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As we are
gathered this morning, I begin with two questions to be pondered. How many
of us believe that Jesus is our Savior? How many of us believe that Jesus
is our Lord?
I suspect that everyone
understands that the claim of Christianity is that Jesus is the Savior
provided by God for the world. We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem
and He grew up in the house of Joseph and Mary. We realize that He taught
a small group of men and effected the lives of many other men and women
from differing social strata. We acknowledge the historicity of Jesus
moving through Israel and that He was crucified. Theologians call this
action of Jesus substitutionary atonement (that is, Jesus took God’s
judgment upon Himself on our behalf).
Though we can intellectually
assent that Jesus is our Savior, we struggle with the concept of His
authority to rule our lives. Partly, we acknowledge a greater law that
governs humanity. This moral law shapes our values, yet we rarely see God’s
Law as more than social convention. More, we enjoy the suggestion of His
lordship in our lives in the singing of the Messiah by Handel, and other
hymns of the Christian faith. However, when it comes to the practical
application of obedience to God’s authority we balk.
There are several reasons that we balk at the notion
that Jesus is both Savior and Lord:
- We don’t want to believe that the balance of our lives leaves us
unable to pay the debt of our disobedience.
- We can’t believe in our inability to make ourselves right with
God. Thinking this, we know that others will think this even more.
- We don’t want to believe that anyone can have complete authority
over our lives other than ourselves.
- We are embarrassed to tell others that we believe that Jesus is
Lord and Savior of all the earth. Even worse, that Jesus is alive
and wants to have a relationship with us.
- We fear that others will consider us intolerant, prejudiced or
bigots if we claim that Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the
life."
Brothers and sisters let me
state one thing very clearly. Jesus is the Lord and Savior of all the
earth. Sharing the knowledge of the love of God revealed in Jesus is the
most loving and merciful thing you can do for anyone. I will presume to
take it a step further. Sharing the truth of Jesus demonstrates two
things: First, that you truly love God. Second, that you truly love the
person that God has brought to you to hear His loving message.
Let me be just as clear about
another thing. Jesus said that if we deny Him before men, He would deny us
before the Father. If we are ashamed of Him, then He will be ashamed of
us. My question to be asked of each of us (including myself), "If I
received the love of God that saved my life, how can I not share that love
with others?" Please think about it for a moment. If you were saved
by death by anyone, wouldn’t you tell everyone about the person that
saved you? If you knew that you could not save your own life, whatever the
reason, and someone sacrificed him/herself to save you, wouldn’t you
memorialize that person? You’d unequivocally share with everyone how
that person risked and/or gave his or her life so that you’d be saved.
Why is it that we withhold God’s love (humanity’s salvation) from
those that are dying? How can we be so callous and cruel to the needs of
others, we who have received our lives as a gift from above?
Let me share this with you simply. "The
word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word
of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus
is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved." The knowledge of this salvation does not come
out of a vacuum. It comes through those that are willing to bear the cross
daily, those that are willing to give all that they are for the sake of
God’s Son (cf. Luke 14:27, 33). Listen to God’s word: "Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Read further: "How,
then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear
without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are
sent?" Please listen to Paul’s questions because they are as
relevant today as they were in the first century.
Often, we will counter Paul’s
questions with: "They believe in God, so why should I worry, don’t
we all believe in the same thing?" "Who hasn’t heard of
God?" "Who hasn’t heard about Jesus?" "I’m not a
preacher, so shouldn’t we get the pastor or one of the deacons to share
the gospel?" "What do you mean preaching the gospel means being
sent somewhere? I know that this cannot be my gift."
The Sunday school program is
learning about the fruit of the Spirit. If we are born again of the Spirit
of God we are to be a "tree" that bears all the fruit of the
Spirit – we are a hybrid. It’s not that we are to show the fruit of
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control – we are to be all of that. The fruit mentioned is to
be the fabric of our character; anything less is to be outside the will of
God.
In the same way, every
Christian is to proclaim the gospel message. Sometimes it is verbal
exposition. It is always evidenced in the way we live. Proclaiming the
message of God’s love is only an option for the Christian if there is a
decision being made to be obedient or disobedient. Scripture is clear that
if the love of God is truly in us, then we will seek to become
increasingly obedient. If our nature has been transformed by the saving
grace of God in Jesus Christ, then our choice should be to be a conduit of
God’s love for those God brings into our lives. Hear the words of Jesus,
"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" (Matthew 7:21).
Brothers and sisters, it is our call
and our obligation to share the love of God in Jesus that is intended to
bring salvation to the world. Fear, embarrassment, shame, doubt, et al is
real feelings that we share to greater or lesser degrees. However, they
must not stand in the way of God working in and through us to save the
lives of those caught in the dark imprisonment of their own minds and
hearts.
Do you remember the person
that led you to faith in Jesus Christ? I remember the man that led me to
faith. I remember how God used him to show me the truth of the love of
Jesus. Larry wasn’t a perfect man, far from it. However, Larry was a man
that understood his need for God’s grace and the need to share that with
others. Larry was a recovering alcoholic (though I don’t think I was
aware of that at the time). He was a husband and a father to two young
girls. He was strict and yet could show remarkable compassion. He was the
one God used to open the doors of my heart so that I could be born again
of the Spirit of God. I will honor him for the gift of life brought to me
through him, though he has struggled with his faith and addiction in the
years after he left our neighborhood. I thank God in my remembrance of
him.
Paul wrote: "How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." I can only
give that a resounding "AMEN!" There is great joy in heaven when
the lost are found. I believe that is because of the birth of another
child of God. I also think that there is joy because one of God’s
children chose to be faithful in the exercise of love by sharing their
life with another.
Today, we begin the Alpha
Course. We don’t know what effect it will have on the growth of CCC, but
we know that it is part of our faithful obedience to God’s call to
preach the good news. It is a program designed for all to participate in.
It is a program for each of us here.
Next week we embark on our
Stewardship Campaign and soon our Capital Fund Drive. Our youth Sunday
school continues to grow (40+ students last week, up about 8 from the
previous week while missing some that were there the first week). We are
about to begin another new member class for those wishing to commit
themselves to God’s work through this community church. The architect is
working with the engineers as they draw plans for the addition for the
programs of this church.
We are at a crossroads as I
have mentioned before. We need to make a choice regarding our willingness
to be all that God has called us to be. Simply stated, it is time
for us to move forward to be a part of God’s plan for the salvation of
the lost, or to be just another small church choosing the safe road that
will bring us nothing but aching hearts. A modified definition of insanity
is "always doing the same thing and expecting different
results." Simply stated, it is time for us to choose to make a
difference.
Robert Frost wrote a poem
called the The Road Not Taken. In the last lines he wrote the words, I
chose the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference.
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