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.
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