A Needed Change
John 8:32
* Tonight I have not come to “preach” but just to share my heart with you. Yes, I am the Senior Pastor. Yes, I am called that because I am so old. Yes, we will end up being here for several minutes, taking a look at what I think might be THE issue for believers today, and maybe we’ll connect in the Spirit, but then again, we might not.
* Allow me to simply layout my thoughts and see if I can make some sense of this to you.
* All of my life I have seen church and “Christianity” basically done one way. Generally, the idea is to “go” to church, learn about God, learn Bible truths, observe the ordinances, and sing praises to God. In fact, some today would ask, “What else is there?” (hang on to that question)
* Additionally, we emphasize going visiting with the promoted idea of “winning” the lost person to Christ. However the truth is that most of those whom are visited already know the Lord or say they do. In actuality few are seen who are not of the faith. The reason for this is that church people have such little connection with those outside of the church and Christ. I’ll go so far as to suggest that, many times, the object of these visits is to enlarge the congregation more than make disciples.
* Furthermore, we tell people who are experiencing trouble to “come to church” and things will get better. However, if they come, what do they find? Do they really discover an environment which is conducive to finding answers to their difficulties, do they find a people who are seeking to up lift, uphold and encourage each other or something else?
* Committing seems to be thrown out as many, if not most, will not to say yes to anything which they feel they cannot get out of at a moment’s notice.
* Tonight I’m offering this because deep in my heart I have a spiritual unrest that I cannot get past. The more I seek God for an answer the more the answer seems to come that today, as believers, we are missing boat.
* It seems to me that the main emphasis of the day is placed on “church.” As I’ve already stated the mantra of the day seems to be “go to church”, “come to church”, “you need church” or even “you need to be in church”.
* Please hear my heart; “if this is my approach to Christianity I have sorely missed the boat.” The need of the person today is not church although attending the assembly is a part of the “believer’s life”. Honestly, most people have enough meetings and the like to “go” to. To reduce the need of the human soul to “church” is kind of like trying to heal cancer with an aspirin. There is not wrong with taking an aspirin, it is simply not sufficient.
* The need of the day is a return to the Biblical truth that it is not about church, heritage, or membership; it is about an ongoing, alive, daily relationship with “Jesus Christ”.
* John 8:32 says this, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
* A few weeks ago I mentioned that on Easter night Deb and I went with the girls to a church on the other side of town. As a part of that uplifting service, they showed a video in which several of their members gave testimonies. In essence every testimony carried the same message; “I once was in bondage, but now, I have been set free.”
* Set Free. Think about that for a moment. Picture the inmate who has been incarcerated for years being let out!!
* Set Free. Within this body of believers we have those who were shackled to the prison of cancer, with the prospects of death on the horizon, and now it appears they have been set free.
* Set Free. In 1980 just a few hours after President Reagan was inaugurated, the hostages held for the past year in Iran were SET FREE.
* Set Free. The authentic believer in Jesus has been set free! He has been set free from the power of sin, set free from the penalty from sin, and set free from the promise of suffering. How are we set free? What does this mean?
1) A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP – Jesus says, “You shall KNOW the truth.” Herein lies our perplexing truth that is not clear in the mind of most. I’ll submit to you tonight that there exists a deep seated misconception about what it means to “know the truth.”
a) The Truth is not a Principle. Candidly this verse may lead some to believe that all we must do is fill our heads with religious information and we’ll be free. You see, the thinking of the day is “the more you know, the more spiritually mature you are.” The truth is, we can recite the names of the 66 books of the Bible or memorize every word of the Bible. We can learn Greek and Hebrew. We can be well read among the entire Father’s of Christendom. We can literally become the scholars of our day. We can do all these thing still not know “the truth” because “the truth” is not a principle. Make no mistake, we do need information, we do need to study, we do need to read, but all the reading, studying, and participating that a person can do will NOT set them free. Only knowing Jesus, the truth, can accomplish that. He is the only way.
* Recently I’ve mentioned the “Church of Oprah” and her views. People who put their faith in education are prime candidates to be deceived by this. Why? Because it seems to “make sense” & fits into today’s mindset. Yet, it is reaping havoc in America.
b) The Truth is a Person. Being a true believer is not about what you know, it completely about who you know. And obviously who we have to know is Jesus. He is both the Author and Finisher of our faith. From start to finish, salvation is relational not informational.
* Not to be misunderstood, information is involved as there are some things we must “know”. But information is not the source, the agent, nor goal of our salvation.
* Jesus is the source, the Holy Spirit is the agent and knowing God is the goal. Knowing facts, even Biblical facts are a poor substitute for knowing God & Jesus.
* In his book “Relational Christianity”, Steve Meeks reminds us that “Information produces Education” but “Jesus produces life.” Listen to Jesus’ prayer
In John 17:3, Jesus prays to the Father, “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent — Jesus Christ.”
* The life of the believer is not spent in pursuit of information, education, or an organization, it must be spent in pursuit of God through Jesus Christ.
* At the 2008 Music California conference, Randy Vader said, “The day that believers seek to glorify God with the same tenacity they use to demand style and preference, we will experience the greatest revival the world has ever seen.”
* Think about Randy’s statement and what it brings to light. Instead of pursuing the God of Creation through His Son, the philosophy of the day is to chase after substitutes. We have major discussions on things like traditional or contemporary, hymns or choruses, choirs or praise teams, bands or organs, and the result is that we have tried to change the object and objective of our salvation.
* Sadly, this seems to reflect a change in thinking, from having a daily encounter with the living Lord through personally serving and worshipping Him to a thinking of “what’s in it for me, how can the church serve me, this is my church.” Think, for a moment, which of these two thought processes did God SEND Jesus and Jesus give His life for.
* Just for a moment consider the “relational” nature found in “knowing the truth”. John 1 says we “have the right to become the “children of God”. Matthew 6 refers to God as our “Father”. In Romans 8 Jesus is our “Elder Brother.” Ephesians 2 tells us we are a part of God’s Family. The Old Testament tell us that He is a “friend”, and John tells us the Holy Spirit is our companion. Every part and parcel is a relationship that must be nurtured every day.
* Because I desire so much to convey this “relationship” concept to us, consider this; when I meet a new person and find them to be someone I truly like and would like to become friends with? What do I do? I make time for them. Know what? Once friendship is established, they can count on me.
* However, if there no friendship gets established, I’ll soon begin finding excuses NOT to make time, talk, and the like. And I find other things to replace this friendship in my life.
* Now, if I apply this same truth to Jesus and me, what does it tell me?
* A relationship with Jesus does something for me for that no other relationship can do. It gives me;
2) A personal RELEASE – To paraphrase the scripture, “when you KNOW the truth (when I am friends with Jesus), the truth with set you free (then Jesus will release me from the shackles of sin, guilt, my past, and more). This is why Jesus came to earth.
a) The Release comes through the Relationship. It is only in the establishment of a personal relationship, that is “knowing Jesus,” that true release comes. For the one who has made “church” his/her priority and missed this relationship with Christ, there is no release. Watch this, release means freedom, joy, peace, fulfillment, and contentment.
* The release Jesus gives frees up our conscience, our minds, our hearts, and our souls to focus not on our past failures, but on our present and future possibilities.
b) The Release brings about a Reformed life. Think about a reformed life. What does that mean? I am old enough to remember the “reformatory school.” A trouble teen was sent away to a school which was almost military in nature. The purpose of that school was to reform and literally salvage that young life. This is exactly what this release does in our lives. It reforms us, “Old things pass away, and all becomes new.”
* At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, this is exactly what is needed today in the Church which bears the name of Jesus Christ. We need this release which comes through a personal relationship and brings about a truly “reformed life” that bears the marks of our Lord Jesus every day.
* I have a deep belief that, at a minimum, within this body there is a need to do a personal evaluation about our life. How is our relationship to the Lord? What is the priority of our life? Do we feel a sense of release because we have been set free, released? Is it evident in my life? What am I seeking after? What am I following? (VIDEO)
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