Cornerstonekaty

Genesis 6-8 Selected verses

In the story of Noah's faithfulness at the end of the world we see the faithfulness and power of our covenant God, who is at work today in his church to gather a people for himself from all nations.

Psalm 96

Last week we started a series on discipleship. We’re looking at this because every Christian is on this road. Where is this road leading? It’s leading to the land of promise. That’s how we defined the gospel last week. The gospel is the good news that God has come to his people 

1. to set them free from their enslavement to the false gods of the world, 
2. bring them into a relationship with himself, and 
3. prepare them for the land of promise. 

We can also say it like this: God loves you just as you are, but his love won’t leave you just as you are. Why not? Because you are not yet ready for this land of promise. We have to come to grips with this perspective of the gospel or the New Testament is reduced to helpful, though not necessary information.  So if we are being prepared for the land of promise, what has to change in you? Lots of things! 

There is a tendency to describe these things in terms of behavior. After all, there is a lot of instruction on how you are to live. We talked about some of those as examples last week. In the sermon on the mount Jesus teaches an ethic that associates calling your brother a fool with murder, lustful looks at a women as adultery. These are behavioral changes that our preparation for the land of promise must bring about. 

If these are going to change, what’s has to change in us? Is it simply more resolve? Are we short of will power? Are we lacking motivation? Self-help books can help you with all of these. However, Paul tried them and they didn’t work. This is his story in Romans chapter 7. So, what has to change in us? I don’t think its a matter of will power. I think it is a matter of desire. Aren’t we, in the end, driven by our desires? 

We we are to be prepared for this land of promise, he doesn’t start with a change of our behavior. He starts with a change of our desires. It is why the New Covenant promise was for a new heart, and it is why we find so much in the New Testament around this idea of being a new creation. Paul explains, you were taughtEphesians 4:22–24ESV

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

If we are to put on this new self—the one that is being prepared for this land of promise—then it begins with a renewal of the mind and a breaking free from our enslavement to deceitful desires. 

Imagine coming here this morning to play the guitar and find that the strings have become out of tune. That happens a lot. If you pay attention you’ve seen Jeremy turning to tune his strings (or even change them) to make sure they are playing true. We must do this with our desires.

This begins with worship. Whether we realize it or not, worship is something we naturally do. We just don’t necessarily worship God. 

Let me explain. When I went to the Grand Canyon as a child, I remember leaning against the rail of a lookout that gave you sweeping views to the North and the South. It was a breathtaking sight. It is not something you can snap a photo of and just leave. You must give it a moment to take it all in, to wrap your mind around how deep it is; how spectacular it is; how grand it is. That’s called worship (with a little “w”). We can’t help but give “worth” to that which we see is so grand before us. And it leaves a lasting impression. I was 12 years old when I saw it and I still remember it to this day. 

Three ways we renew our minds and retune our worship to the Lord. We sing, we ascribe, and declare. 

 

Romans 1:16-17

You are here this morning hoping to hear good news. I have good news for you. You’re going to hear good news. That’s what the word “gospel” means, which is our particular focus this morning.

But let’s take a step back for a moment and talk about the relative nature of good news. It is relative. News effects people differently. For example, if I was the one to tell you that the Texans were favored to win the superbowl this year (which I’m not), many of you would consider that good news. But not all of you. Some of you don’t like the Texans. If you were a fan of the Cowboys, my news would be bad. Some of you don’t care at all about football, so the news is indifferent and you would tune out what I had to say about it.

When it comes to the gospel, people have the same reaction. To some, it is the greatest news in the world and they eat and breathe by it everyday. Others, however, may hear it as terrifying news. And still others may have no to little interest about it.

While it is unlikely any of you hear it as terrifying (you would have stayed at home), I would be willing to bet that some of you are indifferent. You get the concept that it is good, but it doesn’t really grip you and so, more than likely, you’ll tune out at some point this morning. Maybe you already have. To you, especially, I ask:

What do you want God to do in your life?

What is God doing now in your life?

What has God done in the past in your life?

These are questions that you ought to be asking on a regular basis, if not everyday. Why? Because you should have great expectations for God to work in your life.

Why? Because the gospel is the power of God for salvation. If that doesn’t grip you like news of the Texans prospects for the superbowl (assuming they have any), then we need to see it from the right perspective.

Revelation 3:1-6

It is a tale that is all too familiar: A new rescue station is built on a dangerous mountain. A new seminary is founded. A new community center is constructed. A new charity comes on the scene. A new nation emerges from the fires of revolution. A new church is planted; usually these new ventures begin with great hopes and a clear, passionate purpose to save, teach, support, aid, liberate, worship. They tend to exist in their proper state long enough to grow in their influence, gain a reputation of great value and prestige, but as the attention grows, so does the pressure from the world around them; Investors come with lofty promises of better experiences, and over time, the original purpose is slowly forgotten and forsaken, as if those who founded it have slipped into a coma, ignoring the slow decay. The rescue station becomes a ski resort. The seminary becomes a secular college that spurns the idea of God. The community center becomes a trade hub for drugs. The charity pays out more to its CEO than it does to those in need. The nation that once loved freedom falls into the very tyranny it fought to be freed from… The church plant becomes… Well, we’ll come back to that.

All too often, the few left in the organization, nation, or church, etc, who still remember the original purpose take action far too late. They are eventually forced to conform, or forced to leave. Often choosing the latter, they found a new seminary, start a new charity, fight for a new nation, plant a new church, maybe a new denomination…. and the cycle continues. This is the risk being faced by the church of Sardis. If it were not but for a few remaining individuals, a few small signs of life, this church would be completely dead. But as it were, there is still a chance to break the cycle, a chance to come out of the coma, and return to the former state of life it once had. Now, what can we possibly learn from Sardis? Stay awake and stay alive. How do we do this? I’ll present 3 headings 1. Learn to recognize when the church is in a coma. 2. Wake up if you are “dead”. 3. Experience the rewards of being awake.

Ezekiel 40-48

Ezekiel 43:1-9, 47:1-12.

In 1941 CS Lewis gave one of his most famous sermons entitled, “The Weight of Glory.” In that sermon he challenges the Christian’s pursuit of God. Most of us, it would seem, are far too apathetic in our faith. We make too many compromises with it and approach it with such a measure of casualness that one who observed you might wonder why you believe at all, as it makes so little difference in your life. What about you? Would your neighbor say of you, “wow, he really believes in something more” or would he have no idea you believe anything different from him.

The resurrection of Jesus should mean something to you so powerful that it upends everything about your life. It should turn it upside down. And if it doesn’t, you ought to be asking, “what do I really believe about it?”

In his sermon Lewis wrote this famous line,

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

His point was that if a Christian really knew what the resurrection was about, then his life would look radically different because his desires would be radically changed.

The world says you ought to pursue a good career with good pay and you will be happy. The world says sign your kids up for sports and extra curricular activity because that will put them on the path to success. The world says join a gym, eat healthy and get shredded and people will admire you. Jesus says, “take up your cross and follow me.” Which seems the better option?

As Christians we say we should take up our cross and follow Jesus, but it is often the promise of these other things that drive our decisions. Why is that?

We get caught up on the “take up your cross” part of Jesus’ teaching. We remember the story of Jesus and see that those who followed Jesus, his disciples, did that and suffered for it, just as Jesus did. No wonder what we do doesn’t match what we say we believe.

This morning I want to turn things upside down for you. I want to show you the other side of that statement. Yes, we take up our cross, but we do it that we might “follow Jesus.” Jesus didn’t end on the cross. Not at all. The cross was cosmically important, but it was just a stop on the way to something greater. And we forget that. If we really understood there was something greater, then taking up your cross would be a piece of cake.

Take up your cross, and follow Jesus because it leads to resurrected life.

Ezekiel gives us a vision of what is so great about life promised by the resurrection.

Ezekiel 38-39

This week is often called Holy Week. This week we remember the final week of Jesus some 2000 years ago beginning with his triumphal entry on a donkey end ending with his resurrection. In between was a whirlwind of events that led to his arrest, trial, beating, crucifixion, and finally resurrection. If you had been one of Jesus’ disciples during that week, you would have been through the gamut of emotional ups and downs. The good news is that the week ends with the resurrection, the highest of notes. What is the lesson of holy week? One important lesson is simply this: getting to the resurrection is not easy. It was a hard road for Jesus. The gospels make that clear. If it was a hard road for Jesus, it is a hard road for you. I’m not talking about just this week. I’m talking about your life on this earth. It is and will be filled with difficulties, some of which will try and drive you to despair. 

It helps knowing the resurrection is coming. That can keep you going. We will look at resurrection life next week on Easter. This morning, instead, we will learn some things about the enemies that make this road so hard. 

What do we learn about God’s enemies? They will have their day and then the end will come. They will be no more. On that day God will have his final victory and that road, once filled with despair, will end.

Ezekiel 36:16-28

When you’re growing up, there are some things you simply don’t want your parents to know. For example, you don’t want to tell them about embarrassing things that happen in junior high. The last thing you want is for your parent to make things worse by going down to the school and trying to make things right. They may have good intentions, but you know their mere presence will make things worse. You don’t want to tell them about that party you went to when bad things took place. You can fill in the blank as to your own set of “bad things.” You don’t want them to know because 1) you don’t want to get into trouble, and 2) you don’t want them to have a worse opinion of you than they might already. As kids, we like to maintain that idea that our parents see us as angels for as long as we can.

Of course, parents know a lot more than you think they know. We’re not as good at hiding things as we think we are. That’s true of God, our heavenly father, too. Of course he knows more than we think he knows. He knows it all. And yet, those same fears are there. We don’t want to get in trouble, that is punished, and we don’t want God to have a bad view of us.

While there is, justifiably, some overlap in our view of our parents to our view of God, they are not the same.

For example, now that I’m a parent, I’ve learned enough about my kids’ bad choices that I’d rather not know the full extent. I’d like to hold onto some measure of ignorance about them. Right? A little ignorance is bliss. But that is not the case with God. He has no limit to what he knows about you and yet, contrary to your fears, he doesn’t pull back from knowing you, no matter how bad your choices have been.

How do I know? Because there is no limit to the lengths he will go to save his children.

Ezekiel 33:10-20

Is there still time to turn to the Lord? Yes! There is! We are called to trust in a gracious and long-suffering God. Even when it seems all is lost, that you’re too far gone, that God couldn’t possibly accept you because of your long history, whether that is a history of shameful living or simply a history of agnosticism toward God, there is still time. We are called to a good and beautiful God.

Ezekiel 28:1-19

When I was young, there were public service announcement commercials that promoted the importance of children having a sense of pride in themselves. According to the PSA, pride was good. I remember it because it conflicted with what I had been taught about pride from the Bible. Pride was bad. There are no shortages of passages that speak of the dangers of pride.

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him… (Proverbs 6:16–17)

The first of which is pride (haughty eyes).

In CS Lewis book, Mere Christianity, he writes about pride as “the great sin”:

There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. The vice I am talking of is Pride… (The Great Sin, Lewis, Mere Christianity)

It struck me, even as a child, that something about our culture’s view of self was out of sync with the Bible’s teaching. I just couldn’t untangle it. Should we or should we not have a sense of pride?

Perhaps the best way to approach it is to define what pride is, what pride seeks, where pride leads, and pride’s solution.

Luke 18:1-8