a whole different dynamic going on.
And we see this right from the beginning of creation. Adam and Eve had taken the forbidden fruit, they had sinned against God. Now God shows up in the garden and what happens? They hide! The very presence of God makes them aware of their short-coming and His glory.
Moses walking in the desert making sure the sheep are okay comes across a burning bush- Take of your shoes you are on holy ground, why? Because of the presence of the Lord!
The people of Israel chosen and led by a cloud of fire and he settled over the tabernacle and then during the time of Solomon when the temple was built he settled in the holy of holies –God in the midst affected them as a nation and people. Jesus when he walked this earth powerfully affected people through his presence –even on the cross as he gives His life the centurion announces surely this is the son of God! After the resurrection Jesus appears to the disciples and what a change overcame them! They went form a cowering hiding group of mourners to a force that shook the foundations of the whole Roman empire. Jesus appears to Saul and profoundly affects this once enemy to now proclaimer of the good news. His presence affects us!
Isaiah cries out “Woe is me of unclean lips”, John falls as dead, Shadrach Michack and Abednego walk in fire, Daniel sits with lions, demons are cast out, blind are made to see, life is given to the dead, Paul is struck blind, and angels cry out Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty! This is the cry of worship that surrounds the One who sits on the throne-the one who is present.
Imagine being a part of that –well, you will. But let us look at bit closer at something worth noting. In this chapter, chapter 4 we see that the living creatures never stopped saying Holy holy holy (vs 8). And then verse 10, the elders lay their crowns before the throne and say, You are worthy. But then something exciting, something incredible happens –the lamb who was slain enters –the one who is worthy. And the elders now each have a harp and we read in the NIV –they sang a new song! Did you catch the difference? The presence of the Lamb, Jesus moves the elders into song. Before they said, now they sang! “You are worthy…” Even the angels, untold numbers, see this incredible thing and burst out –IN SONG, “Worthy!” And then we see all of creation, every creature, every one Sings, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and power and glory forever and ever!”
Yeah, but that is all in the future, that is not now. Well let’s stop and take note of a few things.
The worthiness of Jesus is not for the future. He is worthy now because he has been slain and he has been raised from the dead. All authority and power and honor are his now, not in some future time or when we get to heaven. Every knee will bow, every confess Jesus is Lord. Paul writes that Jesus has been lifted up into the heavenly realms and all is put under his feat –not a yet to come but a here and now.
And because God has raised him from the dead, Jesus can and does keep his promises, his word –where two or three gather I am there, I am with you always even to the ends of the earth. He is Immanuel, God with us! When we worship, when we pray, when we sing, when we praise, when we gather, when we listen, when we come into this place or gather in a small group –He is there –He is here! He is with us!
It is interesting and somewhat sobering to see that most of the time when God, and each time Jesus speaks of being with us, it is when we are two or more –in a group, a gathering. Our culture has pushed us, I think too far to the individual aspect of faith. “I have a personal prayer time, I have a personal worship time, I have a personal time with God” These are all good, we need them, Jesus exemplified them.
Yes he comes and meets with us and fills us with His Spirit, but those times when Jesus says I will be with you always, or where two or more are gathered, it is in the plural –the group. Leslie Flynn in his book “Worship: Together we celebrate” says, “The Lord pledges every time we assemble in His name, He is present in a way He is not present in individual’s private worship. This added spiritual dimension makes church service not a take-it-or-leave-it affair, but a divinely scheduled appointment which should draw us irresistibly to corporate worship on the Lord’s day.”
Rather than something we anticipate, that we delight in, that we look forward too, all too often corporate worship is looked at as an option, a chore, a duty, a habit. More and more we see the gathering together as secondary to everything else. I heard one man, I hope jokingly say, If I have another better to do I’ll see you in church on Sunday.” I didn’t see him, so…
Granted church can be boring. It can be a habit. And yes a duty or chore. And some of that rests on those who are leading. But that is not the real concern for me. The real concern is that most people do not come expecting to encounter God, to meet him. They would surprised like, well, like having someone suddenly appear behind you that you were talking about. D we come expectant, do we come prepared to meet God in one place e said e would be –where two or three are gathered in His name?
I cannot image not going to church. I am not saying that as a pastor, but as a person who loves church, loves coming to get together with God’s people, to sing about His grace, to hear about His love, to rub shoulders with those who are struggling or are praising just as I am. I look forward to meeting God, I expect Him to be there.
If I miss church I miss something valuable and essential in my life. When we go on holiday we do our best to find a church to attend. It has a priority in my life –why –because I love it. yes, it may not always speak to me, yes the music might not always be what I like, I may not even sing because it is in a different language, yes the pews may be too hard and the pastor too long winded, but if I am not there I miss out. Mostly, I believe, it is because I have failed in keeping a covenant arrangement with Jesus.
A covenant is an agreement, a promise. Jesus said I will be there, He says he will be in the midst, He will be with us. And I cannot approach church as if he is not there! My focus is to sing to him, to pray to Him, to serve Him, to speak his words and listen for His voice why? Because He is there! I often imagine when I come into worship that I am entering the throne room and he is seated there in the throne. I can hear the brush of angels wings, I can hear the “holy” chorus. I see the hands and feet that were nailed-the scares deep and visible. I cannot look at his face, it is too much, but those hands, those feet! He Is present and when I sing, I sing to Him, when I pray I pray to Him, when I listen I listen for His voice. Immanuel, God with us.
God has raised Jesus from the dead. He is here. He comes and joins with us when we gather in his name. When we sing-do we sing in His presence? When we pray in His name, do we bow in adoration and look at the scars in his feet? When we give our offerings do we place them in His hands? When we listen to the message, do we wait for His voice –his challenge, His comfort, His guidance? Do we come and enter His presence?
The resurrection changed everything in our relationship with Jesus. One key area it has changed is our worship. He enters in and is a part of it. His presence makes a difference!
Prayer, Lord I am sorry for the way I have made worship –so often it is about me. I have failed to see your presence. I have talked about you but not to you, I have even acted as if you were not even here. How it must sadden you to see this. I know I am forgiven, but please Lord, guide me in how I can worship you. Open my eyes that I may see, open my ears that I can hear, open my heart to receive your presence, you blessing, you words. And yes Lord, if I have been talking about you and you are there behind me slap my head and wake me to your presence.
Father, as church that we will be keenly aware of your being here –that we will hear the chorus of angels singing your praises and join with them. Lord that we will be a church that truly comes together as your people called by your name to glorify you and be touched by you –that we may experience the moving of your Spirit. Father, you have raised Jesus from the dead and he is here with us, as he promised. Lord Jesus be honored today.
Presence and awareness of presence changes things. We talk different and act different if certain people are around. I get this quite often, “Oh it’s the pastor we can’t say this or we can’t do that.” If I was not there how different would people be? Makes me wonder sometimes. Presence does make a difference. Just think back to high school, or think about high school, and having your mother along on a date! Or at the high school dance as a chaperone. Changes the dynamic of our actions. Presence makes a difference.
Last week we looked at the importance –the essential key reality for Christians –God raised Jesus from the dead (I Peter 1:21). Take this truth, this reality, out of the equation and as Paul says we are still in our sins, we are preaching useless as is our faith (I Corinthians 15:12-20). This truth, this reality of Jesus being raised from the dead changes everything for us, for he is indeed with us always, in our midst, where we gather, when we pray, as we walk, when we witness, as we worship –he is present, he is Immanuel –God with us!
And that is a great comfort to us, but it is also a great challenge, a challenge I think many Christians struggle with and probably just plain don’t grasp. Immanuel –God with us. If we really grasped this, if we really understood this it would radically change just about everything in our lives. Jesus standing with you when you write a test –look at the next desk? Jesus with us when we do our taxes (yes it is coming to that time of year!). Jesus with us when we watch TV or movies. Jesus with us when we are on a date. Jesus with us when we drive in Winnipeg traffic. Oh we take great comfort in the fact Jesus is with us in times of struggle or heartache, times of loss. We use the words, God be with you! But the rest of the time? How much would it affect our language, our jokes, our purity, our honesty, our integrity, our treating of others? How would his presence affect our obedience to him? Oh, that is a tough one!
Obedience! Just picture yourself cruising along nicely on your way to Winnipeg doing a comfortable 120-125 on those empty stretches between Falcon Lake and Prawda. Oh, there’s never a cop there. Obedience to the speed? Oh I can push it a little! But suddenly in your review mirror or just up ahead you see the telltale bar across the top of a vehicle and suddenly your more obedient! Presence makes a difference. Over the next few weeks we are going to be looking at several areas that would be transformed with this awareness, this Immanuel awareness.
Let’s start with one area that we experience today that will be carried into eternity. Stand and read with me Revelation 4:2, 8-11. Pray.
The first area that we will look at is worship. Worship is a sometimes, well, often, a contentious issue. I know of very few churches (in fact none) where there is not some conflict expressed over that 75 minutes we spend together as God’s people each Sunday morning. The music is too loud, I can’t hear it, too long, too many songs, no enough singing, sermon is boring, too many announcements, organ is off tune, guitars are to twang-ee, it’s too hot, too cold, pews are too hard, can’t see, too much, too little, too…Sometimes the concerns expressed are legitimate, but more often they are expressions of preference based on “me.” I know –I’m one of those “me’s!” We have become so deluged in our culture that we are consumers rather than worshipers. We approach worship much like we do a shopping experience or a restaurant. We look for what we want and if it is not there we complain or go somewhere else. If we don’t like it we take it back.
But look closely at Revelation 4. Who is the focus? The one sitting on the throne! He is holy, He is worthy, He is Lord and God. When God is present, things change –there is a whole different dynamic going on.
And we see this right from the beginning of creation. Adam and Eve had taken the forbidden fruit, they had sinned against God. Now God shows up in the garden and what happens? They hide! The very presence of God makes them aware of their short-coming and His glory.
Moses walking in the desert making sure the sheep are okay comes across a burning bush- Take of your shoes you are on holy ground, why? Because of the presence of the Lord!
The people of Israel chosen and led by a cloud of fire and he settled over the tabernacle and then during the time of Solomon when the temple was built he settled in the holy of holies –God in the midst affected them as a nation and people. Jesus when he walked this earth powerfully affected people through his presence –even on the cross as he gives His life the centurion announces surely this is the son of God! After the resurrection Jesus appears to the disciples and what a change overcame them! They went form a cowering hiding group of mourners to a force that shook the foundations of the whole Roman empire. Jesus appears to Saul and profoundly affects this once enemy to now proclaimer of the good news. His presence affects us!
Isaiah cries out “Woe is me of unclean lips”, John falls as dead, Shadrach Michack and Abednego walk in fire, Daniel sits with lions, demons are cast out, blind are made to see, life is given to the dead, Paul is struck blind, and angels cry out Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty! This is the cry of worship that surrounds the One who sits on the throne-the one who is present.
Imagine being a part of that –well, you will. But let us look at bit closer at something worth noting. In this chapter, chapter 4 we see that the living creatures never stopped saying Holy holy holy (vs 8). And then verse 10, the elders lay their crowns before the throne and say, You are worthy. But then something exciting, something incredible happens –the lamb who was slain enters –the one who is worthy. And the elders now each have a harp and we read in the NIV –they sang a new song! Did you catch the difference? The presence of the Lamb, Jesus moves the elders into song. Before they said, now they sang! “You are worthy…” Even the angels, untold numbers, see this incredible thing and burst out –IN SONG, “Worthy!” And then we see all of creation, every creature, every one Sings, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and power and glory forever and ever!”
Yeah, but that is all in the future, that is not now. Well let’s stop and take note of a few things.
The worthiness of Jesus is not for the future. He is worthy now because he has been slain and he has been raised from the dead. All authority and power and honor are his now, not in some future time or when we get to heaven. Every knee will bow, every confess Jesus is Lord. Paul writes that Jesus has been lifted up into the heavenly realms and all is put under his feat –not a yet to come but a here and now.
And because God has raised him from the dead, Jesus can and does keep his promises, his word –where two or three gather I am there, I am with you always even to the ends of the earth. He is Immanuel, God with us! When we worship, when we pray, when we sing, when we praise, when we gather, when we listen, when we come into this place or gather in a small group –He is there –He is here! He is with us!
It is interesting and somewhat sobering to see that most of the time when God, and each time Jesus speaks of being with us, it is when we are two or more –in a group, a gathering. Our culture has pushed us, I think too far to the individual aspect of faith. “I have a personal prayer time, I have a personal worship time, I have a personal time with God” These are all good, we need them, Jesus exemplified them.
Yes he comes and meets with us and fills us with His Spirit, but those times when Jesus says I will be with you always, or where two or more are gathered, it is in the plural –the group. Leslie Flynn in his book “Worship: Together we celebrate” says, “The Lord pledges every time we assemble in His name, He is present in a way He is not present in individual’s private worship. This added spiritual dimension makes church service not a take-it-or-leave-it affair, but a divinely scheduled appointment which should draw us irresistibly to corporate worship on the Lord’s day.”
Rather than something we anticipate, that we delight in, that we look forward too, all too often corporate worship is looked at as an option, a chore, a duty, a habit. More and more we see the gathering together as secondary to everything else. I heard one man, I hope jokingly say, If I have another better to do I’ll see you in church on Sunday.” I didn’t see him, so…
Granted church can be boring. It can be a habit. And yes a duty or chore. And some of that rests on those who are leading. But that is not the real concern for me. The real concern is that most people do not come expecting to encounter God, to meet him. They would surprised like, well, like having someone suddenly appear behind you that you were talking about. D we come expectant, do we come prepared to meet God in one place e said e would be –where two or three are gathered in His name?
I cannot image not going to church. I am not saying that as a pastor, but as a person who loves church, loves coming to get together with God’s people, to sing about His grace, to hear about His love, to rub shoulders with those who are struggling or are praising just as I am. I look forward to meeting God, I expect Him to be there.
If I miss church I miss something valuable and essential in my life. When we go on holiday we do our best to find a church to attend. It has a priority in my life –why –because I love it. yes, it may not always speak to me, yes the music might not always be what I like, I may not even sing because it is in a different language, yes the pews may be too hard and the pastor too long winded, but if I am not there I miss out. Mostly, I believe, it is because I have failed in keeping a covenant arrangement with Jesus.
A covenant is an agreement, a promise. Jesus said I will be there, He says he will be in the midst, He will be with us. And I cannot approach church as if he is not there! My focus is to sing to him, to pray to Him, to serve Him, to speak his words and listen for His voice why? Because He is there! I often imagine when I come into worship that I am entering the throne room and he is seated there in the throne. I can hear the brush of angels wings, I can hear the “holy” chorus. I see the hands and feet that were nailed-the scares deep and visible. I cannot look at his face, it is too much, but those hands, those feet! He Is present and when I sing, I sing to Him, when I pray I pray to Him, when I listen I listen for His voice. Immanuel, God with us.
God has raised Jesus from the dead. He is here. He comes and joins with us when we gather in his name. When we sing-do we sing in His presence? When we pray in His name, do we bow in adoration and look at the scars in his feet? When we give our offerings do we place them in His hands? When we listen to the message, do we wait for His voice –his challenge, His comfort, His guidance? Do we come and enter His presence?
The resurrection changed everything in our relationship with Jesus. One key area it has changed is our worship. He enters in and is a part of it. His presence makes a difference!
Prayer, Lord I am sorry for the way I have made worship –so often it is about me. I have failed to see your presence. I have talked about you but not to you, I have even acted as if you were not even here. How it must sadden you to see this. I know I am forgiven, but please Lord, guide me in how I can worship you. Open my eyes that I may see, open my ears that I can hear, open my heart to receive your presence, you blessing, you words. And yes Lord, if I have been talking about you and you are there behind me slap my head and wake me to your presence.
Father, as church that we will be keenly aware of your being here –that we will hear the chorus of angels singing your praises and join with them. Lord that we will be a church that truly comes together as your people called by your name to glorify you and be touched by you –that we may experience the moving of your Spirit. Father, you have raised Jesus from the dead and he is here with us, as he promised. Lord Jesus be honored today.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Main Thing -Resurrection January 9
God raised Jesus from the dead! (I Peter 1:21)
I start off with saying that because I want to be very clear in this declaration –God raised Jesus from the dead! The fact that Jesus was dead was never in question. The ruling authorities of the time knew Jesus was dead. His enemies knew he was dead. His friends knew he was dead. Jesus had predicted it, the Pharisees and religious leaders wanted, the Romans did it and no one doubted it –Jesus -was -dead.
The problem they had was not with his death but with his resurrection. Three days after the death of Jesus the tomb was empty. That was the problem, that was the fear, that was the hope, that Jesus indeed had risen from the dead. A story was fabricated –the body was stolen by the disciples, in spite of all the precautions the body was gone and so a story made up –the disciples took the body. Yet, those very same ones accused of taking the body themselves doubted. Rather than a group of people plotting and scheming on how to take the body, they hid in fear, the bowed in tears, they mourned and they trembled, some even sought to escape by leaving town. Rather than a group of courageous men coming to take on a well trained group of soldiers, a few women came not to steal a body but to prepare it for permanent burial. The followers of Jesus were just as surprised as the authorities that the body was not there. God had raised Jesus from the dead.
Over the next 40 days this very same Jesus showed himself to many people many times. Sometimes there was one or two, other times there were as many as 500. We read that on at least 11 occasions Jesus appeared –not as an ethereal vision or manifestation, but as a tangible, touchable very real person one who talked, was touched, even ate fish on the shore of Galilee. God had raised Jesus from the dead, no matter the rumors, no matter the bribes to say otherwise there was no doubt, even to the most doubtful people, no doubt, in any one’s mind that Jesus had been raised from the dead. God had raised Jesus from the dead!
But more than just a resurrected or resuscitated body, Jesus was a transformed body. He was recognizable and yet more. He was resurrected into a body that was sown in a perishable body, but raised imperishable, sown in dishonor but raised in glory, sown in weakness but raised in power, sown in the natural and raised in the spiritual (I Corinthians 15:42-44), this body as the first fruits of those who would come, those who would belong to Him (15:20). God had raised Jesus from the dead –raised Him into eternity in glory and power and majesty.
This very act of resurrection is vital to our hope, our faith, our purpose our eternity. This very act of resurrection is perhaps “the” thing upon which all of who we are and what we do, all of what we hope for and believe is based.
There are in the course of events certain things that happen that you look back and say, that was when it all made sense, or that was the turning point of the game, or everything hinged on this happening. In the recent Junior’s world cup for Canada it was the game against the Swedes. Several commentators said that was the turning point for Canada –they realized they were playing other very good teams in this tournament not just going through the motions until they met the USA in, what they hoped, was a gold medal final to vindicate the loss last year. And then there came the final game against Russia –game in hand, up three goals. Turning point? Well, there is a lot of debate on that, but something certainly happened that changed the whole game and its outcome.
In other events there may be something that everything else hinges on. If this does not happen then everything else falls apart. In a war it may be a certain battle. In a battle it may be a certain movement of the troops. It may be secrecy, or something else. Everything depends on this one event, this one action or success is not possible. Remove that one element, that one key, and it all falls apart. The resurrection is so important, so crucial to our hope –our eternity, our purpose.
Let us read from I Corinthians 15:12-20.
God has raised Jesus from the dead. You remove this from our theology, our doctrine, our beliefs and everything else crumbles. There is a movement, and has been for many years, to deny or disbelieve in the resurrection –and this is amoung so called Christian groups! There are many people, in and out of the church who believe in Jesus. They believe he was a good man, a great teacher, even a prophet. They do things in his name –even may do great things, and they will even believe that he died –but the resurrection? Some believe it was just a metaphor for the rest of us –Jesus did not rise from the dead but that his disciples continued to live out his reality.
Why is the resurrection so important? Well, there are the reasons I have just given and that we read about from Paul, but there 10 key reasons I would challenge us with today.
Because God raised Jesus from the dead all authority is given to Him. Look at some of the key passages we have that proclaim the authority of Jesus and His glory –Matthew 28:18 “All authority has been given to me.” And then Ephesians 1:18-23. Take out the resurrection and there is no authority, there is no power. God has raised Jesus from the dead and all authority is given to Him! God has exalted Him to the highest place and given Him the name that is above every other name (Philippians 2:9). The resurrection established his Lordship and authority –he is the king of kings and Lord of Lords.
Because God raised Jesus from the dead then the words and teachings of Jesus must be truth! If Jesus did not rise from the dead then what authority does he have to speak truth. One of the things he said many times in different ways was he would rise from the dead. After all, then if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his saying he would means he was wrong, and if he got that wrong, what else did he get wrong? Were his statements about being the son of God correct? What about his saying he was the only way to the father? If there were no resurrection then we are left in doubt about the veracity of Jesus teaching. We can take what we like and apply it as we would from any good teacher, but to take it as truth? Because God raised Jesus from the dead and has given Him all authority and has shown the veracity of his teachings then they must be followed!
And that is a key reason I believe why many, even in the church who may believe in God will pull away from the resurrection –if Jesus really did rise from the dead, and all authority is then given to him then his words, his teachings, his commands must be followed. The resurrection adds an exclamation mark to all of the teachings of Jesus –all of his statements.
-I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me! –Resurrection!
-If you love me, obey my commands –Resurrection!
-I am the vine you are the branches –remain in me –resurrection!
-God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that who ever believe in him will have everlasting life –resurrection!
If Jesus was just a good man, just a good teacher, just a moral guide, then the words he spoke can be taken or left –we can pick an choose what we want to believe is true or worth following. Much as we would follow the teachings of Buddha or Benjamin Franklin or any other teacher and giver of advice. But if Jesus is risen, if he is indeed given all authority if he is Lord and King and all are placed under his feet, then what he says, what he teaches is truth.
Because God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus has the power to judge. John 5:19-30. All authority is given to Jesus in heaven and earth, and he will judge. And there are two things to note here. The first is that there will be a judgment of separation. This is the judgment where those who are true believers in Jesus Christ will be separated from those who are not.
The Bible, the words of Jesus are very clear on this. Believe in me and you have life, follow my commands and you have life, be led by the Spirit and have life, I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me. Early on Jesus talked about the judgment of separation in his discourse called the sermon on the mount (Mathew 7 15-23) and then again in his parable on the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. This final judgment of separation is hard for a lot of people to take and so we come up with such things as “all paths lead to God” or “Jesus is just one of many ways.”
The resurrection places Jesus uniquely and singularly as having the power and the authority to judge. And He will judge by the standard the Father has set –believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! This is not just a mental ascent. Jesus himself says that many will call him Lord yet still be separated from him.
Belief begins in the holiness and righteousness of the sovereign God. We are separated from God because of sin and stand in judgment because of our sin. We, as sinful and separate beings being’s we cannot bring anything to God to offer for our salvation –we are not saved by the law or works –simply following the teachings of Jesus are not enough (Ephesians 2). Jesus Christ, as God’s son, is the only way to forgiveness and cleansing from our sin (Hebrews 2:17). We must confess (admit our sin), and believe (put our trust in Christ as our only hope) and repent (change our lives to match His. All who receive Him (Jesus and believe in His name (Jesus) he gave the right to become the children of God.
God has raised Jesus from the dead and given Him the right to judge-to separate, those who believe and those who do not. Jesus tied the resurrection and faith in him together when he met a woman named Martha who had just lost her brother in death. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe?” That I the question we need to ask ourselves –do I believe? God raised Jesus from the dead –do you believe?
Further there is also the judgment of actions. This is for those who have gone through the judgment of separation and now stand before the throne of Jesus. Paul in II Corinthians 5:10 say’s that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (read). This is the obedience factor for followers of Jesus. Jesus made it very clear “If you love me you will obey my commands” (John 14:15). God has raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus has been given all authority, his words are true and he has been given the power and right to judge.
But even more and I am going to run through these quickly but do not lose sight of their importance and impact in our lives!
John Piper says in his book “Seeing and savoring Jesus Christ” says the resurrection vindicates the sufficiency of the cross that Jesus death and sacrifice was enough for our salvation. The price has been paid, the debt of sin accounted for. Jesus has paid it all, nothing more is needed because he has laid down his life as our ransom and death no longer has mastery of Him but he has conquered death! Colossians 2:14-15
Because he has been raised our forgiveness is real and permanent. Jesus has assured our salvation and all who believe in Him will be saved! Take great hope in this, take great confidence in this –because he lives we too shall live! (Colossians 2:13)
Because he has been raised from the dead he now stands at the Heavenly Father’s right hand making intercession for us –Jesus is praying and asking the father on our behalf. We pray in Jesus name because he is risen and can have the confidence that our great high priest is there –one who knows our struggles and loves us eternally. (Hebrews 7:25)
Because he has been raised from the dead he can give us his Spirit to teach and to guide us, comfort and protect us, fill us and empower us. (John 14:16)
Because Jesus is raised from the dead he can and does commission us to carry on His work –to spread the good news of His coming and the salvation that is offered. Because he lives he continues to work through us to build His kingdom, his church against which the gates of hell will not prevail! (Acts 1:8)
Because he is raised form the dead he has defeated the enemy –stepped on the head of the serpent. The victory is won. And more he has defeated the grave and death no longer holds its grip. For all who believe in Him are given the gift of eternal life and we shall be like him. (I Corinthians 15)
Because he has been raised from the dead we can, and to me this is one of the most important comforting and challenging aspects of the whole thing, because he has been raised from the dead he can be with us and is with us, even to the ends of the earth. Immanuel! God with us, Jesus with us! At Christmas we see the promise of Immanuel and indeed He has come as a baby, God in flesh. But even more powerfully, more fully, more incredibly he is Immanuel –God with us because he is risen! (Matthew 28:20)
Over the next several weeks we are going to look at how this presence of the risen savior affects some of the key areas of our lives. It should and can have a tremendous impact in our day to day living, our worship, our ministry, our growth, our sharing the good news. The Lord is Risen! He has risen Indeed!
God has raised Jesus from the dead and this gives us hope –he is the first born from amoung the dead and he has the power to raise us up with Himself! (Romans 8:11)
I start off with saying that because I want to be very clear in this declaration –God raised Jesus from the dead! The fact that Jesus was dead was never in question. The ruling authorities of the time knew Jesus was dead. His enemies knew he was dead. His friends knew he was dead. Jesus had predicted it, the Pharisees and religious leaders wanted, the Romans did it and no one doubted it –Jesus -was -dead.
The problem they had was not with his death but with his resurrection. Three days after the death of Jesus the tomb was empty. That was the problem, that was the fear, that was the hope, that Jesus indeed had risen from the dead. A story was fabricated –the body was stolen by the disciples, in spite of all the precautions the body was gone and so a story made up –the disciples took the body. Yet, those very same ones accused of taking the body themselves doubted. Rather than a group of people plotting and scheming on how to take the body, they hid in fear, the bowed in tears, they mourned and they trembled, some even sought to escape by leaving town. Rather than a group of courageous men coming to take on a well trained group of soldiers, a few women came not to steal a body but to prepare it for permanent burial. The followers of Jesus were just as surprised as the authorities that the body was not there. God had raised Jesus from the dead.
Over the next 40 days this very same Jesus showed himself to many people many times. Sometimes there was one or two, other times there were as many as 500. We read that on at least 11 occasions Jesus appeared –not as an ethereal vision or manifestation, but as a tangible, touchable very real person one who talked, was touched, even ate fish on the shore of Galilee. God had raised Jesus from the dead, no matter the rumors, no matter the bribes to say otherwise there was no doubt, even to the most doubtful people, no doubt, in any one’s mind that Jesus had been raised from the dead. God had raised Jesus from the dead!
But more than just a resurrected or resuscitated body, Jesus was a transformed body. He was recognizable and yet more. He was resurrected into a body that was sown in a perishable body, but raised imperishable, sown in dishonor but raised in glory, sown in weakness but raised in power, sown in the natural and raised in the spiritual (I Corinthians 15:42-44), this body as the first fruits of those who would come, those who would belong to Him (15:20). God had raised Jesus from the dead –raised Him into eternity in glory and power and majesty.
This very act of resurrection is vital to our hope, our faith, our purpose our eternity. This very act of resurrection is perhaps “the” thing upon which all of who we are and what we do, all of what we hope for and believe is based.
There are in the course of events certain things that happen that you look back and say, that was when it all made sense, or that was the turning point of the game, or everything hinged on this happening. In the recent Junior’s world cup for Canada it was the game against the Swedes. Several commentators said that was the turning point for Canada –they realized they were playing other very good teams in this tournament not just going through the motions until they met the USA in, what they hoped, was a gold medal final to vindicate the loss last year. And then there came the final game against Russia –game in hand, up three goals. Turning point? Well, there is a lot of debate on that, but something certainly happened that changed the whole game and its outcome.
In other events there may be something that everything else hinges on. If this does not happen then everything else falls apart. In a war it may be a certain battle. In a battle it may be a certain movement of the troops. It may be secrecy, or something else. Everything depends on this one event, this one action or success is not possible. Remove that one element, that one key, and it all falls apart. The resurrection is so important, so crucial to our hope –our eternity, our purpose.
Let us read from I Corinthians 15:12-20.
God has raised Jesus from the dead. You remove this from our theology, our doctrine, our beliefs and everything else crumbles. There is a movement, and has been for many years, to deny or disbelieve in the resurrection –and this is amoung so called Christian groups! There are many people, in and out of the church who believe in Jesus. They believe he was a good man, a great teacher, even a prophet. They do things in his name –even may do great things, and they will even believe that he died –but the resurrection? Some believe it was just a metaphor for the rest of us –Jesus did not rise from the dead but that his disciples continued to live out his reality.
Why is the resurrection so important? Well, there are the reasons I have just given and that we read about from Paul, but there 10 key reasons I would challenge us with today.
Because God raised Jesus from the dead all authority is given to Him. Look at some of the key passages we have that proclaim the authority of Jesus and His glory –Matthew 28:18 “All authority has been given to me.” And then Ephesians 1:18-23. Take out the resurrection and there is no authority, there is no power. God has raised Jesus from the dead and all authority is given to Him! God has exalted Him to the highest place and given Him the name that is above every other name (Philippians 2:9). The resurrection established his Lordship and authority –he is the king of kings and Lord of Lords.
Because God raised Jesus from the dead then the words and teachings of Jesus must be truth! If Jesus did not rise from the dead then what authority does he have to speak truth. One of the things he said many times in different ways was he would rise from the dead. After all, then if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his saying he would means he was wrong, and if he got that wrong, what else did he get wrong? Were his statements about being the son of God correct? What about his saying he was the only way to the father? If there were no resurrection then we are left in doubt about the veracity of Jesus teaching. We can take what we like and apply it as we would from any good teacher, but to take it as truth? Because God raised Jesus from the dead and has given Him all authority and has shown the veracity of his teachings then they must be followed!
And that is a key reason I believe why many, even in the church who may believe in God will pull away from the resurrection –if Jesus really did rise from the dead, and all authority is then given to him then his words, his teachings, his commands must be followed. The resurrection adds an exclamation mark to all of the teachings of Jesus –all of his statements.
-I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me! –Resurrection!
-If you love me, obey my commands –Resurrection!
-I am the vine you are the branches –remain in me –resurrection!
-God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that who ever believe in him will have everlasting life –resurrection!
If Jesus was just a good man, just a good teacher, just a moral guide, then the words he spoke can be taken or left –we can pick an choose what we want to believe is true or worth following. Much as we would follow the teachings of Buddha or Benjamin Franklin or any other teacher and giver of advice. But if Jesus is risen, if he is indeed given all authority if he is Lord and King and all are placed under his feet, then what he says, what he teaches is truth.
Because God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus has the power to judge. John 5:19-30. All authority is given to Jesus in heaven and earth, and he will judge. And there are two things to note here. The first is that there will be a judgment of separation. This is the judgment where those who are true believers in Jesus Christ will be separated from those who are not.
The Bible, the words of Jesus are very clear on this. Believe in me and you have life, follow my commands and you have life, be led by the Spirit and have life, I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me. Early on Jesus talked about the judgment of separation in his discourse called the sermon on the mount (Mathew 7 15-23) and then again in his parable on the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. This final judgment of separation is hard for a lot of people to take and so we come up with such things as “all paths lead to God” or “Jesus is just one of many ways.”
The resurrection places Jesus uniquely and singularly as having the power and the authority to judge. And He will judge by the standard the Father has set –believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! This is not just a mental ascent. Jesus himself says that many will call him Lord yet still be separated from him.
Belief begins in the holiness and righteousness of the sovereign God. We are separated from God because of sin and stand in judgment because of our sin. We, as sinful and separate beings being’s we cannot bring anything to God to offer for our salvation –we are not saved by the law or works –simply following the teachings of Jesus are not enough (Ephesians 2). Jesus Christ, as God’s son, is the only way to forgiveness and cleansing from our sin (Hebrews 2:17). We must confess (admit our sin), and believe (put our trust in Christ as our only hope) and repent (change our lives to match His. All who receive Him (Jesus and believe in His name (Jesus) he gave the right to become the children of God.
God has raised Jesus from the dead and given Him the right to judge-to separate, those who believe and those who do not. Jesus tied the resurrection and faith in him together when he met a woman named Martha who had just lost her brother in death. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe?” That I the question we need to ask ourselves –do I believe? God raised Jesus from the dead –do you believe?
Further there is also the judgment of actions. This is for those who have gone through the judgment of separation and now stand before the throne of Jesus. Paul in II Corinthians 5:10 say’s that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (read). This is the obedience factor for followers of Jesus. Jesus made it very clear “If you love me you will obey my commands” (John 14:15). God has raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus has been given all authority, his words are true and he has been given the power and right to judge.
But even more and I am going to run through these quickly but do not lose sight of their importance and impact in our lives!
John Piper says in his book “Seeing and savoring Jesus Christ” says the resurrection vindicates the sufficiency of the cross that Jesus death and sacrifice was enough for our salvation. The price has been paid, the debt of sin accounted for. Jesus has paid it all, nothing more is needed because he has laid down his life as our ransom and death no longer has mastery of Him but he has conquered death! Colossians 2:14-15
Because he has been raised our forgiveness is real and permanent. Jesus has assured our salvation and all who believe in Him will be saved! Take great hope in this, take great confidence in this –because he lives we too shall live! (Colossians 2:13)
Because he has been raised from the dead he now stands at the Heavenly Father’s right hand making intercession for us –Jesus is praying and asking the father on our behalf. We pray in Jesus name because he is risen and can have the confidence that our great high priest is there –one who knows our struggles and loves us eternally. (Hebrews 7:25)
Because he has been raised from the dead he can give us his Spirit to teach and to guide us, comfort and protect us, fill us and empower us. (John 14:16)
Because Jesus is raised from the dead he can and does commission us to carry on His work –to spread the good news of His coming and the salvation that is offered. Because he lives he continues to work through us to build His kingdom, his church against which the gates of hell will not prevail! (Acts 1:8)
Because he is raised form the dead he has defeated the enemy –stepped on the head of the serpent. The victory is won. And more he has defeated the grave and death no longer holds its grip. For all who believe in Him are given the gift of eternal life and we shall be like him. (I Corinthians 15)
Because he has been raised from the dead we can, and to me this is one of the most important comforting and challenging aspects of the whole thing, because he has been raised from the dead he can be with us and is with us, even to the ends of the earth. Immanuel! God with us, Jesus with us! At Christmas we see the promise of Immanuel and indeed He has come as a baby, God in flesh. But even more powerfully, more fully, more incredibly he is Immanuel –God with us because he is risen! (Matthew 28:20)
Over the next several weeks we are going to look at how this presence of the risen savior affects some of the key areas of our lives. It should and can have a tremendous impact in our day to day living, our worship, our ministry, our growth, our sharing the good news. The Lord is Risen! He has risen Indeed!
God has raised Jesus from the dead and this gives us hope –he is the first born from amoung the dead and he has the power to raise us up with Himself! (Romans 8:11)
Oranges aren't suppoed to be seedless -Dec 26
I am sure everyone here knows what this is –a Mandarin “Christmas” Orange. These have been a staple in our household every year ever since I can remember. Getting these oranges each year at Christmas was a special treat. When I was kid we always got these oranges on Christmas morning, there were one or two in our stocking, always at the toe.
One of the good things about them was that they were seedless. They were sweet, juicy and refreshing, but the thing I remember most is they were seedless. And we have come along in our society to have several fruits that are like that –seedless. There are bananas, grapes and watermelon and I am sure probably a few others that are around. We like the pleasure and ease of eating our fruit without having to stop and spit out the seeds, to bite into a juicy piece of fruit without the irritation of the seed. But you know something –these types of fruits are aberrations –they are not natural. We have engineered through selective breeding and sometimes through genetic alteration fruit that are really freaks in nature .
When I was in high school biology I can remember having the teacher stand in front of the class and talk about how fruit are the plants way of getting it’s seeds scattered around. The tree would produce an enticing sweet shell which surrounded its seeds so that some animal would come along, eat the enticing shell, swallow the seeds as well, then at a later time would expel the remains –largely the seeds, at a different location. Mr. Pike would stand up and say, “How does it feel to be fooled by a plant to do it’s work?”
Well, we know that is how God created things to be. But he also created different fruits for us to enjoy and benefit from as part of our diet. But the idea is still the same –the plant makes this fleshy tasty outer shell to surround the seed so that its seeds will be scattered and continue to make the plant to continue on for future plant generations. It is the way they regenerate and propagate. The purpose of the plant is not in producing the fleshy outer shell, the purpose of the plant is producing seed. If the plant existed just to produce the sweet outer shell and flesh, how would it continue to exist? That is why seedless oranges and grapes and watermelons are aberrations. They cannot survive in nature, not without intervention such as grafting.
Trees, vines, plants, produce seeds. They are created by God to reproduce (read Genesis 1:11-13). The fleshy part is to be attractive to us so that we carry the seeds and place them elsewhere in order to reproduce more of that plant or vine. The purpose of the plant in producing the seed is reproduction, making more of itself.
This helps me to understand what Jesus may be intending when he talks about His being the vine and we are the branches, and as branches we are to bear fruit. Often we look at this passage and we read into it Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruit of the spirit –love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self control. But is that what Jesus is referring to here?
I think that as good as these things are, these fruit of the Spirit, they are more of the skin, the fleshy part of what people see and desire. After all, who would not look at these fruit in our lives and go –I want some of that! I want peace in my life, I want joy in my life, I want patience and goodness and love. But is that really what we offer? No, this appealing outer layer has the purpose spreading the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came to this earth for a purpose, to bring the god news to us Mark 1 reads that he went throughout the region of Galilee preaching and teaching this message of good news, that people would hear and come to know the salvation of God. In Luke 4 Jesus is standing in front of the people in the synagogue and he reads from Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him and he is to preach the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, release the oppressed and proclaim the ear of the Lord. (18-19). Later, when he had been healing people and laying hands on them and people wanted him stay and keep doing this (the attraction stuff), he said, no, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God! (43).” And this is the directive he gave us –to go into the world and preach the good news (Mark 15:16).
And so, the seed for me is Christ-likeness. Our goal, our purpose, is to more and more conformed to the image of Christ. Becoming more like Jesus Christ and doing the things He did –fulfilling his purpose of growing the kingdom, spreading the good news. Becoming more Christ-like. Sounds ominous and daunting –at least to me. How can I become Christ –like? Well, I can’t. And that brings us back to the passage in John 15. We cannot do it on our own. Rather we are to be tied into the vine, into the source –Christ Himself.
Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches, the father is the gardener. Remain in me and I in you, no branch can bear fruit by itself, is must remain in the vine. (15:1,4). The fruit of Christ-likeness, that seed which grows to become more and more like Jesus, must be connected to the vine. To bear the fruit of Christ-likeness we must be attached to the vine (vs. 5). In this we grow and flourish become more like Him.
Jesus, in the verses surrounding this teaching on the vine, promises his disciples that he will give them his Spirit. This Spirit, His Spirit, will be with us to teach us, comfort us, guide us, secure us in Him. He further says He will give us His love, His peace, His joy that is beyond the understanding of this world (cf 14:25-27).
When we accept that our God is righteous, holy and sovereign over al things and that we are fallen, sinful creatures who are separated from this holy God because of our unrighteousness, when we see our need for radical change, for a new heart, a new relationship with God and tat only through Jesus Christ is that change possible –that He died for our sins and made an atonement, a final and complete payment for our sins, when we confess and repent and become attached to the vine –then he begins to grow in us. Salvation is not just saying I am sorry to God but salvation is radically changing our lives to become more like Jesus Christ. This is called sanctification –the progressive working of the Spirit in our lives to more and more make us free from sin and more and more like Christ in our actual lives (Grudem, pg. 746).
Jesus does not just save us to look good –to have joy and peace and self control and all the other outward things, but he saves us and works in us to sanctify us. That is why he gave us His Spirit and why he continually says, obey what I command, just as he, Jesus, did what the father commanded him (14:31; 15:17). We are to do as Jesus did –seek first and foremost the glory of God, live a life that is on obedience to God, become more and more like Christ and to fulfill his purpose –tell the good news!
One of the true purposes of the vine producing branches that are fruitful is not so that there can be an appealing, eye catching sweet object –but to produce something that will reproduce, make more.
The things we call the fruit of the Spirit all emerge out of our life in Christ. A part of their appeal is that –to be appealing, to attract people to Christ. And in that the good news can be shared with them and they can become grow in the vine. Our purpose in life is not just to bear fruit but to be fruitful –to multiply, to bring others closer to God through our fruit, through our words, our deeds, our lives, our hope. The fruit of the Spirit is a testimony of the working of Christ in is through Hi Spirit so that we may be able to give a reason for the hope we have, n opportunity to share the good news, a chance to bring someone closer to the God Who made them, loves them, came as Immanuel, died for them and rose again to return for them.
I love these oranges. But ultimately, they are just nice, sweet unproductive mutants. Their real purpose, to produce seeds and to produce more has been lost. Sadly, many Christians are like that, or are becoming like that. In fact the church as a whole is somewhat like that isn’t it. We try to be appealing but we lack the true inner fruit –Christ-likeness, and we lack his purpose –to share the good news –spread the gospel.
This morning as you leave there will be available for those who desire, one of these fruit. Take it an ponder as you eat it –am I fruitless, seedless? Or do I desire to be fruitfull?
One of the good things about them was that they were seedless. They were sweet, juicy and refreshing, but the thing I remember most is they were seedless. And we have come along in our society to have several fruits that are like that –seedless. There are bananas, grapes and watermelon and I am sure probably a few others that are around. We like the pleasure and ease of eating our fruit without having to stop and spit out the seeds, to bite into a juicy piece of fruit without the irritation of the seed. But you know something –these types of fruits are aberrations –they are not natural. We have engineered through selective breeding and sometimes through genetic alteration fruit that are really freaks in nature .
When I was in high school biology I can remember having the teacher stand in front of the class and talk about how fruit are the plants way of getting it’s seeds scattered around. The tree would produce an enticing sweet shell which surrounded its seeds so that some animal would come along, eat the enticing shell, swallow the seeds as well, then at a later time would expel the remains –largely the seeds, at a different location. Mr. Pike would stand up and say, “How does it feel to be fooled by a plant to do it’s work?”
Well, we know that is how God created things to be. But he also created different fruits for us to enjoy and benefit from as part of our diet. But the idea is still the same –the plant makes this fleshy tasty outer shell to surround the seed so that its seeds will be scattered and continue to make the plant to continue on for future plant generations. It is the way they regenerate and propagate. The purpose of the plant is not in producing the fleshy outer shell, the purpose of the plant is producing seed. If the plant existed just to produce the sweet outer shell and flesh, how would it continue to exist? That is why seedless oranges and grapes and watermelons are aberrations. They cannot survive in nature, not without intervention such as grafting.
Trees, vines, plants, produce seeds. They are created by God to reproduce (read Genesis 1:11-13). The fleshy part is to be attractive to us so that we carry the seeds and place them elsewhere in order to reproduce more of that plant or vine. The purpose of the plant in producing the seed is reproduction, making more of itself.
This helps me to understand what Jesus may be intending when he talks about His being the vine and we are the branches, and as branches we are to bear fruit. Often we look at this passage and we read into it Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruit of the spirit –love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self control. But is that what Jesus is referring to here?
I think that as good as these things are, these fruit of the Spirit, they are more of the skin, the fleshy part of what people see and desire. After all, who would not look at these fruit in our lives and go –I want some of that! I want peace in my life, I want joy in my life, I want patience and goodness and love. But is that really what we offer? No, this appealing outer layer has the purpose spreading the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came to this earth for a purpose, to bring the god news to us Mark 1 reads that he went throughout the region of Galilee preaching and teaching this message of good news, that people would hear and come to know the salvation of God. In Luke 4 Jesus is standing in front of the people in the synagogue and he reads from Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him and he is to preach the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, release the oppressed and proclaim the ear of the Lord. (18-19). Later, when he had been healing people and laying hands on them and people wanted him stay and keep doing this (the attraction stuff), he said, no, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God! (43).” And this is the directive he gave us –to go into the world and preach the good news (Mark 15:16).
And so, the seed for me is Christ-likeness. Our goal, our purpose, is to more and more conformed to the image of Christ. Becoming more like Jesus Christ and doing the things He did –fulfilling his purpose of growing the kingdom, spreading the good news. Becoming more Christ-like. Sounds ominous and daunting –at least to me. How can I become Christ –like? Well, I can’t. And that brings us back to the passage in John 15. We cannot do it on our own. Rather we are to be tied into the vine, into the source –Christ Himself.
Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches, the father is the gardener. Remain in me and I in you, no branch can bear fruit by itself, is must remain in the vine. (15:1,4). The fruit of Christ-likeness, that seed which grows to become more and more like Jesus, must be connected to the vine. To bear the fruit of Christ-likeness we must be attached to the vine (vs. 5). In this we grow and flourish become more like Him.
Jesus, in the verses surrounding this teaching on the vine, promises his disciples that he will give them his Spirit. This Spirit, His Spirit, will be with us to teach us, comfort us, guide us, secure us in Him. He further says He will give us His love, His peace, His joy that is beyond the understanding of this world (cf 14:25-27).
When we accept that our God is righteous, holy and sovereign over al things and that we are fallen, sinful creatures who are separated from this holy God because of our unrighteousness, when we see our need for radical change, for a new heart, a new relationship with God and tat only through Jesus Christ is that change possible –that He died for our sins and made an atonement, a final and complete payment for our sins, when we confess and repent and become attached to the vine –then he begins to grow in us. Salvation is not just saying I am sorry to God but salvation is radically changing our lives to become more like Jesus Christ. This is called sanctification –the progressive working of the Spirit in our lives to more and more make us free from sin and more and more like Christ in our actual lives (Grudem, pg. 746).
Jesus does not just save us to look good –to have joy and peace and self control and all the other outward things, but he saves us and works in us to sanctify us. That is why he gave us His Spirit and why he continually says, obey what I command, just as he, Jesus, did what the father commanded him (14:31; 15:17). We are to do as Jesus did –seek first and foremost the glory of God, live a life that is on obedience to God, become more and more like Christ and to fulfill his purpose –tell the good news!
One of the true purposes of the vine producing branches that are fruitful is not so that there can be an appealing, eye catching sweet object –but to produce something that will reproduce, make more.
The things we call the fruit of the Spirit all emerge out of our life in Christ. A part of their appeal is that –to be appealing, to attract people to Christ. And in that the good news can be shared with them and they can become grow in the vine. Our purpose in life is not just to bear fruit but to be fruitful –to multiply, to bring others closer to God through our fruit, through our words, our deeds, our lives, our hope. The fruit of the Spirit is a testimony of the working of Christ in is through Hi Spirit so that we may be able to give a reason for the hope we have, n opportunity to share the good news, a chance to bring someone closer to the God Who made them, loves them, came as Immanuel, died for them and rose again to return for them.
I love these oranges. But ultimately, they are just nice, sweet unproductive mutants. Their real purpose, to produce seeds and to produce more has been lost. Sadly, many Christians are like that, or are becoming like that. In fact the church as a whole is somewhat like that isn’t it. We try to be appealing but we lack the true inner fruit –Christ-likeness, and we lack his purpose –to share the good news –spread the gospel.
This morning as you leave there will be available for those who desire, one of these fruit. Take it an ponder as you eat it –am I fruitless, seedless? Or do I desire to be fruitfull?
Abide in Me -December 19
The Sunday before Christmas it may seem a little unusual to talk about something at the end of Jesus life. After all isn’t Christmas about the beginning of His life. Yes, but all of Jesus’ life was leading up to the end. His purpose was to come to this world to give Himself. The coming of the baby Jesus would be meaningless without the context of his death. That is why he came. He came, we read in Matthew 1:21, “to save his people from their sins.”
But it is the next few verses of Matthew 1 that bring us one of the great promises and assurances we have because Christ came. Read Matthew 1:22-23. Immanuel, God with us. We looked at this last week through the account of Ahaz and the prophet Isaiah. God gives us the opportunity to see and experience His power and presence in our lives. And it is because He is with us, God with us, that we can experience this. Ahaz had the opportunity and he turned it down. The result for him was disaster.
We are given that opportunity too, to connect with God, to experience Immanuel. John 1:12 says, “yet all who receive him, to those who believe in His name –what name, the name of Jesus, savior, he gave the right to become the children of God.”
Do you believe? Do you believe in the child who has come and is the son of God, the savior? Do you believe he has come to save his people –to save you from your sins?
Most of us here have done that, I am sure. We have accepted that the baby who came is the son of God, that he came to save us, that he died on the cross for us, that God not only gave us his son, but that his son gave us his life! The great meaning of Christmas is that God gave. And most of us have accepted, we believe. But what about that second part of the promise in Matthew –that he will be called Immanuel –God with us?
What does it mean for God to be with us? We have some kind of mystical acceptance of it, but does it really affect us, impact us to know God is with us? The presence of Christ does have an effect. The immediate effect, of course, is our salvation –we become the children of God. But more than that there is the effect of a growing and deeper communion with Christ.
Jesus would later refer to this as our abiding in Him. In John chapter 15 we see that Jesus is with His disciples and they are on their way to the Garden of Gethsemene. They have had their meal, what we often call the last supper, with Jesus and now they are walking through Jerusalem to the eastern gate of the city which leads to the mount of Olives. As they walk, they pass the temple, this huge structure that dominates the city. They may have even stopped at one of the familiar places where Jesus would teach from in the previous week. We don’t know this, but we can imagine how this is quite possible because Jesus now talks about the vine (John 15:1) Why?
Well, inside the temple grounds, near the entrance to the holy place there is a large purple curtain supported by a large gold beam. Josephus the historian of that period, writes that there was hung by that curtain a large grapevine of pure gold representing Israel. Wealthy citizens would bring gifts of gold to be made into grapes or leaves or other parts of the grapevine.
The grapevine and the vineyard were significant and ancient symbols in Israel and represented the covenant people of God, planted and tended by Him so Israel could produce fruit (Burge pg. 417). Psalm 80:8,9,14-15. And in Isaiah 5:7 we read, “the vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight.” Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea also talk about Israel being the vineyard of God. And so there is a special place that the vine has for Israel. To look on this great golden grapevine, here in the very temple of God, we to be reminded that God has planted and cares for His people.
With this huge, magnificent, golden vine and large clusters of golden grapes hanging down I can well imagine Jesus standing there and looking at them and then turning to his disciples and saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Jesus often would do this, take something that was ordinary, or visible and use it as a teaching tool “behold, look to the fields that are white and ready for harvest.” “Whose picture is on this coin? Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s!”
And then he brings the challenge and the blessing of Immanuel. “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” Remain-abide. I like that word abide much better, although it certainly does mean remain. We can abide because he is with us. It is hard to be with someone if they are not there. But he is Immanuel –God with us. His presence, his presence! In our lives. Immanuel!
As we read these few words that Jesus gave to His disciples as they made their way to the mount of Olives, we can see that he is comforting and challenging them with something they knew –the work of the master with the vine. And he applies it to their remaining in him –to abide. And in this he gives 5 gifts of grace to us as we abide.
The first gift is growth in Christ. Abide in me and you will bear fruit. The purpose of the branch, us, we who are abiding in Immanuel, is to grow. To grow s a vine! Paul says we are to grow up into Him, Christ, who is the head. We are to grow in our likeness of Jesus, the vine. As we abide, he has already promised us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, who will teach us and guide us. We grow by abiding, by remaining, by being attached to Immanuel. God with us! God in us! This great gift is given to us to grow –to learn to be more like the one God loves best, grow to become more and more like His children.
The second gift is cleanness. Verse 3 says we are already clean, clean because of the word Jesus gave us. How are we clean? Our sins are washed away! He has cleansed us from our sins! Immanuel, God with us, died for us, cleansed us, making us a pure and spotless gift for the father. We are washed clean through Jesus Christ because he came as a child, grew to a man and died for us. The image of clean with regards to the vine and the branches is that the gardener would come along and lift up any branch that is in the dirt. He cleans it off and lifts it up and sets it higher. He cleans us from our sins, that which makes us unfit, un-right to go before a holy and pure God. We read elsewhere we are made holy –we are set apart and sanctified. All big concepts to say this –we are clean because of Jesus. God cannot and will not allow anything unclean in his presence. Can we grasp that? We are made clean by the master for the master so we can be with the master –Immanuel!
The third gift is productivity. Verse 4. Our purpose is to grow but even more it is to bear fruit. I like t grow tomatoes, as many of you do. I like it when I see the little yellow flowers come and then they turn into little buds that grow and become green then orange then red. The purpose is to get fruit. I have grown some really nice looking tomatoes plants that have been some of the most healthy and full plants ever, but never had one bud, one tomato. They look good, but their purpose is not met –they did not have any fruit. Many Christians today are like that –we look really good but our productivity is not great. Why? I think it is largely because we do not abide with Immanuel. Listen carefully to verse 4 again and then the following verses which expand on it (4-8). When we abide, as we abide, as we focus on Him, learn from Him, grow in Him, become more like him, as we abide with Immanuel, we become productive. The gift of Immanuel, God with us is that we are productive for Him –we bear fruit.
The fourth gift is security. We talk a lot about security today. Many of you who are travelling this Christmas will feel the effects of increased security. We may sometimes not like it, but better safe than sorry! And we look for security in our homes, with our finances, with our children. We protect our computers and private information. If we do not –well, I found out this last week what happens when I don’t –One of my computers picked up a virus that took over. Why, I didn’t have that security I should have. Security is something we are and should be very conscious of in our world. And in our eternity. Verse 9-10. If you obey my commands, YOU WILL remain in my love! Talk about security –YOU WILL! This is a guarantee better than any anti-virus, better than any insurance, better than any security screening it is made by the Lord God himself, Immanuel –God with us! And even more Jesus ahs gives us His spirit, remember? Paul in Ephesians 1:13-13 (let me read). Guarantee! WOW! If we remain in Him, abide in Him, live Immanuel, talk about security. And then, Jesus goes on to pray these words (John 17:11-12, and then verse 23. Immanuel, God with us!
The fifth gift is prayer power. Verse 16. We often take this verse out of context, or in isolation. Whatever you ask the Father will give. Hold on here! We must take this in the context of abiding in him. He has loved us, chosen us, filled us, given His Spirit to us, given us His joy, He has given us His commands and the call, the challenge to obey. He sets the rule of love in our hearts. The first four gifts must be opened and working in our lives for the fifth gift to be empowered! Listen to verse 16, there is a wonderful gift and promise there to be sure but take not, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit –fruit that will last, then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Are you bearing fruit? Are you living the life of abiding? Are you going out and living in obedience? Are you loving others as commanded? Is Immanuel being realized in you? Then ask, ask in order that Immanuel may be realized, ask that you may love, ask that you may bear fruit, ask that your joy may be full, ask that you be clean and lifted up, ask that you grow, ask to be secure, ask to abide and experience Immanuel, and for He is able to do more than you can ask or imagine! Ask in Jesus Name, the name of Immanuel, the name of the vine, the name that is above every other name.
Friends we had these 5 wonderful gifts of grace through Immanuel as we abide –remain, stick fast, grow. Immanuel, God with us. Remain in him, Abide in Him and he will do more than you could ask or imagine!
But it is the next few verses of Matthew 1 that bring us one of the great promises and assurances we have because Christ came. Read Matthew 1:22-23. Immanuel, God with us. We looked at this last week through the account of Ahaz and the prophet Isaiah. God gives us the opportunity to see and experience His power and presence in our lives. And it is because He is with us, God with us, that we can experience this. Ahaz had the opportunity and he turned it down. The result for him was disaster.
We are given that opportunity too, to connect with God, to experience Immanuel. John 1:12 says, “yet all who receive him, to those who believe in His name –what name, the name of Jesus, savior, he gave the right to become the children of God.”
Do you believe? Do you believe in the child who has come and is the son of God, the savior? Do you believe he has come to save his people –to save you from your sins?
Most of us here have done that, I am sure. We have accepted that the baby who came is the son of God, that he came to save us, that he died on the cross for us, that God not only gave us his son, but that his son gave us his life! The great meaning of Christmas is that God gave. And most of us have accepted, we believe. But what about that second part of the promise in Matthew –that he will be called Immanuel –God with us?
What does it mean for God to be with us? We have some kind of mystical acceptance of it, but does it really affect us, impact us to know God is with us? The presence of Christ does have an effect. The immediate effect, of course, is our salvation –we become the children of God. But more than that there is the effect of a growing and deeper communion with Christ.
Jesus would later refer to this as our abiding in Him. In John chapter 15 we see that Jesus is with His disciples and they are on their way to the Garden of Gethsemene. They have had their meal, what we often call the last supper, with Jesus and now they are walking through Jerusalem to the eastern gate of the city which leads to the mount of Olives. As they walk, they pass the temple, this huge structure that dominates the city. They may have even stopped at one of the familiar places where Jesus would teach from in the previous week. We don’t know this, but we can imagine how this is quite possible because Jesus now talks about the vine (John 15:1) Why?
Well, inside the temple grounds, near the entrance to the holy place there is a large purple curtain supported by a large gold beam. Josephus the historian of that period, writes that there was hung by that curtain a large grapevine of pure gold representing Israel. Wealthy citizens would bring gifts of gold to be made into grapes or leaves or other parts of the grapevine.
The grapevine and the vineyard were significant and ancient symbols in Israel and represented the covenant people of God, planted and tended by Him so Israel could produce fruit (Burge pg. 417). Psalm 80:8,9,14-15. And in Isaiah 5:7 we read, “the vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight.” Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea also talk about Israel being the vineyard of God. And so there is a special place that the vine has for Israel. To look on this great golden grapevine, here in the very temple of God, we to be reminded that God has planted and cares for His people.
With this huge, magnificent, golden vine and large clusters of golden grapes hanging down I can well imagine Jesus standing there and looking at them and then turning to his disciples and saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Jesus often would do this, take something that was ordinary, or visible and use it as a teaching tool “behold, look to the fields that are white and ready for harvest.” “Whose picture is on this coin? Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s!”
And then he brings the challenge and the blessing of Immanuel. “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” Remain-abide. I like that word abide much better, although it certainly does mean remain. We can abide because he is with us. It is hard to be with someone if they are not there. But he is Immanuel –God with us. His presence, his presence! In our lives. Immanuel!
As we read these few words that Jesus gave to His disciples as they made their way to the mount of Olives, we can see that he is comforting and challenging them with something they knew –the work of the master with the vine. And he applies it to their remaining in him –to abide. And in this he gives 5 gifts of grace to us as we abide.
The first gift is growth in Christ. Abide in me and you will bear fruit. The purpose of the branch, us, we who are abiding in Immanuel, is to grow. To grow s a vine! Paul says we are to grow up into Him, Christ, who is the head. We are to grow in our likeness of Jesus, the vine. As we abide, he has already promised us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, who will teach us and guide us. We grow by abiding, by remaining, by being attached to Immanuel. God with us! God in us! This great gift is given to us to grow –to learn to be more like the one God loves best, grow to become more and more like His children.
The second gift is cleanness. Verse 3 says we are already clean, clean because of the word Jesus gave us. How are we clean? Our sins are washed away! He has cleansed us from our sins! Immanuel, God with us, died for us, cleansed us, making us a pure and spotless gift for the father. We are washed clean through Jesus Christ because he came as a child, grew to a man and died for us. The image of clean with regards to the vine and the branches is that the gardener would come along and lift up any branch that is in the dirt. He cleans it off and lifts it up and sets it higher. He cleans us from our sins, that which makes us unfit, un-right to go before a holy and pure God. We read elsewhere we are made holy –we are set apart and sanctified. All big concepts to say this –we are clean because of Jesus. God cannot and will not allow anything unclean in his presence. Can we grasp that? We are made clean by the master for the master so we can be with the master –Immanuel!
The third gift is productivity. Verse 4. Our purpose is to grow but even more it is to bear fruit. I like t grow tomatoes, as many of you do. I like it when I see the little yellow flowers come and then they turn into little buds that grow and become green then orange then red. The purpose is to get fruit. I have grown some really nice looking tomatoes plants that have been some of the most healthy and full plants ever, but never had one bud, one tomato. They look good, but their purpose is not met –they did not have any fruit. Many Christians today are like that –we look really good but our productivity is not great. Why? I think it is largely because we do not abide with Immanuel. Listen carefully to verse 4 again and then the following verses which expand on it (4-8). When we abide, as we abide, as we focus on Him, learn from Him, grow in Him, become more like him, as we abide with Immanuel, we become productive. The gift of Immanuel, God with us is that we are productive for Him –we bear fruit.
The fourth gift is security. We talk a lot about security today. Many of you who are travelling this Christmas will feel the effects of increased security. We may sometimes not like it, but better safe than sorry! And we look for security in our homes, with our finances, with our children. We protect our computers and private information. If we do not –well, I found out this last week what happens when I don’t –One of my computers picked up a virus that took over. Why, I didn’t have that security I should have. Security is something we are and should be very conscious of in our world. And in our eternity. Verse 9-10. If you obey my commands, YOU WILL remain in my love! Talk about security –YOU WILL! This is a guarantee better than any anti-virus, better than any insurance, better than any security screening it is made by the Lord God himself, Immanuel –God with us! And even more Jesus ahs gives us His spirit, remember? Paul in Ephesians 1:13-13 (let me read). Guarantee! WOW! If we remain in Him, abide in Him, live Immanuel, talk about security. And then, Jesus goes on to pray these words (John 17:11-12, and then verse 23. Immanuel, God with us!
The fifth gift is prayer power. Verse 16. We often take this verse out of context, or in isolation. Whatever you ask the Father will give. Hold on here! We must take this in the context of abiding in him. He has loved us, chosen us, filled us, given His Spirit to us, given us His joy, He has given us His commands and the call, the challenge to obey. He sets the rule of love in our hearts. The first four gifts must be opened and working in our lives for the fifth gift to be empowered! Listen to verse 16, there is a wonderful gift and promise there to be sure but take not, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit –fruit that will last, then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Are you bearing fruit? Are you living the life of abiding? Are you going out and living in obedience? Are you loving others as commanded? Is Immanuel being realized in you? Then ask, ask in order that Immanuel may be realized, ask that you may love, ask that you may bear fruit, ask that your joy may be full, ask that you be clean and lifted up, ask that you grow, ask to be secure, ask to abide and experience Immanuel, and for He is able to do more than you can ask or imagine! Ask in Jesus Name, the name of Immanuel, the name of the vine, the name that is above every other name.
Friends we had these 5 wonderful gifts of grace through Immanuel as we abide –remain, stick fast, grow. Immanuel, God with us. Remain in him, Abide in Him and he will do more than you could ask or imagine!
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