CPAC sermon 4th October 2009
From this weeks Winepress comment:
One of the scariest things in life is not failure, it is regret! My personal mantra in recent times is this: "It's time to take a risk for and with Jesus!"
If I fail it's not a big deal, I'll simply try again, but at least I gave it a shot, with no regret.
At a water theme park in Dubai I was challenged by a wild, crazy ride called “Leap of Faith”! ….. show slides… and explain…
This leap of faith was equivalent to a bungy jump for me!....
I had to surrender myself to the ride.
I was not in control – I had to trust the designers of this ride that what they had constructed would be absolutely safe.
I literally put my life in the hands of the designers because if anything happened to me they would be liable.
The spiritual equivalent to this is dying to self.
It is putting our lives into the hands of God…. trusting Him who said,
“I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good
and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”.
(Jer 29:11)
The theme of our service today is
“What is God doing around the world?”
It shouldn’t surprise you that He’s actually doing the same thing he is doing at Churton Park, Wellington New Zealand!
“He is searching the hearts of all people examining their
motives” , as Jeremiah 17:10 reminds us.
CS Lewis said, “I didn’t become a Christian to get happy. I always knew a bottle of port would do that!”
Lewis knew that he could fully trust God.
He knew that when we surrender our lives to God we carry a power within us that can only be from God.
Romans 8:11 “The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you!”
It takes supernatural power to raise the dead.
That’s the kind of power in you, not to be overcome in your life but to be overcomers!
The trouble is that Christians can be people walking around with saved souls but lost lives.
So we must continually ask ourselves:
What is God’s heartbeat now?
What do I see Him doing that I might join Him in that work?
What was my original encounter with Jesus that made me say,
“Count me in Jesus. I’m on your team!” ?
Sometimes we get so side-tracked in life, we forget why we signed up, or we get disillusioned and give up.
That’s why Habbakuk reminded us that
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! (Hab 3:17-18)
We must always have vision or sight to see beyond our natural circumstances. We must die to self and look with eyes full of hope and trust in our God who says,
“I am your God and you are my people. Trust me, follow me, obey me.
Don’t be afraid for I am with you”.
The key is to get low, to get humble before God.
However, the sin of pride is humanity’s downfall and greatest stumbling block because the biggest sin we could ever commit, I believe, is the sin of self righteousness… which is an attitude of believing “I am right and you are wrong, end of story”!
The danger here is that the self-righteous doesn’t believe or even consider they may be in the wrong. They aren’t willing to negotiate or even consider other options or points of view. This self-serving, self righteous attitude is based on power and control. Hence nation will war against nation, group against group, individual against individual in the community, the workplace, in the home and yes, in the church.
Rev 3:19 says, “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.”
A self righteous person will never turn from their indifference.
Such a stance is the root cause of all conflict causing stubbornness, bitterness, and an ever-increasing hardened heart.
Such pride is an abomination in God’s eyes who will bring down the proud but He will exalt the humble.
Our best model for humility is of course Jesus who came to serve, not to be served, and who emptied Himself of His divinity (Phil 2:6-8).
Note that Jesus didn’t need to be baptise, in fact, John the Baptist was very reluctant to do it but Jesus said he had to do it “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). And, Abraham was counted as “righteous before God” because of his faith, trust and obedience to God (Genesis 15:6). Humility, being righteous, was the key here.
Righteous is a big word in the bible.
To be righteous is to die to self and to totally surrender oneself to God.
It’s begins with one’s heart posture.
With God’s help such a posture is always possible, bringing change from the inside-out.
Clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:4) ensure we are like soft clay in the Potter’s hands being made more and more like His precious Son in nature and character.
Then, God delights in, and can help such a person take amazing leaps of faith! ….for…“He is searching the hearts of all people examining their
motives” … (Jeremiah 17:10)
Linda and I want to show you a few more slides from our trip now…..
