Painting God’s Masterpiece Part 4
Living In The Land of WERE Part 2
Scriptures: Deut. 4:9; 14; Matt. 13:54-58; Eph. 1:3, 11-14; Rom. 6:14-18
Introduction:
Last week in part 3 of my series “Painting God’s Masterpiece” I focused on living in the land of WERE (Where Every Remembrance Escapes). The foundation Scripture was taken from Deuteronomy 4:9 and 14 where Moses, after bringing the people out of the land of Egypt (WERE) told the people the following: “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons…….The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it.” Moses told the adults to remember what they had seen and what they had been taught. He also told them to teach their children about what God had done for them in delivering them out of Egypt. He did this so that when they got into the Promised Land, they would continue to walk with the Lord. Moses understood that should they ever forget what God had done for them they would turn their backs on Him. So it is with us and why we must leave the land of WERE for the land of WHAT SHALL BE. We must remember everything God has done for us.
My examples last week were taken from the Old Testament. Last week I shared with you the story of Abraham and Sarah and God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham believed God and immediately entered into the land of WHAT SHALL BE. Sarah on the other hand stayed in WERE until God moved her out of it to WHAT SHALL BE. When Sarah arrived, God fulfilled His promised and she bore a son – the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. The initial fulfillment of this promise was seen in the Children of Israel which served as my second example. God brought the Children of Israel to the border of the Promised Land and there they refused to enter in. Some even said that they would prefer to die in WERE, the wilderness or back in Egypt, versus going into the Promised Land. God honored their request and no one over the age of twenty, besides Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter in.
Two points were made in the message last week to help us see what it would take to leave WERE and enter into the land of WHAT SHALL BE. The first point was that if we want something bad enough, we must take one more step forward from where we have already stopped. Many times we stop before we get to the blessing – we just give up. To get to the land of WHAT SHALL BE we must continue making the steps – we cannot stop until we get there. The second point that I made last week was that faith begins where worry ends. When we start to walk in faith - as we remember what God has already done and what He has already promised us, the worrying ceases. Likewise, when we stop remembering what God has already done and we stop remembering what He has already promised us, our faith falters and worry starts up again. In order to leave the land of WERE where every remembrance of what God has done for or promised us escapes our mind we must begin to take the steps to move forward. One more step from where we have stopped. This week we will examine several Scriptures from the New Testament about others (including us) living in WERE.
Before we go into the heart of the message this morning, I want to take you back to the canvas – our portrait. When I started this portrait two weeks ago, I drew the cross which is where our lives started in Christ. Last week I stress the fact that grace and forgiveness was immediately available at the cross when Jesus forgave one of the thieves who was being crucified with Him. This morning I want to add in the third cross. This third cross will lead us into our examples today on those living in the land of WERE. As you recall from Scripture, at least two others were crucified with Jesus on the cross. One of these individuals repented and asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. The second thief however refused to leave WERE for WHAT SHALL BE. He saw Jesus as an opportunity, not for salvations, but an opportunity for escape. He looked at Jesus and told Him that if He were the Christ to save Himself and them. He was looking for a way off the cross, not for forgiveness of His sins. Today we will find that there are many who want to leave WERE in theory, but when it comes to taking a step to do so, to actually leave their comfort zone, they become like the Children of Israel who came to the border of WHAT SHALL BE and chose not to cross over. Let’s begin with Matthew chapter thirteen.
I. Jesus Visits Home
“He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?’ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and on his own household.’ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus had made the trip home, possibly to see His family while also bringing with Him WHAT SHALL BE. However, because the people knew Him and knew His family, they were offended that He actually thought He could teach them or that they should see Him as anything other than Joseph’s son. Had He been a trained priest from another city, they would have accepted Him, but He was not. He was someone they knew and had watched grow up into this man. Who was He to think He was anything “bigger” than they that they should allow Him to minister to their needs. Instead of them seeing Him as the gate leading to WHAT SHALL BE, they saw Him as He WERE when He was growing up. He chose to bring WHAT SHALL BE to His home town, but they wanted to stay in WERE. But because of their lack of faith which grew from their knowledge of Him and His family, they could not accept going to WHAT SHALL BE through Him. Verse fifty-eight says that Jesus could not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Jesus had called this one right – as we would expect. It is hard for us to honor someone we know or have grown up with. However, if it were someone else that came to town with the exact same skills and reputation, we would roll out the red carpet for them. There are things a Pastor can do for their flock that they cannot do for their own family because their families do not see them that way. A pastor is seen as a father or mother and as a husband or wife to their family but not necessarily as “their” pastor. Their immediate family will not come to them for council because they them as husband or wife and father and mother. Do you understand what I am saying here? Family members will say things to a pastor as a family member that you would never consider saying because of the family tie. When a pastor shares with family what God has said, sometimes the receptivity is not what it would be when they share it with their congregation. This also applies to the relationship between a pastor and his flock. There are things a pastor can do at another Church that he cannot do at his own Church because the people at his own Church feel they “know” him and they are accustomed to his gifts. The other Church is open to the “guest” speaker and therefore their receptivity is not hindered because of the intimate knowledge they have of the speaker. This is what Jesus was talking about. The people that knew Him and His family could not separate the two and could not receive from Him. Therefore, they chose to stay in WERE even though WHAT SHALL BE was right in their midst. WHAT SHALL BE had come to town and they chose WERE. Healing was available in WHAT SHALL BE, but they chose to keep the sickness prevalent in WERE. Deliverance was available in WHAT SHALL BE, but they chose the bondage of WERE. Forgiveness was available in WHAT SHALL BE, but they chose the bitterness of un-forgiveness that reigned in WERE. Because most of the people preferred WERE, Jesus could not do many miracles there. They had forgotten what God had promised them, even though they clearly witnessed and heard of all the things Jesus had done. Let’s move on to an example more close to home. Let’s talk about us, you and me and how we are choosing WERE.
I. Leaving WERE for WHAT SHALL BE
We have all had times when we have left WERE for WHAT SHALL BE. God’s desire for our lives are that we would leave WERE and never return but this is very difficult to do sometimes. We cannot afford in this day and age to forget those things that God has already done for us nor can we stop focusing on and expecting those things promised to us. God’s word is steadfast, more dependable and offers more assurances than any investment we can have today. But before I go into the spiritual aspects of leaving WERE, let me give you a few examples of how we have done this already naturally.
• If you have ever left one job for another job, you left WERE for WHAT SHALL BE. Although you might not have fully understood what the new job would entail, you knew enough about what it promised to leave WERE. You left WERE for WHAT SHALL BE.
• If you have ever gotten married, you left WERE (being single) for WHAT SHALL BE (being married). There was something about the other person that made you think that spending the rest of your life with them was much better than spending it alone. There was something that made you decide to give up your individual freedoms and take on the restraints that comes with marriage. Whatever it was that inspired you, you left WERE for WHAT SHALL BE.
• If you graduated from high school or college, you left WERE for WHAT SHALL BE, which includes having a job and paying your own bills.
• But most important, when you accepted Christ, you were “supposed” to depart WERE for WHAT SHALL BE. However, many Christians attempt to bring WERE with them to WHAT SHALL BE only to find out that this is not possible. I have heard many people say that they were just a “sinner saved by grace.” By definition of the word sinner, which basically means a life defined by constant, consistent acts of sins and having a sin nature, it is impossible to be a sinner and saved by grace at the same time. Yes we were all sinners. Yes, we are all saved by grace. “Saved” means that you have been delivered from the power of sin and its consequences which is death. So if sin no longer has any power over you then it means you have power over it and therefore you no longer “have to sin” which means you are no longer a sinner – a man with a sin nature. Does that mean that Christians will not sin? No. It means that we have been given the authority to stop sinning. The problem is we choose to stay in WERE although we claim to want WHAT SHALL BE. I think I can make this clearer as we turn to the book of Ephesians.
II. Leaving WERE for Christ
Let’s start reading at Ephesians chapter one verse eleven through fourteen. I will be reading from the NIV. “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promise Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:11-14
Let’s examine these verses more closely. In these verses we find that we have already left the land of WERE so the question remains as to why we would want to return back there. Look at what it says – and again, I am reading from the NIV.
• “In Him we WERE chosen.” The first thing we find is that we have already been chosen. What this means is that ownership has changed hands. God chose us – past tense – which means that now that we accepted Christ, we now belong to Him. Again, this is already done. When something is chosen it is selected by preference – meaning that the person doing the choosing prefers what they are choosing. In our case, this means that God chose us – that He came to prefer us. This has already been done, even though we were still in WERE but now we have full access to His greatness in WHAT SHALL BE.
• “Who WERE the first to hope in Christ.” We are the beneficiaries of Christ dying and therefore the first (those who accepted Christ) to actually place our hope in Him. Those who died in the Old Testament did not get to see this promise fulfilled, but have been witnesses to it. Again, this was done when we accepted Christ and therefore it is also in the past. Since this is already done, God views us as already living in WHAT SHALL BE.
• “And you also WERE included in Christ when you heard the word of truth…” Remember what I told you last week? In Christ we exist and have our being. It started at the cross for us, but that is not where it ends. It will end when we are forever in His presence. But this future has already been guaranteed in the past. This is part of WHAT SHALL BE and we accept it now by faith.
• “Having believed, you WERE marked in Him with a seal…” You have been marked. There is no getting around the fact that when we accepted Christ, He accepted us and placed His mark on us. All of this is already done. All of this brings us to WHAT SHALL BE and we had to leave WERE to receive it.
I told you last we that everything you need has already been given to you in Christ. Through Him we have been provided with everything we need – but we must see that it exists. Ephesians 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” If God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, what more can we ask for? When we receive from Him what He has already given us, we leave WERE and enter into WHAT SHALL BE because we can now see it. We heard about what God was going to do, but now we can actually see it. We get the picture.
I want to close this message out with a Scripture from the book of Romans. I told you earlier that there are many of us who claim to want to leave WERE for WHAT SHALL BE, but when it comes down to taking a step, we cannot move our feet. However, when we begin to get a taste of WHAT SHALL BE, it will be hard to accept anything less. Romans 6:14-18 explains that we have been made free and therefore we are no longer slaves. It says “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
When you leave WERE for Christ, you make the decision to walk away from a life of sin. If you see yourself as a sinner saved by grace that is who you’ll become – a sinner who justifies the sin because of grace. Never mind the fact that you have been delivered from sin. Sin is in WERE, the power over sin rest in the land of WHAT SHALL BE. If you see yourself as being a person who will never trust again because of all the hurts you have been through, that is the person you will be. Distrusts and un-forgiveness lives in WERE, forgiveness lives in WHAT SHALL BE. If you see yourself as a person carrying around hate, because hates resides within your heart, you will be consumed by the hate. Hate, anger and bitterness lives in WERE. Love and peace lives in WHAT SHALL BE. If you’re constantly walking in fear because of past experiences, fear lies in WERE. God’s word says He has not given us a spirit of fear. Power dwells in WHAT SHALL BE.
If you have been scarred by experiences that you have had in your life that have shaped who you’ve become and you love staying there then you are living in WERE. In the land of WHAT SHALL BE, God is offering you a chance to move beyond the scars; to move beyond the hurting words that we replay through our minds; to move beyond the pain other caused; the disappointment that comes with failure; and every other setback that has tainted our image of how God sees us and how we should see ourselves. We must come back to the place of WHAT SHALL BE and recognize that God is trying to take us somewhere. He is trying to get us out of WERE. I know it is scary. I know it is painful. I know WERE is very comfortable. But if we are to truly experience a little of what is waiting for us in heaven, we must leave WERE and go to WHAT SHALL BE.
Marriages have been repaired in WHAT SHALL BE. Churches have been built and building purchased in WHAT SHALL BE. Children have walked in the blessings of WHAT SHALL BE and have come to expect nothing less ever again. Jobs have been found in WHAT SHALL BE – jobs that God ordained for you to have. Bills have been paid in WHAT SHALL BE because you were able to see the promise – you got the vision. WHAT SHALL BE is where God wants us to dwell while we are here on earth.
Some of you may be thinking right now that you are still in the land of WERE. Some of you may be thinking that although you just read about God’s blessings, you’re not seeing them in your life. You may be thinking that although you’re supposed to feel complete, there is still a void, something missing from your life. Because of these feelings, you easily return to what is comfortable in WERE. You easily go back to what you know versus expecting and waiting on WHAT SHALL BE. I want to encourage you this morning to change the channel of your thinking. Stop focusing on what seems to not be present in your life and start focusing on WHAT SHALL BE. See the deliverance. See the healing. See the power.
Next week is Father’s Day so I will take a break and we will return to this series in two week. May God continue to bless and keep you is my prayer.
