This morning I’m going to do something a little different. What will be different this morning is what I will be expecting from you. I’m a little nervous because it seems to me that what I want to share with you is a little bit over the top. I coined a term, at least I think I did, for what this preaching experience this morning will be called. It is a non-linear, neo-interactive, multi-conclusatory, ad-hoc, pre-undetermined ecclesiastical experience.
NON-LINEAR because that way I have excuse if I go off on a tangent
NEO-INTERACTIVE because in whatever way you can I want you respond and interact with what I say. If you agree with what I share then feel free to shout “amen”, give a thumbs up or run around the sanctuary carrying a flag with my picture on it. Feel free to disagree, feel free to be upset, feel free to get angry if you need to, in fact feel free to stand where you are and recite your favorite haiku.
MULTI-CONCLUSATORY because there is no right conclusion, simply allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. I remember what Pastor Wayne would say, he would pray that God would delete any words that were from the flesh and carry the words that were from God. Listen to what God is saying to you this morning.
AD-HOC because it sounds cool
PRE-UNDETERMINED because I want to be sensitive to the Lord’s new direction. I have a sermon that I have prepared to preach, but still, in the moments we have, I want to be flexible and allow God to start now, from scratch.
And ECCLESIASTICAL because that means church.
So welcome to the first of its kind: The first Non-linear, Neo-interactive, Multi-conclusatory, Ad-hoc, Pre-undetermined Ecclesiastical preaching experience.
ROMANS 8:1-4
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
I grew up in the church Do you know that it wasn’t until I was 19 that I was actually confronted with the fact that I didn’t know what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I had an intellectual understanding, but almost everything I had grown up to believe about Christianity, worked against me having an intimate relationship with God. My working knowledge of holiness and righteousness was based on what I did and didn’t do. My walk with God and my Christianity was based on what I did and didn’t do. Christians go to church. Christians memorize and read their bible. Christians are involved in service. Christians do not drink. Christians do not smoke. Christians do not use that kind of language. Christians are, Christians do and Christians do not. The idol of holiness.
We have the terrible habit of measuring our holiness and acceptance to God by our own abilities. Holiness is not our ability to do things for God. Holiness is not our ability to avoid sin. Sin-avoidance is will-power, it is not holiness.
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
Instead of basking in God’s glory, instead of just accepting God’s grace, instead of living lives of freedom, we create a new law.
Romans 3:21-24
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
“Yes it is by God’s grace, but it’s also by not drinking”
“Yes, it’s by God’s grace, but it’s also by not swearing”
“Yes, it’s by God’s grace, but it’s also by attending church”
“Yes, it’s by God’s grace, but it’s also by doing good things”
“Yes it’s by God’s grace, but it’s also by loving my neighbor”
If we are going to add something, if we are going to measure our salvation by what we do or do not do, then let me tell you, there are about 100 million people in this world, who have never accepted the grace of God, but by their works deserve heaven more than you do and definitely deserve heaven more than I do.
Show me a Christian who does good things, and I’ll show you 10 people, who have no relationship with Jesus, that can do much better things.
Show me a Christian who doesn’t drink or swear, and I’ll show you 10 people, who have no relationship with Jesus, who don’t drink or swear even more.
Show me a Christian who attends church, and I’ll show you 10 people, who have no relationship with Jesus, that attend church more and are more commited.
Show me a Christian who loves their neighbor, and I’ll show you 10 people, who have no relationship with Jesus, who love their neighbor more.
When we start measuring our holiness and our acceptance by what we do, we take our eyes off of Christ and we put our eyes upon the things we do and don’t do and that is idolatry.
Do NOT measure your holiness by what you DON’T do. . .
Do NOT measure your holiness by what you DO do. . .
DO NOT MEASURE YOUR HOLINESS. . .
2 Corinthians 5:17 - 19
“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
And in galatians 6 paul is writing about circumsision because that was an issue then. They were depending God’s favour on their obedience in circumcision.
Galatians 6:12 - 15
12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
We could easily substitute “church attendance” or “great programming”.
Not even all those who attend church and create great programs know Christ, yet they want you to create a great program and attend church that they may boast. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Neither church attendance or great programs mean anything, what counts is a new creation.
. . . and you and I ARE HOLY because God dwells in you and has grafted you to Him and God is Holy.
“21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Cor. 5:21)
Sometimes the tools that God has given us for service become the objects of which we serve.
ROMANS 8:1-4
Good intentions, unmeasured and unchecked can be idolatry.
OUR identity is not SAC, Christian and Missionary Alliance, it’s not “Evangelical”, it’s not “Protestant”, not “Catholic”, our identiy is not tied up in a cause, it’s not tied to a mission. Our identity is in Christ!
Holiness is not based on what I can do
Holiness is not based on what I can avoid.
God’s grace is sufficient – with humility, experience relational intimacy with Jesus Christ. (TOZER)
Let God change you
Let God work in you
Let God melt you
Let God motivate you
Let God use you
HOLD NOTHING SACRED BUT GOD
Not doing . . . Not attending . . . Not serving . . . Not performing . . . . . . Not reading . . . Not nothing (not even good grammar). . .
Simply seek and experience Jesus relational intimacy with Jesus Christ. Receive and accept the forgiveness that Christ made available at His resurrection.
You see my purpose as Christian was to AVOID SIN.
My motivation was to AVOID GUILT.
The result was IDOLATRY
· I lost intimacy with Christ
· I became a judge of myself and others.
Deny GUILT as a motivation for holiness
Deny SIN-AVOIDANCE as a motivation for holiness
And the temporal sins that I commit, do not separate me from an eternity with God. The blood of Christ, which we are about to celebrate at the communion table, have set me free from the eternal punishment of sin. Past, present and future.
We were created to be in relationship with God. Sin broke the relationship. Jesus reconciled us back to God.
A few months ago I took a course from CBC called Alliance History and Thought. It wasn’t quite as exciting as it sounds but I did learn a lot of things. One of the characters I was introduced to was A.W. Tozer. And I had to read a book that he wrote, I think it was the first book he wrote, called “The pursuit of God”. I was greatly encouraged by this book and if you have the means I’d highly recommend it. Let me conclude by reading my favorite part:
Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activites which occupy time and attention but can never satisfu the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly and the peace of God scarecely at all.
. . . we must simplify our approach to him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.
When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the “and” lies our great woe. If we omit the “and” we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.
We need not fear that in seeking God only we may narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One. (Tozer, 17-18)
Do not attend church because you have to – you don’t.
Do not avoid sin because your eternity depends on it – it doesn’t.
Do not love your neighbor to win favour with God – you won’t.
“21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Our purpose is to know Jesus Christ. Seek God and God alone and begin to experience holy relational intimacy.
