[The following is a full manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 17th of April, 2016. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Do you consider yourself to be a faithful follower of Jesus, yet sometimes you feel a little lost? You wonder why so much rottenness and meanness is going on in the world? You worry that you might be slipping into one of Satan’s traps, or you find that you’ve been suckered into one of his temptations?
I think the greatest fear of many Christians just might be that they don’t deserve God’s love and grace. That they might mess up so badly, stray so far away from Jesus and His teachings, fail to follow His commandments, that there will be no salvation left in them. Do you ever feel that nagging, tugging doubt?
Well, I could tell you that it comes from Satan. Or I could read to you what the Bible says about this and other similar situations and questions. Listen and follow along as I read to you from the Apostle Paul’s letter to his beloved church in Ephesus, from chapter 1 verses 1 through 14, looking at the New Living Translation of our Bible…
I think the greatest fear of many Christians just might be that they don’t deserve God’s love and grace. That they might mess up so badly, stray so far away from Jesus and His teachings, fail to follow His commandments, that there will be no salvation left in them. Do you ever feel that nagging, tugging doubt?
Well, I could tell you that it comes from Satan. Or I could read to you what the Bible says about this and other similar situations and questions. Listen and follow along as I read to you from the Apostle Paul’s letter to his beloved church in Ephesus, from chapter 1 verses 1 through 14, looking at the New Living Translation of our Bible…
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us His mysterious will regarding Christ — which is to fulfill His own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.
--Ephesians 1:1-14 (NLT)
Let us pray… Father God, these words from Your Son’s apostle’s hand bear so great an importance on our lives that we really need to hear and grasp their meaning. Help us get the message You have for us in these words so we can understand just how dear we are to You. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
A seminary professor and his wife were on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN once. One morning, they stopped for breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet meal together. While they waited for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking white-haired gentleman moving from table to table, visiting with the diners. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." But sure enough, the man did stop at their table.
"Where are you folks from?", he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma", they answered. "Great to have you here in Tennessee", the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary", the professor replied. "Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple. The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great... just what I need... another preacher story!"
"See that mountain over there?”, the man asked, pointing out the restaurant window. “Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, ’Hey boy, Who’s your daddy?’ Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ He would hide at recess and lunchtime from the other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.
"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to the boy’s church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘Son, who’s your daddy’?
“The whole church got deathly quiet. The boy could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’
"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, spoke to that scared little boy: ‘Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.‘ With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’
"With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long while and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ’Who’s your Daddy?’, he’d just tell them, ’I’m a Child of God.’"
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn’t that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?" The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!"
We are children of God! Paul proclaimed this in his letter to the Ephesians. In verse 4 of today’s scripture he says that God adopted us into His own family, making us one of His own, through Jesus Christ! He chose us to be His even before He created the world, and He chose us to be holy and without fault.
We are God’s precious children. Can anyone looking at us see the family resemblance?
How many of us would consider ourselves holy? That’s a word we usually associate with God and His three persons, the Holy Trinity. We might even use the word when talking about His saints or the great martyrs throughout history. But does it apply to us?
The word "holy" is defined as “dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion”. Originally, the word meant “that which must be preserved whole or intact”.
Dedicated to the service of God. Devoted to His Son’s church. Something to be preserved and maintained whole and intact. Does that describe any of us?
And as long as we’re playing name games, what about the word “sanctified”? That sounds almost like that word “saint”, doesn’t it. One definition of a saint could be a person who exhibits an exceptionally high degree of holiness, or likeness to God. A saint could also said to be one who has been sanctified. The word “sanctify” simply means to be “set apart”, to be separated from a larger group, to be dedicated to a specific purpose.
See how all of this wraps together? To be holy is to be dedicated to God, set apart and devoted to His service, growing in His likeness. So I’ll ask again… How many of us consider ourselves holy?
Remember those words: God chose us to be holy, to be His holy people. Paul encourages this calling in his letter to the Romans, in chapter 12 verse 1, when he implores…
A seminary professor and his wife were on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN once. One morning, they stopped for breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet meal together. While they waited for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking white-haired gentleman moving from table to table, visiting with the diners. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." But sure enough, the man did stop at their table.
"Where are you folks from?", he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma", they answered. "Great to have you here in Tennessee", the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary", the professor replied. "Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple. The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great... just what I need... another preacher story!"
"See that mountain over there?”, the man asked, pointing out the restaurant window. “Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, ’Hey boy, Who’s your daddy?’ Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ He would hide at recess and lunchtime from the other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.
"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to the boy’s church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘Son, who’s your daddy’?
“The whole church got deathly quiet. The boy could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’
"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, spoke to that scared little boy: ‘Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.‘ With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’
"With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long while and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ’Who’s your Daddy?’, he’d just tell them, ’I’m a Child of God.’"
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn’t that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?" The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!"
We are children of God! Paul proclaimed this in his letter to the Ephesians. In verse 4 of today’s scripture he says that God adopted us into His own family, making us one of His own, through Jesus Christ! He chose us to be His even before He created the world, and He chose us to be holy and without fault.
We are God’s precious children. Can anyone looking at us see the family resemblance?
How many of us would consider ourselves holy? That’s a word we usually associate with God and His three persons, the Holy Trinity. We might even use the word when talking about His saints or the great martyrs throughout history. But does it apply to us?
The word "holy" is defined as “dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion”. Originally, the word meant “that which must be preserved whole or intact”.
Dedicated to the service of God. Devoted to His Son’s church. Something to be preserved and maintained whole and intact. Does that describe any of us?
And as long as we’re playing name games, what about the word “sanctified”? That sounds almost like that word “saint”, doesn’t it. One definition of a saint could be a person who exhibits an exceptionally high degree of holiness, or likeness to God. A saint could also said to be one who has been sanctified. The word “sanctify” simply means to be “set apart”, to be separated from a larger group, to be dedicated to a specific purpose.
See how all of this wraps together? To be holy is to be dedicated to God, set apart and devoted to His service, growing in His likeness. So I’ll ask again… How many of us consider ourselves holy?
Remember those words: God chose us to be holy, to be His holy people. Paul encourages this calling in his letter to the Romans, in chapter 12 verse 1, when he implores…
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.
--Romans 12:1 (NLT)
This is important to Paul, and he repeats it often. But the apostle stresses that this calling is from God Himself, not from Paul. Paul is merely the messenger, as in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 4 verses 7 and 8…
And there’s an added kicker: if we refuse to live a holy life, we are not simply disobeying man’s laws, we are disobeying God! We are rejecting God outright when we refuse the Holy Spirit and His guidance to holy and righteous living.
Let me give just one more instance of Paul’s encouragement to holiness. In his 2nd letter to his young friend and protégé Timothy, chapter 1 verses 9 and 10, Paul explains…
God saved us, not because we deserved it, but because it was His plan all along – to show His great grace through His Son Jesus. Jesus conquered death and laid the path for us that leads to everlasting life in heaven. Jesus showed us how to be holy, through His service to His Father God.
The author of the Book of Hebrews, in chapter 10 verse 10, gives a little more clarification of this concept…
By Jesus’ sacrifice, we were made holy. The question is, did we stay that way? Are we truly devoted to God? Are we dedicated in serving Him and in serving His people? Have we set ourselves apart from the world and its lust for physical things and earthly pleasures, instead keeping ourselves intact for God, keeping our eyes on heaven, keeping our focus on Jesus? Do we make of ourselves a living and holy sacrifice to God by our service, obeying His rules and following His Holy Spirit? Do we daily follow the path that Jesus blazed for us? Do we worship God each and every day by how we live our lives, or just a couple hours on Sundays?
Paul isn’t the only Apostle who thought this important. Listen to what the Apostle Peter had to say on the subject, in his 1st letter, chapter 1 verses 15 and 16…
We must be holy in everything we do. Everything! Not just the few hours each week we are doing stuff at or for the church. Not just whenever we think someone is watching. Not just when we’re feeling a little guilty for something we did or didn’t do. Not just when we happen to have plenty of spare time and there are no other activities that sound more inviting. Not just when the weather is nice and none of our body parts are hurting too terribly much.
We must be holy – dedicated to God – in everything we do, every second of the day, every day of the week, every week of the year, every year of our mortal life. We must be holy because God – the Father who made us, Jesus who sacrificed Himself for us, the Spirit who guides us – God is holy.
We are God’s chosen children, precious in His sight. Take time to be holy, in everything we do. Let us sanctify ourselves, set ourselves apart for service devoted fully to God. Let us be wholly holy. Because God is holy.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You chose us to be Your beloved children long before You even created the universe. You love us so much You gave Your Son to be a sacrifice for us, to cleanse us of our sin so that we might be holy and righteous in Your sight. You sanctified us by the blood of Your Son to grant us eternal life in heaven by Your great and awesome grace. And now, Father, it is up to us to be holy in everything we do, to stay holy throughout each day, no matter what tribulations await us.
Hear us now, Father, as we pray from our hearts in the silence, repenting of our disobedience, begging for Your forgiveness, dedicating ourselves once again to Your service…
Lord Jesus, You gave so much for us. And You also set the example for us of what true holiness looks like. Help us be more like You, please Jesus. Help us be holy in everything we do in our daily lives. Help us be holy because You are holy. In Your dearest name, precious Jesus, we pray. Amen.
7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
--1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 (NLT)
Let me give just one more instance of Paul’s encouragement to holiness. In his 2nd letter to his young friend and protégé Timothy, chapter 1 verses 9 and 10, Paul explains…
9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time — to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. 10 And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.
--2 Timothy 1:9-10 (NLT)
The author of the Book of Hebrews, in chapter 10 verse 10, gives a little more clarification of this concept…
10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
--Hebrews 10:10 (NLT)
Paul isn’t the only Apostle who thought this important. Listen to what the Apostle Peter had to say on the subject, in his 1st letter, chapter 1 verses 15 and 16…
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
--1 Peter 1:15-16 (NLT)
We must be holy – dedicated to God – in everything we do, every second of the day, every day of the week, every week of the year, every year of our mortal life. We must be holy because God – the Father who made us, Jesus who sacrificed Himself for us, the Spirit who guides us – God is holy.
We are God’s chosen children, precious in His sight. Take time to be holy, in everything we do. Let us sanctify ourselves, set ourselves apart for service devoted fully to God. Let us be wholly holy. Because God is holy.
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You chose us to be Your beloved children long before You even created the universe. You love us so much You gave Your Son to be a sacrifice for us, to cleanse us of our sin so that we might be holy and righteous in Your sight. You sanctified us by the blood of Your Son to grant us eternal life in heaven by Your great and awesome grace. And now, Father, it is up to us to be holy in everything we do, to stay holy throughout each day, no matter what tribulations await us.
Hear us now, Father, as we pray from our hearts in the silence, repenting of our disobedience, begging for Your forgiveness, dedicating ourselves once again to Your service…
Lord Jesus, You gave so much for us. And You also set the example for us of what true holiness looks like. Help us be more like You, please Jesus. Help us be holy in everything we do in our daily lives. Help us be holy because You are holy. In Your dearest name, precious Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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