"What You Are" - I Corinthians 3:1-9

I asked a question last week that I want to revisit. The question was, "What is the goal of Christianity?" Tell me how you would answer that question. I'll give you a hint. The answer should be something along the lines of our statement of purpose as a church. If you go to our church website, one of the first things you will see is our statement of purpose and it says, "Doing whatever it takes to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ."

That is our goal as a church and I believe it is basically the goal of Christianity and for all Christians. Now, my second question is, "What is your part in that goal?" And thirdly, "How important is your part in that goal?" Also, "How important is the part played by the person next to you? Or my part?" Is one part more important than another?

 

I know, I know. Sunday nights are for me asking questions. Don't worry. I'll have more for you tonight at 6. But I want you to think this morning about what part you play in the goal of Christianity and what would happen if you or somebody else did not play their role. Who is going to take up the slack? Who is going to do the job that didn't get done?

 

I finally got my garden planted at the house and I have to admit that I am dying to use it as an illustration and this is a good point to do that. I know it is way too late to start a garden but I got in when I could and I'll deal with the heat the best I can. But what is the goal of a vegetable garden? To produce vegetables, right? Now, I know that I can go to the store and buy veggies cheaper than I can grow them myself but I want good, fresh veggies or I won't eat them at all.

I am concerned about the cost, however. By the time I buy gas for Troy's tiller and buy the seeds and then water the seeds, I'm already out more money than it would take to buy them at the store. So, what I have decided to do is only water the plants about once a month to save on the cost of water. And I can't afford fertilizer at all, so that's out. But don't worry. I bought good, fresh seed and I tilled up the ground real good. I got all the weeds out and I planted the seeds at just the right depth and they are already coming out of the ground, just another everyday miracle.

 

So now I am just counting on God to do His part and bring the rain since I can't afford to water. And I hope the rain doesn't make the weeds grow because not only can I not afford to water but I don't have time to keep all the weeds out. That takes too long and I have other things to do. Oh, and I hope no bugs get on my plants because I don't want to have to spend money on insecticide. But I can't wait to eat all that fresh produce!

 

That's pretty ridiculous, isn't it? Nobody would do that, especially in this heat. So, which is more important, to till up the ground or water in the seeds? Is it more important to plant at the right time or harvest at the right time? Is it better to prepare the soil or keep the bugs off? Those are not good questions because all of it is important and just like in the goal of Christianity, if somebody doesn't do their part, then the harvest will not be good. The goal will not be achieved.

 

 

 

 

In our last sermon in this series of seeing ourselves in relation to God, we are going to see what we are as God sees us. We have seen who we are, where we are and whose we are and we have seen that when we see ourselves as God sees us, we see ourselves truthfully, not comparing ourselves to others but only as God says we are in His Word. And today we will see in I Corinthians what Paul has to say to the messed up church in Corinth about what our responsibilities are as Christians in achieving the goal of Christianity.

 

I read somewhere that the first thing every new pastor ought to preach is to go through the book of 1 Corinthians because in it Paul tries to address pretty much every kind of problem a church can have. And in chapter 3, where we are today, Paul is addressing the issue of division in the church. Some people thought they were more important or their job was more vital to the church and Paul writes to say that was not true.

 

And while that is important for all of us to be reminded of from time to time, he hits on something specifically that will be important for us to know in this church about what we are as God sees us. He tells us in verse 9 but I want to keep it in context by reading verses 1-9 of 1 Corinthians chapter 3. I hope you have your Bibles but if not there is one in front of you.

 

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere human beings? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

 

So far in this series we have seen the benefits and responsibilities of being a son of God. We have seen that we are salt and light. We are seated in the heavenlies next to Jesus. We are co-heirs with Jesus to all the good things Heaven can offer. Lastly, we see that we have a job to do. And I want you to know that my job is very important. It is. But I also want you to know that your job is just as important. That's Paul's point here.

 

Nobody is more important than another but each one is vital to the goal of Christianity.

I want to concentrate on verse 9 and look closer at the 3 things Paul says that we are. He says we are fellow workers with God. We are God's field. And we are God's building.

 

As fellow workers with God, our job is to be about His business. Jesus knew at an early age what some of us struggle with all of our lives. His parents went looking for Him and finally found Him in the temple and what did He say? I'm just doing my Father's business. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do. He said I am doing what I was put on this earth to do.

 

 

 

 

And our response to that is to compare ourselves, not to Jesus, but to others and think that doesn't really apply to us. I have a job. I have kids and grandkids and things to do and dinner to fix and blah, blah, blah. I met a woman one time who owned a gym. I used to collect taxes for a living for the state of Texas and I went to her place of business to demand payment of some back taxes.

 

I told her who I was and why I was there and she explained that she had made some sort of accounting error and that she would be glad to pay me because she had been so blessed because of what Jesus had done in her life. I wasn't there 60 seconds but what this lady was witnessing to me. And it just flowed out of her. We talked taxes for just a minute and then just compared blessings and if I had not been a Christian when I walked into that place, I bet I would have been by the time I walked out.

 

A friend of mine told me about his dying, elderly father who was literally on his deathbed. The man had been a soul-winner all of his life and kept trying to get up off the bed and my friend kept trying to keep him still. He asked him what he wanted and all the old man could say was, "Gotta go win one more for Jesus."

 

I watched a show on TV the other day about the training required to be a Navy Seal. It's more like torture than training at first. They get one hour of sleep a day for a week, very little food and they have to do crazy, tortuous physical training in the ocean and the pool with life rafts and huge logs they have to carry all over the place and then run over here and over there for hours. At the end of that week that they call "Hell Week" they had to be at a certain place on the beach by a certain time. The last 2 men to make it were considerably farther behind the others because they were both dragging themselves across the sand but they made it just in time. They were dragging themselves because both had broken a leg some time during the week and they got there as fast as they could.

 

I say that to ask you this. How bad do you want to be one of God's fellow workers? I know you have things to do and the stresses and worries of life are always going to be there. We know we are to provide for ourselves and our families but what is the goal? Is the goal to die with enough stuff? Well, how much stuff is enough?

 

And none of us would want to admit that we are more concerned about doing our earthly jobs than doing our God-given job but I want you to think back on the past year. 12 months. Since June 2012, how many people have you witnessed to? How many times have you said the name, "Jesus" to someone in a way that would encourage them to have a relationship with Him? I'm not talking about living your life in a godly way, although that is, of course, important.

 

I'm not talking about inviting someone to church. I mean when was the last time you got a Bible and said, "Look, Jesus is the way the truth and the life? We all have fallen short. The wages of sin is death. My relationship with Jesus has brought me peace and joy in these ways..." When was the last time you introduced Jesus to somebody? Personally, I'm embarrassed to think about how long it has been for me.

 

 

 

But do you know what? Paul tells us in the next phrase that we are God's field and as God's field, God expects us to start producing. That word "field" denotes a plowed field that is turned over, tilled up, with the seeds planted and watered. God has done His part. He has prepared you. Some of you can relate to feeling like a plowed up field right about now, can't you?

 

Hosea 10:12 says, "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you." Jeremiah 4:3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. 4 Cleanse your minds and hearts before the LORD, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.

 

Paul uses the same phrase that is found several other places to show that we are to have a tilled up heart, one that produces fruit. As a field of God, we can expect to be tilled. It's not fun. It hurts. It breaks up what we are used to and comfortable with and we don't like it. We like to think about being seated with Jesus and being co-heirs with Him and all the benefits that we get from being sons of the one true God.

 

And when the plow hits our hearts, we cry out to God, "Why?!" Why do bad things happen to good people is a question that will never be answered completely this side of Heaven but Paul touches on one reason right here. When the plow comes and tills up our hearts, then our lives can be used for Him.

 

After Hurricane Katrina, I went with some folks from the church where I was going down to New Orleans to help clean up and tarp some roofs and do whatever we could to help. We worked on the house of one man who was extremely bitter toward God for allowing all the bad things to happen to him, mainly the loss of his son a few years before. We were busy cleaning out his house while he stayed in a FEMA trailer but he would come out and watch us some. He was in bad health so he couldn't do much.

 

But I was determined I was going to witness to the crotchety old dude and so I went into the trailer but my friend Scott was already in there talking to the man about sports or something. I listened for a minute and I tried to steer the conversation around to spiritual things but the old man wouldn't listen to me. He would get angry and start complaining about how God killed his son and then he and Scott would go back to talking about sports.

 

I kept trying and every time the old guy would shoot me down with something about how mad he was that God would kill his boy. Finally, Scott was able to just gently and painfully tell the story of how he had lost his teenage son just about the same time but Scott was able to talk to the man about not only the pain of it but also the comfort that comes from having a relationship with Jesus. My words were getting nowhere with that man but because Scott had had his heart plowed up and tilled into a useable field, he was able to tell that man about the love of Jesus like I would never be able to.

 

 

 

 

 

Does that make it all better for Scott and his family? Does that bring back his son or erase all the pain? Of course not. And I am sorry that it happened to him and I am sorry that your own life has had to be tilled but our comfort is not the goal. Our goal is to lead people to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and as the song says that we sang last week, if that is what it takes for You to get the glory then Jesus bring the rain. Bring the rain to our plowed up field so that we can produce a harvest.

 

Now as we go to the last part and the last point about how we are God’s building, I want you to know that I hear you.  I do.  I hear you when you say that you can’t do it.  You just aren’t cut out to be a soul-winner.  It’s hard to memorize scripture.  It’s hard to know what to say.  It’s hard to be real fruitful in this barren world.  I completely understand.

 

And I want you to know that I agree with you.  It is hard to memorize scripture, know what to say, have the boldness to say stuff and all the other things required to be what we are supposed to be.  I agree with you that you can’t do it.

 

But the last thing that Paul says changes everything.  He says that we are God’s building.  And what is the purpose of a building?  The purpose of a building is to house something or contain something or be a place of meeting.  And do you know what is in our building?

 

1 Corinthians 6:19 says “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”  Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

 

We are God’s building with His Spirit living inside of that building and He gives us the strength we need to be what we are supposed to be!  He gives us the strength to be fruitful.  He gives us the power to be bold when talking to people about Him.  He gives us the joy and peace we need to get through the tilling and the plowing and the rain and the harvest when we allow Him to do it through us and for His glory.

 

And when we do all of that; when we live our lives intentionally; with an urgency to win just one more for Jesus even in our pain and even at work and at home or school or whatever we happen to be doing at the time; when we allow God to use us as His fellow workers and His field we will be His building and we will not see ourselves or our job in the church as being more important than any other.  We will see ourselves as God sees us.  We will see our true selves.

“Whose You Are” –Galatians 3:26-29

It's been a long time but people used to say that I looked like my dad. I think that probably stopped not long after high school when I started losing my hair. And now, if I still look like him at all, it is probably as his shorter, fatter and older brother. I missed out on the good genetics from my dad. He got the hair, the ability to tie knots, make a mouse with a handkerchief, artistic ability and a good woman. I got...3 dogs.

No, I did get some other things from my parents. They instilled in me a strong work ethic but with the wisdom to know that work isn't everything. They taught me good table manners. My dad especially taught me how to be a gentleman, a trait that was caught more than taught, as they say. They taught me a love for God, the Bible and the church. I may have asked if I had to go to school some days but it never occurred to me to ask if I had to go to church.

And while I may not look or certainly not sound like my parents, there are just certain things that make me a Blair; my name, my DNA, my love for Mexican food, etc., etc. And I love that and wouldn't change it. And just as there are things that make me a Blair that I got from my parents, there are also things that make me a son of God that I got from God. And the cool thing is that I share these traits with Jesus Himself.

Now, that sounds pretty conceited doesn’t it, comparing myself with Jesus? But I promise you that is not my idea. I didn’t come up with it and it doesn’t just apply to me. It applies to everyone who has started a relationship with God through His Son Jesus. And that thought comes from no less than the apostle Paul, who got it from God Himself. And so I don’t mind saying that Jesus and I have a lot in common.

You should say it! When people start giving you a hard time or they are making fun of you or giving you grief, just tell them, “Jesus and I have a lot in common.” That may or may not make the situation better so you better be ready to tell them where you found that in the Bible so let’s turn to Galatians and just see where it talks about that.

If you remember, Galatians was written with one overall theme, the theme of us being saved by grace. It was written because not long after Paul left Galatia, having established the church there, some Judaizers came in to the church and basically said, “Yes, what Paul taught about being saved by grace was correct BUT you still have to become a Jew first. You still have to follow the Law of Moses.”

That’s like saying that your car runs on gas but you still need to put diesel fuel in it as well. Or that you are a little bit pregnant but a little bit not pregnant as well. It can’t be both and that was what Paul wrote the book of Galatians to tell them. You are either under the Law or you are under grace. And Jesus died, was buried and resurrected so that we wouldn’t have to be under the Law anymore and to say that we still have to become Jews before following Him was very frustrating for Paul to hear.

And so Paul explains to the church in Galatia, and to the church in Lake Bridgeport, about the benefits of grace; the benefits of being saved by grace and through faith and some of those benefits are found in Galatians 3:26-29. Let’s read there.

So in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

As usual, Paul has a way of packing more into 4 sentences than most of us could say in a week. And he makes it easy to make a sermon out of his words here because he starts with a powerful sentence and then makes 3 points to back it up. So let’s look at that powerful first sentence. In Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.

Now the King James and some of the other translations say “children” instead of “sons” but the original word actually was “sons”. And ladies, don’t be mad. This is actually a good thing, or at least it was back in Paul’s day. As you know, women in those times had very few rights. Their job was to take care of the kids and not much else so Paul is actually making us all equal here because it was the sons who got all the inheritance.

So, I want us to see this morning that we are all sons of God. We have seen in the previous couple of weeks who we are. We are salt and light. We have seen where we are. We are seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms. And today we see whose we are. We are sons of God. And as sons of God, just like being the son of our earthly parents, there are rights and expectations. So, following Paul’s own outline, let’s see 3 things about being sons of God.

· We look like Jesus.

· We are united in Jesus.

· We share the promise of Jesus.

Let’s start by seeing that as a son of God we look like Jesus. Paul says in verse 27 that we who were baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves with Christ. Paul uses the illustration of being baptized. When you get baptized you come up out of the water and the Bible says we are raised to a new life. But in a very real sense that new life starts with a dry set of clothes. We put on dry clothes to start that new life but in a similar sense, we also put on Jesus.

While I don’t look much like Pop anymore, I have started to look like my granddad. My mother’s daddy was always called Pa by the grandkids. I have Pa’s build, his height and his haircut. His ring fits me. His hat fits me and his overalls didn’t have to be adjusted at all to fit me. In fact, one time I wore those overalls somewhere and somebody in the family remarked how much I looked like Pa.

That’s not necessarily a compliment because of how Pa looked physically. He was no GQ cover model. But while I am no Pa Graham, I would love for people to associate me with him, not because of how he looked but because of who he was, what he did and WHOSE he was. Pa was a son of God and he looked like Jesus. And what did Jesus look like? He tells us Himself in Matthew 5:38-45.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^{[a] 39} But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[b] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

I want you to know that I did not intend for the subject of good works to be brought out in each of the sermons in this series. How fascinating it is, though, that when we see ourselves as God sees us; when we see who we are, where we are and whose we are according to God, that we will see ourselves correctly and we will be seen by others as people who do good works.

We know that good works have nothing to do with saving us but it will come through in our Christian family genetics. When we look like Jesus, we will look different than those that are in the world because we will, as this passage says, do good to those that hate us and do good to those that can never repay us. That’s how Jesus looks and that is how we look as sons of God.

And not only will we look like Jesus but we will also be united in Jesus. Verse 28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” G. Walter Hansen says that this radical affirmation of unity and equality in Christ is a deliberate rejection of the attitude expressed in the synagogue in those days. They would start their day by thanking God for not making them a Gentile, a slave or a woman.

This was an especially important point for Paul to make to the church in Galatia where some were saying that they had to become Jews to be accepted by God. Paul is saying that it doesn’t matter what your race or nationality or your culture is nor does it matter if you are male or female.  We all have rights and responsibilities as sons of God.

People sometimes use this verse to make the argument that men and women are equal.  But in doing so, I think one misses the point.  Paul is not talking about who is better or who is equal to who.  Is your stomach more important than your liver?  Are your blood cells better than your muscle cells?  That's not a good question.  The question is "Is your body unified?"  If not, it gets sick.  If it is, then it does what it is supposed to do.

Paul told the Philippians, "let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel."  Disunity in the body is one of the first symptoms of a church that is not seeing themselves as God sees them.  When we see whose we are, that we are sons of God, we see ourselves as God sees us.  We see ourselves looking like Jesus.  We see ourselves unified.  And lastly, we see ourselves as sharing the promise of Jesus.

Look at verse 29.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, a homeless man named Tomas Martinez ran away from police officers in the year 2000 and they never saw him again.  He thought they were coming to arrest him for something but in fact they had tracked him down and wanted to tell him that his ex-wife had died and left him an inheritance of $6 million.  True story.

You know what else is a true story?  That's chump change compared to the inheritance we have as believers.  Paul refers to Abraham so let's go back and look at what God promised Abe.  Genesis 12:3 is where we find that.  The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

We all know that God is loaded and here we see that as believers we get full access to everything that was promised to Abraham.  I love to think about what I would do with just 6 million bucks much less what all God has for us.  I would go to the motorcycle store and I would go get me some STUFF and have some fun and throw a party and I would then buy a new Bible, one that doesn't have Romans 8:17 in it because it's no fun to read that whole verse. 

Romans 8:17 starts out great and goes right along with what we are talking about.  "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ," and I wish we could just stop right there and enjoy it but it goes on..."if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."  If we share in His sufferings.  Did you catch that?

That's part of the inheritance.  And Paul was ok with that.  In fact, he was more than ok with it.  He actually asked for it.  In Philippians 3:10 he said, "I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."  That verse has always fascinated me.  How does a man get to that point of maturity where he says he wants to know Christ so much that he is willing to go through the same sufferings Christ did?

Well, I’ll be honest.  I can’t say that I am truthfully there yet but when we see ourselves as God sees us, it starts to make sense.  Let me put it this way.  What is the goal of Christianity?  Is the goal of Christianity just to get to Heaven?  Well, that is part of it.  But the real goal of Christianity is getting to know God through His Son Jesus.  It is having a relationship with Him.

Christianity is definitely not a religion of rules and rituals that we must work at keeping in order to climb the ladder to heaven. Rather, it is a personal, growing relationship with the risen, living Lord Jesus Christ that results in our growing conformity to Him. Our goal is to know Him and to become like Him.  (Steven J. Cole)

 

Paul understood whose he was.  Paul understood the rights and responsibilities of being an heir and son of God, sitting next to Jesus in the heavenlies and being salt and light.  He knew better than most what is meant by being an heir according to the promise.  He knew that in this world he would have trouble. But Paul endured those troubles and even had joy because he knew that he would also share in the glory.

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain  (Mercy Me)

“Where You Are” –Ephesians 2:1-10

Here is a link to a song I reference in the sermon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJWQzjfU3o

Many years ago in Mt. Zion, Texas there was a wealthy man named Joshua Benson. Mr. Benson was a self-made millionaire and famous for not only his wealth but also his generosity. He practically owned Mt. Zion but he was generous and giving and everybody that knew him just loved him and pretty much everybody had heard of him.

One day when Mr. Benson was on a trip, an inmate, Adam Mali, escaped from Eden Correctional Facility and made a run for it. He wound up at Mr. Benson’s mansion and broke in to the home where Benson’s young son was staying by himself. He beat and killed the boy, helped himself to all of Benson’s clothes and food and everything in the house. He spent the night there and then in the morning set fire to the house to cover up his crime.

The problem came when Mali started to run out of the house, he somehow slipped and fell and hit his head, knocking him out. Mr. Benson just happened to be coming home about that time, saw his house on fire, ran in and saw his dead son and the prison escapee. He saw that Mali was still alive and so he pulled him from the burning house just in time before the whole house went up in flames. In the days to come, the generous Mr. Benson built another mansion there in Mt. Zion and also paid the fines and fees for Mali and then allowed Mali to live in the new mansion with him, free of charge and to have full access to everything he owned.

How do you feel about that story? I love that story in one way but I hate that story at the same time. I hate it because it’s not fair. There’s no justice in that story. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would Benson do such a wonderful thing to someone who had done him so wrong?

On the other hand, I love that story. I love it, not just because I made it up, but because I’m Mali. Yes, it’s true that it’s not true and yet it is true. There is no real Benson or Mali or Mt. Zion, Texas or Eden Prison. But I am Mali. And that, in a small-scale illustration, is what God has done for me and for you.

Romans 8:16-17says, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” That’s almost too much for me to take in, especially when Satan keeps trying to remind me of where I have been. Satan keeps reminding me of what I did in the past, the people I hurt, the mistakes I made and the places I chose to be.

And what part of me wants to do is remind Satan of who I am. But when I tell Satan my name is Todd and I’m a preacher…he just hammers me even harder. “Who do you think you are? You bring nothing to the spiritual table. You have no training, knowledge or experience. Quit playing around and go back to where you used to be. That’s the real you.”

But when I tell Satan he is right, I don’t bring anything to the table and that old man used to do all that stuff but now my name is “Child of the One True King” as the popular song says, that’s when God reminds me, not just of who I am, a child of God, but also where I am, right next to Jesus Christ as a joint heir with Him to all the wonders of Heaven. And I got there, contrary to what Pope Francis said, by giving my life to Jesus, asking Him for forgiveness of all that stuff and believing and confessing that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no man comes to the Father except through Him.

And that’s enough! That was enough for me and that is enough for you and if you have never done that then let’s take a break right this second and do that. We can come back to the rest of the message later. We are not guaranteed another breath. Don’t let Satan keep lying to you and reminding you of who you used to be and where you used to be. When we see ourselves with godly perspective, we see ourselves truthfully.

You may have noticed that I have used the present tense to talk about where I am and where we are in God’s eyes. That’s how Paul talks in our passage this morning in Ephesians. He uses the present tense to talk about us being in the heavenly realms with Jesus and we will see that and more in Ephesians 2:1-10 with particular emphasis on verse 6 where we will see where you are.

That’s the title of the message, “Where You Are”. We looked last week at who we are in God’s eyes and saw that we are salt and light. We continue getting our focus concentrated correctly and see that when God sees His children, He sees us as we really are, not who we used to be, thank goodness. Because of what he has done we are to be salt and light, not sugar and shade.

But also because of what He has done, we don’t have to live in the land of guilt, shame and regret. That’s not where we are as children of the One True God. Let’s look at where we are in Ephesians 2:1-10.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

That passage should make you excited. It was written with excitement. Paul wrote it with such a passion that the first 7 verses are just one long run-on sentence in the original Greek. He couldn’t say it fast enough. He couldn’t get it out fast enough. He was so excited to have this word from God he didn’t care about grammar or anything else.

The first chapter of Ephesians and the first 3 verses of chapter 2 are horribly damning to all of us. Reading all that will bum you out quick. He basically tells us who and where we used to be. He tells us all the things Satan likes to keep reminding us of and trying to tell us we are still there. Paul says all these horribly true things about us but then in verse 4 you can almost see him start jumping up and down with excitement as he uses that little 3 letter word, “but”. Because that little word changes everything.

That little word means that all of that before used to be true but it’s not anymore, no matter what Satan tries to say. It is true that we were dead in our sins, without hope and deserving of wrath. But as followers of Jesus, as children of the One True King, as joint heirs with Jesus to the glories of Heaven, everything has changed for us and I want to look specifically at 3 things in this passage. I want to see:

Where we are

Why He did it and

What now

Paul says in verse 6 that we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms. Do you believe that? Do you believe that we are now with Jesus in the heavenly realms? I don’t know about you but for me it is sometimes hard to feel like it. It’s hard not to feel like I am stuck down here in the mud and muck of planet Earth even though I want more than anything not to be.

When I see the heartbreak and pain and consequences of bad choices that we all make, I have to admit that I don’t always feel like I am seated in the heavenlies. When I see the news or look out the window or even look in the mirror, the phrase “seated with Him in the heavenly realms” is not the term I first think of. It’s easy to see the harshness and the pain and the struggles not just in our own lives but in those around us and it’s easy to feel anything but peace.

But Jesus said in John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." He said you will have trouble…but you may have peace. You may have peace if you have the right perspective and see things how God sees them and how you should see them if and when you realize that you are in this world but not of this world.

And when you have that perspective, the perspective of sitting next to Jesus, then our lives are not just a little bit different, they are brand new and completely different. Either Paul misspoke and didn’t mean to use the present tense or the translators got it wrong and used the wrong tense OR our lives as believers are new and different and we have a new and different perspective. I propose it is the latter because the Bible supports that over and over again.

When someone gets baptized we often use phrases such as “buried with Jesus through baptism into death in order that we too may live a new life.” That comes straight out of Romans 6 and that is exactly right. We are not baptized and raised so we can live a different life. We don’t live a better life. We don’t live a good life. We are raised with Jesus to live a new life with a new perspective. That’s where we are now, not just later.

And when we realize that Jesus didn’t die to make bad people good, He came to make dead people alive, that changes (or should change) how we see things. It changes how we do things and how we live our lives. We no longer pray like the dead man who can only pray, “God help me.” We pray with power and authority. Hebrews says to come boldly. Ephesians says our prayer is powerful.

When we realize that we are sitting with the Prince of Peace our perspective should change from being focused on ourselves to focused on others because we want others to have what we have and we know that God is going to give us everything we need when we are obedient to Him. So, why should we be self-centered? Why should we worry about what is going to happen to us? Our perspective is new because we are new.

And when our perspective is new our worshipis new. We don’t worship as the dead man does who can only hope that he does something that will make God give him something good. Our new perspective allows us to worship in spirit and truth no matter what our circumstances because worship is not about us. Our worship is a reflection of where we are and so it is new and alive and not dependent on what others are doing or not doing or wearing or how they sing or if they have their hands up or down.

Our speech is new when we have a right and godly perspective. When we understand that we are “raised up” as verse 6 says, our speech will not be in the gutter. And I don’t just mean saying cuss words although that is obvious here. I mean how can any unwholesome word come from our mouth if we are seated next to Jesus? We don’t speak like dead men anymore because we are no longer dead in our sins. We are joint-heirs with Jesus and our speech should reflect it.

We are still going to have trouble because we live in the same old, dead world. But our lives are new and should reflect our new perspective from where we are. Now, let’s look at why God placed us next to Jesus in the heavenly realms. I always want to know why anything happens. I have always been that way. To me, it makes a difference in how I do something if I know whyI am supposed to do something.

So, if we are seated with Jesus and that means we are to have a new perspective, then it helps me to know why it was done. And thankfully Paul tells us in the very next verse because it wouldn't make any sense to me otherwise. In verse 7, Paul answers my question, "Why?" Read. ...in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace.

Notice that it does not say that He might show how super-cool we are or how super-spiritual we are or how super-anything we are. It is to show the incomparable riches of God's grace. I have said before that I believe that if God could show us just one thing about ourselves that it would be that we are a prideful people. And if He could show us just one thing about Himself it would be how much grace He has.

A very poor woman was generously asked to go with a family on vacation. She agreed and they all loaded up and drove down to the beach. When they got to the ocean the family noticed that the woman was crying and so one of them, moved by her tears, asked her gently what could possibly be wrong. She simply said that when she saw the ocean it was the first time in her life that she had ever seen anything that there was enough of.

That's why God has allowed us to be where we are. That's why God has raised us up next to Jesus - to show His oceans of grace that billow over us and shower us with His goodness. The next verse says that it is by grace that we are saved but you have to admit that it is by grace that we do anything. It is only by God's incomparable grace that you take your next breath. It is in Him and by His grace that we move and breathe and have everything that we have.

So, that is why God has seated us next to Jesus in the heavenlies as joint heirs with Him and that leads me to the last point. What next? If all of that is true; if God has placed us where we are just to show His amazing grace then what happens next? Well, Paul tells us at the end of this passage in verse 10. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

To do good works. That’s what is next. And we talked about that last week some about how we, as the light of the world, and having a godly perspective, will do good things to those that hate us and we will do good things to those that can never repay us. And that’s interesting that we would see again that when we have a godly perspective and see ourselves as who God sees us andwhere God sees us that we should do good works. And that is good and right and we should but I want to look at it just a little bit differently in light of where we are.

As we read earlier, Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world. Just expect it. And one of the reasons that we have trouble in this world is to make us more like Jesus, right? James says that it is through trials that we become mature and complete. And if we are to be like Jesus and we are sitting next to Jesus and our perspective is godly and right, then what better way to live our lives than to reflect that amazing grace that has been shown to us. What’s next? In our troubles, show grace.

How should we live? In our troubles, show grace. What about when people mistreat us? In our troubles, show grace. What about when the world is falling down around us? In our troubles, show grace. This church should be known for its grace. We as individuals should be known for our grace. We should be known to give people what they don’t deserve even when we are going through trials and problems.

“But, Todd! You don’t know what I’m going through!” You’re right. I don’t. I can’t comprehend going through what some of you have been through and are continuing to go through. But I promise you it is not my idea that in our troubles, we should show grace. And so I will simply close with 2 verses that make this point better than I can. You will recognize them and their context.

Luke 23:34 - "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Oh sure, Todd, play the “Jesus Card”. Thank you, I will and I will end with Philippians 4:13 that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

When our perspective is godly, coming from our place next to Jesus, we see God’s grace and reflect that grace even in our struggles, not in our own strength but through Christ and in Christ as children of the One, True King.

“Who You Are” – Matthew 5:13-14

Did I tell you I was thinking about getting a couple of goats?  I’m tired of mowing all the time and thought it would be interesting to get a couple goats.  I was driving down the little farm road over there the other day and I saw some goats out in the field and so I stopped into the little farmhouse to ask about them.  I knocked on the door and this old farmer came to the door wearing his overalls tucked into his boots – no shirt – and asked if he could help me.  I asked him how much he thought one of his goats might be worth.

He looked me up and down and real slowly said, “Well that depends.  Are you a tax collector or did you just hit one with your car?”

And I thought that was a good question.  He wanted some perspective on who I was.  We all know that things change with our perspective or lack of and this old guy was trying to get the right perspective on me before he answered.  It is important that we have godly perspective.  Godly perspective is the difference in the men of Israel looking at Goliath and thinking, “He is so big we can never kill him.” And then David looking at Goliath and thinking, “He’s so big I can’t miss him.”

And just like that farmer’s answers were going to change based on who I was, our perspective changes how we think of our problems, our friends, our family, our church and most of all ourselves.  Perspective is basically just comparing things so we can make good judgments.  It’s how we all got here this morning.  When we have good perspective we can see that we need to make a left hand turn but that rock truck is coming way too fast so we make the wise decision to just wait until it passes.

The problem with our self-perspective is that we too often compare ourselves to the wrong thing, namely…everybody else.  When we compare ourselves to everybody else, our perspective is warped and we will invariably see ourselves like in a funhouse mirror.  We are either too fat or too thin, tall or short.  That’s why I don’t like mirrors at all.  I can’t find a good one.  I look short, fat and bald in every mirror I try.  I don’t know what it is.

But what we should do is have a godly perspective, especially when it comes to how we view ourselves.  A lot of things would change if we viewed ourselves like God sees us instead of how other people see us.  We talked last week about how a good name is better than money and my definition of a good name is the name by which you are known by God.  If God says you have a good name then it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.

The right perspective, godly perspective will allow us to see ourselves as God sees us and just like our name, that can be good or bad but it will be truthful and so we can make wise decisions based on that truth.  Did you know that the faster you go the less perspective you have?  The Texas Driver’s Handbook has a drawing that helps illustrate this.  It shows that when we are not moving, we have a field of vision of about 180 degrees.  At 20 mph the field of vision is reduced by 2/3.  At 40 mph it is reduced by 2/5 and at 60 mph the field of vision is barely wider than the width of the beams of the headlights.

So, for the next few weeks, I would like to slow down and take an honest look at who we are, where we are, whose we are and what we are as God sees us and as He tells us in His Word.  The first one we are going to look at is in the book of Matthew in the most famous sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount.  When someone asks you, “Who are you?” what do you tell them?  You tell them your name and you tell them what you do.  You tell them your work history.

But we all know that is not really who we are.  It is just our way of answering the question.  Who we really are can be a complex and dynamic answer but the real answer comes from who God says we are. .  When God says you are someone, then that’s who you are.  And in this popular passage in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says that we are salt and light. 

I have to say that I love to think about being able to have been there and to have seen some of the incredible incidents of the Bible.  I would love to have seen God part the Red Sea or to have seen David kill Goliath.  I would love to have seen Moses come down from the mountain with the 10 Commandments or Daniel walking around and petting the hungry lions in the den.

But I have to say that I would love to have seen and heard Jesus preach this sermon.  He wasn’t much to look at and he didn’t have a microphone and yet He obviously had their complete attention.  Nobody fell asleep or had to leave early, I’m sure.  But preaching radical truth will have that effect on people.

Let’s read a very small passage from that sermon in Matthew 5:13-16 and hopefully we can glean some truth about who we are in God’s eyes.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

If you are taking notes and you like an outline, the 2 main points I have for this are

·         We are to be salt not sugar

·         And we are to be light not shade.

Jesus used 2 common items to describe who we are.  Everybody knew the qualities of salt and light.  There were, no doubt, many fishermen in the audience that day and when they brought their catch in for the day, the first thing they did was put salt on it to keep it from going bad, to preserve it and keep it fresh.  They knew that salt had healing properties and without antibiotics, I’m sure they often used it in that way.

They weren’t too far from the Dead Sea as Jesus preached to them and I’m sure that a lot of their salt came from there.  I have been there and actually swam in the Dead Sea, which was fun, but I saw that there was so much salt that it would wash up on shore and then the wind and the sun would actually leach all the saltiness out of it and this is basically what Jesus was talking about when the salt would lose its saltiness.

I have said many times that everybody wants to know the truth.  Nobody wants to go through life deceived and so deep down they long for the saltiness of truth.  The sad fact, though, is that while they long for the salt, they are attracted to the sugar.  They love to hear about God’s love and patience and forgiveness.  Everybody has a sweet tooth when it comes to God.  They crave the sweetness of having somebody to fall back on when they are in a jam.  When they hit rock bottom from making poor decisions, it’s so sweet to know that God will save them.

And while that is true; God will save and forgive; there is a time and place for the sweetness.  Have you ever mixed up salt and sugar?  Have you ever put salt in your coffee or sugar on your popcorn?  It’s awful.  It’s just wrong.  It ruins the whole thing.  And while there is nothing wrong with a little sugar used in the right way, Jesus is encouraging us to be salt even when people wish we were sugar.

Salt is the truth that keeps this world from going bad and preserves it from corruption.  Salt is used as truth to cure and heal and is what is needed in this sin-sick world that is dying with festering and putrid wounds of sin.  The world is dying in their sin and the only thing they want from the doctor is a lollipop.

When Jesus says we are to be salt, He is saying that we are to be the medicine that saves by speaking the truth that saves.  The truth is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father except through Him.  And when the world hears that they say, “Oh, that’s just too salty.  I need a little sugar with that.”  And then they go find someone who will sweeten that truth to the point that all the truth is leached out of it.

2 Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”  Do you think that’s true?  Do you think we are in that time?  Let me give you some proof that we are in the time of people gathering teachers around them to sugar up the truth of the Gospel until it is not good for anything.

I actually had another illustration in mind but this was put on my desk just this week.  It is an article out of the Star-Telegram from Monday, June 3.  In it the new pope, Pope Francis is quoted.  Now, it’s no big secret that I’m not a big fan of the new pope.  For starters, I was pretty disappointed that I was not elected to be the first Baptist pope.  I think I could have done well.  But also, what kind of name is Francis for a guy, even a pope?

I even had a name picked out had I been elected pope.  I would have called myself Pope Hank.  That’s a good, solid name, one that can be appreciated by the common man.  Anyhow, if I had been elected you would not have read this about Pope Hank:  Pope Francis made headlines for saying that all people are redeemed by Christ, whether they’re Catholics or even nonbelievers.  If someone says they are an atheist, the pope was quoted as saying, “Do good and we’ll meet there.”  He said, “The Lord has redeemed all of us…all of us, not just Catholics.”

How’s that for not putting up with sound doctrine and saying what itching ears want to hear?  How’s that for sugar?  There’s so much sugar there that not only did I get diabetes just reading it, but it has sweetened up the Gospel until the Gospel is good for nothing.  In fact, if what he says were true, then not only is the Gospel of Jesus worthless but the suffering of Jesus on the cross was worthless and the pope’s job is worthless as well.

Nowhere does Jesus tell us to be sugar.  Jesus wasn’t sugar.  He never glossed over things to make his teachings appealing.  He told the rich young ruler that the man couldn’t get into Heaven and love the world.  He told the woman about to be stoned to go and sin no more.  He told His disciples that in following Him they may not even have a place to lay their heads.  The Gospel is sweet and wonderful on its own.  Don’t sacrifice truth for attraction.

Now, the only thing worse than not having enough salt is too much salt.  Have you ever for some reason gotten a mouth full of salt?  Don’t use this as an excuse to be harsh and caustic.  Colossians 4:6 tells us to let our conversations always be full of grace.  But even then it says that our conversations should be “seasoned with salt”.

In the next verse in our passage this morning, verse 14, Jesus tells us we are the light of the world.  I would imagine that to be told that was quite a shock for them.  They were simple fishermen and shopkeepers, housewives and workers.  How were they supposed to be light?  And not only light but light to the whole world!  And while they were probably astonished by it, I think most of the time we just don’t believe it.

WA Criswell said, “It just never occurs to us to believe that God’s people are the light of the world. For to us, we have unconsciously become persuaded that reason is the light of the world; enlightened self-interest is the light of the world, science is the light of the world, ingenuity and human inventiveness is the light of the world, but not God’s people. They are not the light of the world. But the Lord said so, “Ye are the light of the world.”

And Jesus clarifies what it means to be the light of the world.  The light is our good works.  In verse 16 He tells us to let our lights shine before men that they will see our good works and (not give us glory) but praise our Father in Heaven.  And how is it that when we do good works that God will get glory?  How is it that people will see what we do and know that we are Jesus-followers? 

 

Jesus tells us the answer to that in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  When we do good deeds and show that we love each other by doing good to people who hate us and showing love to people who can’t pay us back then we will stand out from the rest of the world.  It’s not uncommon for unbelievers to do good in this world but it is uncommon for them to do good with no hope of being paid back or getting something out of it.

And so the problem is that most of us are not really standing out from the world.  Oh, we’re not evil.  We aren’t darkness necessarily.  We are more like shade.  When people see us they see that we are good people.  They feel comfortable around us and like to be around us and that’s good.  And sometimes there is a break in our leaves and some light actually falls on them but most of the time we just allow them to be whoever they want to be and we will shield them from the light and the truth because we don’t want to offend them. 

And they don’t ever feel the warmth of the light but they don’t get the coldness of the darkness from us either.  And in doing so it’s hard to tell us from them.  God has a subtle little word for people who are like that.  The original Greek word is “Blech!”  In Revelation 3:16, God says, “So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” 

And just like the salt that has lost its saltiness and is good for nothing, if you settle for being shade instead of light, God wants to have nothing to do with you.  There is all the difference in the world between believers and non-believers and it should be obvious.  Everything Jesus taught was counter-cultural.  The first will be last and last first.  If you want to have riches, give them away.  If you are feeling bad, do something good for somebody else.  All of that goes against the grain of the world and so it should be obvious to people when they are around us that something is very different. 

John Stott says, “Probably the greatest tragedy of the church throughout its long and chequered history has been its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture.”  Do you know what the prevailing culture thinks about church most of the time?  They’re ok with it.  It’s not hurting anything.  They can do their thing as long as they don’t bother me.  That’s what they think.  They even like to come every so often and enjoy the shade.

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be that kind of church.  I don’t want to be that kind of believer.  I want when people see us for them to shield their eyes because they see our selfless good works and can’t help but see the glory of God.  I want them to feel the sting of the salt as it heals their wounds.  If it doesn’t then it’s not healing their sin-sickness.  We aren’t called to be sugar or shade.  We are called to be salt and light.  God calls us salt and light and when we see ourselves as He sees us, it changes our perspective.  And when we have the right perspective, it changes how we make choices.

Ask God what choices He wants you to make today.