Before I
begin, I need to give a bit of background.
One of the biggest needs that I see today in Christianity is for people
outside the church to see people with reality with God. Even as I speak those words, I recognize that
I hear that phrase, "reality with God," a fair bit, and it doesn’t
always mean more than just mere words. For
this reason, I want to explain what I mean.
There are two groups of people inside the church as a whole. There are the model Christians, who have come
to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and they pray about everything they
do, and they serve others in church and outside the church, they read God's
Word the Bible on a regular basis, and they are always longing for fellowship
with those who are of like precious faith.
Then there is the second group - and by their nature they are harder to
identify. They do many of the same
things, use the same terminology - but they have to doctrinize and formalize
and rationalize and legalize everything, usually to the detriment of any
influence that God has in the church, His body.
These impose man-made structure on something that is meant to be more
organic than they might like it. Of old,
they were called Pharisees, the religious power players of the day. Sometimes we as believers can fall on both
sides of that fence - I certainly can and do with great aplomb. Personally, I think it is part of our fallen
nature and the reason we need Jesus in the first place. Let me give an example of what I mean.
Has anyone
ever heard of Westboro Baptist Church?
Not Westboro here in Ottawa, the one in Topeka, Kansas. This gathering is famous, or perhaps I should
say infamous, for their gay-bashing, funeral picketing, anti-semitism, and
generally not-nice views. No one has any
problem figuring out what they are against. I certainly don't agree with a thing they have
taken a public stand over, and I doubt anyone here does either. But they really illustrate my point - do you
realize that many people lump all Christians into that group? The world at large thinks they know what we
as “religious” or “fundamentalist” Christians are against - but no one knows,
or perhaps even cares because of people like this, what it is we are FOR! A number of you may think - oh, but they're
Americans - but that has nothing to do with it.
I have heard Christians here in Canada repeat some of the really
outrageous garbage that these folks believe and give mental assent to it at the
same time. How can we as a congregation
avoid being seen as these kinds of people?
We must be
those who show Jesus, the friend of sinners, to the world around us. The Apostle Paul said it like this: It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (1 Timothy 1:15 NASB) We all have stories of the Lord finding us in
the depths of our despair and lifting us out of our sorry state, setting us on
a path to follow Him. Sometimes that
happens when you become a Christian.
Sometimes it happens AS a Christian, but the Lord has lifted us from our
despair and made a real difference in our lives. That is the message that the world needs to
hear through us. This is what I mean
when I say reality with God. Francis of
Assisi had a wonderful way of saying this:
"Share the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." That is the inspiration, if you will, behind
my topic today - Jesus, Friend of Sinners - Our Example for Life.
I have three main thoughts I will give you by way of
an outline.
1) Jesus - our
example
2) Jesus - our
choice (willing or unwilling)
3) Jesus -
friend of sinners
First, let us look at Jesus and the example he left
for us to follow. Phil. 2:5 begins with
the phrase "have this attitude in yourselves." See?
He is our example in deed, certainly, but also in our motives and
attitudes. Verse 6 talks about how
although He knew He was God, he didn't feel like he had to take advantage of
that status, or that it somehow made him better than the rest of us. Instead, in verse 7, it says that he emptied
himself. He instead took the form of a
willing slave - the servant of all - and allowed Himself to undergo the
greatest humiliation possible - Roman execution on a cross. Some example, don't you think? Contrast this in your minds with the
alternative attitude. Equality with
God? Oh, You bet - let me at it. I'm better than you, I know more than you,
and I deserve to be in charge of you and everything to do with you, and boy you
had better watch it if you step out of line - I'll be the one doing the
crucifying! And I won't stop until
you're gone! Now I ask you humbly and
honestly - what kind of attitude is that?
I don't know either, but it certainly wasn't the one Jesus had. More often than not, though, it is the one I begin
to recognize in myself. Normally, that would
depress me - but that is the very reason that Jesus came - to transform you and
I, by the renewing of our minds, to make us to be in character like Jesus. Does that happen automatically? No - it is a choice - an act of the will.
That brings me to the second main thought I would like
to share. Following Jesus, being His
disciple, having your mind renewed in that transformative way spoken of by Paul
in his letter to the Romans, being changed into the image of Jesus so that we
can be the representatives of God Himself in any situation He brings our way -
all of that is a choice. And as with all
choices, I would be remiss in my duty if I did not inform you of the
consequences of the choice. Philippians
2:10 says that at the name of Jesus, EVERY KNEE WILL BOW. Those in heaven, those on earth, those under
the earth - every knee will bow. Verse
11 tells us that every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father. It WILL happen. My only question isn't even when, but HOW it
will happen in my own life. Will I
willingly take my knee and exclaim to the universe that owe Him everything I am
and everything I have? Or will I be
forced down to my knees and spit out those words through clenched teeth? Sobering thought, isn't it? The good news is that we are able to choose
to willingly bend that knee and speak the words as praise rather than the
alternative. Verse 13 tells us that God
is even working this out in us because He wants this for us, and it pleases Him
to do it.
Here is the point.
We are quick to tell people that God loves them and that Jesus died to
prove it. And it is good that we
do. However, our lives must also reflect
what we say. If our life does not
reflect what we say we believe, then we are hypocrites. I know I too often fit into that category
myself. Think of that passage in 1
Corinthians 13 on love we all like. You
know, love is patient, love is kind, all that.
Really I think I contradict that passage more than you may know or I
would like to admit. I am not patient, I
am not kind, I do not always love the truth or want the best for people,
especially those that cross my will. And
if I don't get my way, I will try to gain converts to my point of view. Or I will try to engineer circumstances so I
can end up on top. Or I rail against my
perceived adversary. And if all else
fails, like a child on a playground that doesn’t like what his peers have told
him, I will take my ball and go home and withdraw from the people around me. And I ask you - humbly and seriously again -
where is the grace in all that? I'll
share a personal example. I was leading
a discussion group, and a person in that group attempted to "hijack"
the discussion in a direction I didn't want to go. I rebuffed the individual, and they became
argumentative. I was a split second away
from literally spitting out a retort at them - when something very strange and
very odd happened. God spoke to my
heart. He actually asked me a question
in that still, small voice we read about.
"What would My Son do here?"
I knew the answer - he would be gracious and extend that grace as He has
done countess times to ME. "That is
how I want you to be, Gerry. Bring GRACE
here. Be MY servant. Be like MY Son. Blessed are the peacemakers - for THEY shall
be called the mature children of God.
LOVE them like My Son did. Lay
down your thing. Let them
continue." Friends, that AFFECTED me.
You can ask my wife. I was more
quiet, more introspective. God really
spoke to my heart and showed me the way Jesus is. And
folks, that should be what we try to share with people.
After all, we have a problem - we are separated
naturally from God by our wrong thoughts, our wrong words, and our wrong
deeds. That separation isn't something
God wants, it is something our forefathers chose for us and we inherited, and
we are unable to pay the repair bill, so to speak. The consequences of that choice spill over
into every area of life. Death, disease,
poverty, inequality, injustice, unfairness - and worries, doubts, and fears in
case I missed anything else - and every other wrong imaginable came into the
world because of humankind's choice to be in charge instead of God. These are the very things that Jesus died to
fix for us because we were unable to do so.
He came to bring us peace in our hearts and joy in our lives regardless
of our circumstance. He came to heal us
all. Now - who could turn away from that
kind of message?
That is the good news I have found here, and share it
with anyone else who realizes that they are there with me. The reason Jesus came and died was so that we
could choose change! We can choose
hope! We can choose life. And then we can share it in a real way with
others that may need it. But what does
that mean for our Christian behaviour? It
is worth considering.
My last main thought is how we may emulate Jesus,
Friend of Sinners, and how we can learn to be followers of him. In fact, the Greek word for
"disciple" is "mathaytes" and literally means "learner"
or we would say "pupil" or “student.”
We learn Him by knowing how he treated people, and we treat people the
same way. We must learn what he said. We
must learn how he behaved. We must learn
his values. We must be disciplined (a
form of the word disciple) about it. And
then we must go and reflect that to the world we find around us, in relevant,
practical ways. Otherwise what good is
our Christianity? If it makes no
difference for us or for those around us, then it has "lost its
salt," as the scriptures say, and is good for nothing. So I have some thoughts on that exercise I
want to share with you in brief this morning.
Let me read a passage to you from the book of Acts.
So then, those who had received his word were
baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were
continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and
many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those
who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began
selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as
anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with
gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the
people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being
saved.
(Acts 2:41-47 NASB)
These
practices are those of the very first group of the pupils of Jesus. I want to focus in on verse 42 particularly
here. The first thing is says is that
"they were continually devoting themselves." This takes discipline to learn Jesus. You know, every time I read this verse, it
convicts me terribly, because my commitment to these things waxes and wanes
with my moods at times. I think that
might be why there was a need to continually devote yourself to this - we are
human, and I don't know about you, but I have a limited attention span for most
things. When I realize that my attention
has wandered, I devote myself again to these pursuits. I do this, well, continually!
Then it talks
about four things that I quickly want to go through and define a little
bit. First, it talks about "the
Apostles' Teaching." Let me ask -
have you read the Bible on your own?
This is a Baptist church - and it is our doctrinal position that the
Bible is the very Word of God. We should
be learning what it says - and what that means in practical terms for us as we
go through our lives day to day. Jesus,
in John 1, is identified as the Word of God.
So to be like Him, we must learn the book!
Second, it
talks about "Fellowship."
Fellowship in Greek here is the word Koinonia, meaning social discourse,
partnership, communication, or communion.
It speaks of how we relate to God - He wants us to be His partners, His
companions, and then to share that with each other, then the world around us.
Third, it
talks about "the breaking of bread," a specific ordinance of
worship. In that sharing of the great
symbols of the work that Jesus did on our behalf, we give praise and honour to
God Himself and are a witness that we have participated in His great work at
Calvary nearly 2000 years ago and continue to do so. Is this not the point of all worship? We give glory to God in what we say, what we
sing, what we do.
Finally, it
says "Prayer." A great deal
could be said about prayer, but suffice it to say it is how God involves US in
His work here on Earth. He promises that
wherever two or three of His people gather in His name, He is right there in
their midst. And He promises that if
they will ask things according to His will, He will do, grant, or perform those
things. I once heard it phrased this way
- God isn't looking for political activists, He wants spiritual activists. This is how we become involved in the world
around us.
Now I have to
say something about all this. When you
think about this, you can do all this without ever setting foot into a church
building. In fact, there are some people
that don't think they need to "go to church." But what does this text say? "THEY continually devoted
themselves." "All those that
believed were together." It is very
clear that there is a collective aspect to this that must be practiced. Some of you have heard me say this before -
going to church makes you a Christian about as much as going to McDonalds makes
you a hamburger - yet, it is essential for a lot of reasons for us to
fellowship with each other. We cannot
come to maturity in Christ alone. And
there is a very specific reason for us to practice these activities, and I want
to mention it here.
Certainly God
wants to bring us to maturity in our faith, but there is a larger concern in
this. My focus thus far has been on our
behaviour, our activity, and our maturity.
I believe that God has a purpose in all this, and that purpose is found
in Matthew 28:19-20. "Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)
We as a
church, a local representation of the body of Christ, can become focused on
what we want and need, and forget that we are commissioned to go out and share
Jesus with the rest of the world. Not by
just speaking words or "going to church," and not by political
activism. Not by picketing funerals or
spreading hate. Jesus only spoke strong
words to people on specific occasions, and do you know who he spoke those words
to? It was the religious people that
often ignorantly hindered God's work and people with their legalism and
religious pride and arrogance.
For the rest
of the people He met, He was caring, tender, attentive, loving, kind, patient,
and laying down His own life before He ever went to the cross for all of
us. He calls us to follow Him, to be His
pupils, His disciples. Because that is
true, let us lay down our thing. Let us
lay down our lives. Let us love the
world like He did. Instead of putting
ourselves and what we want first, remaining turned inward, let us reach out to
a needy world around us in love, like He reached out for us when we were in
need. It is the very least we can do.
Let us pray -
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus, who came to show us how to live, and
how to love others in Your name. Help us
to be those that lay down our lives as He laid down His life for us, and help
us to love those around us like He did.
Help us to make a difference in this world in grateful thanks for how
Jesus made a difference in our own lives, for we pray in His name. Amen.
---
"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
-John 8:32 (NASB)
