Sunday, August 24, 2008
 "Master of the Road"
The Apostle Paul remains one of the great figures in the early Christian Church. Not content to stay in Jerusalem, Paul followed the guidance of Christ and the Holy Spirit to set out on the road, evangelizing whole families, turning communities upside down, founding churches, and leaving a legacy of letters that we still turn to for insight into the Christian life. This third message in our "Journey" series will look at the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit within our lives, as God works to make us more like Jesus Christ.
Click here for the audio stream of the message.
Remember, you can automatically download our sermons as a podcast!
To subscribe, open iTunes, choose "Advanced" in the menu line, select
"subscribe to podcast" and enter the following URL:
http://www.songoflifeumc.org/song_of_life_podcast.xml.
The following is an outline of the message shared on Sunday morning, including the various Biblical references that were drawn from to illustrate Paul's view of the "Christ-like" life:
What is the purpose of a spiritual journey? What is the destination? I asked this question of our worship planning team, and their responses were all remarkably similiar: “to come closer to God” – “to be in the middle of God’s will and not stray too often” – “striving to be more like Christ.”
But what does it mean to follow God, God's will, and/or be more like Christ? Drawing from Paul, we get some ideas. For example, Acts 17:1-9 shares the impact of Paul's witness on the community of Thessalonica. The Jews of the town declare of Paul and his followers, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also..." (ESV - I love that image, of Paul turning the town upside down!).
For Paul, his spiritual journey toward Christ meant moving from persecuting the church to founding them. Striving to live more like Christ himself, his goal and dream, as described in the narrative of his trial before King Agrippa and Festus (Acts 26:28-29), is to bring others to Christ: "short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am..." (referenced @ 8:30 only)
For Paul, the goal of our spiritual journey is Christ-likeness. He says as much in Ephesians 4, where he describes the process by which we will become "mature" as reaching "unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." More so, "we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."
Paul is clear he though he hasn’t attained this maturity himself, he does press on toward it - "moving on to perfection," as we say in the Methodist Church. Philipiians 3:12-14:
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Paul is, as best he can, living in faith day by day; encouraging us to do the same. 1 Cor 11:1: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
What does it mean to you to be more "Christ-like"? I think Christ-likeness is something that is easier for us to see in others... (Some examples)
In his epistles, Paul shares a variety of instructions on living a Christian life that help to form our image of what it means to be Christ-like:
- Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph 5:1-2)
- Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment (Rom 12.3). In humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil 2:3-4)
- Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Eph 4:29) Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure (Phil 2:14-15).
- Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Col 4:2)
- …encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (1 Thes 5:14b-15)
- Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph 4:31-32)
- Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thes. 5:16-18, 21-22)
- Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.(Rom 12:12-18)
- Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim 4:16)
Let me close with another of Paul's descriptions of the Christian life, from Colossians 3:12-14: Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
|
(Read by Max McLean. Provided by The Listener's Audio Bible.)
