The Ancient Future Church

Philippians 3:1-11

“Put no confidence in the flesh.”

Yeah right! It is all that matters. At least that is what I have been taught my entire life. Grades matter. Sports matter. Extracurricular activities matter. Honors matter. College matters. All these things are planks in a résumé. They build a pedigree. Those things matter if you want to get ahead.

And Paul says for the Christian they have no value. And he should know. He is not dissing people with a résumé. He can’t. Because his own is without rival. He recites it for us – properly circumcised, Jew, right family, pure blood, understands law, zealous in defense of Judaism and persecutor of its enemies, and finally righteous (without moral blemish). Yikes! Who can compete with that? He is not Alpha male. He is perfect man.

But to Paul the follower of Jesus, all that is refuse or rubbish. Something incomparably greater comes to the believer. Through faith the believer gains a real righteousness from one who has actually lived the law perfectly and the power of the resurrection to transform a life. Through faith one gets to share in suffering which changes the world just as Jesus did. These things matter, now.

What once mattered versus what matters now means we followers of Jesus are inherently downwardly mobile people. We are moving from that which the world values, status, to that which is supreme in the Kingdom, living and suffering for the welfare of others, for the life changing transformation of the world. One cannot pursue both with equal zeal. One set of values must be subordinate to the other.

I had a 19 mile run one day last week in a week of 46 miles. Marathon training is going better than expected. Hooray! And, so what!?

I prayed for my family this morning. I reached out to friend of many years whose circumstances might isolate him and make him incredibly lonely. Now we are getting somewhere.

Philippians 2:1-13

He “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself.’

For those prepared to plumb the depths of the human condition this Lent, this is a good word. Strike that. It is a great word. Rejoice that it comes to us just days before Ash Wednesday.

Why? Because the more we discover about ourselves, the more amazing it is that God in the person of Christ Jesus would come and dwell among us. Self-examination certainly has the power to lead to such discovery. As a newlywed friend once told me, marriage has the ability to reveal just how selfish one is. Well Lent and the ensuing self-examination have the ability to reveal selfishness and a whole lot more.

Let’s start here: “but in humility count others better than yourselves.” Others reflecting fairly upon my teaching would say I am good at proclaiming this. I wonder though how good I am at living it. I am reasonably well-educated (note I didn’t say smart). I have managed to earn 3 degrees over the years. I believe education makes a difference. But how in my mind can I prevent “different” from becoming better? And “equal” I get but “better!” Hmmm.  Pride is the enemy of humility.

And emptying one’s self for the welfare of others is what Jesus did but is that the mind I should have in me? “Yes,” Paul says. How are we to do that? Toby Keith gets me:

I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about meeeeee (me,me,me,me-background singers)
I wanna talk about me (me,me-background singers)

We revert to form. Occasionally we need to make it about us.

Yes Lent and self-examination reveal selfishness and a whole lot more I would rather not admit. Here is the great word for us willing to embrace Lent. There is One who made it about us. Even being equal to God did not prevent him from living and dying for the welfare of others including me. The more I get to know myself, the more amazing that kind of grace becomes.

John 10:31-42

“And many believed in him there.”

Jesus has now retreated across the Jordan where he will remain until Palm Sunday. Many believed there. The belief was inspired by a combination of things, the works/signs/wonders he had performed along with the testimony of John the Baptist. The Baptist performed no miracles but what he had prophesied about the one who would come after him, the one whose sandal the Baptist was not worthy to untie, had come to pass. John’s predictions were spot on.

Contrast that with the response of the Jews. Just before he retreated across the Jordan Jesus had implored the Jews to consider his works. If his works were the works of God his Father then they should believe. Get beyond your hyper-rationalism that talks you out of faith. Forget what I say. Watch what I do. Judge based on that.

The same test if given to us in this day. Amidst all the competing claims about God, his works deserve our attention. They indeed confirm the testimony of the Apostles who have bequeathed our faith to us.

Where is Jesus at work? Everywhere and all the time of course! But let’s look for a moment at the country of Rwanda. In 1994 the country suffered one of the greatest atrocities of all time. A million people were slaughtered in 100 days. Hutus sought systematically to eliminate Tutsi existence. Extermination was the goal. Machetes were the tool of choice.

Today, however, perpetrators and victims of the genocide labor and live side by side. Why? Because the Gospel has been preached! People have come to faith. Some have found their need of forgiveness and repented. Some have been so blessed by grace they have found the ability to forgive. When one encounters such transformation they conclude (rightly) it is not humanly possible so it must be an act of God. As intended from beginning, the Gospel has the ability to reconcile men and women to God and to each other and in Rwanda we have living proof. See it. “And many believed in him there.”

Note: For a short 8 minute introduction to the reconciliation taking place in Rwanda go here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/april-17-2009/rwandan-reconciliation/2708/. For a fuller airing of the work of God and to view a trailer for an award winning documentary go here: http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/. And for those who have witnessed what only God can do, do not neglect to give testimony by commenting here.

John 10:19-30

“And no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”

The grip that Jesus has on us is unparalleled. No one or anything (Romans 8:28-39) can separate us from Him who has laid hold of us. No one. Nothing.

This is incredibly comforting in a world in which life seems to be slipping away. In recent months fortunes have been erased. Values are in flux if not on the way out. Enemies of our nation grow both in number and in strength.

If this was all I knew, I would despair. There would be little reason to get out of bed (not that three boys under four would ever allow me to stay there). It would be life without future, life without hope.

But no one and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. No one and nothing can snatch us out of his hand.

When I was a little boy, I almost drown in Lake Ellen. I came off a slide and walked a few feet from the end and suddenly there was no bottom beneath me. I could swim but I panicked and began flailing about and occasionally slipped beneath the surface. My brother and some cousins were nearby but seemingly unaware of the imminent danger. My father was on shore and saw the predicament. He began sprinting toward me. This caught the attention of the lifeguard who leapt into action and sped by my dad. As I sensed hope and therefore life slipping away, the lifeguard laid hold of me and pulled me from peril.

This is what Jesus has done for us. He has snatched us from peril. The threat is real and imminent. Sin alienates us from God and apart from Jesus it would alienate us forever. We would slip beneath the surface never to be seen again.  But Jesus sprints towards us and lays hold of us. And he grips us with a bond that cannot be broken. He is our lifeguard. And because his grip is so sure, anything that could rob us of life and hope will be defeated.

Then prepare for violence free battle. Go here:

http://manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx

1 John 2:12-17

“Do not love the world or the things in the world . . . the world passes away and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.”

Have you ever pondered the time and energy consumed in maintaining the things we possess, “the things in the world.” Let’s set aside the big item, our home. It makes sense that we maintain that which shelters us from the elements and from would be bad guys. But what about all the other possessions?

I had a pair of golf shoes sitting beside my clubs in the garage. The golf bag mildewed. And the shoes dry rotted. Obviously I don’t play much golf. I did not know of the deterioration until I joined a fraternity golf outing and watched them come apart as I finished 18 holes. I literally tossed them into the trash can as I approached the clubhouse. I walked sock-footed to my car. I did not maintain those things and consequently I had to replace them. Now I take great care with the new things to make sure they are in a climate controlled environment. Ugh!

My library is massive. The weight of the books alone cost me every time I move. I need to buy or build new bookshelves at the moment to even access them. And not a one of them contains something I cannot find on-line. I am sure one day I will get a Kindle (sadly vanity related to appearing to be a relic will probably win out) but there is something about the feel of a book. Anyone agree?

Everything I own must be maintained. Everything I own is insured. And most of our electronics have had some form of extended

The Destiny of Things

warranty. And it is all for naught. Can’t take any of it with me! Ever seen a U-Haul attached to a hearse? None of my possessions have eternal value. I read once the story of man who wanted to impress this reality upon his daughter so he took his daughter to a landfill and said to her “everything we own will end up here one day.” Sad. But true.

Now compare the time and energy necessary to maintain our possessions with the time we spend to maintain that which abides, that which is eternal. God is not anti-possession but He is concerned that we not waste our life maintaining the fleeting but rather invest in things that abide.

Reflect on yesterday and yesterday alone. As a percentage of the day what attention did you give to the relationship that keeps you from ending up like everything else in life, that is keeps you from ending up atop a landfill? “He who does the will of God abides for ever.”

John 9:18-41

“Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

Some of us cannot see. Physically it is not possible. Some of us can see. We are able but don’t. We are blinded, not by physical impediment but by darkness. This is a story about both.

Jesus gives a man who was born blind the ability to see. He can see physically. In the process he comes to see spiritually. “Lord, I believe.” And he worships him.

The Jews, however, can see physically. Their eyes work. But as John would say elsewhere, they are blinded by darkness. How dark the darkness must be for them to see the healing of a blind man as an occasion to attack both the healed and the Healer! In what context does that makes sense? Jealousy makes sense. Where is my healing? But anger and resentment? How dark the darkness must be for the unbelieving to want to remain there! They get it. They understand who Jesus is. But they are not buying. They double down on where they are. Their “guilt remains.”

At times we don’t want to be confronted with truth, with reality. We’ve managed to make the world work for us and don’t want anything to upset the fiction we’ve carved out.

Years ago a blind man made his living by selling pencils on a street corner. Ordinary compassion kept the sales going. An area physician who walked by the man regularly suspected the man’s sight could be restored. He offered the blind man a free exam and confirmed what he suspected. His sight could be restored with a simple operation. He offered to pay for that as well. The man thought about it but in the end said no thanks. He preferred to remain in darkness because he had managed to make that world work for him.

That is how powerful the darkness is. That in spite of seeing the benefits that would come with seeing we choose blindness. We rationalize. My anger works for me. I can use it to control a crowd and make people conform. My lack of compassion works for me. It keeps people from my goods. My philandering works for me. It keeps expectations low. My victimhood works for me. It keeps me from having to be responsible for myself. Darkness prevents us from being confronted by the truth and the change the truth demands. The Light, on the other hand, is all revealing.

Where are we choosing not to walk in the light of day?

1 John 1:1-10

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

A dear woman once remarked in Bible study, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I sin all that much.” She was an iconic figure of the human condition. The Apostle Paul would say she thought more highly of herself than she ought.

At the end of each day most of us can tick off the Big Ten and find ourselves innocent. Even there in my heart of hearts I know the first and/or the last trip me up on a regular basis. What I covet are my other gods. But that is a story for another day.

Most sin, however, is not overt. It is more subtle and reigns supreme in things like lust, gossip, slander, half-truths and what we fail to do. And if you listen to Jesus long enough, you find the biggest sin is one of omission. We haven’t loved as well as we could have. Certainly we have not loved as He loves us, without condition or expectation of anything in return.

Do we have the humility to acknowledge our sin? Some don’t to be sure. Some don’t have the requisite humility to follow Jesus because they can’t follow anyone. They are stuck in thinking more highly of themselves than they ought. Sad. Because God is faithful and just and will forgive what we confess! He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

But forgiveness follows confession. And we can’t confess what we don’t’ have. But if we say we do not have sin, who are we kidding other than ourselves?

Romans 13:1-14

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”

Except when . . .

Civil disobedience is a long-standing biblical and traditional response to tyrannical governments and despots. Daniel would not cease to pray. Peter and John would not cease to proclaim. Governments have a role in restraining the lawless and promoting the right but in no way does Romans 13 suggest we should be subject to ungodly, wicked or simply tyrannical governments.

Not long ago I preached a sermon in which I said that a day was coming when preaching would land this congregation’s preacher in jail. A dear friend was incredulous. Essentially he said, “It cannot happen. Such speech is constitutionally protected.” And so is the free exercise of religion. But nothing prevents, in the near term at least, a branch of government from abandoning constitutional principles. The day has come.

If you are concerned, and in my humble opinion all people of religious conviction should be, about the curbing of religious freedom under this or any other administration, go here for a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and an opportunity to take a stand: http://manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx

Romans 12:9-21

“Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceded.”

Hard to get to this place without what the late John Stott calls the “sober self-image” sown by the Apostle Paul in verses 3 to 8. Indeed it is a great obstacle to mission and acutely so in the circles in which I have lived and traveled. Too often, when the Gospel does its magic and redeems people from all walks of life, a dark side of us is revealed. We prefer people who are like us in terms of clothing, customs, education, income and interests to name a few. It is not a problem unique to the wealthy and affluent but it certainly reigns there.

Ironically churches in recent years have been built upon this darkness in what we call the homogeneous unit principle. We carve out a niche appealing to the tastes of a certain neighborhoods or suburbs or ages (in its first rendition the mega-church reached boomers intentionally and almost exclusively) and consciously or subconsciously we end up affirming those tastes to the exclusion of others and thereby narrow the limits of who is welcome in our particular Body of Christ. We create in the process the “wrong side of the tracks.”

This was not the way of Jesus who was hammered on more than one occasion for the (lowly) company he kept. Tax collectors, fisherman, ultra-nationalists, harlots and the all-encompassing sinners, are, but to name a few, those made a part of his circle.

Any church honoring Jesus is just as diverse, not by diversity training, but by loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is the fruit of that sober self-image. Pastors should resist any temptation to build what is undone by the Gospel itself. If we find success in dividing up the Body, how will we ever be one in Christ? Followers should expect of their church and each other a Gospel humility that never celebrates one class above another among people who are equally sinners and equally redeemed in Christ Jesus.