Morning Message Text: Philippians 3: 17 – 4: 1
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
Morning Message:
He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 2 Corinthians 5: 15. I am trying to stay within our Lenten devotional as much as possible every week. If you take the time to read it every day you will see a connection in the readings for each week. This coming week the focus is discipleship. Here is today’s quote from the author, Henri J. M. Nouwen, “Indeed, to live a spiritual life means to become living Christs. It is not enough to try to imitate Christ as much as possible; it is not enough to remind others of Jesus; it is not enough to be inspired by the words and actions of Jesus Christ. No, the spiritual life presents us with a far more radical demand: to be living Christs here and now, in time and history.” [The Selfless Way of Christ, p. 20] “Many people admire Jesus as a great teacher who has inspired countless people with his ethical insights and selfless example. They are content to imitate him. They aren’t willing to become a full-fledged disciple.” [Drawn to the Cross, p. 12] How can we know if we are disciples or simply imitators? Ask yourself these questions: Who are you living for? What are you living for?
Let me share this story that I believe exemplifies how a lot of people feel about the church and their faith. From your devotional, a minister’s real life experience. “Once, shortly after being married, a groom brought his bride to my adult membership class. After the class where I talked about the cost of discipleship, the bride came up to me and asked quite seriously if we had social memberships in our church.” [Drawn to the Cross, p. 12] I believe that there are a lot of misconceptions about church membership. Membership and involvement in Christ’s church is very important. When we view church membership correctly, the church becomes a place of worship, fellowship, and a place to socialize and connect with other Christians. But it is not meant to be a social club; we have plenty of those in the world. The church starts to look like the world and it’s our own fault. We have in many ways put a higher emphasis on membership than discipleship. Do you know where this attitude shows up the most? In hospitals and funeral homes, any place where someone might be asked about their faith or the faith of their loved one. When you ask someone about their faith, and they give you their church affiliation instead, something’s not right. Why are we so resistant to saying, I am a Christian? Come on, say it with me, I am a Christian. I have a friend who will reply anytime that he is asked if he would like coffee, no thanks, I’m a Christian. On judgment day when God opens the book of life, he won’t be checking for church membership.
This is what Paul is talking about in today’s scripture. He is not speaking to outsiders; he is preaching to the church. We must be careful to follow the good examples that we see, even in the church. The church is not a place for us to dwell on earthly things. It is possible to be here for the wrong reasons. How can Paul write and say that some are enemies of the cross? He is trying to make a very clear distinction between those who have come to serve Jesus and be his disciples, and those who have come for every other reason. Either you are serving Jesus and his church, or you are not. Why is Paul being so mean? Why can’t we just live in harmony with everyone no matter what they believe? There is nothing more dangerous to the church than a false prophet. We must, as Christians, be careful to stay on track. Not just for our own sake but for those who will follow us in the faith: for our children and grandchildren.
Paul makes an appeal for steadfastness and unity in the church, but notice, he is speaking to brothers and sisters in the faith. In recent times this cry for unity has been taken to mean that we should be united with everyone no matter what their faith or belief system. The world, and even some within the church, can make a very logical argument for uniting the churches for the sake of the common good. Don’t worry that they believe something different from you. Ignore the fact that they don’t recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior. Learn to pray to one God no matter who or what that may be. All, for the sake of unity. One day that will happen on this earth, I don’t plan on being here to see it. There is only one God and one Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, and there can only be unity in him. When we accept Christ’s call to discipleship, our life changes from being inward-focused to being other-focused as the Holy Spirit constrains us to be the living hands and feet and voice of Jesus. Consequently, we no longer live for ourselves but for the selfless service of him who put aside the glories of heaven, and endured the horrors of hell, so that he might share with us the wonders of heaven.
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
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