LN 13: "Open Eyes and Shining Light" (01.20.08)

[Message mp3 coming soon]

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SUMMARY

If it is true, as we have seen in Scripture the last two weeks, that we are spiritually blind apart from the work of the Holy Spirit and therefore unable to understand the things of God; and if it is true that the work of the Holy Spirit is to open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts to see the light of the Gospel and the glory of Christ; and if it is true that we are completely dependent upon the Spirit for that to happen; then we Christians don’t have to do anything right? We can just spend our time fighting with each other over what kind music to sing and what the end of the world will be like and lot’s of nit-picky theological points. Or we can just enjoy the comfort of being saved and being around other saved people, singing songs about being saved. If it’s all the work of God, then there’s nothing for us to do, right?

Sometimes I think we fall into the error of thinking that way. We excuse ourselves from the work of reaching out to others and back up our inaction with the fact that conversion is the work of the Spirit. Or if we don’t go that far, we hold that when God brings people to us, then we’ll talk with them; then we’ll show them the love of Christ. We just have to wait around until God someday brings people through our doors and then we’ll reach out to them – when their nice and tame.

It is true that conversion is fully the work of the Holy Spirit. It is true that human beings are totally dependent upon the Spirit to open their eyes and reveal Christ to them. It is true that no one can come to Christ unless the Spirit draws them. But it is also true that we have work to do. The Great Commission (that part when Jesus commands his followers to go into all the world and make disciples) was not hyperbole. Jesus was not overstating his case or kidding around. We have been summoned to action. We have a purpose. We have been commissioned to share the Good News and make disciples.

Our passage of Scripture this morning helps us with this. For in it, we find both divine and human agents involved in a person’s conversion. We see the Holy Spirit working, working through Scripture and working through a man named Philip. Please read Acts 8.26-40.

Who was Philip? Philip is often confused with one of the twelve disciples who had the same name. But the Philip of this passage was not one of the twelve, rather he was one of “the seven” (see: Acts 6.1-7). Philip was one of those chosen and set apart to care for the poor, minister and evangelize.

Who was the Ethiopian official? He was a royal official and so, like many royal officials at that time he was a eunuch. This was so that they would not be tempted to try to take the throne for themselves and their descendants. This man was a very important official, in charge of the treasury of Candace (a title for the queen of the Ethiopians). He was from the Kingdom of Ethiopia (or Nubia) which was a region located in modern day Egypt and Sudan. It was an old and important kingdom, having dealings even with King Solomon. This powerful and influential official had gone to Jerusalem to worship, possibly during one of the feasts. He therefore was either a “Proselyte” (a Gentile convert to Judaism) or “God-fearer” (one who worshiped the God of Israel but was not circumcised). Or he may have actually been Jewish, since the Jewish dispersion had reached Egypt and beyond.

Now what was going on at the time? When Philip met the Ethiopian, the Church had just been scattered because of the persecution that had broken out against it. Stephen (Philip’s co-worker) had been martyred in Jerusalem. And Scripture states that, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” And so Philip went to Samaria and preached Jesus. Then he was called to go to the Jerusalem–Gaza road. And there, the Spirit led him to the Ethiopian official.

In this story, I believe we see in Philip some essential characteristics for Christians to have - vital characteristics for us as we go out in obedience to our Lord’s command to be His witnesses and make disciples.

First, we find that Philip was ATTUNED TO GOD. In v. 26 we read, “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” Philip listened for God to speak and listened to God when He spoke. It is said of Philip that he was full of the Spirit and wisdom. How is one filled with the Spirit? How does one grow in wisdom? By being attuned to God, by living in God’s presence, by living according to God’s way. Just like a radio needs to be tuned to the correct frequency in order to hear, so we must have our lives tuned in to God.

Secondly, Philip was AVAILABLE TO GOD. In v. 27 it states, “So he started out.” Philip didn’t make excuses or drag his feet. He heard the message from God and he obeyed and went. Philip was available. His attitude said, “Ok, Lord, here I am. I am yours. Where you lead, I will go.” Philip knew he belonged to the Lord and so he trusted the Lord to send him where he would. How available to God are we? Are we willing to say, “Ok, Lord, here I am. I am yours. Where you lead, I will go – whether it be across the world or to the person at work or at school or next door”? And notice Philip wasn’t given too much information either. Are we willing to be obedient even when it is not clear what God has for us to do? Do we trust Him enough to follow anyway?

Thirdly, Philip was ATTENTIVE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. Look at vv. 29-30: “The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Then Philip ran up to the chariot ...” Sometimes we wish the Spirit was that clear with us – “Do this. Go there.” But however clear the voice of the Spirit was, Philip nonetheless recognized His voice. He was attentive to the leading of the Spirit. His focus and purpose were clear and so he discerned the Spirit’s voice. How attentive are we? With all the distractions in our lives and in the world, are we able to recognize the voice of God or does it get drowned out by all the noise and busyness?

Next, we find that Philip was BOLD. We read in v. 30, “Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked.” Philip ran up to the chariot and boldly asked the official if he understood what he was reading. That took some audacity – to approach the official and question him on what he was reading. Philip confidently and courageously engaged the man in an intentional and specific conversation. He pushed feelings of awkwardness and timidity to the side and charged right in. Where did his boldness come from? Was Philip just a self-assured, type A, take charge, people person? Or did his courage and confidence come from His trust in God and the presence of the Spirit in his life? As the apostle Paul would later write about the hope that comes from knowing Christ, “since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” It is our hope in Christ that enables us to be bold.

And Philip was PERSONAL. In response to Philip’s question, the official replied in v. 31, “How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Philip didn’t throw a tract at the man’s chariot as it passed by. He wasn’t wearing a sign and holding a bull horn shouting at him. He didn’t stop the chariot and offer to sell the official the new book he had just written about Jesus or give him a link to his blog. Philip entered the man’s environment, sat down with him and talked with him. His approach was personal. He didn’t treat the official as his pet project, but as a person. He spent time with him and communicated on a personal level with him. We can learn a lot from that.

Philip was PREPARED. Providentially, the official was reading from Isaiah 53 which speaks about the work of the Suffering Servant of the Lord, the Messiah, Jesus. And the eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” What a question to ask an evangelist! Philip didn’t sputter or skirt the question. He “began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” How was Philip able to do that without skipping a beat? Certainly, the Holy Spirit helped him, but also Philip was prepared. He knew God’s Word. He knew what He believed. He knew who Jesus was. Philip was prepared, not in that he had studied up on ‘evangelism tactics for Ethiopian Eunuchs’, but in that he had a living and active relationship with God and so he could naturally convey the message to others.

And finally, Philip was a COMMITTED COMPANION. Though he was not with the man for very long in this case, nonetheless he presents this important characteristic to us. We read in v. 36, “as they traveled along the road …” Philip was willing to journey with this man - to walk along with him. If the Spirit had not led Philip away, who knows how long Philip would have stayed with him? And we read in v. 38 that after the official asked to be baptized, “both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” As we reach out to others with the message of Christ’s love, we must show them Christ’s love. Our methods have to match our message. We must be willing to come alongside others and journey through the challenges of life and faith with them - to be a friend to them; for friendship is one of the most effective forms of evangelism. Friendship provides the opportunity to model the message of Christ’s love. And friendship provides the opportunity to speak, for a friend is more likely to listen.

So Philip models essential characteristics for us as we go out to be witnesses of Christ and make disciples. But his story also helps us to understand how the work of Spirit and the active obedience of individual Christians go together.

In this story, we see that the Holy Spirit orchestrated the whole thing and opened the eyes of the Ethiopian man. And yet we also see the active obedience of a man of God, who in response to the leading of the Spirit, was a shining light – shining forth the light of the Gospel and the glory of Christ to eyes newly opened.

And so, may we be attuned and available to God, attentive to the Holy Spirit, bold and personal and prepared as we come alongside of others as a committed companion to shine the light of Christ for them. And may we have confidence that the Holy Spirit goes before us and behind us and in us and with us opening eyes to see the light of Christ that we shine.

LN 12b: "Open Our Eyes" pt. 2 (01.13.08)

[Message mp3 coming soon ...]

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SUMMARY

Spirituality is almost a meaningless word. When someone says, “I’m not religious, but I’m a very spiritual person.” What are they talking about? Spirituality has come to mean, in our society, practically anything. Being spiritual is whatever you define it to be. But what does it truly mean to be spiritual? What does the Bible mean when it refers to the spiritual person? Though the Bible portrays all people as spiritual, in that everybody has a spirit, to be truly spiritual, in the biblical sense, is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. For, according to Scripture, to understand “spiritual things” one must have the Holy Spirit.

Apart from the work of the Spirit in us, we are blind to the things of God. As Scripture states, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” And so we are dependent upon the work of the Spirit in us to open our eyes and ears and minds so that we can see the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ. In order to be truly spiritual people, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul expresses this truth in 1 Corinthians 2.9-16.

Now, before we can fully understand this passage, we need to ask: What is it that God has prepared for those who love Him? What is it that He has revealed by His Spirit? What is it that God has freely given us? What are the things that come from the Spirit of God that are foolishness to those without the Spirit?

When we read the beginning of Paul’s letter (chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians) we find that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ - Jesus is our righteousness, holiness and redemption; it is through the cross of Christ that we are kept strong to the end and found blameless before God and have fellowship with Him; the cross of Christ reveals the wisdom and power of God for salvation. And so what is it that God has prepared for those who love Him; what is it He has freely given us and revealed by His Spirit? It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But the radical message of the Gospel, which reveals the power and wisdom of God in salvation is foolishness and a stumbling block (literally a scandal) to those without the Spirit. This Good News is incomprehensible to fallen human beings apart from the work of the Spirit in their lives.
That is why Paul declares that the truth of the Gospel is beyond sight and hearing (v. 9 - No eye has seen, no ear has heard), in other words, beyond perception. And it is beyond conception (no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him).

However, God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and ears and minds so that we can see and hear and understand. We read in v. 12, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

But why is that? Why can’t we simply understand on our own? The answer is simple: we are not God. New Age gurus and other Gnostic quacks may tell you that deep down you are a god or goddess, but you’re not. You’re a creature, not the Creator. You are little – and that’s ok. You are a human being – fearfully and wonderfully made by God – but nonetheless simply a human being. More than that, human beings, like Humpty-Dumpty, have had a great fall. We are cracked. And all the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put us back together again. Only God Himself, through the work of the Son and by the power of the Spirit can.

Look at the second part of v. 10: “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” We cannot by our own wisdom or power or technology or reasoning or hard work, know the mind of God. Most other religions and philosophies will tell you the opposite. They are all about finding God and reaching God through special wisdom or powers or good works. But all roads that humans build to God are dead ends. Like the tower of Babel, they fail. God must reveal Himself to us. He paves the road to us and then calls us to walk on it and come to Him. That is Good News.


And this Good News is a message that is passed on. It is not something that we are to horde, it is something we live out and share with others. Therefore we read in v. 13, “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” The message of the gospel did not come to us by words of human wisdom and it is not communicated in simply words of human wisdom. The message we speak to others is not merely great thoughts or wise counsel or profound insights. Rather, it is the message taught us by the Spirit. That is why Jesus told His disciples, “when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Mt. 10.19-20). The Spirit is the key to our sharing the Good News and people understanding it and therefore following Christ.

And this is made clear in vv. 14-15, where we find two different kinds of people and two different responses to the Gospel.

We find in v. 14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." The word translated ‘accept’ is related to welcoming a guest. The man without the Spirit won’t welcome the things of the Spirit, but rather rejects them. More than that, he considers them foolishness, for he cannot understand them because he doesn’t have the ‘equipment’ to do so. As Leon Morris writes, “Anyone whose equipment is only of this world, who has not received the Holy Spirit, has no ability to make an estimate of things spiritual. ’The unspiritual are out of court as religious critics; they are deaf men judging music’” (58). One who lacks the ability to hear and has never heard music cannot truly understand music. They lack the equipment to do so. The same is true of spiritual things. One cannot understand the music of the Spirit if they are spiritually deaf or perceive the artistry of the Spirit if they are spiritually blind.

However, the spiritual man, one who has received the Spirit, is able to discern or judge (they’re the same word in the Greek) all things. He or she is able perceive, examine, evaluate all things. Verse 15 states: "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." Unlike the person without the Spirit, the person with the Spirit is able to understand the things of God. “All things” does not mean that we are given exhaustive knowledge of universe and the nature of God so that we know everything there is to know about everything. Rather, we simply able to understand God’s plan of salvation - what God has prepared for those who love him. When the Spirit touches you He opens your eyes – unmasking the fallen world for what it is; uncovering you for what you are; and revealing Christ for who He is. And He gives us the power to make right judgments accordingly.

And while the person with the Spirit can make right judgments, he or she is not subject to any man’s judgment. This does not mean that we are not held responsible for our actions, rather it means we are held accountable to a higher standard. God’s wisdom rather than human wisdom is our standard. God’s will rather than human will is our measure. For we have been given the mind of Christ. We operate and see things from the viewpoint of Christ. Paul explains this in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians when he writes, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Our entire worldview changes when the Spirit fills our lives.

In our “spiritual” world where people are open to everything – often so open minded that their brains fall out (as Richard Rorty has put it) – the message of Christ crucified is foolishness and a scandal.

How do we share the gospel in a cultural climate such as ours? How do we communicate the truth of Jesus Christ to people who are so open-minded their brains have fallen out – which often makes them, ironically, very close-minded and resistant? We do it the way it has always been done – by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We allow what has happened to us happen to others. We did not come to Christ on our own or through our own wisdom. We came to Christ because we were touched by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit drew us to Him. So why can’t the Spirit do that in others? And we were not better than others. We were just as lost and corrupted by sin and completely dependent upon the grace of God.

And so we follow Christ in mission – we share the Good News of Jesus with our lives and our mouths – through the power of the Spirit. Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing”. The same is true with the Spirit. We can do nothing without the Spirit of God working in us and through us and in others. The Spirit forms the Church.

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SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER

Context - 1 Corinthians 1

Living For Jesus - 1 John 4.9; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 2:20

LN 12 (pt.1) "Open Our Eyes" 01.06.08

[Message MP3 coming soon]

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SUMMARY

The Church and its mission are formed by the Holy Spirit. The work of the Spirit is to draw us to Christ; to form Christ in us; to strengthen us to serve God. The Spirit marks us as belonging to God. He is the guarantee the promises of God. The Spirit unites us as the people of God – a dwelling place for God’s presence. And so, as we look at how the Church is formed by the Holy Spirit, we will observe that the Spirit reveals, constructs and inspires.

Today, we focus on the work of the Spirit in revealing.

First, we notice the fact that the Spirit reveals. This is expressed clearly in 1 Corinthians 2.9-16 (NIV). In that passage we find some essential truths. We read: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” For as Paul begins, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” Apart from the work of the Spirit in us, we are blind. As Scripture states, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” The work of the Spirit then is to open our eyes and ears and minds so that we can see the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ.

Secondly, what does the Spirit reveal? Simply stated, the Holy Spirit reveals our sickness and the Remedy. Jesus said of the Spirit, “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment …” (John 16.8). The Holy Spirit brings conviction. He reveals to us our sin and need for forgiveness. The Spirit makes us conscious of sin in our lives, of God’s standard of righteousness and of the coming judgment. And He reveals to us the Healer, the Savior – the One who took away our sins, the One who is our righteousness and the One who makes us at peace with God. That is why the Holy Spirit is inextricably connected to conversion, because He is the One who makes it happen. For Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit"(John 3.5). The awareness of the God-shaped hole in our lives and that fact that Jesus is the only One who can fill it is the work of the Holy Spirit. He reveals our sickness and the Remedy.

Thirdly, how does the Spirit reveal? To answer this, I want us to look at three different events in Scripture. Because today is Epiphany (meaning appearance or manifestation), celebrating the “shining forth” or revelation of God to humankind in the person of Jesus, I want us to look at three Epiphany stories: Jesus’ baptism, the coming of the Magi, and the wedding feast at Cana. In each of these events, we find three things: we see something unique revealed about Jesus; we notice how the Holy Spirit, either explicitly or implicitly, reveals it; and we see a response to the revelation.

First, we look at Jesus’ BAPTISM: See Luke 3.21-22 and then John 1.29-34
And so,
- What do we find revealed about Jesus? Jesus is the beloved Son of God; He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; He is the Anointed One – anointed by the Spirit; and He is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
- Who revealed this? John said, “the one who sent me to baptize … told me”. Since it was said of John that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, it is clear that the One who ‘sent and told’ him was the Holy Spirit. Thus, it was the Spirit who revealed Jesus to John.
- What was the response of John to this revelation? He declared Jesus to be the Son of God and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He sent his own disciples to follow Jesus instead of him. And he later declared of Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Next, we look at another Epiphany story - the MAGI in Matthew 2.1-2 and 9-12
- So, to the Magi, what was revealed about Jesus? Jesus is the true King of Israel and of the world. And in their story we see Scripture fulfilled: Psalm 72 predicted, “kings … will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.” And Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be the Light for the nations, as he wrote, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
- Who revealed this? I believe that the Spirit led these men to Jesus and inspired them to fall down and worship. As magi or wise men, they were evidently seekers of truth. It is the Christian position that all truth is God’s truth and that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth”. Therefore, it stands to reason that these magi from the east were led, not only by the star, but, in some way, by the Spirit.
- What was their response to this revelation? They fell down and worshiped Jesus – a truly Spirit-inspired act.

Finally, we read about the WEDDING FEAST AT CANA - Jesus’ first recorded miracle. Of it, John writes, “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory.” We read the story in John 2.1-11:
- What was revealed about Jesus? His glory was revealed as His miraculous power was shown. And we also see that Jesus is truly God With Us. He was with His disciples and mother at a party - a wedding feast – dwelling among us. And we notice that, like the wine, Jesus is the best saved for last. In the fullness of time God sent the very best – His Son.
- Who revealed this? Well, we read in 1 Corinthians, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” And so the disciples eyes must have been opened by the Spirit to see the glory of Jesus. For faith is a gift from God.
- And what was the response to this revelation? The disciples believed. They put their faith in Jesus and followed Him.

And so, on this Sunday of Epiphany as we celebrate the “shining forth” of God to us in the person of Jesus Christ, we have looked at three events in which Jesus shined forth.
- And what has been revealed to us? That Jesus is the beloved Son of God; He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; He is the Anointed One, the Messiah. He is the true King of Israel and of the world. He is the Light of the world – Light for the nations. He God With Us. He dwelt among us. He is the very best - glorious and powerful. Jesus is the truth. He is the Way. He is Life.
- But how can we know this? How can we see this? “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him' - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” If we truly see Jesus for who He is and believe in Him, it is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
- And so, what will our response be to this revelation?

Will it be the same as what we have seen in Scripture: faith and following and falling down in worship? Is our response to confess: Jesus must become greater, I must become less? If you have given your life to Jesus, then you have had your eyes opened by the Holy Spirit. For you could not turn away from sin and follow Christ apart from the power of the Spirit in your life. When the Spirit touches you He opens your eyes – unmasking the fallen world for what it is; uncovering you for what you are; and revealing Christ for who He is. When your eyes are opened, you see things as they are and therefore you see things differently that the world which is blinded and blurred by sin. As followers of Christ our vision is different than that of the world and therefore the way we live our lives is different (every area of our lives). We are given new eyes in order to see Christ and follow after Him.

And so, what is our response? I believe the most appropriate response is to:
- to fall down in worship – praising God for who He is and what He has done – crying out (with the multitude before the throne of God) “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,” and falling down with the angels saying, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
- to put your faith in Christ – to put your trust in Him and trust Him with all of your life – to believe and live accordingly.
- to follow Jesus – to get up and get going; to get in step with Jesus – to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and … run with perseverance the race marked out for us; to (as the rabbis said) drink in Jesus’ words and walk so closely to Him that we are covered by the dust of His feet – to live the Jesus Way.

The Holy Spirit forms the Church first by revealing Christ to His people. And so the foundational element in the Church’s mission is to respond to that revelation – to allow the Spirit to open our eyes so that we can see Jesus and allow, as the song goes, the things of earth to grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. When the Spirit opens our eyes and we respond with faith, following and falling down in worship, we are the Church and the Church lights the way.

So, open our eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus.

LN 11: "He Came to Shine" (12.23.07)

[Message MP3 coming soon]

SUMMARY

We were reminded by the children’s Christmas program that Jesus is the Star of Christmas. However, that title can be misleading for us Americans. When we think of stars, we think of movie stars posing for pictures, American Idols grasping for stardom, and rock stars worshipped at concerts. But Jesus is not the “rock star” of Christmas. Rather, He is the One who came as Light. In John 8.12, we read, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Light was associated with God. Scripture speaks of the light of God’s face and the light of God’s presence. The references are too numerous to mention. But Psalm 27:1 is a good example. It says, “The LORD is my light and my salvation.” It’s interesting that some Jewish Rabbis believed the Messiah’s name was “Light”. This belief probably finds its origin in passages which speak of the Messiah such as:

* Isaiah 42.6-7, “I … will make you to be … a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
* Isaiah 49.6, “I will also make you a light for the Nations, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
* Malachi 4.2, “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”
* Even Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, sang, “the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Jesus is the light of God’s self-revelation and His salvation.

Then Jesus added that whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness. To follow is to trust and obey. As William Barclay, puts it, “To be followers of Christ is to give body, soul and spirit into the obedience of the Master.” There is a Jewish proverb that further emphasizes what it means to follow. It states, “Follow a rabbi, drink in his words and be covered with the dust of his feet.” The picture is following your master so closely that you are covered by the dust he kicks up while you walk along the road. Jesus says, “whoever follows me (whoever drinks in my words and walks so close so as to be covered by the dust of my feet) will never walk in darkness.” They’ll never live in darkness.

Darkness is a metaphor for the hopelessness, sin, futility and alienation of life lived apart from God. Darkness is the way of the broken world – the way of those who have turned their backs on God and refuse to be turned around. Darkness is the curse of sin and death that we have inherited from the original sin in the Garden of Eden. But Jesus says that whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

The light of life is either ‘light which issues from the source of life’ or ‘light which gives life’. Or in this case, it is both. Jesus is the light from heaven who came to dwell with people. He is also the light which gives life. He reveals the way of salvation. He is the Way of salvation. Jesus is the Light of life.

But what exactly does this light do? I believe that the Light of life does three things.

It REVEALS. And it reveals in three ways.
* Light permeates and thus the Light of Christ permeates us. It affects every area of our lives. Following Christ is not a half-hearted venture. We can’t allow Christ into parts of our life and keep Him out of others. Every area of our lives – work, rest, play, politics, marriage, family – all of it must be permeated by the Light of Christ.
* Light uncovers. Because the Light of Christ permeates us, it reaches into areas, revealing things we would rather remain hidden (like lifting up a rock and seeing critters scurry away from the light of day). That can make us uncomfortable. But that is the way of Christ. He receives us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. He changes not simply our behaviors, but our mindset, attitude, motives and desires – our hearts.
* And light guides. We began this series with two images of light: a lighthouse and a flashlight. A lighthouse is a dependable beacon that guides ships through treacherous places to safety. A flashlight is used by those who go out personally in search of the lost, troubled and dying. And so we can look to Christ (like a lighthouse) to guide us to the safety of salvation. But Jesus doesn’t just stand there. He comes to us. Jesus entered the world’s mess to rescue us from slavery to sin and bondage to death. He comes to us and leads us.

So, light reveals, but it also REPELS. We read at the beginning of John, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Some translate this: “the darkness has not overcome it”. That is the nature of light: it dispels darkness. Where light is, darkness cannot be. When you shine a flashlight in a dark place, you remove the darkness from that place. So it is with the light of Christ. The light of His presence removes the darkness – the hopelessness, sin and futility of life lived apart from God. When we are filled with the light of Christ, darkness has no place in us nor power over us.

And finally, Light RENEWS. Without light, life would not exist. Light causes things to grow. All living things need light to grow, blossom and produce fruit. And light heals. Some people are known to have Seasonal Affective Disorder which stems from seasonal change and lack of sunlight. One of the primary treatments is light. In a sense, only light can help. Similarly, every person has or has had Spiritual Affective Disorder. It comes from living apart from God and only the light of Christ can help. For the Light of Christ renews us – it heals us and causes us to grow. It gives us life and life to the full.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus is our light and our salvation. In Christ who we are, who God is and who we can become is revealed to us. In Christ we are kept safe because His light repels the darkness. And in Christ, we are being renewed into the men and women we were created to be.

Jesus is the star of Christmas because He is the Light of the world. He came to shine so that we could be brought out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Follow Him. Come out of the darkness of trying to make it on your own and follow the Light of the world. Give yourself - body, soul, mind and spirit in obedience to Him. Drink in his words and be covered with the dust of his feet. For He says to you: whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.


POINTS TO REMEMBER
Jesus said, “I am the light.” And He said it in an interesting place. The context is the Feast of Tabernacles in the Temple in Jerusalem. It is said that on each night of the feast, the temple court was lit up by large golden bowels filled with oil. (It was said that there was no court in Jerusalem that was not made bright from the light of the temple.) Then, in the brightness of the lamps, men of piety would dance and sing praise as the Levites played their instruments. And the dancing and praising continued until dawn. It was at the end of this feast, after the people had experienced the light of the Temple, that Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.”


SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER
John 1.1-9; John 8.12
Psalm 27.1
Isaiah 42.6-7; Isaiah 49.6; Malachi 4.2; Luke 1.76-79
1 Peter 2.9
Isaiah 60-61

LN 10: "He Came to Serve" (12.09.07)

[Message MP3 coming soon ...]

Summary

In her poem “Maker of the Galaxies”, Madeleine L’Engle writes:
O maker of the galaxies,
Creator of each star,
You rule the mountains & the seas,
And yet – oh here you are!
You ride the fiery cherubim
And sail on comet fall.
You teach the seraphim to hymn,
And yet - you left it all.
You left the realms of fire & ice.
Into a young girl’s womb you came.
O God! This was the sacrifice!
Nothing will ever be the same.

That poem expresses the wonder of the Incarnation: that in Jesus Christ, God came near. It also expresses part of the sacrifice of the Incarnation – that the Son of God left the glory of heaven to enter the sin of earth. He set aside His glory to be a servant.

We learned last week that Jesus came to save. This week, we learn that it is precisely because Jesus came to save that He also came to serve.

In Mark 10.45, Jesus states, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus did not come to be served. Jesus did not come to demand His rightful honor and worship. He came to save us from the wrath of God (which we deserve) by giving His life for us (which we did not deserve). John 3.17 states, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus came to serve by giving His life as a ransom for many. As the Lord had spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

Now, this servant-nature of Jesus is expressed in more depth in Philippians 3.5-9. This passage reveals what theologians often refer to as the two states of Christ: his humiliation (in that He humbled himself, became nothing, taking the nature of a servant) and exaltation (in that “God exalted Him to the highest place”). For our purposes here, we will only focus on the humility. We read: “… Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!"

We learn from this passage that Jesus was and is “in very nature God”. The word behind this basically implies that which truly and fully expresses and characterizes a given reality. The author of Hebrews expresses it this way, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.” Jesus displayed the image and glory of God. He is, in His very nature, God.

And yet He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Many see a parallel here with Adam in Genesis, for Jesus came as a Second Adam - to do what Adam and Eve failed to do. Unlike Jesus, Adam saw equality with God as something to be grasped; something to be sought after (the word means ‘something to be seized’ even ‘plunder’). The temptation that led to the Fall was that the serpent promised, “you will be like God.” That pride – that attempt to be like God and thus to be a little god – that subversion of God’s rightful place at the center of our lives – that was the original sin. Jesus came to be faithful and obedient where Adam had failed. Jesus, though He had every right to be acknowledged as God, would not seize those rights. Living as a perfect human being, He resisted the temptation to grasp after divinity.

Jesus laid aside His rights and His glory and made Himself nothing. Literally the text says, ‘he emptied himself’. The word in the original language means “to deprive of power; to lay aside what one possesses; to make empty; take away the status or position of something.” In coming to earth as a real human being, Christ laid aside His glory in order to take on humankind’s shame. Jesus limited His glory in order that he could be born in human likeness. However, the focus of the text is not so much concerned with what Jesus took out of Himself, as it is on the fact that He poured Himself out. Jesus emptied Himself by pouring Himself out; giving Himself up for us. In Isaiah 53.12, speaking of the Suffering Servant, we read, “he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Jesus poured Himself out so we could be saved. And because He came to save, He came to serve.

And so we read that Jesus took the very nature of a servant. The word there is actually ‘slave’. The One who was in very nature God became in very nature a slave. He who is everything became nothing. Born in obscurity in a sheepfold, living humbly, homeless during His ministry, dying as a criminal and buried in someone else’s tomb, Jesus came on the level of a slave – without advantages, rights or privileges. And He came as the Servant of the Lord, to suffer and bear the guilt of our rebellion.

Being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, Jesus humbled Himself. Jesus was truly God and truly man. This truth is vital to the Incarnation, because, as mentioned before, Jesus came to succeed where Adam failed and to pay the penalty for that failure. The two main fall-outs of the Fall are sin and death. The Fall made sin and death inevitable for human beings. Therefore, in order for Christ to reverse the Fall, He had to deal with sin and death and to do that He had to be both God and man.
- Only a human being could pay the debt of human sin. Only a human being could represent other humans before God. But only God is without sin and only God can carry the weight of the world. So, to deal with sin, Christ had to be both God and man.
- Only a human being could experience death, but only God could conquer death. So again, Christ had to be both God and man. As John Calvin wrote, “since neither as God alone could he feel death, nor as a man alone could he overcome it, he coupled human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death; and that, wrestling with death by the power of the other nature, he might win victory for us”.
- Only as a human could Jesus bear our sin, but only as God could He be without sin. Only as a human could He die in our place, but only as God could He rise again and now “hold the keys to death and Hades.”

To accomplish that, Jesus humbled Himself. And this humility was to the point of death. Jesus humbled Himself as a slave. And as a slave, He was obedient – obedient to His purpose of giving His life as a ransom for many. Jesus didn’t have to die, but he did so out of obedience – obedience to the plan of God to save human beings. Jesus said, “I lay down my life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

Jesus came to serve. This passage from Philippians explains that Servant-nature of Christ. Additionally, our passage from John, presents what that Servant-nature looks like. Jesus gave His disciples, both then and now, a picture of what it means to be a servant. In John 13:1-5, we read: "It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."

Proper etiquette of that time required that guests, upon entering a home should have their feet washed by a servant. Foot washing was a menial task – so low that it was listed among tasks that an Israelite servant should not have to do. And yet as Jesus’ last Passover supper with the disciples commenced and no one had their feet washed (and evidently no one was willing to wash the feet of their peers), Jesus got up took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. Jesus, (interestingly, knowing His position and power) in an incredible act of humility, thus identified Himself as a slave.

And He did this, we are told, to show “the full extent of his love.” Jesus loved His disciples to the very end. Even as Jesus washed their feet, Satan was approaching. His betrayer was sitting in front of Him. His trial and abuse and crucifixion would take place within hours. And yet, Jesus took the opportunity to show His love. And His actions expressed and foreshadowed the extent of His love. This foot washing illustrated Jesus’ entire ministry and mission. He came to serve. He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. And it foreshadowed what would soon take place: Jesus would be poured out as a sacrifice so that all who believe would be saved. He made Himself a servant and washed their physical feet, but soon He would, through His death on the cross, wash their sins away. As the hymn states, “Here is love, vast as the ocean, loving kindness as the flood when the Prince of Life our ransom shed for us His precious blood.”

And so, it is precisely because Jesus came to save that He also came to serve; for He came to give his life as a ransom for many. He made Himself nothing, humbling Himself to the point of death. He came to show us the extent of God’s love – what love is – who God is.

But it’s Christmastime, not Good Friday. It’s time for lights and angels, animals and shepherds and a little baby. I understand that sentiment, but we miss the point of Christmas when we fail to see that the cross is why the baby came. Jesus came to die. He took on human flesh in order to show us the extent of God’s love. He identified with us in life so that we could be identified with Him in His death, as He took our place. He lived among us so we could have life: that is the message of Christmas. And He lived among us so that we would know how to live: that is our mission as Christians.

The Philippians passage begins with these words: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus …” We are to have the attitude or better yet mindset of Christ Jesus. Jesus did nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit. In humility He considered others and looked to the interests of others. He poured Himself out for others in obedience to the Father. He fulfilled the two greatest commandments: to love the lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. And we are to have the mind of Christ.

The passage from John’s Gospel states, “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Jesus gave us an example of humble service to follow – actually, of love. As we follow Christ, we must love one another not simply with words or in sentiment, but with actions and in truth. That is the message of Christmas and the model of mission.

Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. Therefore, we are to live, not to be served but to serve and give our lives for the sake of others. In other words, we are to love others as we have been loved.

And as we have seen, to love is to give yourself away.

*******

SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER

(linked to the English Standard Version on Bible Gateway)

He came to serve - Mark 10.45

The nature of a Servant - Philippians 2.3-11

Poured out - Isaiah 53.12; Psalm 22

He gave His life - John 10:14-18

An example to follow - John 13:1-17

LN9: "He Came to Save" (12.02.07)

[To listen to the Message, click here]

[photo from www.thenativitystory.com]

SUMMARY

In her poem “First Coming”, Madeleine L’Engle writes:

He did not wait till the world was ready
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
- Madeleine L’Engle, Wintersong, Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2004

That poem expresses the wonder of the Incarnation: that in Jesus Christ, God came near - to share our grief, to touch our pain, He came with Love.

The Incarnation is the focus of Christmas, but it is also crucial to the mission of the Church. The fact that the Word, Jesus Christ, took on human flesh (while retaining His divinity), lived like us and with us, interacted personally with us and gave His life for us, is both the essence of Christmas and of mission.

So what is the INCARNATION? I want us to consider the meaning, motivation and purpose of the Incarnation.

What is the MEANING of the Incarnation? Incarnation means the “act of being made flesh” and refers to the second Person of the Trinity taking on human nature. The apostle John describes it in John 1.14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” But the Incarnation is not merely the birth of Christ, it involves the life, death and resurrection of Christ. It is the entire earthly ministry of Jesus. One of the early church fathers, Irenaeus, once wrote, “Jesus Christ, in His infinite love, has become what we are, in order that He may make us entirely what He is.”

What is the MOTIVATION behind the Incarnation? The motivation is love. Emil Brunner, when writing about the Incarnation, uses the idea of movement. He says that the Bible is basically the proclamation of the self-movement of God. In other religions and philosophies God does not move, for that would be considered a sign of imperfection. However, as Brunner states, “The God of the Christian faith, the Three in One, the Living God, is Himself motion, because in His very nature He is love.” Love requires movement, because love is always directed toward an object. God is love and therefore, in a sense, God is the motion of love – love within Himself and yet directed toward us. Again, Brunner writes, “The Bible is the book in which the ever-recurring theme is this strange assertion: that the God who has created the world and who fills all things, who holds all things within his hands, the Omnipresent and Almighty – comes.” “In the Son, as the Son, God is the self-moved, the God who Himself descends into the world.” (The Mediator, 286). What wondrous love is this!

What is the PURPOSE of the Incarnation? The purpose is found in the fact that God’s love is saving love. Jesus said that He “came to seek and to save what was lost”. He came to save. We see this in our passage: Luke 4.14-21. This passage expresses what that salvation looks like.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me.” The presence of the Spirit in Jesus’ ministry is a recurring theme in Luke. In 4:14 we read, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit;” in 4:1, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit returned form the Jordan;” and in 3:22, “The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.” And so, the presence of the Spirit marked Jesus not only as a prophet, but as the Messiah. For the title Messiah means “Anointed One”.

“to preach good news to the poor.” To preach Good News is to proclaim the Gospel (Gospel literally means “Good News”). And He would share this Good News with the poor. Now, this did not mean that Jesus only spoke to those in a certain income bracket. Jesus had plenty to say about money and the difficulty that wealthy people have in coming into the Kingdom, but “the poor” in Scripture are not simply an economic category. The poor were not just people without cash, they were people of diminished status or disadvantaged conditions, those in the margins of society, even outsiders. The poor were also “poor in spirit” – those who were humble; those who were afflicted and unable to save themselves and therefore looked to God for help; those who had a humble dependence upon God. Jesus had compassion on the impoverished and calls His followers to care for the needs of the poor, but we must recognize that ultimately we are all poor - spiritually bankrupt apart from God’s grace. And so the Good News is for us. It is received by all who recognize their broken condition and need for a Savior.

“He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” Who are the prisoners and what are they held captive to? 2 Timothy 2.26 describes those attempting to live outside of Christ as being caught in “trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” Scripture also refers to every human as being a slave to sin. Apart from the life-transforming power of Christ, we are in slavery to sin. We are the prisoners and sin is what holds us captive. But Jesus came to “proclaim freedom”. Now, the word behind that refers specifically to the forgiveness of sin. And so, Jesus clearly had the fallen human condition in mind. Jesus came to proclaim the forgiveness of sins. But we may say, “What’s the big deal about simply proclaiming freedom? You can proclaim anything.” That’s true. But the difference lies in who’s proclaiming. In the beginning, God spoke and the universe came into existence. When God speaks, things happen. So when Jesus, who substituted Himself for us, proclaims the forgiveness of sins, they are forgiven. If Jesus declares that we are free, there is nothing in the cosmos that can hold us captive. We read in Scripture, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

“and recovery of sight for the blind”. Who are the blind? Anyone who has ever sung “Amazing Grace” knows the answer to that: “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” Jesus literally healed the blind. However, throughout the Bible, blindness is used as a metaphor for the effects of human disobedience against God. God is light and therefore trying to live apart from God is the equivalent of living in darkness - in blindness. But Jesus was sent, according to Scripture, “to be a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” But how does He do that? I think C.S. Lewis says it best. He once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it. But because by it I see everything else.” Jesus opens our eyes so that we can see ourselves for what we are, the world for what it is and God for who He is. Jesus is called the Dayspring, the Rising Sun. In Him we can see everything else. In Him we see what is true and good and beautiful and enduring. In Him we see God and His eternal plan and everything else is eclipsed by that vision.

“to release the oppressed.” The root of the word translated ‘oppressed’ means to be broken in pieces. The picture is of pottery broken on the ground or a spirit broken by oppression. As human beings, we know brokenness. We know psychological brokenness, emotional brokenness, physical brokenness, sexual brokenness, moral brokenness, spiritual brokenness. We look around and see the broken pieces of humanity scattered all about. We see the hurt, the pain, the disillusionment, the despair – broken marriages, broken families, broken children, broken lives. And these broken pieces cry out. Jesus came to heal our brokenness. He came to pick us up and, piece by piece, put us back together. Once again the word release, meaning forgiveness, is used, revealing that though we are broken by sin, shattered by our guilt, crushed by our shame, Jesus grants forgiveness bringing relief and release from the burden of sin and guilt and shame. And Jesus releases us not only from the oppression, but also from the oppressor. Satan does not want you to be forgiven or feel forgiven. Satan is the accuser who wants to shackle you to your past so that you can have no future. He wants you to be weighed down with a sense of failure and futility, so you can’t move. Satan delights in your despair. But if the Son has set you free, then you are free indeed. If Jesus sets us free, there is nothing in the universe that can bind us. And so let Jesus break your chains and throw off your burden. For He came to release the oppressed.

“to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” Jesus declared that the Kingdom of God had arrived – that salvation was at hand. The image is of the year of Jubilee in the OT Law. Every fiftieth year was to be a Jubilee year. During that year, slaves were set free, debts were forgiven and property could be redeemed by its original owner. Jesus has, in a sense, brought about the year of Jubilee. He has set us free. He has forgiven us. He has redeemed us. In Christ, we experience the year of Jubilee. For the apostle Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 6.2, “I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.”

Jesus came to save. That is the basis of Christmas, the hope of our lives and the core of Christian mission. He did not wait until the world was ready. He came when the need was deep and great. Jesus did not wait until we were ready or our hearts were pure or our lives were in order. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. He came into our unsteadiness and our prison, our need and our grime. He shared our grief and touched our pain. He came with love.

And He comes even now with love. He comes even now to save. He is ready to set you free and give you life. And the life He gives us involves a calling – a calling not only to receive His love, but also to share His love. We are saved from the brokenness of the world so that we will, as Christ’s ambassadors, re-enter that world and, like Christ, share its grief and touch its pain. Because we are so loved, we go with love – the love of Christ. That is our mission. That is our hope.

He came with Love. He came to save: receive the Good News and rejoice!

POINTS TO REMEMBER
“The coming God is the loving God, and only the coming God is the One who truly loves. For He only is the One who Himself goes forth to seek; the One who Himself moves in search of the beloved … This “coming down” of God, this condescension, this coming of God to men, is the proof of His unfathomable Love … It is the Love which gives its very self, the Love which pours itself out for the sake of the beloved. It is the Love which is all the greater the less claim the beloved has upon It, the less it is worthy of such love. Hence the coming of God as Love can only be fully known where it is the coming of God to sinful man, the seeking of those who have fallen away, of those who have been unfaithful. Here alone does the divine Love unveil its whole incomprehensible wealth and richness: in the Atonement - where God gives Himself to the sinful creature, in order that He may once more and indeed fully restore the fellowship which had been broken between man and God.”
- Emil Brunner (The Mediator, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1947 p. 287)

“He who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit.”
- John Calvin

“To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty, indeed spiritual bankruptcy, before God.”
- John Stott

SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER
Incarnation – John 1.1-14; 1 John 1.1-4
He came to save - Luke 4.14-21
Life apart from/in Christ - 2 Timothy 2.26; Romans 6
Our sin and Savior - Isaiah 59
Jesus the Servant of the Lord - Isaiah 42.1-8
Now is the day of salvation - 2 Corinthians 6.2

LN 8: "Conformed" (11.25.07)

[To listen to the message, click here]

SUMMARY
The mission of the Church is fulfilled in Christ through. We have seen this in His proclaiming the Kingdom of God, His Great Commission, His compelling love and, now, by conforming us to Him.

Conformity is practically a bad word in our individualistic society. We cherish our popular notions of freedom and autonomy. No one has the right to tell us what to do or what is right or wrong. We follow our hearts. In our culture, people want (or at least pretend to want) to do their own thing; go there own way; to be different … just like everyone else. But it’s ironic that we, who say we don’t want to be conformed to anything, conform to everything, all the time. If we didn’t, why would companies spend millions on marketing and advertising? The truth is everyone conforms to something. The question is: what will it be?

This is an especially pertinent question for Christians because we are called to be conformed to Christ. (A Christian is one is trying to live like Christ). It’s also pertinent because, as Christians, we struggle with being conformed to the world. And often, we don’t struggle enough.

In Scripture we read: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12.2); and “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1.14-16).

And so, to be light for the nations we must not be conformed to the world, but rather transformed. But how are we transformed? We are transformed as we conform to Christ. How do we do that? What does that look like? Jesus shows us John 14.30-15.17.

To be conformed to Christ, there are certain things that must be RECOGNIZED.

First, we must recognize the Crucial Nature of Mission. At the end of John 14, Jesus said, “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. "Come now; let us leave.” This was the Upper Room Discourse before Gethsemane and the cross. Jesus knew Satan was coming and so He said, "Come now; let us leave”. What did Jesus mean by that? One scholar believes that the natural sense of that statement in the Greek language is a military one, meaning: “let us go meet the advancing enemy” (C.H. Dodd). Therefore, this statement could be paraphrased as: “The ruler of this world is coming … let us march to meet him.” In that sense, Jesus’ statement is a call to arms – a call to engage the enemy. There is an enemy, a hostile force in this world. But the enemy is not “those kind of people over there.” No, scripture tells us, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” That is the enemy to engage: evil in the world and especially in us.

But how do we do that? How do we engage the enemy and go out in mission as light against the darkness? We must recognize the Incredible Nature of the Church.
- Jesus used the image of the vine. The vine was often used as a symbol of Israel. They were the vineyard that the Lord had planted. But they had failed to produce good fruit and so the Lord sent the True Vine. Jesus said, “I am the true vine.” He is the Vine, we are His branches, connected to Him and one another. What a picture of the Church – fruit bearing branches nourished by the Vine! Our identity, purpose and power are found in our connection to the Vine! And that picture is also powerful because a vine exists to bear fruit. That is its purpose. As William Temple wrote, “The vine lives to give its life-blood.”
- Jesus provides another picture of His followers. We are His Friends (14-15): “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” J.C Ryle states, “There is nobody so rich, so strong, so independent, so well off, so thoroughly provided for, as the person of whom Christ says, “This is my friend”. No greater dignity could be given to us. No greater evidence of God’s love could be given than Jesus giving His life for us His friends. No greater impetus for mission can be found than friendship with Christ. And no greater incentive for people to believe in Christ than to become a friend of Christ. As we come to Christ and live in obedience to Him, we are His friends.
- This however should not lead us into a sense of self-importance, for this friendship is born of grace. We were chosen. Jesus says in the next verse, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.” As Bruce Milne writes, “Therein … lies the ultimate encouragement in mission. We go, not because we are worthy, or equipped, or attractive, or skilled, or experienced, or in any way suitable and appropriate. We go because we have been summoned and sent.” By grace, we are chosen to go and bear fruit.

Those are the recognitions, now we look at the REQUIREMENTS – things that need to take place in our lives.
- The first is Pruning. Jesus said (1-3), “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” It has been pointed out that the vine dresser does two things to ensure as much fruit as possible – in winter he cuts off the dry, withered branches and in the spring removes the useless growth from the branches. He clears off and cleans up. Branches that consistently do not bear fruit are removed, while those that do are pruned. Pruning in the Christian’s life takes place through the Word, the Spirit, the Church (others being shaped by the Word and Spirit), circumstances and trials. We don’t always like pruning and we often wonder why God allows certain things to happen – why being a Christian is so often difficult. But the purpose of pruning is that we might grow and be more fruitful. The Lord disciplines those He loves. God trims and cuts us that we might grow and live more fruitfully.
- The next requirement is Abiding in Christ. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." Bearing fruit is the work of Christ in us. It is impossible without Him. To be a Christian is to abide in Christ, to remain connected to Him. To abide in Christ is to remain in His love: to rejoice in it, depend upon it, do nothing to grieve Him, but rather do what delights Him, to keep his commands. Not to do that is to be fruitless and disconnected from the vine. We must bear fruit. Now, none of us do this perfectly, but to never do it is a sign of something wrong.
- Part of abiding is Prayer. Prayer is crucial to mission. Milne writes, “In the work of mission, the church advances on its knees.” Prayer is one of the ways that us branches are nourished by the Vine. And so Jesus encourages us in v.7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” As we abide in Christ (are seeking His will and plan), we can seek God confidently in prayer. As we seek His will, he will answer our prayers according to His will.
- But abiding in Christ is not simply an inner state, it requires Obedience. “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” We show our love by living the way God wants us to live.
- And we abide in Christ as we Love One Another. Jesus said, “This is my command: Love each other,” and “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We are to love like Jesus loved – sacrificial, self-giving love. We are marked as disciples by our love.

As we abide in Christ (pruned, praying, loving, obeying) certain RESULTS take place. We read in v8, “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” When we bear Fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) we prove that we are Jesus’ disciples. And as fruit bearing disciples, we bring glory to God the Father. Therefore, we find ultimate fulfillment because we are doing what we were made to do. We were created for God’s glory. As the Westminster catechism states, “The chief end of human beings is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” And therefore another result is Joy. Jesus says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Our society looks at this and thinks, ‘a life of conformity and obedience and monogamous faithfulness to one Person – ugh! What could be more restrictive and constricting and demeaning and dull and dissatisfying?” But the reality is just the opposite. True life, true love, true purpose, true joy is found in being conformed to the character of Christ, obeying His good commands (living His way), bearing fruit as we abide in Him, and being faithful and loyal to him as our one and only Lord and Savior. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Discipleship means joy.”

Only a life that is being conformed to Christ is compelling to the world. Only a life that is filled with the light of Christ can shine in the darkness. People need to hear the Good News, but they also need to see Christ in us. He is the Light of the nations, but He shines through us. And so conformity is not a bad word when we are being conformed to Christ. For that means that He is re-constructing us into the men and women we were meant to be.

I love the words that were etched into Ruth Bell Graham’s gravestone – words she noticed while driving on the highway one day and wanted as her epitaph: “End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.” May that be said of each of us at the end of our lives: End of Construction. Our lives are in process. We are not perfect nor are we complete. God is at work in us (and He who began this good work will see it through to completion). May our lives be a process, a journey, an adventure of becoming conformed (re-constructed) into the likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


POINTS TO REMEMBER

“The gracious indwelling of God with his people is not an invitation to settle down and forget the rest of the world: it is a summons to mission, for the Lord who dwells with His people is the one who goes before them …” (Leslie Newbigin).

The problem is then: How can we be light for the nations if we are like the nations? If we are just like the world, we have nothing to offer the world. We try to be “relevant” to the world rather than compelling. We want to fit into the world b/c we think that then we will have an audience. But what was the method of the One who called His people to be light for the nations? God set His people apart. He called them to be distinct from the other nations in order to be light to them. Now they misused this calling and became self-focused, but that was not the intent. God made Israel “holy” not so that they would be “holier than thou” but that they would be an example and a guide for the nations around them. If we are not conforming our lives (albeit imperfectly and often inconsistently) to the likeness of the One we proclaim, then we have nothing to proclaim. You can’t give what you don’t have.


SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER

Do not conform to the world – Romans 12.2; 1 Peter 1.14-16
Likeness of Christ – Romans 8.29; 1 Corinthians 15.45-58; 2 Corinthians 3.17-18; Philippians 2.1-11
The real battle – Ephesians 6.10-18
Being transformed – John 14.30-15.17