To Listen: http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw
John 3:3, 30; Phil. 1:6
Who can take a pebble and turn it in to bread? Who can take a desert and turn it into a buffet table filled with manna to sustain you? Who can take a caterpillar and turn it into a butterfly? Who can take water and turn it into wine? Of course you know, we are talking about the creator God of the universe, the ultimate transformer, who can change anything that exists, into anything else he wants it to be. And for those of you who may have ever watched a Transformer movie that was not real transformation the way God does it. Those mechanical giants just rearrange their existing mechanical parts. And it’s just for camouflage anyway, to blend in with the environment. It is not about real inner transformation at all. But Christianity is about real inner transformation.
People try to change themselves. Sometimes it’s just a new hair style. Sometimes it’s a new job. Sometimes they try to break a bad habit like smoking or start a good one like fitness. New Year’s resolutions are all about the kinds of changes people think will make their lives better, if they can just keep the resolutions. People try to change themselves and sometimes with a lot of hard work and determination there is success. But more often, there is disappointment and failure. And even in cases where there is great success as in sports or business the rewards or trophies turn out be empty and shallow, a whole ‘nother kind of disappointment that makes all the effort of getting there seem wasted.
Jesus talked about real inner transformation when he said, in John 3:3, “You must be born again.” Paul said it this way, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That’s 2 Cor. 5:17. That speaks of a completely new creation, a total transformation from death to life. You may not look any different at all on the outside, but on the inside, you are a new person! Transferred from death to life!
How does someone become born again? It is not by placing your faith in Jesus. Placing your faith in Jesus is not how you get saved. No, salvation has already been offered up on the cross of Christ, but it becomes real in your life and transforms you when you acknowledge the salvation that Christ has worked out for you to be forgiven of your sins. You do have to trust in Jesus and have faith in him but that is not what saves you. Jesus saves you! Jesus paid it all. Jesus has already done everything that is necessary for your salvation. Your faith is only recognizing what Jesus has already done for you.
God’s love is revealed to us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross in our place where we should be because of our sins. Anyone who doesn’t believe that and recognize their need of it is eternally lost. Hell is just as real as Heaven! Real people will spend eternity either in heaven or hell and it all depends upon what you believe about Jesus. Faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved from hell. Jesus makes this very clear in our text for today. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
A person becomes born again when they realize and believe in what Jesus Christ has done for each and all of us on the cross. Now stop and think a minute. Is that what you believe? If so will you now commit to being a follower of Jesus, lovingly obedient to all he asks of you from here on out? If you said yes to that years ago, or just now, you are a child of God and we rejoice with you in so great salvation. Then from that dawning awareness of all that Christ has done, springs of living water gush forth with praise and thanksgiving. These are the only right response to the amazing grace of God. And just in case there happens to be anyone here today who just started getting it, who just now really believes it and desires to live a new life in Christ, please seek me out to confirm that, to pray with you and to give thanks for your new faith. You have a great life ahead of you, not an easy one, but a wonderful one!
The righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer by faith in what Jesus has done for us is what saves and transforms a soul into a child of God. Romans 12:1-2 requires us to continually be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we offer ourselves in spiritual worship. Each one if you is expected to cooperate with this plan. You are expected to learn and grow as a disciple by continuing to pay attention to what Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is doing and wants to do in your life. And that goes for me too!
So, to the first point of assessment with regards to a life transforming walk with Jesus, do we teach our people how to be attentive to Christ in all circumstances? I am sure we regularly preach and teach that we should be attentive to Jesus but the question here is, do we teach people how to. How are you to be attentive to Jesus Christ? Interestingly there are relatively few Scripture passages that teach methods of paying attention, but plenty of them make repeated recommendations such as; learn the Word; read the Word; memorize it; and talk about it at every opportunity. Your salvation happens in an instant. Your life transforming walk with Jesus is the discipleship and sanctification process you engage in for the rest of your life.
You don’t just get saved, check that off your bucket list, and go and look for the next thing you want to accomplish. No, now Christ wants to accomplish something of great significance in you. You and he work out your salvation and discover how a relationship with Jesus transforms the entire rest of your life, over and over again. To accomplish this you must spend time with him in his word. Read the Word. Pray the Scriptures. This cannot be emphasized enough. Learn to listen to what God is saying to you through his written word, not just an unchecked inner voice. Learn to enjoy your prayer times. Learn a variety of ways to pray until you find what works for you and continue to employ various styles and techniques over time so that you keep growing.
Has this ministry adequately emphasized and encouraged these habits? We did hold a prayer seminar here back in May. Some of our people attended. One of the things we experienced is that there are many kinds of prayer practices. I would like to stop and ask any of you who were at the prayer seminar; has it made a lasting difference? Did you learn anything that stayed with you and helped you to be or become more attentive to Christ? Can I get any testimony?
For the rest, if you didn’t attend, why not? Are you already fully attentive to Jesus and have no need of help or encouragement? At any rate, one lasting change that came from the prayer seminar is the way we do our pastoral/congregational prayer time after the sermon. Is there anybody here today who was not at the prayer seminar who does appreciate this new way of praying that we are practicing? Can you comment on it?
The next point of assessment on the survey is, “Do our people understand the radical nature of the message and mission of Jesus that continually deconstructs and reconstructs a person’s life?” Radical means at the root of all things. For example, Nicodemus was really taken aback by Jesus’ radical notions. And Jesus for his part, acted as if he was surprised that Nicodemus had this reaction. When Jesus said, “You are Israel’s teacher and you do not understand these things?” Jesus implied that Nicodemus should have been able to understand what Jesus was talking about.
One reasonable explanation for why Nicodemus didn’t get it is that he was a traditionalist. He certainly was a religious man devoted to his understanding of what it means to worship God. But his understanding of spiritual things was limited to what had always been. He was not very open to new ways of looking at things. We do tend to get set in our ways. I wonder how many modern church goers who have been around churches for more than a decade or two have become a lot like Nicodemus and grow resistant to any kind of change, even if it were Jesus bringing it about?
Has this ministry adequately and repeatedly taught and demonstrated that when we let Jesus be in charge he may ask us to do new things and unexpected things? Jesus is far more creative than we are. Jesus is far more responsive to the people we are trying to reach than we are. When we are paying attention to him and living by faith he is going to ask us to do things that are unusual and may make us feel uncomfortable. Of course this meets with resistance. People need to be convinced that such unusual efforts and new ideas are worth the risk and investment. But if we are faithful to obey, the reward is fruitfulness, new believers, new disciples to teach, and ultimately, new members in the body of Christ to carry on the mission to the following generations.
The final point of assessment is, are our people equipped and growing in their ability to use a variety of spiritual growth resources, experiences, and settings? But perhaps a more important question for you to consider at this point is, would you attend if such things were offered? Historically, attendance of seminars and teachings outside of Sunday worship has been disappointing. But today, I am very much encouraged that the answer is probably “yes” now, because you have, in fact, approved of our participation in the Navigate process. But I hasten to point out once more that the success of Navigate will not be determined by our participation, but rather by your participation. You may have voted yes in the meeting, but I want to invite you in this very moment to think again about how seriously you meant it. Let each one determine it in his or her heart. Would you commit to a statement like, “I will do my best to care about the future of this church by caring about the Navigate process and participating in every aspect of it as far as I am able.”
Now I am going to share something really radical that I believe the Lord has been showing me recently. I know that many Christians believe that Sunday worship services are supposed to be evangelistic. We invite people to church so that they will hear a good gospel message and make a decision to believe in Jesus. I have preached the gospel. I have offered invitations. But when is the last time that kind of worship service, a presentation of the gospel and an altar call, actually worked to produce a new believer in this building?
The lack of effectiveness in that regard has led me to re-evaluate the very purpose of our worship services. I believe I have found a truly biblical understanding of worship. But I am depending upon you to check up on me. For now let me tell you what I believe about church for today. Our church services that happen in this building are really supposed to be about training the believers to be better disciples. Worship is what we, as the body of Christ, offer to God in gratitude for all that he has done in our lives. Worship is not specifically about getting seekers to make decisions. It is about offering ourselves in humble obedience to the God we love. It is about getting believers to make decisions about being more committed to the work and learning ways that they can do it.
Now let me quickly say that this will not result in worship services that are so inward focused that they are seeker unfriendly. I believe that if seekers attend our services and see us truly being the church and eagerly absorbing God’s teachings that help us become better persons, more faithful followers of Christ, and rejoicing in all the blessings that are ours because we believe in Jesus, then the Holy Spirit will do the work of encouraging seekers to see how much they should want the same things in their lives. You just have to think of what gets them to be seekers in the first place. You do!
The real evangelism, invitations to unbelievers to come and see who Jesus is and what he is doing, takes place as you are witnesses, talking about these things in the world out there, where you live and work and play and socialize. It is your interactions with unbelievers that will intrigue them and turn them into seekers who want to find out what makes you tick. That is why you must be born again. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can use you in the work of the great commission. Come and learn how to be attentive to Jesus’ work in you, to become better disciples, so that you can go and make new disciples. This is one thing that really gives your life meaning and purpose.
Who can take a broken down sinner and give a new life and forgiveness for sin? Who can set an addict free from addiction? Who can take a disappointed business woman who has learned that having lots of money can still leave you empty and give her a new ambition to be generous and use her wealth to bless needy people? Who can take a famous person who is depressed and lonely in spite of all the fame because he knows he’s just being used, and turn him into a joyfully anonymous servant in the kingdom of God? Who can take a quiet, tradition oriented religious person who was raised in church and turn him or her into a truly born again new person filled with the spirit and eager to serve? Who can take an ordinary laborer, a common, ordinary, unknown and unimpressive person and turn him or her into an important figure as a prayer warrior, disciple maker, pillar of the church using God given Spirit powered gifts to play a role in saving lost souls with great rejoicing?
Of course you know, we are talking about the creator God of the universe, the ultimate transformer, who can change anything that exists, into anything else he wants it to be. Except, with people, you have to want him to. And God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The ultimate transformation from death to life from, form punishment for sin to salvation and eternal glory is given to anyone who believes in Jesus. For as John 1:12 says, “To all who receive Jesus, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Believe this and be transformed, with the blessing of God, then be a disciple continuing a life transforming walk with Jesus until we are perfected in Christ, “for he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
John 3:3, 30; Phil. 1:6
Who can take a pebble and turn it in to bread? Who can take a desert and turn it into a buffet table filled with manna to sustain you? Who can take a caterpillar and turn it into a butterfly? Who can take water and turn it into wine? Of course you know, we are talking about the creator God of the universe, the ultimate transformer, who can change anything that exists, into anything else he wants it to be. And for those of you who may have ever watched a Transformer movie that was not real transformation the way God does it. Those mechanical giants just rearrange their existing mechanical parts. And it’s just for camouflage anyway, to blend in with the environment. It is not about real inner transformation at all. But Christianity is about real inner transformation.
People try to change themselves. Sometimes it’s just a new hair style. Sometimes it’s a new job. Sometimes they try to break a bad habit like smoking or start a good one like fitness. New Year’s resolutions are all about the kinds of changes people think will make their lives better, if they can just keep the resolutions. People try to change themselves and sometimes with a lot of hard work and determination there is success. But more often, there is disappointment and failure. And even in cases where there is great success as in sports or business the rewards or trophies turn out be empty and shallow, a whole ‘nother kind of disappointment that makes all the effort of getting there seem wasted.
Jesus talked about real inner transformation when he said, in John 3:3, “You must be born again.” Paul said it this way, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That’s 2 Cor. 5:17. That speaks of a completely new creation, a total transformation from death to life. You may not look any different at all on the outside, but on the inside, you are a new person! Transferred from death to life!
How does someone become born again? It is not by placing your faith in Jesus. Placing your faith in Jesus is not how you get saved. No, salvation has already been offered up on the cross of Christ, but it becomes real in your life and transforms you when you acknowledge the salvation that Christ has worked out for you to be forgiven of your sins. You do have to trust in Jesus and have faith in him but that is not what saves you. Jesus saves you! Jesus paid it all. Jesus has already done everything that is necessary for your salvation. Your faith is only recognizing what Jesus has already done for you.
God’s love is revealed to us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross in our place where we should be because of our sins. Anyone who doesn’t believe that and recognize their need of it is eternally lost. Hell is just as real as Heaven! Real people will spend eternity either in heaven or hell and it all depends upon what you believe about Jesus. Faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved from hell. Jesus makes this very clear in our text for today. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
A person becomes born again when they realize and believe in what Jesus Christ has done for each and all of us on the cross. Now stop and think a minute. Is that what you believe? If so will you now commit to being a follower of Jesus, lovingly obedient to all he asks of you from here on out? If you said yes to that years ago, or just now, you are a child of God and we rejoice with you in so great salvation. Then from that dawning awareness of all that Christ has done, springs of living water gush forth with praise and thanksgiving. These are the only right response to the amazing grace of God. And just in case there happens to be anyone here today who just started getting it, who just now really believes it and desires to live a new life in Christ, please seek me out to confirm that, to pray with you and to give thanks for your new faith. You have a great life ahead of you, not an easy one, but a wonderful one!
The righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer by faith in what Jesus has done for us is what saves and transforms a soul into a child of God. Romans 12:1-2 requires us to continually be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we offer ourselves in spiritual worship. Each one if you is expected to cooperate with this plan. You are expected to learn and grow as a disciple by continuing to pay attention to what Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is doing and wants to do in your life. And that goes for me too!
So, to the first point of assessment with regards to a life transforming walk with Jesus, do we teach our people how to be attentive to Christ in all circumstances? I am sure we regularly preach and teach that we should be attentive to Jesus but the question here is, do we teach people how to. How are you to be attentive to Jesus Christ? Interestingly there are relatively few Scripture passages that teach methods of paying attention, but plenty of them make repeated recommendations such as; learn the Word; read the Word; memorize it; and talk about it at every opportunity. Your salvation happens in an instant. Your life transforming walk with Jesus is the discipleship and sanctification process you engage in for the rest of your life.
You don’t just get saved, check that off your bucket list, and go and look for the next thing you want to accomplish. No, now Christ wants to accomplish something of great significance in you. You and he work out your salvation and discover how a relationship with Jesus transforms the entire rest of your life, over and over again. To accomplish this you must spend time with him in his word. Read the Word. Pray the Scriptures. This cannot be emphasized enough. Learn to listen to what God is saying to you through his written word, not just an unchecked inner voice. Learn to enjoy your prayer times. Learn a variety of ways to pray until you find what works for you and continue to employ various styles and techniques over time so that you keep growing.
Has this ministry adequately emphasized and encouraged these habits? We did hold a prayer seminar here back in May. Some of our people attended. One of the things we experienced is that there are many kinds of prayer practices. I would like to stop and ask any of you who were at the prayer seminar; has it made a lasting difference? Did you learn anything that stayed with you and helped you to be or become more attentive to Christ? Can I get any testimony?
For the rest, if you didn’t attend, why not? Are you already fully attentive to Jesus and have no need of help or encouragement? At any rate, one lasting change that came from the prayer seminar is the way we do our pastoral/congregational prayer time after the sermon. Is there anybody here today who was not at the prayer seminar who does appreciate this new way of praying that we are practicing? Can you comment on it?
The next point of assessment on the survey is, “Do our people understand the radical nature of the message and mission of Jesus that continually deconstructs and reconstructs a person’s life?” Radical means at the root of all things. For example, Nicodemus was really taken aback by Jesus’ radical notions. And Jesus for his part, acted as if he was surprised that Nicodemus had this reaction. When Jesus said, “You are Israel’s teacher and you do not understand these things?” Jesus implied that Nicodemus should have been able to understand what Jesus was talking about.
One reasonable explanation for why Nicodemus didn’t get it is that he was a traditionalist. He certainly was a religious man devoted to his understanding of what it means to worship God. But his understanding of spiritual things was limited to what had always been. He was not very open to new ways of looking at things. We do tend to get set in our ways. I wonder how many modern church goers who have been around churches for more than a decade or two have become a lot like Nicodemus and grow resistant to any kind of change, even if it were Jesus bringing it about?
Has this ministry adequately and repeatedly taught and demonstrated that when we let Jesus be in charge he may ask us to do new things and unexpected things? Jesus is far more creative than we are. Jesus is far more responsive to the people we are trying to reach than we are. When we are paying attention to him and living by faith he is going to ask us to do things that are unusual and may make us feel uncomfortable. Of course this meets with resistance. People need to be convinced that such unusual efforts and new ideas are worth the risk and investment. But if we are faithful to obey, the reward is fruitfulness, new believers, new disciples to teach, and ultimately, new members in the body of Christ to carry on the mission to the following generations.
The final point of assessment is, are our people equipped and growing in their ability to use a variety of spiritual growth resources, experiences, and settings? But perhaps a more important question for you to consider at this point is, would you attend if such things were offered? Historically, attendance of seminars and teachings outside of Sunday worship has been disappointing. But today, I am very much encouraged that the answer is probably “yes” now, because you have, in fact, approved of our participation in the Navigate process. But I hasten to point out once more that the success of Navigate will not be determined by our participation, but rather by your participation. You may have voted yes in the meeting, but I want to invite you in this very moment to think again about how seriously you meant it. Let each one determine it in his or her heart. Would you commit to a statement like, “I will do my best to care about the future of this church by caring about the Navigate process and participating in every aspect of it as far as I am able.”
Now I am going to share something really radical that I believe the Lord has been showing me recently. I know that many Christians believe that Sunday worship services are supposed to be evangelistic. We invite people to church so that they will hear a good gospel message and make a decision to believe in Jesus. I have preached the gospel. I have offered invitations. But when is the last time that kind of worship service, a presentation of the gospel and an altar call, actually worked to produce a new believer in this building?
The lack of effectiveness in that regard has led me to re-evaluate the very purpose of our worship services. I believe I have found a truly biblical understanding of worship. But I am depending upon you to check up on me. For now let me tell you what I believe about church for today. Our church services that happen in this building are really supposed to be about training the believers to be better disciples. Worship is what we, as the body of Christ, offer to God in gratitude for all that he has done in our lives. Worship is not specifically about getting seekers to make decisions. It is about offering ourselves in humble obedience to the God we love. It is about getting believers to make decisions about being more committed to the work and learning ways that they can do it.
Now let me quickly say that this will not result in worship services that are so inward focused that they are seeker unfriendly. I believe that if seekers attend our services and see us truly being the church and eagerly absorbing God’s teachings that help us become better persons, more faithful followers of Christ, and rejoicing in all the blessings that are ours because we believe in Jesus, then the Holy Spirit will do the work of encouraging seekers to see how much they should want the same things in their lives. You just have to think of what gets them to be seekers in the first place. You do!
The real evangelism, invitations to unbelievers to come and see who Jesus is and what he is doing, takes place as you are witnesses, talking about these things in the world out there, where you live and work and play and socialize. It is your interactions with unbelievers that will intrigue them and turn them into seekers who want to find out what makes you tick. That is why you must be born again. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can use you in the work of the great commission. Come and learn how to be attentive to Jesus’ work in you, to become better disciples, so that you can go and make new disciples. This is one thing that really gives your life meaning and purpose.
Who can take a broken down sinner and give a new life and forgiveness for sin? Who can set an addict free from addiction? Who can take a disappointed business woman who has learned that having lots of money can still leave you empty and give her a new ambition to be generous and use her wealth to bless needy people? Who can take a famous person who is depressed and lonely in spite of all the fame because he knows he’s just being used, and turn him into a joyfully anonymous servant in the kingdom of God? Who can take a quiet, tradition oriented religious person who was raised in church and turn him or her into a truly born again new person filled with the spirit and eager to serve? Who can take an ordinary laborer, a common, ordinary, unknown and unimpressive person and turn him or her into an important figure as a prayer warrior, disciple maker, pillar of the church using God given Spirit powered gifts to play a role in saving lost souls with great rejoicing?
Of course you know, we are talking about the creator God of the universe, the ultimate transformer, who can change anything that exists, into anything else he wants it to be. Except, with people, you have to want him to. And God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The ultimate transformation from death to life from, form punishment for sin to salvation and eternal glory is given to anyone who believes in Jesus. For as John 1:12 says, “To all who receive Jesus, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Believe this and be transformed, with the blessing of God, then be a disciple continuing a life transforming walk with Jesus until we are perfected in Christ, “for he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
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