Your Christian Life Review - Part 2
Well we are into a new Millenium and I hope that you had a good night last Sunday in anticipation of the midnight milestone. We had some crazy neighbours who enjoyed themselves. You know that telephone add where two mates just scream down the phone to each other ¡§Mate¡¨ - well this is what some of our neighbours were doing through the night - I kid you not. It is amazing what people find funny when they have had a bit too much to drink.
Anyway that has nothing to do with what we are going to talk about this morning. If you were here last week, you might remember that we started to carry out a CLR. For those of you who weren¡¦t here - that is code for a Christian Life Review. We thought that it would be a good idea to review how our Christian life had gone in 2000 and what we needed to re-evaluate for this coming year.
New Year is typically a time when people make New Years Resolutions. That is, they will promise themselves that they will lose weight, stop smoking, go to church or something of that nature. Webster defines a resolution as: "a) a resolving, or determining; deciding b) the thing determined upon; decision as to future action; resolve." Now, this sounds good, and it makes people feel better about themselves to make a promise concerning something they plan to do, or something they plan to stop. However, the problem with resolutions is that they tend to be forgotten within just a few days, or weeks, at the most. In truth, what we really need is a revolution! Webster defines revolution as "a) a complete or radical change of any kind b) overthrow of a government, form of government, or social system by those governed and usually by forceful means, with another government or system taking its place." To my way of thinking, this is exactly what most Christians need to have happen in their lives. We need to experience a radical change in the way we think and in the way we act. We need a total overthrow of our lives until they are brought under the absolute Lordship and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ. With that in mind, I would like for us to continue with our CLR to see what revolutions we all need in our lives.
We began last week by looking at the first of 3-P¡¦s to help us to focus on various areas of our life and activity. The three P¡¦s were Programming, People and Primary Relationship. We covered Programming last week. For those who weren¡¦t here last week, Programming was all about how we were serving God. We asked of ourselves How effective has your service been for God this year?
The church is like a body. A body has many parts, each with different functions. We need every part to be performing correctly its unique function if we are to operate effectively. You have a unique part to play in this church and a unique ministry which God has called you to. If you are not performing this ministry, you are letting the whole body down and probably hindering it doing other things. So the question we asked was - How effective has your service been for God this year?
And to answer this question we asked 4 other questions.
a) Have you been serving this year? There are some people in our church that are not doing anything. They are the pew sitters. They don¡¦t realise that they have an absolutely critical part to play in making this church run smoothly. It is like the body operating without an elbow joint. Every body needs to be playing their part ¡V no matter how small or large that may be.
b) Are you doing the right ministry? There are other people who are trying to do the wrong ministry. They are either pretenders ¡V wanting to be a part of the body that they aren¡¦t, or supermen ¡V wanting to have a finger in every pie. Neither are as effective as they might be because they are getting distracted from the right ministry which God has specially for them. ¡§Well what is the right ministry?¡¨ you ask. God has each given us a spiritual gift which he has given us to make us effective in his ministry. Know your spiritual gift and you will have a fairly good idea about where you should be serving. So the next question is
c) Do you know and are you using your spiritual gift? Sugar Ray Leonard, the boxer was speaking at Harvard once: ¡§I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We¡¦ve all been blessed with god given talents. Mine just happens to be beatin¡¦ people up.¡¨ I¡¦m not sure whether this could be classed as a spiritual gift, but I¡¦m not going to argue with him. Do you know your spiritual gift? If so are you using it?
d) Have you been serving God this year? The last question is about our motive for service. Effective service puts God first and seeks to glorify him not ourselves.
So How effective has your service been for God this year?
Another question we asked was How reliable has your giving been to God this year? Giving is a form of service and just as if we are not serving, we are letting down the side, if we are not giving, we are also letting down the side. God expects a tithe from us for his work, whether it is in this church or outside of this church ¡V If we are not giving that which is God¡¦s to God ¡V how can we expect him to bless us.
So the challenge last week was to examine our service and giving in 2000 and see whether it was sufficient for 2001.
So that was last week¡¦s message in a nut shell, before we move on to today¡¦s topics of People and our Primary Relationship, there are 2 ground rules here this morning.
1) I don¡¦t want you to carry out a CLR on the person sitting next to you. This is a confidential review between You and God and you have no right to expect to be involved in someone else¡¦s CLR - it is confidential.
A counselor from a seventh grade camp was discussing with twelve-year-old Scott about Scott¡¦s expereience with trying out ¡§snuff¡¨ on the school camp with two other boys the night before. ¡§I got really sick on the stuff,¡¨ said Scott.
The Counselor asked, ¡§What did you think of the whole experience?¡¨
Scott replied, ¡§I won¡¦t ever try it again and I¡¦ve already told God I¡¦m sorry, but please don¡¦t tell my teacher Mr. Johnston.¡¨
The counselor questioned Scott: ¡§But God knows what you did. What¡¦s the difference between god¡¦s knowing and Mr Johnston knowing?¡¨
Scott explained, ¡§God won¡¦t tell my parents.¡¨
That is right, God won¡¦t tell your parents or those sitting beside you. It is confidential between you and Him. So keep focussed this morning on your own Christian life. Use the time to review your life with your creator not that of the person beside you. But remember - God does know so you¡¦d better act on it.
2) I also am not preaching this as one who has got everything together. I¡¦m not perfect and while it may seem like the pot calling the kettle black - that is alright because I need to hear this as much as you do.
I want to apologise up front again this morning because some of the things I say might hurt some people today. I am not going to pull any punches this morning either. All I want to say is - if the cap fits, wear it and do something about it.
Let¡¦s pray before we begin - Lord, well a new year has come and we look forward to all that you have for us this year. We want to start this year off on the right foot Lord and so we¡¦d ask you to be with us as we examine our performance in the areas of relationships with other people and our relationship with you. Lord, help us to be honest as we come before you now and give us the courage to change ¡V to be revolutionary for you. For your glory we ask this, Amen.
2) PEOPLE - How have your relationships with other People been this year?
Let¡¦s quickly look at two relationships ¡V with those in the church and with those outside of the church.
b) Relationships With Those Inside The Church
Unfortunately this side of heaven, we suffer the unfortunate problem that some people will get on our nerves ¡V Some people just seem to rub us up the wrong way. This is a problem if they are Christians because we all need to be operating as part of a unified body where each member has been accepted and chosen by God. We will never become a church that effectively reaches out to those who are missing out if we shoot our wounded and major on the minuses. Instead of being fishers of men, as Christ has called us, we will be keepers of an ever shrinking aquarium if we do not love each other.
Our attitude and relationships is a direct measure of our Christ-like-ness. Christ commanded his followers to ¡§Love each other as I have loved you.(Jn 15:12)¡¨ And again in Jn 13: 34 ¡§A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.¡¨ The standard for our love is that love that Christ showed. Again and again we read that love is an outworking of God living in us. If we do not love others, God does not live in us. Listen as I read some scriptures ¡K
1 John 4:16 ¡V ¡§And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.¡¨
1 John 4:20 ¡V ¡§If anyone says, ¡§I love God,¡¨ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother¡¨
John 15:10 ¡V ¡§If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love¡¨
Has our love for others reflected Christ this year?
Love as used by Christ and the other writers in the bible is not ¡§a mushy emotional love that embraces all, forgives all, forgets all, and requires nothing¡¨ (Montgomary Boice). Turn with me to Romans 12:9-13. This is a great passage on the love which models Christ¡¦s own love.
True Love is sincere (vs 9a)
We note immediately in Vs 9 that true Love is sincere. It lacks hypocricy. When we share Christ¡¦s love, we don¡¦t put on an act or mask that hides our real feelings or motives. If we are upset with somebody, for example, true love doesn¡¦t just smile and say ¡§everything¡¦s fine!¡¨ We deal with the problem gently but honestly. How is your love? Has it been sincere in our relationships this year?
True Love Discriminates (vs 9b)
We also note that true love discriminates between Good and evil. Discrimination is a bad word in today¡¦s society, but the concept is necessary for God¡¦s love. God¡¦s love works itself out within the confines of his standards. He knows what damage sin can do and he doesn¡¦t tolerate it. Montomary Boice explains it this way¡K
If we love as God loves ¡V and we must if we are Christians ¡V then there will be things for us to hate, just as there will also be things we must love. We will hate the violence done to people by whatever name ¡V nationalism, ethnic cleansing, racial or religious pride, war, keeping the peace, even ¡§necessity.¡¨ But we will love the humble and those who work for peace, yes, and even those who are guilty of the violence, because we will want to turn them from their ways. We will hate lying, especially by those who are in important positions ¡V CEOs and other heads of corporations, political figures, presidents, and even ministers. We will hate what their lies do to others. Yet we will love the truth and will at the same time also love those who are lying, for we will see them as people who need the Savior¡K Love hates evil ¡K But love also clings like glue to what is good.
How is your love? Has it discriminated between the sin and the person? Do we love the person even though we don¡¦t like what they are doing or do we hate both the person and the action?
Let¡¦s read verses 10 to 13 again for some more characteristics of true love
True Love is devoted (vs 10a)
The Greek word for Devotion here is philostorgos (ƒÖƒÙƒÜƒßƒãƒäƒßƒâƒ×ƒßƒã) which means tender love or family affection. How is your love to others in this church family? Is it loyal, warm and supportive, leaving room for weaknesses and imperfections? Or is it judgmental, condemning those who disagree with us.
True Love is unselfish (vs 10b)
Honour others above yourself. To honour is to value and respect them. Christ¡¦s love inspires us to honour all people because they are made in God¡¦s image. We honour other Christians because Christ has chosen them and redeemed them. How is your love? Is it unselfish.
True Love is enthusiastic (vs 10b)
True Love is zealous. It really means that love is not to be lazy, but rather is to be a love of action ¡V serving as to God. It is also to have a spirit of fervour. In the Greek, the word translated ¡§fervour¡¨ is zeo (ƒêƒÕƒç) which means ¡§to boil or be hot.¡¨ Our love is to be passionate and bubbling over ¡V not forced or done with a spirit of guilt. How is your love ¡V Active and passionate or cold and lifeless?
True Love hopes (vs 12a)
True love points to the future and the glory of Christ¡¦s return. Some one once said that we¡¦d better get used to living with each other now, because we are going to do it for an awfully long time in heaven. Does your love see beyond the struggles of today to the glory of heaven?
True Love is consistent (vs 12b)
Love perseveres. Or maybe in your translation you have the word patient. Despite the persecution, we can face whatever happens with the assurance that God is in control and will work all things out for his good. Is your love patient?
True Love is prayerful (vs 12c)
True love comes from God and prayer is our lifeline to God so the believer should be ¡§faithful in prayer.¡¨ It is in prayer that we learn to love. When we bring our hurts and complaints to God, our hearts open and our capacity to care grows as God communes with us. Are you having trouble with some in the church family today? Have you tried talking to God about it? Prayer does not change God, but changes him who prays
True Love is generous (vs 13a)
Love is practical. James writes ¡§If a Christian brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ¡§Go in peace, be warmed and be filled¡¨ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that¡¨ (James 2:15-16). Real love provides for the needs of people (financial needs, emotional needs, friendship, etc). How is your love? Are you close enough to people to even know their needs?
True Love is hospitable (vs 13b)
True love also needs to be hospitable. We need to welcome strangers ¡V people who are new to us. Who in this church today and over the next few months will be new? Will you make an effort to welcome them, to get to know them, to introduce them to others in the church, to include them in your social activities - or will you justify your indifference? How about those who are different to us? Now it becomes harder - doesn¡¦t it? With true love there is no room for our predjudices be they racially, nationality, gender, age, class or even fashion based. The church of Christ is open to all and Christ¡¦s love is hospitable to all. How is your love?
Mother Teresa once said ¡§Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbour... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.¡¨ I repeat the question - Has our love for others reflected Christ this year?
b) Relationships With Those Outside The Church
Well how about our relationships with those outside the church? It is so easy in this day and age to get swallowed up in Christian activities. All our time is taken up attending church events or serving in the church. If we do have time for recreational activities ¡V it is with other Christian friends ¡V we have a Christian cricket team or we go fishing with Christian mates. All our friends are Christians and we have little time to make friends with anyone else. But that is okay because we wouldn¡¦t like to be tainted by the world¡¦s influences and besides we are building up our Christian mates.
Christ taught in Matthew 5:13-16 that ¡§You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven¡¨
There was once a small boy playing in the yard after dark who suddenly started yelling, "Look,
Daddy, Look, Daddy...I’m carrying the Light! That’s what missionaries are suppose to do...Carry the Light! Like the song they sing...Carry the Light!"
His tiny hands unfolded to reveal a carefully captured "fire-fly" which was beautifully beaming with light. He was soon convinced that he must "release the Light" rather than hold on to it so that ALL may enjoy it. He so this he did reluctantly and watched as the "fire-fly" flew away beaming light against the darkened sky. He was thrilled however to discover that even after the release that his little fingers still "beamed" a bit. Some of the "yellow beam" had rubbed off on
him. He screamed with delight, "Oh, look, Daddy. When you carry the Light, some of it rubs off on people!"
What an important role is ours ¡V to be a positive influence to others, to be a light to those in the world so that they can find Christ. Someone once wrote - a living Christ in a living Christian is a living sermon. What is your sermon looking like?
What did we do with all the time in 2000? Did we make progress in developing meaningful relationships with non believers in the world? Relationships which would allow us to shine the light of Christ and give the opportunity to share Christ with them.
Do we know our neighbours well enough to share the gospel with them?
Do we know our work mates well enough to share the gospel with them?
Another year has gone by ¡V have we made good use of the time God has given us or have we wasted it?
2) PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP
A CLR would not be complete if we didn¡¦t consider the health of our primary relationship. Above all else, we need to have a strong relationship with God. We need to constantly be seeking to draw near to him and develop with him intimacy. At the core of Christianity is a person. Christians embrace a Person, not merely a philosophy. It is not enough to know his teachings, we need to know him personally. We¡¦ve talked upto now about actions ¡V serving, giving, loving and witnessing, but now I want to turn to a person.
If I were to ask you to list the necessary ingredients for building strong relationships with other people you might list things like spending time with them, sharing good and bad times, being reliable, trustworthy, communicating with them, being honest, open, caring. These sorts of things are also needed when building a relationship with Christ.
God wants a relationship with you and he has gone to extraordinary lengths to achieve this. He gave us his Son to save us, his word to guide us and his Spirit to comfort and help us. He has done all he can to establish a relationship with us. He will not force himself upon us, but patiently waits for us to come to him. Have you drawn near to God this last year? Have you spent time with him as a friend?
Lets consider some ways of nurturing our relationship with God.
a) Have you Used God¡¦s Word Effectively?
God¡¦s Word is available to each of us freely in Australia. So often though we take it for granted and I think that God will hold us responsible for that. Here are 5 ways to make the most out of God¡¦s Word ¡K
1) Hear it ¡V make sure that you make the most of opportunities to hear God¡¦s Word. Do you regularly go to church, Home Groups, Windows so that you can listen to God¡¦s word? When you get there, do you listen? Maybe you need to take notes so that you can concentrate! Maybe you need to sit somewhere different where you won¡¦t be distracted. Can you tell me what the last 3 sermons you heard were about?
2) Read it ¡V we take far more information into our minds if we use our eyes and not just rely upon. Do you regularly read God¡¦s word or books about it? How regular is your daily devotion?
3) Study it ¡V Study is different to reading. To study is one step beyond just simply reading. It involves research, investigation, critical thought in order to understand. Do we think about what we are reading?
4) Memorize it ¡V Memorisation is something I am not very good at. My brain capacity is valuable and I only seem store up there important things that I¡¦ll use again and again. What is more important though than God¡¦s word? I know more than anyone how much hard work it is, but should that stop us? How many scripture verses did we memorise last year?
5) Meditate on it ¡V lastly, we should meditate on God¡¦s word for it is in meditation that God can communicate with us how his great truths need to be applied to our individual lives. Quiet time is precious in all our busy lives, but quiet time with God should be a priority ¡V Is it?
Were we faithful in our use of God¡¦s Word last year? How do things need to change this year?
b) Have you Talked with God Regularly through Prayer?
If you had a choice, would you prefer to read a book by candlelight or by a bright overhead light bulb? The choice of most of you would probably be the electric light. But to use this light to illuminate the book¡¦s pages, you need to use a switch so that the electricity can flow through the light and illuminate it. In the spiritual realm, prayer is like the switch which allows the power of the Holy Spirit to flow to illuminate our lives. Many Christians rely on their own power and wisdom to guide their lives instead of making the most of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is the key ingredient here, the power is there it just has to be switched on. Much Prayer - Much Power, Little Prayer - Little Power, No Prayer - No Power.
How diligent have you been in your prayer life this last year? Have you spent time alone with God? Have you spent time praying for Pastor Roger, for our church, for your friends who don¡¦t know God? Paul exhauts us in 1 Thess 5:17 to Pray without ceasing. This is to include God in every aspect of life. He longs for this to be the case, so why do we continually exclude him.
CONCLUSION
So how did your CLR go? I want to repeat that this wasn¡¦t an exercise to put you on a guilt trip about what you are not doing well enough - but if the cap fits, wear it. The purpose is to get you to review how you have been doing and give you an opportunity to make some changes. Maybe there are no changes necessary and God is saying to you well done good and faithful servant. I am sure that most of us however need some revolutionary changes in our lives.
So where to now? Well let¡¦s just recap the three P¡¦s ¡V let God point out to you those areas where he wants you to make some changes
1) Programming ¡K
How effective has your service been for God this last year?
- Do you need to get off the pew and start serving God? Resolve this year to begin to serve
- Are you doing the right ministry? Or are you trying to do something you aren¡¦t made for? Those of you who are pretenders or supermen ¡V resolve to re-evaluate your ministries and ask God what he wants you to do.
- Maybe you aren¡¦t sure what your spiritual gift is. Resolve to find out. Join a home group, go to a seminar, read a book, hassle the church leaders to organise a seminar so you can find out.
- Once you are in the right ministry, make sure you are serving God and him alone. Then stand back and let him take the glory.
How reliable has your giving been to God this year?
- Are you giving regularly to God? If not, you are not being obedient. Remember tithing is a minimum ¡V don¡¦t be scared to give more!!!
2) People ¡K
How is your relationships with others in the Body of Christ?
- Is your love reflecting Christ¡¦s love? Is it devoted, unselfish, enthusiastic, hopeful, consistent, generous and hospital. If not, do we need to be in prayer more. Make a point of getting to know people in the church who you do not already know. Look for the good in them and thank God for them.
How is your relationships with others outside the Body of Christ?
- Maybe you need to entertain neighbors or co-workers in your home. Visit a new neighbor or co-worker.
3) Primary Relationship ¡K
Have you used God¡¦s Word Effectively?
- Are you diligent in hearing, reading, studying, memorising and meditating on God¡¦s Word? Do you need to get up earlier or give up some time watching TV? Do you need to buy a devotional book or a daily ready guide to help you stay committed? Maybe you need to become part of an accountability group to keep you accountable.
Have you talked with God regularly through prayer?
- Are you spending adequate time getting to know God through prayer? Maybe you need to attend the new pre-service prayer meetings. Maybe you need to form an accountability group who you can pray with.
What is your resolution going to be. It might sound simple, but if implemented is will be revolutionary. It will likely change you, and have an impact on those around you. It is likely to even have an impact on this church and who knows, even the world. When God uses willing and effective people ¡V the impact can be enormous. The challenge is there before us. We have 358 days left in this year, 8592 hours, 515,000 minutes and 30 million seconds. What are you going to change to make each of those seconds count for God this year. We finished last week with a poem. I think it is relevant again this week.
I am only one, but I am one;
I cannot do everything, But I can do something.
What I can do I ought to do,
And what I ought to do. By God’s grace I will do.
