First Mennonite Church
March 3, 2024
Waking Up and Living at Our New Address!
Texts: John 4:34, 35; 2Cor. 5:17-18; Gal. 2:20
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:34, 35
2Corinthians 5:17-18
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Today we will be closing our series on worship. And starting next Sunday, we will start an Easter series.
So, Let us recap what we have seen these last couple of Sundays. First, we were reminded that the Bible commands us to worship God. However, our worship of God is not because God is broken or in need of constant praise in order to be God. No. Our God is perfect; our God is love and holy. Our God is just and compassionate; therefore, when we worship God gives us of himself. Out of his perfectness, He heals and restores our brokenness. Out of the essence of his being love, He fills us with love and tender mercies. Out of his holiness, God forgives our sins through Christ Jesus. In accordance with his righteousness, He commissions us to strive for justice.
Thus, we realized that we are the most benefitted when we worship God. We are restored, empowered, and transformed when we worship God. However, we also saw that everything God gives us when we worship him is not for us to hoard or to be prideful about. Everything God gives to us when we worship him is for us to become His witnesses in the world. God invests us with his very character so that we can display His beauty, love, holiness, and righteousness in our daily life.
Worship opens our eyes to see the world according to God’s concern. Worship broadens the scope of our hearts to feel God’s heart for the broken and suffering in the world. God awakens our spirit to a new reality, a reality according to God’s grief, love, and purpose for the world.
So, today we will consider what is necessary for us to stay awake to God’s reality of the world and how to walk in the new sphere/realm or location we now are in Christ Jesus.
If coffee is a great awakener of the brain because the caffeine stimulates the brain when we ingest it, in our case, worship is the great awakener of our soul to the realities and vision of God. You see, by nature, we humans have a limited vision. We are by nature fallen and finite. We do not see perfectly or comprehensively, fairly or truly. Oftentimes, we see through the lenses of our prejudices, cultural filters, or personal self-interests. Thus, when we see someone in need, for instance, we might be inclined to see that person in light of our own experiences or social or family backgrounds and wonder why there are people in those situations. That is because we see them in light of our upbringing and or family or social environment.
When we hear friends or perfect strangers share of their relationship problems and conflict, we might wonder what could be the root problems and why such problems are not dealt with in open and honest conversation, the way we handle family issues. Again, that is because we see the world according to our experiences.
Again, the inclination and limitation we have is to see human problems in light of our own experiences. We don’t have a perfect or comprehensive vision of the human problem, but most importantly, by nature, we don’t have the capacity to see the human problem the way God sees it. And that was exactly what Jesus tried to tell his disciples in the verse we read this morning when he said: Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Jesus was familiar with the popular view and practice about harvesting: “It’s still not time!” The people were saying. “There is no rush! Harvest is four months away!” But Jesus urged his disciples, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.”
We now know that one thing worship does to us is that it opens our eyes to the way God sees the world. The church is the people God has called to be his witnesses. However, the biggest challenge we have about being God’s witnesses is not the lack of knowledge on how to do it, but the obliviousness and cluelessness of God’s heart for the hurting world. It is the inability to realize that God is by the side of those who are hurting, those who are having marriage problems, those whose child is rebellious, and those struggling with depression and losing hope, but the human presence God wants to use is not there to represent him. Therefore, when they wonder where is God in all that they are going through, they are actually calling our names. The problem is that we are unaware that the field is ready for harvest; we are unaware that God is there and we need to be in the field doing his work. The field is ripe and ready to be harvested.
We might be telling ourselves, “It is not time” or “I do not have the time!”
As I was writing this sermon, I heard a knock on the door. I went to check out who was it and while I was going to open the door I heard the voice of a young child calling her mother. This lady needed money for gas. “Do you have gas cards, I can get one?” she asked me.
You see, people know that one of the reasons churches exist is to help those in need. There is no doubt some abuse people’s generosity and kindness. However, we know more than anyone else that embedded in the DNA of God’s people is their love and kindness for those who are in need. We know that the DNA we have inherited as children of God is his generosity, grace, and kindness. Those are the very essence of the God we worship.
Let us make every effort to keep our eyes open to the vision of God for the world. I tell you, this is a process. It takes a whole life of practice. Therefore, when you come to God in prayer, when you sing to God, pay attention to what you are saying. Open your heart to God. Let the Holy Spirit fully awake your soul. Remember, you are his child in Christ, which leads us to the second point of walking/living in Christ.
In our text, Paul tells the Corinthians what happens when we come to Christ: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
This text is often considered as if only applicable to those who are coming to the life of faith in Jesus. But that is not the case. We enter into a new world when we come to Jesus. Let us not forget that our entire life as believers and as followers of Christ remains in Christ and we also remain in that new creation. That means: every believer has a new address. We are in Christ in a new creation, which means that when we come to Christ we begin to live in a new context and reality. The first major change of being in Christ is that we are no longer the same person, even when we keep being the same person. The second major change is that we have a radically different perspective of the world around us. So, even when we might continue living in the same neighborhood, going to same grocery store, working the same job, having the same circle of friends, and so on, our perception about our life, job, and relationships is greatly transformed. We begin to see them in the light of Christ, that is, that we are not the masters of our lives. We suddenly realize that every person is someone Christ died for. We see them as objects of God’s love and salvation.
But, let us be reminded that living in our new address, that is, to live a life in Christ, requires us to make deliberate choices. I am no longer the center of my life; God is. Life is no longer about me, but about what God wants for me. This of course does not mean that we give up our preferences, personalities, or choices. It means, however, that we surrender them to the lordship of Christ. We surrender the desire to have control over them. Christ becomes Lord and Master over everything.
The words of the apostle Paul capture this truth so vividly when he says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.“
In the act of worshipping God, He gives of himself to us, which thoroughly and powerfully transforms us. And through a life of worship, we also give ourselves fully to God. We no longer live but Christ lives in us. In this give and take that happens in worshipping God, the very love of God reaches out to the world. We become his presence and the people who give concrete expressions of his love, holiness, and justice.
I asked the lady to go to the gas station where I could get her some gas.
Let us remember that everything we do or say can and should be an act of worship to our God. Amen!
Pastor Romero