So as the majority of our students are well aware this morning’s sermon was uh… well it was a dumpster fire. I did a terrible job in trying to explain some very simple concepts and hopefully this should really clear up what I was trying to say.
First, I would like to say that all of the awkwardness totally falls on me and my inability to find another way to teach you guys the word of God so you guys can instantly get it. I can’t do it and I pretty much have to use big words. Thankfully this is what our mentors are good at and what they’re doing is taking what the pastor says and helping you guys through it. I was pretty over joyed to hear that they got it the gist of what I was trying to convey and they were able to run with it.
Alright so Let’s start over. Initiation in the relationship between man and God always and forever starts with God seeking us and our hearts. We are not born to think naturally and kindly to the Lord. We are taught and brought by parents or guardians with preconception of who and what God is. Our society and our natural thought that a relationship with God is seen through people who have big hats. Look at every major religion and you’ll see a “prophet” (read as false teacher) who sought God and learned his ways. As every covenant description in the Bible clearly shows WE CAN’T AND WE DON’T INITIATE! Adam didn’t, Noah didn’t, Abraham didn’t, and neither did Moses. Our ways aren’t God ways and if left to our own total depravity (read as sinful nature) we would sooner kill, rape, and steal from everyone and everything before looking for God.
One of the dying questions I bet you’re having right now is whether or not this is a pro- predestination idea. Another way to say this is whether God solely creates people for two purposes either for hell or for heaven; that is some people are created for the sole purposes filling hell or to only love on a certain group of people that are above and beyond them. This is such nonsense. We read over and over again that no man is better than another, and in fact all are a worthless bunch that deserves the fiery pit. Thankfully Jesus interceded on our behalf and propitiated God’s wrath against Satan, Sin, and death so that we may be reconciled with God the Father to enjoy eternal life in worship of the only being worthy. The point is everyone can be saved. God did not create people or set a boundary of who could be saved. Unlike the world’s thought of religion Christianity is all inclusive for those who can be saved. You can be black, white, yellow, green purple- smart, dumb, hard-working, tall or short and still be eligible of salvation. We don’t seek God, God seeks us.
So if this is the case that God seeks a relationship with us what does that relationship look like? Simply it is a basis of conditions that we have all grown up with: the Ten Commandments. Why does God set a boundary and a foundation for his people to follow? If all we are doing in the relationship is being on the receiving end of the grace given to us through Christ what does it matter that I go forth and steal or murder people? The reason for the entire book of Leviticus and the Ten Commandments is to show the holiness and righteousness of God as well as to protect us from sin. There massive consequences for all of the laws given to us by God. Let’s take stealing. Aside from the obvious taking something that doesn’t belong to you what other problem is there? You get what you want right? The problem comes with the rest of the life that follows that. You ask any man whether or not he can quit a habit he has picked up over the years they’ll immediately say yes, but when you press them to stop the habit and they begin to try they realize that they were dominated by it. Similar to how your parents ask you to clean your room or do the dishes. If those things were not done a) you would not know how to do them b) the place you live would be absolutely nasty and c) there are health risks involved with not cleaning and sterilizing harmful germs. What God is saying in His laws is this, “I love you as my children and the sin that has invaded your lives is harmful and to avoid much pain and suffering later in life don’t do these things.” Never once is it “Do these things to create your own righteousness. Instead it is only in loving protection of us that those boundaries are set.
Lastly, in any initiation God always requires a response. The Christian faith is completely inclusive (read as tolerant or accepting of people) but incredibly exclusive (that is only a few are actually apart of the covenant community in Christ). God initiates a relationship to everyone, and this does not mean it is a loud voice or a burning bush. It can be as simple as a person walking up to you and just talking about him. Everyone is initiated upon everyone sees the conditions and more still respond whether they realize it or not.
There are three basic answers for answering the call of God. First, yes Lord I will follow your way of truth. This is easily the most painless and most enjoyable answer that we can give. It is simply taking up our cross and living lives as Christ has called us to.
Secondly, we can of course say no. This is either no right now, or no never. No not right now can be pretty detrimental to your being. God is always correcting and straightening our lives in order to purify and sanctify us in our walks with him; similar to how our parents correct our table manners or the way we address one another in day to day conversation. When we say, “Nuh-uh brah,” to a time of correcting God lets us wallow away in that sin and let us feel the full consequence of doing so. He is not being vindictive and punishing us through that suffering. That suffering is not from God but from ourselves and sin and it is our part to repent and turn back to Lord and apologize for not following His leadership. Saying No never to the initiation of God is a sure sign of an unrepentant heart. God does not delight in taking away genuinely good things that we enjoy doing. He is not a cruel Father that only likes to see us suffer. However, he is a father that corrects and loves when He sees his children grow in faith and love in Him. If God calls for a part of your life to be taken away it because it is sinful or leads into sinning and wishes you to be broken from that yoke and that is it. For the Christian it is impossible to live in sin as it displeases the Father whom you love and if you Love displeasing the Father that love should really be named sadism and that is a sin.
So to wrap it up nicely. God initiates contact with us in order to reconcile our relationship with us. Similar to how a Father looks for a lost son. In that relationship he sets a condition for how our lives should be lived in order to honor him and his house as well as a constant reminder for ourselves of our response of believing in Christ faithfully. No matter our response we are worshipping God in all of his glory either in his mercy and grace or through his righteous judgment against sin.
No comments:
Post a Comment