After having preaching withdrawals, I finally got a chance last month in the Dominican Republic to give a sermon.
We didn’t have enough transportation to get everyone to church, so we decided to have our own service at the host home. Of course this was decided the night before so when asked if I would preach I was kinda leery…I figured sure, I can recycle an old sermon. I got a great one on the Kingdom Journey. But then I got challenged by multiple squad mates to prepare a new sermon and leave room for the Holy Spirit to speak and work through me.
“What better place to improve your gifts and abilities than here in front of a squad who loves you…even if you mess up” I was told.
So I decided I would go for it and I felt led to speak about abandonment and finding our Identity in Christ. Amazingly enough I had already had random thoughts written down about this topic and had started to plan a devotion for my team for in Bolivia.
When asking God if that’s what he wanted me to speak on though, all I got was silence. I put all my thoughts together and ultimately said the next morning, “Ok God, this is what I’m going with…please move in me. I hope this is what you want me to say. If not, go ahead and change it.”
I found out that morning that two people would be sharing a quick 5 minute devo before me so that had me kinda worried. I don’t want to speak about something completely different.
But God sure showed me. Two minutes into the first persons devo and he talked about the perfect scripture that led right into mine. I wanted to just lift my hands in triumph as God had given me confirmation. Then he gave it again when the next person talked about emptying ourselves of our idols. And then here is how my sermon went…still wearing my basketball shorts and t-shirt.
I started by talking about the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. I love that story…I basically lived it. I used to think how harsh it sounded for Jesus to tell him to give up everything. But a few years ago I learned that, instead, we should feel bad for the ruler because of what he gave up in saying no. Imagine getting to follow the savior of the universe…put that on your resume.
So my question is when did we start thinking that God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things?
“Jesus didn’t die to keep is safe. He died to make is dangerous. Faithfulness is not holding the fort, it’s storming the gates of hell. The will of God is not an insurance plan. It’s a daring plan. The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal. It’s time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. It’s time to go all in and all out for the All in All. Pack your coffin!” – Mark Batterson, All In
Are you following Jesus or did you invite him to follow you? In your life? On this trip?
Over 100 years ago, a British pastor said: “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in by a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him?”
Do you know what consecrated means?
Read Joshua 2:24 – 3:5
God wants us to do amazing things. But our job first and foremost is to consecrate ourselves.
So here is what consecration is not….
“It’s not going to church once a week.
It’s not daily devotions.
It’s not fasting during Lent.
It’s not keeping the Ten Commandments.
It’s bit sharing your faith with friends.
It’s not giving God the tithe.
It’s not repeating the sinner’s prayer.
It’s not volunteering for a ministry.
It’s not leading a small group.
It’s not raising your hands in worship.
It’s not going on a mission trip.”
“Consecrate means to set yourself apart. It means full devotion. It means complete abandonment. It’s giving everything to your Father in heaven. Every ounce of energy. Every penny. Every moment of time.” Mark Batterson, All In
Moving from slavery to sonship or daughtership is a matter of reaching the place where you get up in the morning feeling so loved and accepted in your Father’s heart that your whole purpose for existence becomes looking for ways to give that love away to the next person you meet.” Jack Frost, Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship
Here is what we have done…especially in the American church. We have allowed people to buy in to the gospel without selling out. We often make it convenient and comfortable. We have based it on works rather than love.
“Intimacy precedes fruitfulness. The great commandment precedes the great commission.
We don’t become like Jesus by focusing our lives on Jesus. We become like Jesus by focusing our lives on what Jesus focused his life on. And Jesus focused his life on being a son and revealing the Father and his love.” – Jack Frost, Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship
“If you don’t abandon everything. You may never enter the promised land. But if you do. God will part the Jordan River so you can cross through on dry ground.” Mark Batterson, All In
Read Luke 10:1-24
We are in a similar journey this year…going across Latin America with a backpack, a tent, and a sleeping pad. We left in search of something bigger than ourselves. Or something that will help us make sense of our existence.
Everywhere the disciples went, they were looking for the kingdom. But it never came through a place or event. In the end, “they discovered the kingdom right where God put it – inside them.”
“Jesus asked his followers to leave everything for a season so they might learn to see with spiritual eyes for their entire lives. They went on a journey that taught them to depend on God. He didn’t grow his disciples in classrooms, but in the hard-knocks of real life. He moved them from place to place to help them lose their bearings and disrupt the predictable. Slowly, they changed from comfort seekers to kingdom-minded citizens of heaven.” Seth Barnes, Kingdom Journeys
“As a slave or servant, you feel you must work harder to succeed. You have to strive, outperform, and outdo everybody else just to prove that you have the right to be. But sons and daughters? On their day off, they’re usually not working hard trying to prove a point. They don’t have to come in early or stay late. Why should they?” – Jack Frost, Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship
Read Romans 8:14-17
This sermon was a step of abandonment for me.
God didn’t really give me a word or anything for that morning. I asked for it…but I didn’t hear a response. Instead…all I could think about was the fact that if I completely suck, God is going to pick me up and carry me away. That, my identity is found in Christ and nothing or nobody can take that away.
“The world will choose to define you by the least of you.” But “your identity is received…not achieved” Mark Driscoll
I am the worst about my identity being wrapped up in my resume and my accomplishments. But who I am is what determines what I do. What I do doesn’t determine who I am.
I am a son of God, a co-heir with Christ. Are you?
