STEPPING UP…THE JOY OF HOLY
LIVING
As strange and inconsistent as it may be, people generally
do not like change—but they welcome improvement and growth! Now we know that we can neither improve nor
grow unless we change, but somehow the latter two are appealing while the
prospect of undergoing change can be threatening.
In marriage,
both husbands and wives shy away from suggestions that they need to
change. In fact, a lot of them enter
into the marriage with the idea that their spouse is a challenging renovation
project—“God you love them and I will change them!” seems to be the prevailing
idea!
But while I might be reluctant to
efforts by anyone to change me, if given the opportunity to improve, I am
usually open to that idea. As a father,
I always want to do a better job. As a
pastor, I am constantly looking for ways to get better at what I am called to
do. As an athlete or musician, there is
always room for improvement!
After all, we have come to
understand that just about anything in this world can stand some
improvement. We constantly find products
advertising that they are “new and improved” as they commend themselves for
sale.
In order to improve, or get better,
however, we realize right away that we are going to have to “step it up” a
notch or two beyond what our current level of commitment is. The challenge of growing and improving
requires a willingness to “step up to the plate” with a greater determination,
a deeper investment, an increased commitment.
THESIS: In order to grow in the joy of the Lord, we
must step up the level of our pursuit of Christ and our commitment to a new
dynamic in our spiritual lives.
When we accept the invitation to respond
to and receive the gift of new life in Jesus Christ, our journey has just
begun. The idea that there are first
class Christians and second class Christians arises from the vast difference
that we have allowed to develop between those who appear to be serious in their
pursuit of the Lord and those who seem to be satisfied with nothing more than
an initial salvation experience and the occasional token effort to acknowledge
God.
Passionate engagement in the pursuit of
holiness has become rare. Wholehearted
devotion to the growth of a dynamic spiritual life has been pushed away as such
a lofty ideal that few even try to cultivate it.
What would it take for us to set our
sights on such a noble pursuit? What
would need to take place among us for the reality of spiritual awakening and
vitality to become our consuming passion here?
1. Acknowledge that we are not where God wants
us to be and ask Him to build up an insatiable desire for that to be remedied.
2. Ask Him to show us what presently stands in
the way of a genuine spiritual awakening.
3. Allow the Spirit to lead us to see and know
more than we ever have of the gracious goodness and bountiful love of the Lord.
4. Accept a new definition of ‘normal’ when we
think of what it means to live the normal Christian life.
In Hebrews 12, the Lord outlines a plan
and a pattern which can lead the way to spiritual renewal and personal
rejuvenation in our walk with the Lord.
What can easily degenerate into a mere formula for following the rules
of faith is turned upside down when we see what we can experience of the joy
set before us.
· The
Struggle against Persistent Sin
· The
Share in Personal Discipline
· The
Strength of Productive Lives
Over the next four messages, we want to
explore these together in an effort to allow the Lord to change the way we
think about the new life we have in Jesus Christ. Having a tendency to settle in to a
comfortable, bland, “no surprises/low expectations” brand of faith can effectively
quench the work of the Spirit in our lives.
We all need to be willing and ready to step up to a new level of living
with a sense of amazement and awe at the wonder of new life in the power of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I. GOING BEYOND TRADITION AND CONDITIONING
--In
order to break out of the pack and step up to something more, we have to
recognize that we are caught, perhaps even trapped, by influences that prevent
us from embracing the fullness of joy that God has for us in Christ.
--Like
it or not, we have been conditioned to respond to Christ according to certain
models considered acceptable in the circle of the faithful ones with whom we
associate most regularly.
--Much
of our response to His calling in our lives has been shaped more by our
environment than by our theology, more by our observation of others than by our
focus on Christ.
A. MODELED AFTER A MULTITUDE OF WITNESSES
Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so
easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us,
--After
reviewing the extraordinary faith of scores of believers in Hebrews 11, the
author now offers a challenge to us—follow their lead!
--They
showed us how to follow the Lord by faith and to walk before the Lord in a
manner worthy of those who serve a holy God…by living lives of purity and
holiness with joy!
--The
commitment level of most of those saints listed in the previous chapter, this
“so great a cloud of witnesses,” would generate quite a bit of discomfort among
us should they happen to come join us in ministry here in our tame, carefully
orchestrated and controlled version of faith as we practice it at this point in
the history of the church.
B. INHIBITED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF EXPERIENCE
--Instead
of relying on the biblical accounts of lives “endued with power from on high,”
many modern believers place limitations on their faith—usually unintentionally
and subconsciously, but they inhibit the work of the Lord in their lives
nonetheless.
--Following
the models of faith involves stepping up
to a new way of approaching our walk with Christ that seems to be too broad and
high a step for many Christians.
--What
seems to be holding us back is described in the passage:
Heb. 12:1 …let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so
easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us,
--Lest
we conclude that those before us did not struggle with the same issues, the
author says “let us also” indicating that we are to join them in laying aside those
difficulties as we step up to our calling.
--Two
inhibiting influences are mentioned, two factors which limit our enjoyment of
the kind of life of joyful faith and personal holiness experienced by the
faithful ones who have gone on before us.
--We
are told to “lay them aside” if we intend to move ahead in holiness and enter
into the joy of the Lord.
apothemenoi--The
word picture is one of throwing off, stripping away, or taking off clothes,
like the runners in the Greek arena preparing to race would take off all but
the essentials so that they would not be hindered by excess clothing as they
ran (cf. Col 3:8)…they would also train their bodies to remove excess body
weight which would slow them down.
--Related
to running the race of faith, we cannot carry additional weight and expect to
run freely, with complete liberty to race toward the prize.
--The
text tells us to “lay aside” two limiting, restrictive, inhibitors that hold us
back, keep us from “stepping up” to the challenge of a vital, dynamic walk with
Christ: encumbrances (weights) and sin
(unbelief).
1. Laying aside the encumbrances
--There
are always a wide variety of encumbrances that need to be laid aside in our
lives—laziness, misplaced priorities, bad attitudes, pride, selfish ambition,
to mention but a few.
--However,
there are a couple of weights we seem to carry with us that impede our progress
in a way that restricts the freedom in Christ that could lead us to a holy joy
that too few of us ever experience.
--They
hold us back in many ways but most obviously in our worship and in our response
to the lordship of Christ and His right to reign over every area of our lives:
· How
we have been shaped by tradition
· How
we have been conditioned by
experience
a. Tradition Weighs Us Down
uIn
Worship – Tradition often weighs us down with expectations and
assumptions about what is and is not acceptable in both the content of worship and the behavior of the worshiper.
--Much
confusion about theology in worship has nothing to do with what we believe and
more to do about what we have learned is appropriate by observing and mimicking
the traditions of our fellow worshipers (at least those we most respect and
want to imitate).
Over
the years, I have often marveled at the wide range of what constitutes
acceptable expression in worship. Seldom
is the issue one of theological or biblical conviction—but one shaped by the
particular tradition of the group.
Three of the most obvious differences
in worship expressiveness are seen in verbal responsiveness (amens, interaction
with the preacher, etc.), raising of hands, and altar calls (public
invitations).
In each case, the tradition most
deeply influential in your past experience, or most respected experience, will
determine what you expect. Anything less
than that or more than that is considered suspect!
The difference between worship at
youth camp or in the college class with that in the morning worship time here
is dramatic. Even if you wanted to raise
your hands, or speak aloud in agreement or affirmation, or rise from your seat
and come take your place on your knees at the front steps of the worship center
during the close of the service…your tradition has so shaped your idea of what
is right to do that you become uncomfortable when something different happens.
Ours is a culture where “coming
forward” seems out of place for some unknown reason—a tradition that developed,
but was never taught or commended!
Raising hands is considered normal and expected among the younger
generation yet seen as out of the ordinary or as a sign of a distinctive,
extreme ecclesiological and theological persuasion. Vocal worship, once a staple of ‘old time
religion’ has now been relegated to more ethnic flavors of worship and viewed
with either amusement or exasperation by the silent majority.
uIn
His Right to Reign – Tradition tells us where His reign
stops and our rights begin in the way we learn what we should do about keeping
a Sabbath, how closely we should keep a rein on our tongues, how seriously we
should take our marriage vows , how generously we need to give tithes and
offerings, how boldly we are supposed to share the gospel with others, and so
on.
--Somewhere
in our background in previous experiences with churches, we learned from the
cultures what the norm should be, and what they considered “going too far.”
Regular
church attendance (once a month is regular?), dropping a few bucks in the
offering, and occasionally taking a turn in the nursery or as a helper
somewhere seems quite enough for some.
But when we find that others are stepping up to pursue the Lord with
vigor and passion, going and doing and being at a pace far beyond the
traditional levels of involvement poses a threat to those who see faith as a
sidebar to life instead of the core of their existence. Anything beyond that borders on fanaticism
when the norm has placed the bar so low that it can be hurdled with no effort
at al
b. Conditioning Holds Us Back
--We
have been conditioned by our traditions, our behavior shaped by our
observations, our training confined to our particular church culture.
--Instead
of being conditioned to respond with abandon to whatever God wants, we have
been conditioned to hold back lest what God wants leads to embarrassment!
Like
Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to salivate at the ringing of a bell in
anticipation of the food that followed the sound, many modern worshipers have
been conditioned to respond within a certain range of acceptability, of
dignity, of what is deemed appropriate within the culture of a particular kind
of church.
--What
would happen in our lives if we were able to lay aside the weight of tradition,
the heavy load of the way we have been conditioned to respond to the Lord?
--If
we are going to pattern our lives after any model, or to allow our spiritual
lives to be shaped by any tradition, or to liberate our hearts to respond
without any restrictive conditioning—what would happen?
Note: This is no appeal for a radical abandonment
of reverence and propriety! Not at
all! But there is so much more room for
God to work in us through the release of the Spirit that we have little to
worry about in “going too far” without finding that He will rein us in long
before things get out of hand.
What would be wrong with seeing
people respond to the Lord’s leading in their lives with joy and holy
living? Why should we not learn to
listen to and follow the voice of the Lord without being afraid of violating
the “traditions of men learned by rote?”
2. Laying aside the sin
--He
speaks here of ‘sin’ in the singular, which following the chapter on faith and
belief, is the sin of unbelief.
--We
will go into that more fully in the next message as we treat the problem of sin
as a deterrent to the joy of holy living.
C. FOCUSED ON THE PRIZE OF CHRIST
--Unless
there is something compelling us to leave the security of our self-imposed
limitations and personal inhibitions, we will not be inclined in the least to
step up our commitment to go all out—and that is true for anything!
--If
all we are talking about is religious preferences and personality differences,
then there is no big deal…we have no reason to re-think the way we approach our
faith.
--But
if we are talking about loving the Lord our God with all our heart, all our
mind, all our strength and all our soul, then we need to review what that might
mean relative to what it means to us now.
--One
of two things is true: either I am in
control of the way I respond to Christ, or He is in control of what He asks and
expects of me.
--The
motivating force behind any desire I might have to reconsider how I respond
when I come to the Lord is how well I see Him and how deeply I am moved by what
I see!
Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who
for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
--If
He is just another religious leader, then my heart can remain unmoved, my eyes
can remain dry, my affections can remain untouched, and my response can remain
cool and indifferent.
--However,
if I see that Jesus Christ is truly the King of glory, the Lord of lords, the
Creator, Redeemer, “the author and perfecter of faith,” then I cannot help but
respond with all that I am to all that He is!
--He
who is holy, and worthy of my complete and total devotion, has called each one
of us to a life transformed by His grace…from being unclean and unworthy, to
being pure and holy through the power He has to change us from the inside out.
You may not be thinking about making any changes in your
Christian life these days—at least not enough to step up and do anything about
it!
However, you may recognize that there is
room for significant improvement. And to
improve, to move in a positive direction, you are going to have to re-think how
you are approaching your life with Christ.
If you are going to have to step it up a notch or two, when do you
intend to do so? If you realize that all
is not as it should be, are you willing to ask the Lord to show you where you
can start?
It may be a simple first step…sitting
closer to the front so you are not so distracted in worship…making a commitment
to more consistency in getting up for your morning time of prayer and reading
of God’s Word.
For others it may mean a very
uncomfortable change…a move to do something you said you would never do but now
realize God wants you to do.
In
worship…Could it be you need to open wide your mouth and sing the hymns of
praise which celebrate the greatness of Christ?
Could it be that you promised yourself that you would never be as
expressive as some people and the Lord has now shown you that He wants you to
step up…or that you have always been very expressive and now He has shown you
that He wants you to rein it in!
Could it be that you have never publicly
confessed your faith in Christ and public invitations have always found you
clinging with white knuckles to the chairs in front of you?
In
surrender to His Lordship…Could it be that you are going to have to step up
to the plate and explain the gospel to someone?
Could it be that you are going to have to change the way you spend so
that you can obey Christ regarding what He has trusted you with? Could it be
that you have known for some time that you are going to have to turn away from
some sin which has always seemed to get the best of you?
Today, if you want to enter into the joy
of holy living for the glory of Christ, I am convinced that the Lord would have
all of us step it up, laying aside whatever is holding us back. It is time to move out…we have been waiting
too long, sitting back in complacency with the spiritual status quo and the
Lord stands at the end of the race calling us, cheering us on, shouting encouragement,
challenging us to give it all we’ve got.
How can we not run the race with
everything we’ve got when Jesus Christ Himself waits for us as the prize of
surpassing value and infinite worth?
July 17, 2005
Providence Baptist Church
©
David Horner 2005
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