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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor April
14, 2002 The
Bible says we need to be
transformed by the renewing of
our minds -- we need to allow God
to replace the mental programming
we've received from the world
with His truth. We talked about
that in last
week's
message. 4-Trusting
Grace
and
Grace
Alone Let
me start with a contrast: In the
world's economy the way to obtain
things is by taking, getting,
earning -- and then keeping. The
way to get wealth is make more
money than you spend and hang on
to it. But
Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38 that
the economy of the Kingdom works
differently. In fact, it's the
opposite of the way the world
works. Jesus says we receive in
the same measure that we
give. That's the
principle. Therefore
if we as a church want more of
God's love, grace, and power, we
must give away what we
have. It's
unfortunate that we Christians
have come to think of ourselves
as "containers" for the things of
God. The late Jamie
Buckingham
referred to this as "bucket
theology." We see ourselves as
buckets holding the things of
God. You
can tell its true by the
questions we ask: "Is he or she
Spirit-filled?" "Is that a
Spirit-filled church?" "Have they
received this or that blessing or
gift from God?" Our emphasis is
on receiving and
holding. But
Jesus always emphasizes giving.
Listen what He told the 12
apostles the first time He sent
them out to preach -- this is in
Matthew 10:8: Also
look at Acts 20:35, where Paul
quotes Jesus -- these words don't
appear in the gospels, so I'm
glad Paul gave them to us. Here's
what Paul said to elders in the
church at Ephesus: That's
the kind of attitude God wants in
us. If we're not careful we can
fall into a trap -- a trap that
ensnared the Jewish nation. It's
easy to begin thinking of
ourselves almost exclusively in
terms of being objects of God's
love and blessings. Don't
get me wrong. There are certainly
benefits that come with answering
God's call to relationship with
Himself, but we need to keep
those in perspective. Early
on, the Hebrew people began to
see themselves as chosen by God
for privilege. They never could
see or accept the idea that God
had called them for a purpose,
not just for
privilege. That
spilled over into the New
Testament Church. Salvation was
at first seen as a blessing for
God's chosen people, the Jews,
not something to give away to the
world. Finally, in Acts 11, God
begins to push the Church outside
the confines of Judaism.
Look
with me at James 4:1-3 -- a
passage that tells us what can
happen when we become selfish and
smug. You
do not have, because you do
not ask God. When you ask, you
do not receive, because
you
ask with wrong motives, that
you may spend what you get on
your
pleasures. It
is, and always has been, God's
purpose to reveal Himself and His
offer of salvation to the whole
world through His people. We are
chosen for purpose, not just
privilege. God wants to reveal
Himself to our world through us.
The blessings and privileges are
simply the byproducts of living
in a love relationship with
Him. What
God wants is for His love, grace
and power flow through us to the
world around us. "Dead
church" is a term that I hear
often -- and though I try to
avoid its use, it pops out of my
mouth occasionally. If you ever
hear me say that I want you to
know what I mean. Our
tendency is to think that if a
congregation sings hymns to organ
music and then sits quietly to
listen to a dull, boring sermon,
then that's a "dead" church. On
the other hand, if a congregation
claps, dances in the aisles,
swings from the chandeliers, and
somebody speaks in tongues, well,
that's a "live"
church. But
those aren't the right criteria
for judging whether a church is
dead or alive -- and there's a
perfect Scriptural illustration
that'll help me explain
this. Israel
is in arid region where water
supply is very critical to life.
And I suppose that's at least
part of the reason why water is
often used in Hebrew literature
as a symbol of life and power --
even as a symbol of the Holy
Spirit. All
around the waters of the Jordan,
there is life. You find people
and fertile land, and an
abundance of living
things. Then
a strange thing happens, the
Jordan empties into Dead Sea --
where no living thing can
survive. What's happens? It is
the same water that fills the
river and the Sea of Galilee up
north. Both of them teem with
life. What makes the Dead Sea
dead? I
suggest to you it is the same
thing that makes a church
dead. The
Dead Sea is lowest place on
earth's surface. Unlike Galilee,
which receives the Jordan River's
water on one end and gives it up
on the other, the Dead Sea has no
outlet for the flow -- there's
nowhere for the water to go.
Evaporation is its only outlet --
and that leaves mineral
sediments, salts. Over time those
sediments and salts have come to
make up more than 25 percent of
the Dead Sea's
content. From
the vantage point of the
surrounding mountains the Dead
Sea looks good. It deceptively
sparkles with a beautiful green
color, but the reality is that
its waters are poison. The water
is so salty it destroys plant
life and nothing can live in
it. Church
-- and people -- even if they are
considered "Spirit-filled" can be
like the Dead Sea. We can look
good on the outside, but be
poisoned inside. If there is no
outlet for God's grace,
there's no real
life.
Even
the Holy Spirit can become
stagnant in us if all we're
looking for is how we can be
blessed. That's
why we are not to be buckets
holding the things of God, but
conduits through which the
love, mercy, and power of God can
flow to the world around
us. The
more we give away the more we
receive. It is in that context
that we say, "You can't out give
God." You can't give away so much
of his love and power that you
run out -- because he always
gives more. Let's
look at the definition of the
word "conduit": A
little science lesson: The power
of water comes from the fact that
it is fluid and therefore moves
or flows with the force of
gravity. Power is found in the
movement. How do we use water to
create electric power? It is the
flow of water that turns the
turbines and generates
electricity. It
is the same with the electric
power that's generated. There are
two wires in an electric circuit,
one white, one black. One is
called the "hot" wire the other
is the "neutral" wire. For the
circuit to work the neutral wire
has to be tied to what's called a
"ground" block. It
is the movement of the
electricity that produces
manifestations of its power.
Without the neutral wire touching
ground, the current won't flow
and there is no manifestation of
its power. God
sends His power to the world
through the church. Just like a
conduit, we are the tube or duct
that encases the Holy Spirit, the
transmitter or God's power. But
the circuit isn't complete until
the church is touching "ground"
-- touching the earth at the
place God desires. When we do,
the circuit is complete, the
power flows and becomes manifest
or apparent in the
earth. This
is why I encourage you to share
your faith, to invite others to
church, to minister to the needs
of other people. It's not because
I want the church to be big, but
because the measure we use in
giving away God's grace, love,
and power will determine the
measure we receive from
God. It
is indeed more blessed to give
than to receive. This is why it
is so important to learn to give,
trusting in the endless supply of
God's grace. Do
we want more of God? Then we must
give away what we already
have. Are
you involved in one of the
ministries of the church where
you have an opportunity to share
life with others? Are you
consciously endeavoring to live
in love with everyone, including
your enemies? Let's
not be like the Dead Sea. If we
are, we'll lose out on the
abundant life Jesus promised.
Rather than being "getters,"
let's learn to be
givers.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
Ministry
of the
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Today
For the Gateway family
Pastor
Jerry's Weekly
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A
GATEWAY SERMON
Conduits
of God's love
(Second
in the series, Opening Ourselves to
God)
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
(Jesus in Luke
6:38)
Today, I want to continue with
this subject, as we further our
study of how to go about opening
ourselves to God -- opening
ourselves to receive His love,
grace and power.
In
this
series
The
attitude God wants in
us"Heal
the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse those who have
leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received,
freely give."
"In
everything I did, I showed you
that... we must help the weak,
remembering the words the Lord
Jesus himself said: 'It is
more blessed to give than to
receive.'"
Purpose,
not just privilegeWhat
causes fights and quarrels
among you? Don't they come
from your desires that battle
within you? You want something
but don't get it. You kill and
covet, but you cannot have
what you want. You quarrel and
fight.
God
never intended us to be "buckets"
containing His love, grace and
power but rather He desires us to
be "conduits" -- open at each
end.
Dead,
or alive?
The Jordan River is the major
water supply for the region. It
begins at the north end of
ancient Israel and winds its way
some 200 miles, through the Sea
of Galilee, to its terminus in
the Dead Sea.
From
God to the world -- through the
church1.
A pipe or channel for
conveying fluids, such as
water;
2. A tube or duct for
enclosing electric wires or
cable;
3. A means by which something
is transmitted.
An
endless supply"Give,
and it will be given to you. A
good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your
lap. For with the measure you
use, it will be measured to
you."
An
audio tape of this sermon is
available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
020414a: Conduits of God's
Love.
©
2002 Gerald R.
Varnado