Worship: glorying in God’s holy name
Often said evangelism is the first priority for the church, but it is not for at least 3 reasons 1. Duty to neighbour not to God, duty to God must come first.2 we are all witnesses to the gospel but evangelism is also a spiritual gift, not all have that gift, but all Christians are worshippers. 3 Evangelism is a temporary activity which will end when the Lord Jesus returns to claim us for eternity, but our worship will continue throughout eternity
Worship is the Church’s preeminent duty, we need to give it our attention!
What is worship however? Of course the whole of our life is worship, serving God with all our being, so how do we define it? Best definition is ps 105:3 to worship is to glory in God’s holy name” God’s name is his revealed character, it is holy because it is unique, set apart from and above all other names. When we see the holiness of God’s great name we see the reason for glorlying in it, reveling in it. We are to join with all the creatures in pronouncing him worthy of our praise because he is creator and redeemer (rev 5: 9-14), because of who God is, it is appropriate to worship at his throne.
True worship according to scripture has four main characteristics
Biblical worship
True worship is biblical worship that is a response to biblical revelation, Paul in Athens, mars hill found the altar where they worshipped to an unknown God to cover all the bases, he was going to tell them who that was. One of the truths of that story is they could never worship an unknown God, if you don’t know him you cannot worship him.
So Christian worship is defined as a response to revelation, so the reading and preaching of the word is central to a worship service, it is the word of God that leads us to the worship of God for it is hear we learn about God, the reformation brought the word back to the centre of worship, it is good for us to read together in church, when this happens it is like Cornelius when he received Peter into his home, “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.
This Spirit of receptivity is a necessary condition of hearing the word of God, so much depends on how readers and preachers approach their task.
It is a great privilege to be involved in any aspect of the service, to lead in prayer, to speak to the children, to read and especially to preach, if worship is response to the word of God, the preacher must impel the people to the truth and worship will flow from the truth.
Psalm 95 for example, a call to the people to praise him, but it contains an abrupt change of mood, a call to sing for joy and shout out loud, but also in v6 the mood changes, we are to bow down and kneel before the Lord, why? Because he is our God and we are under his care, to sing for joy because he is a great God, but to bow down because he is our God, we need to sing for joy but also kneel before him in quiet. Not simply fortissimo, but piano and even pianissimo. Quiet as well as loud!
Congregational worship True worship is when God’s people are together, some say they worship easier on their own and there is a place for private worship, even in the psalms, but the psalmist focuses on corporate worship. Praise O servants of the Lord, sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. In the NT, let us not give up the habit of meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Heb10:25)
The worship, which is pleasing to God, is when his people are together offering it! This means participation! The reformers got it, priest at the high altar celebrated the medieval mass and the lay people spectators, the reformers brought the action into the body of the Kirk, to ensure the people were not spectators but participators. Also the mass was in Latin, the reformers insisted on the common language of the people! So everyone is involved.
Our worship should clearly express the international and intercultural character of the body of Christ. Paul was conscious of the tensions between Jews and gentiles, in ch 15 of Romans he prayed for a spirit of unity, so they could join together in the common worship of God, with one heart and moth they might glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are all different, but in Christ we are one, we have different preferences, different views, but when we worship we worship the risen son of God and as long as we sing to him with words that are biblical and true it matters not the tune! Focus on the words you sing, if you don’t mean them with all your heart, the sacrifice of praise you bring before God is nothing more than a rotting corpse and the Lord doesn’t want it.
Spiritual worship True worship is spiritual worship, scripture tells us that worship is not simply about the correct forms, rituals or ceremonies, we need to see and hear the criticism from the bible of religion. No book is more scathing of empty religion than the bible, not Marx, not even Richard dawkins.
The prophets of 7th and 8th century bc were outspoken in their criticism of the formalism and hypocrisy of Israelite worship, Jesus applied their critique to the Pharisees of his day, they honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me (is 29, Mark 7:6), This rings to clear to me and my life of worship today, and probably some of you too, too much of our worship s ritual without reality, form without power, fun without fear, religion without God. Malcolm muggeridge, “one of the greatest defences against God’s work in the world has been organized religion; churches have often provided a refuge for fugitives from God, his voice lost in the clutter of the service, his purpose obscured in the creeds and dogmas, when the voice begins “dearly beloved or with the earnest open face, God can be relied to nick off”
We need to say something about music in worship at this point. It can be a wonderful vehicle for praise but can also provoke him to cry away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps (Amos 5:23)
Every generation has gifted musicians who have brought their talent to God, from the Jewish praise that was enriched with singing and various instruments (Ps 150), so it is in the Christian tradition from the organ, brass and strings to drums and guitar of today, I have no intention of passing judgment between classical and contemporary for different styles appeal to different temperaments and cultures. What is essential is however the biblical content of the hymns and songs, for if it is not there it is too easy to descend into “babbling” which Jesus condemned in the sermon on the mount (battalogia), battalogia seems to mean any speech in which the mouth is engaged but the mind is not.
Striking that we are to offer spiritual worship, there is such hunger for spirituality in the west, the New age movement with it’s bizarre assortment of diverse beliefs, picks from everywhere, but sows that this world on it’s own cannot satisfy the human spirit, people are searching for a transcendent reality everywhere.
This quest for transcendence is a challenge to us and to the quality of our public worship. Does it offer that which people are craving, the element of mystery, the sense of awe and wonder, the immanence of God? Truth is probably not often, too often the truth is we do not know how to worship, we have little sense of the greatness and glory of God, we do not bow down before him in awe, our tendency is to be cocky, flippant and proud. We do not take our time to prepare for worship, participants and leaders, and too often we miss out because our hearts are not right, neither are our heads. No wonder people seeking God pass us by if we are more concerned about the time, or chatting to our pal or getting through the next part of the service, and that may be as much my fault as yours.
What is needed then? 1. Faithful reading and preaching of the word of God, so his living voice is heard by his people. 2 reverence and expectance when we come to the Lord’s table we really meet with him, so we may feed on him in our hearts by faith. 3 we need a sincere offering of praise and prayer that God’s people like Jacob can say “surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it”, unbelievers present will fall down and worship God, exclaiming “God is really among you”
Basically it is a great tragedy that many of our contemporaries seeking God, seeking to fulfill their craving spirits turn to drugs, sex, yoga, cults, mysticism, the new age, science fiction, anything except the Church, it is a damning indictment on us, our worship services should always experience the transcendent God, a close encounter with the living God is possible for us all, in this place if we take time to prepare and expect to meet with him.
Moral Worship The kind of worship that is pleasing to God has one more characteristic, true worship is moral worship, our words must be backed up by our actions, Samuel to Saul, to obey is better than sacrifice, to heed is better than the fat of rams. God was scathing through Isaiah, he took no joy in their sacrifices, their assemblies were an abomination to him, he would not even listen to his prayers, for their hands were full of blood, if they would stop doing wrong, seek justice and encourage the oppressed they would be forgiven (Isaiah 1), it was this mixture of religion and wrongdoing and injustice that God could not abide. Worship without holiness was hateful to him.
Conclusion Best place to finish this sermon is in Romans ch 12, at the beginning where Paul describes the Christian life as the spiritual act of worship! For 11 chapters the apostle unfolds “the mercies of God” and now in view of God’s great mercy, which by grace we have all received, Paul appeals to all the members of God’s church across the world to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, this physical offering is our “spiritual” act of worship!
The word he uses is Logikos, which can either mean reasonable, it is logical in response to God’s mercy or rational, that is intelligent, the offering of a heart and mind, spiritual not ceremonial
Paul is clearly thinking of worship to not simply about what we do in this place, but worship is how we live our live at home, in the workplace with our friends and family, everything is to be worship, and if we do not worship in all the places we find ourselves, we limp, when God calls us to bow down and soar with him!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
evening sermon 17th jan 2010
Conflict
James 4:1-7
“When Conflict Gets the Best of Us”
INTRO
We all live with discord
- To be alive means to be in conflict - people fight - families fight
- Fights that can sometimes be over big things - needs in a relationship, behaviors that create hurt
- Sometimes over trivial things
Illustration:
the story of Danny Thomas - who got upset and fired 6 shots into MacDonald's after they messed up his hamburger order
Even in the church - we can fight
- We can say damaging things - we can provoke, be mean-spirited
- Here in James, it is apparent that this early church was embroiled in conflict
- Ugly conflict - the sort that spilled over into harsh, anti-social behavior - careless speech
- So what was behind it?
1 - WHAT IS BEHIND OUR CONFLICTS?
- James is asking this question – vs.1a
- From whence comes your conflicts - your acrimonious speech, your condescending words, your ungodly treatment, your abuse of one another?
James goes back to the headwaters - the source - of most conflict - whether it be marital, sibling conflict, corporate friction, church arguments – vss.1b-3
Behind their unmet needs, their frustrated desires
- Their anger strong enough to kill
- Is the same thing that is behind ours – SELF-CENTEREDNESS
Larry Crabb - in his chapter - what's wrong with our marriage?
- Makes the point that it is not the wounds we carry that is the first order of business
- It is this stubborn, pervasive, subtle commitment to ourselves
- Poor communication, anger, unhealthy responses, incompatibility - it all flows out of the cesspool of self-centeredness
We should not be surprised - selfishness is deeply entrenched in all of us - the result of a sinful nature - a fault line that runs from Adam to us
- That corrupts our capacities - thought, emotion, speech
- So that they become centers of attack
- This nature displaces God's lordship for ours
- As Plantinga puts it - like a neurotic little god, the heart keeps ending discussions by insisting it wants what it wants
2 - WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES IF THE FIGHTING DOES NOT STOP?
- Most of know the answer
- Divorce, ending of fellowship, loss of friendships - emotional and (sometimes) physical pain
- But James again goes beyond the surface - goes deeper
- To focus on the spiritual damage
A - SPIRITUAL ADULTERY – vs.4
- James reminds us that the sin of hurting each other has first and finally a Godward force
- It is something we all too often forget -- that all sin is essentially an affront to God and His will
- Which amounts to a form of unfaithfulness
- Conflict - driven by self-centeredness - ends up putting love of self over love of God
But it is more
- We have chosen to imitate the world - and the way it deals with differences, irritants, disagreements
- This was Paul's point in I Cor 3:3 - "For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you - ARE YOU NOT WORLDLY?"
- Have you not lost your distinctiveness?
- Have you not been unfaithful to God?
But there is more - our fighting amounts to…
B - TRIVIALIZING THE SPIRIT
- Taking lightly His power, His claims on us, His will for us – vs.5
- And what is that will - what is it God jealously desires to do within us?
- Isn't it to pour Himself through us?
- Release His indwelling power
- The power that can heal souls of their deepest wounds
- Mend broken hearts
- Overcome the damage due to abusive backgrounds
- Encourage the depressed to move forward
- Revitalize discouraged spirits
- James is typically pointed
- But he is simply underscoring the mindlessness of saints who war with one another
Illustration:
- Grand Canyon - an attorney gets lost, and his expensive car breaks
down in the worst possible street in an inner city
- He phones for a tow truck - but before it comes - 5 terrifying youth surround him and threaten to do some pretty awful things
- And then the tow truck driver shows up - a pretty tough guy
- Who takes the gang aside and says - MAN, THE WORLD AIN'T
SUPPOSED TO WORK LIKE THIS
- I'm supposed to do my job without asking you if I can
- That dude is supposed to be able to wait with his car without you ripping him off
- Everything is supposed to be different than it is here
This is what James was saying to them
- This is what God is saying to those of us that tend to live with lots of conflict
3 - IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR PEACE?
- Any way out of our tendency to hurt each other?
- Vs.6 tells us there is
- God grace is greater
- Greater than our sin
- Greater than our mess
- Grace that can take on our self-centeredness and renounce it and relinquish it
- Grace that can bring real change - enable us to be other centered
- That can reconcile hearts
We need His grace - because we cannot overcome our conflicts and our self-centeredness - no matter our hard work and good intentions
- But it is not automatic
4 - WHAT IS GOD CALLING US TO DO?
- The hardest thing any of us are called to do
- Humble ourselves - for grace is only given to the humble – vs.6b
- God's grace is free - but not automatic
- It is conditional to our willingness to humble ourselves - which James now fleshes out
- It means first of that we…
A - SUBMIT TO GOD – vs.7a
- Arrange under - not over
- This is our first and most important act of humility
- Exchanging our governance for His
- Submitting to His Lordship and not to our own
- It means surrendering to Jesus
- Moving from self-centeredness to God-centeredness
- Letting Him have the final word
At the same time - the heart has a second responsibility-
B - RESIST THE ENEMY – vs.7b
- "Stand against" - an admonition repeated in other places - I Pet 5:9; Eph
6:13
- For demonic fingerprints are on just about all of our conflicts
- The evil one's great desire is to destroy our peace - ruin our relationships - starting with the home, and moving quickly to our spiritual community
- Forces unseen, supernatural - that have lined up to take inject poisonous thoughts - play on our pride - induce conflict
- It is here James clarifies WHO OUR FIGHT MUST BE WITH
- This is our principal fight
So BE ON THE ALERT - APPROACH EACH DAY WITH AN
AWARENESS OF WAR
- Approach each conflict with an awareness he is there
- And so STAND AGAINST HIM --
Why?
1 - BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN DEFEATED IN THE PAST
- I John 3:8 - the Son of Man appeared - that He might destroy the works of the devil
2 - BECAUSE HE CAN BE DEFEATED IN THE PRESENT
- In light of the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus
- The devil can --
- Persuade - but he Cannot Force
- Deceive - but he has Not the Power to Control
- Tempt - but he Cannot Coerce
- Accost - but he Cannot Destroy
- Hence --
- When we resist - he must flee - because we fight with the best of help
And why must we?
BECAUSE COMMUNITY, UNITY, MATTERS TO GOD
James 4:1-7
“When Conflict Gets the Best of Us”
INTRO
We all live with discord
- To be alive means to be in conflict - people fight - families fight
- Fights that can sometimes be over big things - needs in a relationship, behaviors that create hurt
- Sometimes over trivial things
Illustration:
the story of Danny Thomas - who got upset and fired 6 shots into MacDonald's after they messed up his hamburger order
Even in the church - we can fight
- We can say damaging things - we can provoke, be mean-spirited
- Here in James, it is apparent that this early church was embroiled in conflict
- Ugly conflict - the sort that spilled over into harsh, anti-social behavior - careless speech
- So what was behind it?
1 - WHAT IS BEHIND OUR CONFLICTS?
- James is asking this question – vs.1a
- From whence comes your conflicts - your acrimonious speech, your condescending words, your ungodly treatment, your abuse of one another?
James goes back to the headwaters - the source - of most conflict - whether it be marital, sibling conflict, corporate friction, church arguments – vss.1b-3
Behind their unmet needs, their frustrated desires
- Their anger strong enough to kill
- Is the same thing that is behind ours – SELF-CENTEREDNESS
Larry Crabb - in his chapter - what's wrong with our marriage?
- Makes the point that it is not the wounds we carry that is the first order of business
- It is this stubborn, pervasive, subtle commitment to ourselves
- Poor communication, anger, unhealthy responses, incompatibility - it all flows out of the cesspool of self-centeredness
We should not be surprised - selfishness is deeply entrenched in all of us - the result of a sinful nature - a fault line that runs from Adam to us
- That corrupts our capacities - thought, emotion, speech
- So that they become centers of attack
- This nature displaces God's lordship for ours
- As Plantinga puts it - like a neurotic little god, the heart keeps ending discussions by insisting it wants what it wants
2 - WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES IF THE FIGHTING DOES NOT STOP?
- Most of know the answer
- Divorce, ending of fellowship, loss of friendships - emotional and (sometimes) physical pain
- But James again goes beyond the surface - goes deeper
- To focus on the spiritual damage
A - SPIRITUAL ADULTERY – vs.4
- James reminds us that the sin of hurting each other has first and finally a Godward force
- It is something we all too often forget -- that all sin is essentially an affront to God and His will
- Which amounts to a form of unfaithfulness
- Conflict - driven by self-centeredness - ends up putting love of self over love of God
But it is more
- We have chosen to imitate the world - and the way it deals with differences, irritants, disagreements
- This was Paul's point in I Cor 3:3 - "For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you - ARE YOU NOT WORLDLY?"
- Have you not lost your distinctiveness?
- Have you not been unfaithful to God?
But there is more - our fighting amounts to…
B - TRIVIALIZING THE SPIRIT
- Taking lightly His power, His claims on us, His will for us – vs.5
- And what is that will - what is it God jealously desires to do within us?
- Isn't it to pour Himself through us?
- Release His indwelling power
- The power that can heal souls of their deepest wounds
- Mend broken hearts
- Overcome the damage due to abusive backgrounds
- Encourage the depressed to move forward
- Revitalize discouraged spirits
- James is typically pointed
- But he is simply underscoring the mindlessness of saints who war with one another
Illustration:
- Grand Canyon - an attorney gets lost, and his expensive car breaks
down in the worst possible street in an inner city
- He phones for a tow truck - but before it comes - 5 terrifying youth surround him and threaten to do some pretty awful things
- And then the tow truck driver shows up - a pretty tough guy
- Who takes the gang aside and says - MAN, THE WORLD AIN'T
SUPPOSED TO WORK LIKE THIS
- I'm supposed to do my job without asking you if I can
- That dude is supposed to be able to wait with his car without you ripping him off
- Everything is supposed to be different than it is here
This is what James was saying to them
- This is what God is saying to those of us that tend to live with lots of conflict
3 - IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR PEACE?
- Any way out of our tendency to hurt each other?
- Vs.6 tells us there is
- God grace is greater
- Greater than our sin
- Greater than our mess
- Grace that can take on our self-centeredness and renounce it and relinquish it
- Grace that can bring real change - enable us to be other centered
- That can reconcile hearts
We need His grace - because we cannot overcome our conflicts and our self-centeredness - no matter our hard work and good intentions
- But it is not automatic
4 - WHAT IS GOD CALLING US TO DO?
- The hardest thing any of us are called to do
- Humble ourselves - for grace is only given to the humble – vs.6b
- God's grace is free - but not automatic
- It is conditional to our willingness to humble ourselves - which James now fleshes out
- It means first of that we…
A - SUBMIT TO GOD – vs.7a
- Arrange under - not over
- This is our first and most important act of humility
- Exchanging our governance for His
- Submitting to His Lordship and not to our own
- It means surrendering to Jesus
- Moving from self-centeredness to God-centeredness
- Letting Him have the final word
At the same time - the heart has a second responsibility-
B - RESIST THE ENEMY – vs.7b
- "Stand against" - an admonition repeated in other places - I Pet 5:9; Eph
6:13
- For demonic fingerprints are on just about all of our conflicts
- The evil one's great desire is to destroy our peace - ruin our relationships - starting with the home, and moving quickly to our spiritual community
- Forces unseen, supernatural - that have lined up to take inject poisonous thoughts - play on our pride - induce conflict
- It is here James clarifies WHO OUR FIGHT MUST BE WITH
- This is our principal fight
So BE ON THE ALERT - APPROACH EACH DAY WITH AN
AWARENESS OF WAR
- Approach each conflict with an awareness he is there
- And so STAND AGAINST HIM --
Why?
1 - BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN DEFEATED IN THE PAST
- I John 3:8 - the Son of Man appeared - that He might destroy the works of the devil
2 - BECAUSE HE CAN BE DEFEATED IN THE PRESENT
- In light of the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus
- The devil can --
- Persuade - but he Cannot Force
- Deceive - but he has Not the Power to Control
- Tempt - but he Cannot Coerce
- Accost - but he Cannot Destroy
- Hence --
- When we resist - he must flee - because we fight with the best of help
And why must we?
BECAUSE COMMUNITY, UNITY, MATTERS TO GOD
living church pt1
Essentials, God’s vision for his church
Three assumptions
- 1.Christian people, also church people- committed to both! Nothing worse (well might be) than an unchurched Christian. Church is at the very centre of eternal purpose of God.
- Church is God’s community, God’s purpose is not simply to save individuals and perpetuate loneliness, rather build his church, to call a people out of the world for his glory.
- We are to be committed to the Church because God is titus 2:14, to call people to himself, we can be dissatisfied, even disillusioned, but we are committed to Christ and the Church.
- 2. we are committed to the mission of the Church called out of the world, but also sent back into the world to witness and serve, because it is the mission of Christ “as the father sent me, so I send you”- the incarnation
- we then are to be Jesus to the world, to enter into people’s lives, to understand where they come from, to be like them, and yet not compromise what we believe, in whom we trust.
- 3. We are committed to the reform and renewal of the Church. In the world Church is growing, in the west we are stunted, stench of decay, we long to see the church being reformed and renewed by the word and the Spirit of God.
- What is God’s vision for his Church? What are the distinguishing marks of a living church?
- Early Church Acts 2 v 42-47- rose tinted specs, nevertheless radically stirred by the Holy Spirit. What was the evidence? 4 marks!
- A learning Church- we wouldn’t have picked it! The devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Holy Spirit opened a school that day, being filled of the Spirit was not just a “mystical experience”, they did not neglect their intellect, they met constantly to hear the apostles teach! Spirit of truth, the truth matters. They still say the need to listen to human teachers, Jesus called the apostles to be the teachers of the church (shown by miracles)
- How then do we submit to the teaching authority of the apostles? No apostles in the church today, with the authority of John, Peter, Paul or James, if there were we would have to added to the New testament.
- Ignatius bishop of Syrian Antioch 110AD. Only a bishop not apostle, so if there are no apostles to submit to, how do we do it? Obvious we submit to their teaching found in the NT.
- A living church then is a learning church that submits to the teaching of the apostles, pastors must teach from scripture, expound it, explain it, and we must all soak ourselves in scripture, by reading and reflecting daily on the word
- The Spirit of God leads the people of God to honour the word of God, fidelity to the teaching of the apostles is the first mark of a living church.
- A caring church devoted to fellowship, Koinonia, what we share in together and out together, gave to any in need. V 44-45, essenes, Anabaptists, Hutterites, rich young ruler, voluntary for the church, v 46 they had homes, annais and Sapphira, greed not deceit. They had a choice as we do, we need to make a conscious decision before God what to do with our money and possessions.
- But before we breathe a sigh of relief…….. not called to poverty, but we can’t avoid the challenge of these verses, they loved one another, fruit of the spirit, they cared for the poor and so shared their goods with them. This principle of sharing is surely a permanent one, 1000 million $1 dollar a day, 24,000 die a day through hunger & related issues, how can we live with this? Many of the poor are our Christian brothers and sisters.
- We in the affluent west need to simplify, not simply to become part of the solution, but to stand with the poor.
- A living church is a caring church, generosity is always a characteristic of the people of God, Our God is such a generous God, his church must be too.
- A worshipping church devoted to breaking bread and prayers, balance! Worship formal and informal, temple and home, important lesson, many young people frustrated with institutional church, quite rightly sometimes, some church’s mantra, mission statement seems to be “as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, amen!
- But Holy Spirit’s way with the church seems to be more of patient reform than impatient rejection. To generalize, older likes structure, younger the more spontaneous, we all need to experience and accept one another’s preference, every church needs to follow the early church with house groups, every church needs to have the gathering of all God’s people together as well.
- Early church’s worship was reverent and joyful! V46 agalliasis, exuberant joy, and why not! A joy that perhaps we are not used to, some are like a funeral, some are like a circus, need reverence as well as joy, v 43 they were filled with awe! When God is in the midst, we like them bow with wonder and humility, this is worship
- Living church has worship that is formal and informal, joyful and reverent, we need to recover this biblical balance today
- An evangelizing Church so we have covered the things they devoted themselves to, this is the interior, not exterior, the compassionate outreach, v 42 needs v 47 committed to mission, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved, this verse teaches 3 truths
- 1 the lord did it
- 2 two things together salvation and joining their number, salvation and membership of the church go together
- 3 The lord did it daily, not a big planned mission, but their witness was continuous and the Lord honoured it
- Need a return to the eager expectation that sinners are being saved into this church and we need more. But this means we have to witness daily and to be ready to receive them when they come in. we need to anticipate new believers and make provision for their nurture.
- Conclusion look at 4 marks, it all has to do with believer’s relationships, 1.related to the apostles, 2. They related to each other, 3. they related to God, 4. They related to the world outside, learning, fellowship, worship and evangelism, when Christians lose the Church, they lose all of this in their lives
- Don’t need to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, when he came on the day of Pentecost he never left the Church, Jesus was born once, died once, rose once, ascended once and sent the Spirit once, what we do need to do is humble ourselves before God, see the fullness, the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, if we do then our Church will be at least an approximate to the essentials of a living church in apostolic teaching, loving fellowship, joyful worship and out going, ongoing evangelism.
Three assumptions
- 1.Christian people, also church people- committed to both! Nothing worse (well might be) than an unchurched Christian. Church is at the very centre of eternal purpose of God.
- Church is God’s community, God’s purpose is not simply to save individuals and perpetuate loneliness, rather build his church, to call a people out of the world for his glory.
- We are to be committed to the Church because God is titus 2:14, to call people to himself, we can be dissatisfied, even disillusioned, but we are committed to Christ and the Church.
- 2. we are committed to the mission of the Church called out of the world, but also sent back into the world to witness and serve, because it is the mission of Christ “as the father sent me, so I send you”- the incarnation
- we then are to be Jesus to the world, to enter into people’s lives, to understand where they come from, to be like them, and yet not compromise what we believe, in whom we trust.
- 3. We are committed to the reform and renewal of the Church. In the world Church is growing, in the west we are stunted, stench of decay, we long to see the church being reformed and renewed by the word and the Spirit of God.
- What is God’s vision for his Church? What are the distinguishing marks of a living church?
- Early Church Acts 2 v 42-47- rose tinted specs, nevertheless radically stirred by the Holy Spirit. What was the evidence? 4 marks!
- A learning Church- we wouldn’t have picked it! The devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Holy Spirit opened a school that day, being filled of the Spirit was not just a “mystical experience”, they did not neglect their intellect, they met constantly to hear the apostles teach! Spirit of truth, the truth matters. They still say the need to listen to human teachers, Jesus called the apostles to be the teachers of the church (shown by miracles)
- How then do we submit to the teaching authority of the apostles? No apostles in the church today, with the authority of John, Peter, Paul or James, if there were we would have to added to the New testament.
- Ignatius bishop of Syrian Antioch 110AD. Only a bishop not apostle, so if there are no apostles to submit to, how do we do it? Obvious we submit to their teaching found in the NT.
- A living church then is a learning church that submits to the teaching of the apostles, pastors must teach from scripture, expound it, explain it, and we must all soak ourselves in scripture, by reading and reflecting daily on the word
- The Spirit of God leads the people of God to honour the word of God, fidelity to the teaching of the apostles is the first mark of a living church.
- A caring church devoted to fellowship, Koinonia, what we share in together and out together, gave to any in need. V 44-45, essenes, Anabaptists, Hutterites, rich young ruler, voluntary for the church, v 46 they had homes, annais and Sapphira, greed not deceit. They had a choice as we do, we need to make a conscious decision before God what to do with our money and possessions.
- But before we breathe a sigh of relief…….. not called to poverty, but we can’t avoid the challenge of these verses, they loved one another, fruit of the spirit, they cared for the poor and so shared their goods with them. This principle of sharing is surely a permanent one, 1000 million $1 dollar a day, 24,000 die a day through hunger & related issues, how can we live with this? Many of the poor are our Christian brothers and sisters.
- We in the affluent west need to simplify, not simply to become part of the solution, but to stand with the poor.
- A living church is a caring church, generosity is always a characteristic of the people of God, Our God is such a generous God, his church must be too.
- A worshipping church devoted to breaking bread and prayers, balance! Worship formal and informal, temple and home, important lesson, many young people frustrated with institutional church, quite rightly sometimes, some church’s mantra, mission statement seems to be “as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, amen!
- But Holy Spirit’s way with the church seems to be more of patient reform than impatient rejection. To generalize, older likes structure, younger the more spontaneous, we all need to experience and accept one another’s preference, every church needs to follow the early church with house groups, every church needs to have the gathering of all God’s people together as well.
- Early church’s worship was reverent and joyful! V46 agalliasis, exuberant joy, and why not! A joy that perhaps we are not used to, some are like a funeral, some are like a circus, need reverence as well as joy, v 43 they were filled with awe! When God is in the midst, we like them bow with wonder and humility, this is worship
- Living church has worship that is formal and informal, joyful and reverent, we need to recover this biblical balance today
- An evangelizing Church so we have covered the things they devoted themselves to, this is the interior, not exterior, the compassionate outreach, v 42 needs v 47 committed to mission, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved, this verse teaches 3 truths
- 1 the lord did it
- 2 two things together salvation and joining their number, salvation and membership of the church go together
- 3 The lord did it daily, not a big planned mission, but their witness was continuous and the Lord honoured it
- Need a return to the eager expectation that sinners are being saved into this church and we need more. But this means we have to witness daily and to be ready to receive them when they come in. we need to anticipate new believers and make provision for their nurture.
- Conclusion look at 4 marks, it all has to do with believer’s relationships, 1.related to the apostles, 2. They related to each other, 3. they related to God, 4. They related to the world outside, learning, fellowship, worship and evangelism, when Christians lose the Church, they lose all of this in their lives
- Don’t need to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, when he came on the day of Pentecost he never left the Church, Jesus was born once, died once, rose once, ascended once and sent the Spirit once, what we do need to do is humble ourselves before God, see the fullness, the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, if we do then our Church will be at least an approximate to the essentials of a living church in apostolic teaching, loving fellowship, joyful worship and out going, ongoing evangelism.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
evening service 6th dec 2009
Taming the Tongue
James 3:1-12
“What Do Your Words Say About You?”
How powerful, how impacting are our words?
- Ask James - whose overarching message in chapter 3 may be that nothing defines us like our words
NOTHING REVEALS THE HEART LIKE OUR WORDS
Here in this text James makes two broad statements --
1 - WHEN OUR WORDS ARE UNDER CONTROL - LIFE IS UNDER CONTROL
- read vs.2
- James seems to say - show me a perfect person - and I will show you one whose words are perfectly controlled
- For the person who can keep the tongue "bridled" - UNDER TIGHT REIN
- has the ability to control every part of oneself
-vss.3-5b serve to illustrate
James' point is clear - like a bit, like a rudder - the tongue has influence all out of proportion to its size
- This mere 2-oz. slab of mucous membrane can set our course
- And hence can rightfully boast of the power it has
- As God created the world with a word - so our speech can create our own worlds
Conversely --
2 - WHEN OUR WORDS ARE OUT OF CONTROL - LIFE IS OUT OF
CONTROL
- One hunter's small fire in the backwoods of San Diego so far has consumed a third of a million acres in the past 7 days - destroying 2,376 homes – and killing numerous lives
- So a tongue - like a spark, can set its own fire – vs.5b
- The tongue can become the conduit of bad things – vs.6
- It can damage, corrupt every sector of life
We're familiar with some of the ways words corrupt, devastate
1 – Gossip - words that ultimately slander - bring a certain ruin to a reputation
- “I'm told his wife dominates the family”
- “It's been said that he is very difficult to live with”
2 – Flattery - words that function like gossip
- The difference being that while gossip is saying behind one's back what you would not say to one's face-flattery is saying to one's face what you would not say behind one's back
3 – Perverse words - vulgar words - coarse talk - that dominate so much of culture
- We are no longer shocked, embarrassed anymore
- In our music, in our movies - their endless stream has had a numbing effect
- But imperceptibly - like salt air - such words eventually corrode the heart
4 – Harsh words - words with malice, with edge - words that take the heart out of people - that kill relationships, harden the heart
- Words that confuse, embarrass, hurt, assault
- Job refers to such language in 19:2
- How long will you vex my soul and break me in pieces with your words?
5 – Lying words - that overstate, exaggerate, mislead
- "Sticks and stones can break our bones, but lies can break our hearts and our careers - can ruin reputations, wreck marriages, and start riots" (Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way it is Supposed to Be)
Do our words really matter?
- According to James -- our words are EVERYTHING!
- Under control - words can lift a heart, change a course, and liberate a soul
- Left unchecked, out of control - words can poison the atmosphere, rob us of a great relationship, spoil our day, hinder our sleep, depress our spirits
So what is to be done? How can we get the tongue under control?
The short answer is - YOU CAN'T
- Vss.7-8 tell us what we already know --
- THE TONGUE CANNOT BE TAMED
- This beast will not respond to our commands - anymore than my Airedale responds to mine
My best intentions seem to go by the wayside in the heat of the moment
- My intent to tell someone I love them seems to freeze up - my tongue will just not cooperate
- On the other hand - my tongue often speaks before I give it permission, before I think
As Dave Barry puts it –
"There are times even our dog will look at us and think to himself - 'I may lick myself in public, but I'd never say anything as stupid as that’”
Seemingly - there are inclinations from another kingdom built into our bodily existence - formed in sin and set against God - which determine our words, govern our course, our lives
- Leaving a tongue wild and out of control - TWO FACED
- A sort of Jekyll and Hyde – vs.9
a - on one hand -- the tongue is capable of the highest of human endeavors - the blessing of God
- We sing, and ordinary speech is elevated from pedestrian prose into poetry, and set to tune-and in the course, speech has been intensified and expanded
b - But then - it so quickly descends to the pits
- From scaling the peaks of praise - the tongue can lower itself to the abyss of abuse
- From toasting God in the pew - we can immediately find ourselves roasting people in the foyer
It is this duplicitous nature that makes the tongue most dangerous
- Our defenses go down in this environment of grace - and then we are blind sided by abusive language we never expected
So where is James going with all of this?
- Having declared the power of words to direct, to destroy, to be duplicitous, twofaced
- Are we stuck - condemned to whatever course our words may take us?
Not necessarily - that's the point of vs.10
- Its here the translation misses the intensity of what James is really saying
- For what James literally declares is - IT IS NOT NECESSARY
- IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!!
- In fact - settling for duplicity as the way it is --
- Is as absurd as a fountain producing one kind of water one day - another kind the next – vs.11
- As nonsensical as a fruit tree producing a different fruit – vs.12a
- As bizarre as salt water producing fresh – vs.12b
James is simply doing what all of us who know Christ must do - TAKE SERIOUS
OUR SALVATION
- That in coming to Jesus there is a radical change - A REVOLUTION OF
CHARACTER
- Not some mere tweaking of our personalities
- Not some simple rearranging of the furniture in our hearts
In Christ - one is made new
- In Christ - our hearts have been reformed - our sinful nature has been put to death – Gal. 5:24
Gone are the excuses - she made me say this - look, I'm just human
Those transformed by the Spirit should reflect good fruit, pure speech
What's necessary is --
1 - Give our lives to Christ - only He can tame the tongue
2 - Submit ourselves - OUR TONGUE - to God and the renovation He desires to do
- Placing our confidence in Him and not in ourselves
3 - Commit ourselves to enter into the spiritual disciplines
- Solitude, Word, prayer, worship
- The rigorous process of the inner transformation of the heart
- For only when this takes place has room been made for the Spirit to work
- Who then begins to surface the duplicity buried deep in our hearts
- The things that give rise to poisonous speech
4 - And then ruthlessly reject these former desires - our former habits
- Rather than coddle or pamper or tolerate or encourage -justify or give room
James 3:1-12
“What Do Your Words Say About You?”
How powerful, how impacting are our words?
- Ask James - whose overarching message in chapter 3 may be that nothing defines us like our words
NOTHING REVEALS THE HEART LIKE OUR WORDS
Here in this text James makes two broad statements --
1 - WHEN OUR WORDS ARE UNDER CONTROL - LIFE IS UNDER CONTROL
- read vs.2
- James seems to say - show me a perfect person - and I will show you one whose words are perfectly controlled
- For the person who can keep the tongue "bridled" - UNDER TIGHT REIN
- has the ability to control every part of oneself
-vss.3-5b serve to illustrate
James' point is clear - like a bit, like a rudder - the tongue has influence all out of proportion to its size
- This mere 2-oz. slab of mucous membrane can set our course
- And hence can rightfully boast of the power it has
- As God created the world with a word - so our speech can create our own worlds
Conversely --
2 - WHEN OUR WORDS ARE OUT OF CONTROL - LIFE IS OUT OF
CONTROL
- One hunter's small fire in the backwoods of San Diego so far has consumed a third of a million acres in the past 7 days - destroying 2,376 homes – and killing numerous lives
- So a tongue - like a spark, can set its own fire – vs.5b
- The tongue can become the conduit of bad things – vs.6
- It can damage, corrupt every sector of life
We're familiar with some of the ways words corrupt, devastate
1 – Gossip - words that ultimately slander - bring a certain ruin to a reputation
- “I'm told his wife dominates the family”
- “It's been said that he is very difficult to live with”
2 – Flattery - words that function like gossip
- The difference being that while gossip is saying behind one's back what you would not say to one's face-flattery is saying to one's face what you would not say behind one's back
3 – Perverse words - vulgar words - coarse talk - that dominate so much of culture
- We are no longer shocked, embarrassed anymore
- In our music, in our movies - their endless stream has had a numbing effect
- But imperceptibly - like salt air - such words eventually corrode the heart
4 – Harsh words - words with malice, with edge - words that take the heart out of people - that kill relationships, harden the heart
- Words that confuse, embarrass, hurt, assault
- Job refers to such language in 19:2
- How long will you vex my soul and break me in pieces with your words?
5 – Lying words - that overstate, exaggerate, mislead
- "Sticks and stones can break our bones, but lies can break our hearts and our careers - can ruin reputations, wreck marriages, and start riots" (Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way it is Supposed to Be)
Do our words really matter?
- According to James -- our words are EVERYTHING!
- Under control - words can lift a heart, change a course, and liberate a soul
- Left unchecked, out of control - words can poison the atmosphere, rob us of a great relationship, spoil our day, hinder our sleep, depress our spirits
So what is to be done? How can we get the tongue under control?
The short answer is - YOU CAN'T
- Vss.7-8 tell us what we already know --
- THE TONGUE CANNOT BE TAMED
- This beast will not respond to our commands - anymore than my Airedale responds to mine
My best intentions seem to go by the wayside in the heat of the moment
- My intent to tell someone I love them seems to freeze up - my tongue will just not cooperate
- On the other hand - my tongue often speaks before I give it permission, before I think
As Dave Barry puts it –
"There are times even our dog will look at us and think to himself - 'I may lick myself in public, but I'd never say anything as stupid as that’”
Seemingly - there are inclinations from another kingdom built into our bodily existence - formed in sin and set against God - which determine our words, govern our course, our lives
- Leaving a tongue wild and out of control - TWO FACED
- A sort of Jekyll and Hyde – vs.9
a - on one hand -- the tongue is capable of the highest of human endeavors - the blessing of God
- We sing, and ordinary speech is elevated from pedestrian prose into poetry, and set to tune-and in the course, speech has been intensified and expanded
b - But then - it so quickly descends to the pits
- From scaling the peaks of praise - the tongue can lower itself to the abyss of abuse
- From toasting God in the pew - we can immediately find ourselves roasting people in the foyer
It is this duplicitous nature that makes the tongue most dangerous
- Our defenses go down in this environment of grace - and then we are blind sided by abusive language we never expected
So where is James going with all of this?
- Having declared the power of words to direct, to destroy, to be duplicitous, twofaced
- Are we stuck - condemned to whatever course our words may take us?
Not necessarily - that's the point of vs.10
- Its here the translation misses the intensity of what James is really saying
- For what James literally declares is - IT IS NOT NECESSARY
- IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!!
- In fact - settling for duplicity as the way it is --
- Is as absurd as a fountain producing one kind of water one day - another kind the next – vs.11
- As nonsensical as a fruit tree producing a different fruit – vs.12a
- As bizarre as salt water producing fresh – vs.12b
James is simply doing what all of us who know Christ must do - TAKE SERIOUS
OUR SALVATION
- That in coming to Jesus there is a radical change - A REVOLUTION OF
CHARACTER
- Not some mere tweaking of our personalities
- Not some simple rearranging of the furniture in our hearts
In Christ - one is made new
- In Christ - our hearts have been reformed - our sinful nature has been put to death – Gal. 5:24
Gone are the excuses - she made me say this - look, I'm just human
Those transformed by the Spirit should reflect good fruit, pure speech
What's necessary is --
1 - Give our lives to Christ - only He can tame the tongue
2 - Submit ourselves - OUR TONGUE - to God and the renovation He desires to do
- Placing our confidence in Him and not in ourselves
3 - Commit ourselves to enter into the spiritual disciplines
- Solitude, Word, prayer, worship
- The rigorous process of the inner transformation of the heart
- For only when this takes place has room been made for the Spirit to work
- Who then begins to surface the duplicity buried deep in our hearts
- The things that give rise to poisonous speech
4 - And then ruthlessly reject these former desires - our former habits
- Rather than coddle or pamper or tolerate or encourage -justify or give room
sermon 3rd jan 2010
1 Corinthians 10:31
“A Verse to Live by in ‘10”
INTRO
I took a bike tube in to halfords to replace this week
-only to find that my tires were also in bad shape
-and once they checked out the bike—the brakes, the chain, the ….,
the cables, all needed replacing
-I asked if there was anything that looked good—they said—the frame is
fine
We may not be in such desperate shape tonight
-but the NEW YEAR is a moment to ask—
-what needs replacing?
-what needs to be checked? Adjusted?
-what explains some of my losses?
-what will make my life more profitable?
-what will insure that in this new year I will seize the opportunities—rather
than squander the days?
-maximize my moments—rather than waste my life?
-these are the kind of questions we need to periodically ask ourselves
-for one of the common definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over
and over and expecting different results
-the turn of a year is a good moment to re-evaluate, reconsider, reexamine
-are there things I keep doing the same way—hoping the results will be
different this next year?
-when what I need to do is readjust
-rethink strategy—modify the armor—REBOOT
There’s no better strategy laid than the one Paul mentions in I Corinthians 10:31
-a verse that if lived out—will insure this will be a year that counts—a year
of SUBSTANCE—SIGNIFICANCE
(read)
-the language tells us it is a summary statement—in this case is pulling
everything together that has been said up to this point
-“whatever”—is translated the same in every language
-there is no more all embracing term—in Greek or English language
-from the ordinary (eating) to the extraordinary
-from the humdrum to the highlights
-changing a bike tire—changing a career
-entering a petrol station to entering a relationship
-size has nothing to do with it--do anything, everything with a view to
enhancing God’s reputation
This is God saying—I want to be in every part of your lives
-there is no division of spiritual and secular
-glorify Me in your worship—in your recreation
-when you share the gospel—when you share your frustrations
-when you bake a cake —or a move—or make love
-and if there is something we do that cannot be done for the glory of
God—THEN IT SHOULD NOT BE DONE!
-10:31 is a summation of life because living to showcase God is the
purpose of our lives—the essence of our existence
-the Bible makes this unmistakably clear
-we were made by God—for God--prepared in advance for His glory—
Romans 9:23
-this is the reason behind everything, everyone God creates
-God’s deepest purpose is to fill creation with reverberations of His glory
-God created the universe—to showcase His glory—Psalm 19:1
-to bring us to a place of awe
-Piper— “The reason for ‘wasting’ so much space on a universe to house
a speck of humanity is to make a point about our Maker, not us.”
-but this is language largely foreign to us
-living to glorify God is not our natural inclination
-the adversary’s principle strategy is to blind us to His glory—orient us towards our own!
-2 Corinthians 4:4—the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ
-sin has caused us to come short of His glory—Romans 3:23
-and this explains why we are so dysfunctional—messed up—and why so many lives are wasted
God’s salvation is concerned with restoring our sight
-when we behold the glory of God, we are changed into His likeness—2
Corinthians 3:18
-and in this healing—this metamorphosis
-we enter back in to what we were created for—to be the glory to God
-back into what we were created to do—lift high His name, extend His fame, enhance His reputation, display His excellence, MAKE VISIBLE HIS
MAJESTY!
-but what does this mean exactly?
-how do I glorify God when I am shopping at tesco—standing in line at
the bank?
-glorifying God has always been vague to me
-Piper uses an illustration that moves it from the abstract to the concrete
-to glorify is to magnify—there are two ways to magnify
1. We can magnify like a MICROSCOPE
-but microscopes make something small into something bigger
-and thinking this is what it means to magnify God is very wrong
-God does not need us to make Him bigger than He is
2. We can magnify like a TELESCOPE—and that fits—for this is what
telescopes do—
a. telescopes make something immense look more and more like it
really is
b. telescopes bring into clearer detail what is otherwise a blur
c. telescopes bring something that seems so far away appear so much closer
When we magnify God—when we glorify God—we are doing the same thing
a. a-we make Someone unimaginably great look more and more like
He really is
b. b-we bring into clearer detail a Person who can otherwise seem to
be a blur
-our lives help people see the features, the particular characteristics of God that are otherwise missed
c. we bring Someone who seems so far away so much closer,
tangible to someone’s life
Here’s how it works—when we look into the telescope of His word—we see this about God—
1. He is boundless in HIS WISDOM
-there is a depth to it that is deeper than the deepest shaft into the earth—Job 28:14
-His understanding is infinite—too vast to comprehend
-in fact—He is understanding—Proverbs 8:14
-hence—He never needs our counsel or advice
-we glorify Him when we make His wisdom look more and more like it really is
-when our lives take in His wisdom—the result of a pursuit (Proverbs 2)
-and receiving it—live lives that are wise—rather than foolish
-lives that are filled with the insights, understanding, discernment He imparts to us
2. He is boundless in HIS WEALTH
-His riches are unfathomable-Eph 3:8
-reading God’s portfolio would be to look at a document whose numbers go beyond the paper that could ever be printed
-it is like looking into a vast and endless warehouse—a Costco with no walls
-His wealth is a reservoir so deep that soundings cannot reach the bottom
-we glorify God when we make His wealth look more and more like it really is
-when we live lives that declare—our God has no needs
-when we pray prayers that declare—our God’s resources can never be exhausted
-when we treat everything as if it is His—because it is!
-when we live in a manner that says to others—what do I have that has not first come from Him?
3. He is boundless in HIS JUDGMENTS
-He is none other than just in all His ways—too just to do anything unfair
-everything He does is right—even when it is hard to understand
-He is a Judge who maintains the cause of the afflicted—who will right the wrong in the perfect moment
-we glorify Him when we make His justice more and more like it really is
-we “telescope” Him when our passion for justice reflects His passion—and people see it
-we magnify Him when we protest against injustice—when we take evil very seriously
-stand with the oppressed and afflicted
-when we extend fairness to others in the workplace
4. He is boundless in HIS POWER
-there are no limits to His might
-He does whatever He pleases—Psalm 115:3
-He never runs out, burns out—never wears down
-we glorify Him when His power appears more clearly than it does—
when we see it more and more for what it really is
-when we live lives that reflect His authority
-when our worship says to a watching world—OUR GOD REIGNS
-when we live lives that are not filled with anxiety—for we believe our
God can do anything—that there is nothing too difficult for God
-we glorify Him when we are fearless to attempt great things for God
-for we hold with an unwavering conviction the words of Ephesians
3:20-21—that the boldest prayer, the wildest thought, the most
imaginative request cannot overwhelm God’s ability to act
-finally—we look in His telescope and find this—
5. He is boundless in HIS LOVE
-His thoughts towards us outnumber the sand—Psalm 139:18
-it is so deep and wide and long it surpasses knowledge—Ephesians
3:19
-announces itself most impressively in the giving of His Son—
sacrificing Him for our sakes—John 3:16
-we glorify God when we make this love look more and more like it
really is
-when His love becomes the dominant note in our lives because it is
God’s dominant note
CONCLUSION
Want your life to count in 2010?
-the answer boils down to this—will I live to put His wisdom, His wealth,
His justice, His power, His love
-and everything else about Him on display?
-or will I live with the aim to showcase myself?
-are you willing to eat, drink, OR WHATEVER, for the glory of God?
“A Verse to Live by in ‘10”
INTRO
I took a bike tube in to halfords to replace this week
-only to find that my tires were also in bad shape
-and once they checked out the bike—the brakes, the chain, the ….,
the cables, all needed replacing
-I asked if there was anything that looked good—they said—the frame is
fine
We may not be in such desperate shape tonight
-but the NEW YEAR is a moment to ask—
-what needs replacing?
-what needs to be checked? Adjusted?
-what explains some of my losses?
-what will make my life more profitable?
-what will insure that in this new year I will seize the opportunities—rather
than squander the days?
-maximize my moments—rather than waste my life?
-these are the kind of questions we need to periodically ask ourselves
-for one of the common definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over
and over and expecting different results
-the turn of a year is a good moment to re-evaluate, reconsider, reexamine
-are there things I keep doing the same way—hoping the results will be
different this next year?
-when what I need to do is readjust
-rethink strategy—modify the armor—REBOOT
There’s no better strategy laid than the one Paul mentions in I Corinthians 10:31
-a verse that if lived out—will insure this will be a year that counts—a year
of SUBSTANCE—SIGNIFICANCE
(read)
-the language tells us it is a summary statement—in this case is pulling
everything together that has been said up to this point
-“whatever”—is translated the same in every language
-there is no more all embracing term—in Greek or English language
-from the ordinary (eating) to the extraordinary
-from the humdrum to the highlights
-changing a bike tire—changing a career
-entering a petrol station to entering a relationship
-size has nothing to do with it--do anything, everything with a view to
enhancing God’s reputation
This is God saying—I want to be in every part of your lives
-there is no division of spiritual and secular
-glorify Me in your worship—in your recreation
-when you share the gospel—when you share your frustrations
-when you bake a cake —or a move—or make love
-and if there is something we do that cannot be done for the glory of
God—THEN IT SHOULD NOT BE DONE!
-10:31 is a summation of life because living to showcase God is the
purpose of our lives—the essence of our existence
-the Bible makes this unmistakably clear
-we were made by God—for God--prepared in advance for His glory—
Romans 9:23
-this is the reason behind everything, everyone God creates
-God’s deepest purpose is to fill creation with reverberations of His glory
-God created the universe—to showcase His glory—Psalm 19:1
-to bring us to a place of awe
-Piper— “The reason for ‘wasting’ so much space on a universe to house
a speck of humanity is to make a point about our Maker, not us.”
-but this is language largely foreign to us
-living to glorify God is not our natural inclination
-the adversary’s principle strategy is to blind us to His glory—orient us towards our own!
-2 Corinthians 4:4—the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ
-sin has caused us to come short of His glory—Romans 3:23
-and this explains why we are so dysfunctional—messed up—and why so many lives are wasted
God’s salvation is concerned with restoring our sight
-when we behold the glory of God, we are changed into His likeness—2
Corinthians 3:18
-and in this healing—this metamorphosis
-we enter back in to what we were created for—to be the glory to God
-back into what we were created to do—lift high His name, extend His fame, enhance His reputation, display His excellence, MAKE VISIBLE HIS
MAJESTY!
-but what does this mean exactly?
-how do I glorify God when I am shopping at tesco—standing in line at
the bank?
-glorifying God has always been vague to me
-Piper uses an illustration that moves it from the abstract to the concrete
-to glorify is to magnify—there are two ways to magnify
1. We can magnify like a MICROSCOPE
-but microscopes make something small into something bigger
-and thinking this is what it means to magnify God is very wrong
-God does not need us to make Him bigger than He is
2. We can magnify like a TELESCOPE—and that fits—for this is what
telescopes do—
a. telescopes make something immense look more and more like it
really is
b. telescopes bring into clearer detail what is otherwise a blur
c. telescopes bring something that seems so far away appear so much closer
When we magnify God—when we glorify God—we are doing the same thing
a. a-we make Someone unimaginably great look more and more like
He really is
b. b-we bring into clearer detail a Person who can otherwise seem to
be a blur
-our lives help people see the features, the particular characteristics of God that are otherwise missed
c. we bring Someone who seems so far away so much closer,
tangible to someone’s life
Here’s how it works—when we look into the telescope of His word—we see this about God—
1. He is boundless in HIS WISDOM
-there is a depth to it that is deeper than the deepest shaft into the earth—Job 28:14
-His understanding is infinite—too vast to comprehend
-in fact—He is understanding—Proverbs 8:14
-hence—He never needs our counsel or advice
-we glorify Him when we make His wisdom look more and more like it really is
-when our lives take in His wisdom—the result of a pursuit (Proverbs 2)
-and receiving it—live lives that are wise—rather than foolish
-lives that are filled with the insights, understanding, discernment He imparts to us
2. He is boundless in HIS WEALTH
-His riches are unfathomable-Eph 3:8
-reading God’s portfolio would be to look at a document whose numbers go beyond the paper that could ever be printed
-it is like looking into a vast and endless warehouse—a Costco with no walls
-His wealth is a reservoir so deep that soundings cannot reach the bottom
-we glorify God when we make His wealth look more and more like it really is
-when we live lives that declare—our God has no needs
-when we pray prayers that declare—our God’s resources can never be exhausted
-when we treat everything as if it is His—because it is!
-when we live in a manner that says to others—what do I have that has not first come from Him?
3. He is boundless in HIS JUDGMENTS
-He is none other than just in all His ways—too just to do anything unfair
-everything He does is right—even when it is hard to understand
-He is a Judge who maintains the cause of the afflicted—who will right the wrong in the perfect moment
-we glorify Him when we make His justice more and more like it really is
-we “telescope” Him when our passion for justice reflects His passion—and people see it
-we magnify Him when we protest against injustice—when we take evil very seriously
-stand with the oppressed and afflicted
-when we extend fairness to others in the workplace
4. He is boundless in HIS POWER
-there are no limits to His might
-He does whatever He pleases—Psalm 115:3
-He never runs out, burns out—never wears down
-we glorify Him when His power appears more clearly than it does—
when we see it more and more for what it really is
-when we live lives that reflect His authority
-when our worship says to a watching world—OUR GOD REIGNS
-when we live lives that are not filled with anxiety—for we believe our
God can do anything—that there is nothing too difficult for God
-we glorify Him when we are fearless to attempt great things for God
-for we hold with an unwavering conviction the words of Ephesians
3:20-21—that the boldest prayer, the wildest thought, the most
imaginative request cannot overwhelm God’s ability to act
-finally—we look in His telescope and find this—
5. He is boundless in HIS LOVE
-His thoughts towards us outnumber the sand—Psalm 139:18
-it is so deep and wide and long it surpasses knowledge—Ephesians
3:19
-announces itself most impressively in the giving of His Son—
sacrificing Him for our sakes—John 3:16
-we glorify God when we make this love look more and more like it
really is
-when His love becomes the dominant note in our lives because it is
God’s dominant note
CONCLUSION
Want your life to count in 2010?
-the answer boils down to this—will I live to put His wisdom, His wealth,
His justice, His power, His love
-and everything else about Him on display?
-or will I live with the aim to showcase myself?
-are you willing to eat, drink, OR WHATEVER, for the glory of God?
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