"Holiness – Part 4 – Put on Jesus Christ"
Romans 13:11-14
Pastor John Bright
Romans 13 “11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You must choose.
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A big part of the hustle and bustle in our modern world has to do with “stuff.” We all have too much stuff – amen? I have told you before – it’s ok to have stuff, just make sure stuff does not have you. Today, I want to begin with a question – how much stuff is enough?
Dave Ramsey gives this warning, "We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
Richard Foster gives this warning: “We are made to feel ashamed to wear clothes or drive cars until they are worn out. The mass media have convinced us that to be out of step with fashion is to be out of step with reality. It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick. Until we see how unbalanced our culture has become at this point, we will not be able to deal with the mammon spirit within ourselves nor will we desire Christian simplicity.” (Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, pg. 80-81)
If holiness is equal to freedom, we must seek the practices we see in the life of Jesus to be truly free as we grow into holiness of heart and life. The more we become like Jesus, we will understand Paul’s instruction to the Roman Believers and all of us to - “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
SIMPLICITY
Jesus had a few things (wink-wink) to say about our relationship to our stuff. In the Sermon on the Mount, we read (Matthew 6:24) “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Mammon is the Aramaic word for wealth. For our purposes, let’s call it TOO MUCH STUFF.
Jesus also made sure to let us know that this relationship with our stuff starts on the inside – also in Matthew 6 “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Richard Foster writes about the move from the inner heart of simplicity to the outward manifestation in your life. This is where legalism, a long list of do’s and don’ts, is always a danger. In Matthew 19, Jesus told the rich, young ruler to sell all he has and give it away. That was not a directive for everyone – just for him. Jesus knew that this man not only had too much stuff – it had him. In Matthew 6, Jesus continues teaching about not being anxious or worried – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (v.33) That’s what we are seeking in the practice of simplicity!
Here are the 3 inner attitudes (heart) that are seen when simplicity leads to freedom from anxiety over stuff:
• Receive what you have as a gift from God – “give us this day our daily bread”
• It’s God’s business to care for what we have – you have no control over the weather
• What we have is available to others – remember how we hoarded t.p. during the pandemic (Celebration of Discipline, pg. 88-89)
John Mark Comer focuses on the outward manifestation. He tracks the last century where most folks were on farms (90%) to our current time with a completely different economy – one based on consumerism. He calls it the “thingification” of American society. (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, pg. 182) Others have called it – “AFFLUENZA.” This has been accomplished by a change in advertising so that it became propaganda to sell us a lie: MORE MONEY AND MORE STUFF EQUAL MORE HAPPINESS.” (pg. 188)
Here are some guidelines for a lifestyle of simplicity from Celebration of Discipline:
• Buy things for their usefulness, not to impress others – too many clothes?
• Reject anything that is addictive for you – what would I panic over losing?
• Develop a habit of giving things away – could you do without half your stuff?
• Refuse the propaganda of those selling modern gadgets – will it really save time?
• Learn to enjoy things without owning them – been to the library lately?
• Avoid “buy now – pay later” – do you have a monthly budget?
• Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the Kingdom of God – AMEN! (pg. 90-95)
SLOW DOWN
John Mark Comer writes about a practice that, technically, is not a spiritual discipline. You can make the case that “slowing” is connected to other spiritual disciplines – Sabbath keeping, solitude and simplicity – but it is not on the list. Since Comer is writing a book on moving away from hurry and the fast-paced modern life, it makes sense that he would include “slowing.” Of course, Jesus lived a slow-paced life since He never drove a car and never had seconds to return a text without the sender getting upset. There is a description of this practice in the book that comes from John Ortberg – the practice of slowing is “cultivating patience by deliberately choosing to place ourselves in positions where we simply have to wait.” (pg. 221)
While Jesus did not speak directly to this practice, I can feel His gentle urging for us not to be so busy that we miss the Kingdom when He speaks in Matthew 11 “28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Can you hear what I am hearing? Could there be rest for our souls when we rush from this to that and scurry around getting more and more stuff?
Here is some of the suggestions from “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”:
• Drive the speed limit – I’ve heard some pretty lame excuses when telling folks we are breaking the law by not following the speed limit. It was put there for your protection.
• Get into the slow lane – this can be fun on Rt. 58
• Come to a full stop at stop signs – take a couple of breaths – why is this so hard?
• Don’t text and drive – period!
• Show up early for an appointment without your phone – will you be the only one? Use the time to pray.
• Get in the longest line at the grocery store – this is wasting time on purpose
• Parent the phone – put it to bed before you and let it sleep in
• Keep your phone off until you have time with God in the morning
• Limit social media or just get off it – how about no social media for Lent?
• Single-task – “Muti-tasking is just sleight of hand for switching back and forth between a lot of different tasks so I can do them all poorly instead of doing one well.”
• Walk slower
• Take a regular day alone for silence and solitude – other practices include journaling and Christian meditation (pg. 223-243)
SETTING YOUR PRIORITIES
There is an ancient practice to help us “put on Jesus” every day. It is a way of organizing what is most important – our spiritual priorities – called “a rule of life.” Dan Wilt wrote a booklet – “My Way of Life: Reflecting on the Values and Priorities That Guide Your Life.” (2020) Listen to his description of why this practice is so important – “In such times as we live, writing out our values, priorities, and practices for becoming like Jesus – listing them so we remember them in the fray and follow them in a slow and steady,
incremental way – is absolutely crucial to us becoming who we want to become.” (pg. 4-5)
Now, don’t freak out over the word “rule”! He likens this to the rules that guide and regulate a recipe. Anyone who has ever used salt instead of sugar in a recipe can relate to this one. 😊 If we treat the spiritual practices that are a part of growing in holiness of heart and life like they are New Year’s resolutions – we will rush in for two weeks with gusto and then they fade away. I know – that’s been my experience with many of the spiritual disciplines in the past. I took a class with Dan Wilt during the pandemic and began to set priorities in my spiritual life.
Here's the process Dan Wilt lays out:
• use a notebook and write out what is most important – video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCcxyU5CRYU&ab_channel=JenniferSommer
• Question 1 – What do I value? Examples – family, simplicity, generosity, less hurry
• Question 2 – What categories will make up my “Way of Life” statement? Begin to put your priorities (the big rocks) into groups. Examples – devotional life, relationships, work, hopes for the future, health
• Question 3 – What practices embody those values? This will show you how to handle the time you have in the day and the week, how you want to spend your money and what habits will lead to a healthier lifestyle.
• Last part – set a time to revisit and renew (yearly?) – you may need to adapt to a new season – this has to be flexible or it becomes legalistic. Remember, it’s supposed to be helpful! (pg. 8-9)
(Check out Dan’s website for more - https://www.danwilt.com/events-and-studies/ )
Holiness of heart and life is NOT – a Sunday School class or a book study. Holiness of heart and life is NOT – a sermon series or a bunch of on-line blog posts. It’s NOT just a buzz-word for the new denomination. Holiness of heart and life is a life long change inside a Believer that is seen more and more on the outside of a Believer. It is a life filled with the love of God. John Wesley describes this love in his sermon, “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection”:
“God is the joy of his heart, and the desire of his soul, which is continually crying, ’Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire besides thee.' My God and my all! ’Thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.'
“He is therefore happy in God; yea, always happy, as having in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life, and overflowing his soul with peace and joy. Perfect love having now cast out fear, he rejoices evermore. Yea, his joy is full, and all his bones cry out, ’Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten me again unto a living hope of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven for me.' …
"And loving God, he ’loves his neighbor as himself;' he loves every man as his own soul. He loves his enemies, yea, and the enemies of God. And if it be not in his power to ’do good to them that hate' him, yet he ceases not to ’pray for them,' though they spurn his love, and still ’despitefully use him, and persecute him.'
"For he is ’pure in heart.' Love has purified his heart from envy, malice, wrath, and every unkind temper. It has cleansed him from pride, whereof ’only cometh contention;' and he hath now ’put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.' And indeed all possible ground for contention, on his part, is cut off. For none can take from him what he desires, seeing he ’loves not the world, nor any of the things of the world;' but ’all his desire is unto God, and to the remembrance of his name.'”
That’s putting on Jesus Christ – the question is always “Am I willing to do what it takes?” Amen
