This marked my second sermon in Australia thus far (I blogged about the other one) and third overall. I was nervous because the topic I was asked to cover--how to give all your life to God--is HUGE! How do you boil the walk of a disciple into a 30 minute session? Not nearly well enough is the answer.
With such a daunting task ahead, I described a three step process for giving all your life to Christ. Stated quickly, I said you must first rise above "inferior" things and recognize that the things of this world are nothing compared to Christ and a life lived for him. Second, you must actively seek to KNOW God through prayer, study, and community. Last, you must strive to take on the image of Christ in all aspects of life. In so doing, you begin the life-long process of giving Him all of your life. I then asked crowd to come up and "nail" to the cross one thing that was keeping them from living a life more fully devoted to God (aka stick a "post-it" note with that thing written on it to a wooden cross I was holding). This went quite well as far as responses go and I think the point was powerfully received.
Here is the audio of my sermon (with pictures from the camp for you to look at): http://www.vimeo.com/23971808
Here is the outline if you are interested in it:
· A Matter of Perspective: Giving God All Your Life (Philippians 3:8-9)
o Reflect back on Thursday and Friday Night
§ We came to camp to talk about giving “All Your Life” to God. Last night, Jon spoke about our theme verses in Philippians 3 and discussed what a life lived completely for God might look like. Today, I have the opportunity to give you the “nitty-gritty” part of the weekend. We’re going to be diving deeper into the passage in question and developing the three steps Jon spoke of last night for giving God “ALL YOUR LIFE.”
§ The process, of course, can be a hard one. It demands that we come before the Creator, broken, and honest in our sincerity to follow Him and make him the sole end of our existence. It demands a change of heart. It demands a life lived apart from what the world tells you to, from what you secretly want to (no matter what you say). This will be a hard message, a convicting one I hope.
o So let’s look at the verses I want to focus on tonight: Philippians 3:8-9
§ 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
o Again, Jon talked about three steps to giving Christ All your life last night. I want to discuss those a bit more today.
o The First Principle: Rising Above Inferior “Gear”
§ Looking specifically at v. 8: “Indeed, I count everything as LOSS because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish…
§ Paul is writing telling us that everything that used to go into the “gain” column—his power, prestige, his “obedience” according to the law—now goes in the “loss” column.
· Perhaps he is thinking of Matthew 16:25-6 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?....
§ Everything else in life is pretty futile compared to knowing Christ and living a life for Him. Living for Christ and bearing witness to the truth of his love gives us meaning and purpose (remembering back to my sermon)
§ But we don’t see life this way! We put these things above him all the time though—why?
· Because we are horribly wicked, horribly fallen, horrible backwards. We are selfish and needy. We care about our wallets and our genitals than we do God and his Kingdom.
· We live in a world where kids care only about themselves and what makes them happy, where teens willingly break hearts and promises for the sake of personal gratification, where young adults make their careers into their God and all the material stuff of life becomes how they worship it, where old people are cantankerous and jaded, resting on their perceived financial, vocational, or relational success and not resting on God.
· Luke 14:33 says “So therefore, anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
§ But if we don’t count such things as rubbish and put them aside for the race that truly matters, the purpose that truly gives life, we have failed. We walk as purposeless, spiritually deadened zombies.
§ My friends, we must see the things of this world for what they really are…rubbish. Solomon, writing the book of Ecclesiastes, describes this well. Ecc 2:1-11
· 1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
§ The words of Solomon have never rang more true. Is he right? If he is, then the rubber hits the road here—what are you living for? If it is not God it is inferior gear. Your money, your DVD collection, your music, your video games, your athletic abilities, your intellectual capacity…rest on nothing! If it is not harnessed for God, it is meaningless. That is that. Pure and simple. And, my friends, you will never have a revitalizing, life-changing, mind-altering, world-shaping relationship with God until you rise above inferior things. God is so much better than our beating the next video game.
§ Just to clarify a point: I am not saying stuff is bad. I am not saying to sell all you have and give it to the poor (though Jesus himself did). I am telling you that anything not used to further the kingdom and anything put above knowing God more has filled a place in your life better left for God. This is where we fail. Rise above inferior things, my friends.
o The Second Principal: Know Christ
§ Once we see the things of this world for what they really are—rubbish, compared to knowing Christ, we start to really love Him. This love compels us to want to follow. This love compels us to want to be more like him. This love compels us to want to know him more. As the passage says, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
§ Knowing Christ, my friends, does paint everything in our lives apart from him in its proper light. When we know him and the power of his resurrection, we know what it is that gives life meaning and the like.
· Deut 4:29: "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
· (Jeremiah 24:7 NKJV) 'Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
§ Clearly God wants us to know him and promises blessing if we choose to do so. So how do we know God better?
· We know God better by…Establishing a consistent devotional life of prayer and Bible Reading
o You can’t know someone with whom you never relate. We know this to be true. God has given us the unique opportunity to discover him in his word and to communicate with Him in prayer. Yet, because we refuse to see the things of this world as rubbish, we barely give God any of our day much less a small portion of it. We refuse to know him.
§ (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, {17} that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
§ Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
§ Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:11
§ Seeking increased knowledge of Him allows us to have an answer for our faith.
· Second, we know God better by….Establishing a life of worship
o This is not just the singing and dancing sort of worship, but the consistent worship of living a life in light of Christ. Our very being, our every breath eventually becomes an act of worship.
· Third, we know God better by…Finding a community of believers
o God did not mean for a person to live alone. Built within each one of us is an essential need to be accepted, to be a part of something outside ourselves. God calls us to be a body of believers, not to go off and be alone, but to seek him as brothers and sisters in Faith.
· And the trick is, you can’t really know God without all these parts in place. It is not enough to come on Sundays and sing a few songs to him. Nor is it enough to sit in your room and read your Bible constantly. These things are, of course, good in and of themselves. But…they do not give us the whole picture of what it is like to know God. Knowing God, quite simply involves ALL YOUR LIFE.
· So what part are you missing?
o Find the missing peace and you will find a peace in the world, I guarantee it:
§ (Hosea 6:3 NKJV) Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
o Like the author of Psalm 119….wow!
§ The Psalmist of 119 has found such peace and contentment with the world that he is willing to write over 176 verses about it in a very specific poetic form. He writes in verse 10: “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments.”
o The Third Principle: Adopting Christ’s Image in Daily Life
§ When we see the things of this life as rubbish and, thus, begin knowing him more and more a funny thing happens: We start to take on his characteristics and personality. This is an ongoing process of being consumed by God in all aspects of your life. This is the last principal of giving Christ all our life we are going to cover today. To give God all your life, you must begin the process of adopting Christ’s image in all your daily activities.
§ The passage says: “…in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”
§ Isn’t that amazing! God’s righteousness become our own through Jesus Christ the Lord! This is amazing news for us as Christians. This righteousness helps us shed the things of the flesh and adopt the fruits of the Spirit.
§ Galatians 5:16-25: 16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
§ Romans 12:2: 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
§ 2 Corinthians 3:16-18: 16But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
§ What does this look like in our daily life?
· Suffering (Luke 9:23 “And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”), maturing, etc.
§ We step out and start living in the power of Christ. Are you doing this? When people see you do they see you or do they see Christ? What is your testimony? It is my prayer that Jesus shines more and more through me as I grow in my love for him, that his image slowly covers my whole being. I hope this is your prayer to.
§ You can’t be giving your whole life to Christ if you are not adopting his image and crucifying your flesh.
o All of this is Christianity on God’s terms. Not yours.
o If you are working on these principles today, than you have started the wonderful, life-shaping process of giving God all your life. Congratulations. You are in good company. It is a ongoing process that we will never see the end of in this life, but it has its rewards none-the-less. If you are sitting here tonight and you have not given your life to Christ, have not accepted Him as your Lord and Savior…don’t worry. The great part about starting a journey is that it is just takes a conscious choice to do so. Just take the step and you are on your way. I encourage you, if you have not started that journey to talk with your life group leaders, Jon, or myself about how you can go about taking that step on your journey. If you are already walking along this path, as I assume many are you are, I ask that you examine your heart and see what is holding you back from giving all your life to God. None of us are perfect in this. All of us have something holding us back from giving him everything. Maybe it is some commitment to the rubbish of this world which you need to confess, remove, and replace with God. Maybe it is the fact that you don’t make any time to truly know God in devotion, worship, and community. Or, perhaps there are elements of the flesh which are still dominating your existence. Perhaps you need to make the conscious commitment to crucify that, remove it from your life, and adopt more of Christ’s image and not your former self. Wherever you are at, there is something.
o This is a time to respond to what you have heard. Come to Cross and nail…
I was pleased. I think it went well.In Christ,
Chris
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