Growing in Grace

Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 - This is an abreviated form of the sermon I preached at Bethel UMC on 12-7-08

A couple of verses have been with me all this past week: “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” These words come out of Luke 3:4 and are originally from Isaiah 40:3 as the prophet predicted the coming of John the Baptist, who in turn announced the coming of Jesus. The other verse, which has been rattling in my brain, is out of Philippians 1:6, Paul’s letter to the Christians of Philippi (northern Greece): “And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” (NLT)

As I look at the frozen and white world outside my study window and ponder on the events of my week, I turn these words in my mind and heart and realize anew several things that I will try to verbalize and share with you:

1 – Do you realize what an incredible story the Bible is? We have a God in whose image we are made. He gave us life. He came in the flesh in Jesus born of a virgin. He lived among us in the flesh. He gave his life for love, a love we will never totally wrap our heads around this side of Heaven. He rose again from the dead and lives again in us through the Spirit. He gave us His Word also so that we would have life abundant and eternal. Does this not just totally blow you away!?

2 - The other thing I realized again, in a new way, is that Jesus came to ordinary people, people like you and me.
Our passage in Luke starts by listing all the important people who were alive at the time John the Baptist was ready to start his prophetic ministry. In a short passage Luke manages to give us panoramic view of who the big wigs were at the time. He mentions the emperor Tiberius, the successor of the emperor Augustus. Luke mentions Pontius Pilate who was in power as Roman governor of Judea from A.D. 25 to A.D. 37. His arrival in Judea was actually the result of the Jews asking Rome for help in removing Archelaus – ruler of Judea, Samaria and Edom - the fourth son of Herod the Great. History remembers Archelaus as a thoroughly bad king. The high priest was at the same time the civil and the religious head of the community. Annas was actually high-priest from A.D. 7 to 14 so at the time he is out of office. His son-in-law, Caiphas, was in office, with Annas still a huge power behind the post.

After naming all these powerful people, we read that the word of God came to John. You remember John, the son of Zechariah the priest and of Elizabeth. Not what you would consider a big shaker and mover in the world. We’re not sure how John heard from God, but we soon find him preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin in the desert and by the Jordan River.
The Christians in the church at Philippi were not big movers and shakers either but Paul writes to them and about them in a most personal letter. Paul’s letter just overflows with joy and love for those people. You can read more about the church at Philippi in Act 16. Philippi, a Roman colony, was where Paul had planted the first church on European soil, probably around A.D. 50., during his second missionary journey. The joyful and intimate tones of the letter are remarkable when you realize that Paul was under house arrest in Rome, while he awaited trial (4:10-18). This is a “thank-you” letter to the Philippians. They had been sending money to Paul to help defray his living expenses as he was imprisoned. It is also a letter of encouragement for them to continue to grow; for them to beware of false teachers and to urge them to greater unity among themselves.

Prepare the way for the Lord: What does that look like in your life and my life? How do we make straight paths for God to work on our heart? I think the first step is to recognize that you and I need God. We need to come to the realization that we were not meant to do life on our own. In our culture of self-reliant independence, not too many people, including yours truly, like to hear about needing anyone besides ourselves. But you and I cannot follow Jesus if we don’t recognize His lead. Along with that comes a surrendering of control. Again, not a popular concept in our society. The saying goes that if God is your co-pilot, you need to switch seat. The Christian word for this is repentance, turning away from ourselves and what takes precedence before God and turning toward God.

Make straight paths for him…: I think what Isaiah and John the Baptist mean here is that you and I need to look at what is tripping us up. What is preventing us from truly following Jesus? Do we control our tongue or does our tongue control us through gossips? Are you and I behaving in ways that are destructive both for ourselves and others; In ways that grieve the heart of God? Are you and I involved in relationships that are damaging and contrary to God’s will for our lives? Are you and I holding on to stuff that are preventing us from following Jesus? Are you and I treating and loving others like we want to be treated and loved; as Jesus models for us?

The stuff you and I are holding on to is not necessarily material things but it could also be hurt. Maybe we are chewing on the wound someone has inflicted to us long ago and we can’t get past the hurt. Maybe we are holding on to destructive pride. Maybe we refuse to forgive… What are you holding on to?
Jesus says that he came so we would have abundant life and live to the fullest extent. Holding on to stuff or hurts prevents us from experiencing the life God meant for us to have.

Paul writes, “And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” (Phil. 1: 6, NLT). A life that is touched by Jesus should be a transformed life, a life that bears fruit. Galatians 5:22 talks about these fruit. Some of the fruits displayed by growing Christians should be, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Are you cringing? I am because I fall short on many of these areas, especially patience. They are called Fruit of the Spirit because you and I cannot reach these on our own. When people look at us - see us live, hear us talk - can they tell we are followers of Jesus? Are we displaying fruit?
Did you notice that out of all the fruit of the Spirit, love is listed first? A mentor was telling me of a blessing he had heard a pastor offer to a group of other pastors a while back. Part of the blessing said, “Love like you have never been hurt.” When he said that I immediately thought of Jesus as he was nailed to that cross, in more pain than I can imagine, and yet he asked his Father to forgive us. You and I are called to love like that and we can’t love like that without Jesus working on our heart on a daily basis and without us being open to the Spirit’s working.

Some of us have said “yes” to Jesus but then like a seed being chocked by weeds, we stopped growing. We stopped bearing fruit. The busyness and worries of this world get the best of us. Our faith gets anemic. For some of us the seeds have grown dormant. Some of us are asleep. Pastor Maxie Dunnam, who was the president of Asbury Seminary in Kentucky, tells of a 3-year old little girl who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. Her cries awaken her mother in the next room and the mother runs hurriedly to her little girl’s room. She gathers her little child in her arms and attempts to kiss away the tears. Finally, she asks her little girl, “Honey, what happened?” Through sniffles and with tears still running down her cheeks, the little girl replies, “Mommy, I guess I fell asleep too close to where I got in.”

That’s the way it is with too many of us Christians. We went to sleep too close to where we got in. This results in lukewarm Christians, at best. We think that after we are justified, after we say “yes” to Jesus then we are home free. We think that we have our fire insurance policy and we’re done. But saying “yes” is the beginning of the journey. When we say we are Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, can people tell? We are called to make a difference in Jesus’ name around us, in this world. Are we? You and I are work in progress for sure but we are to grow in grace through Christ. Growth in grace is attractive. Are you and I attracting people to faith in Jesus and are people indifferent or even repulsed by what they see in us?

A friend was recounting the story of Mary being told by an angel that she would carry and give birth to the Son of God. And that angel told Mary not to be afraid (Luke 2). On an aside, have you noticed that pretty much every time an angel appears in a biblical story, the angel says not to be afraid. I am not certain but this could be to appease the heart and mind of those people who were steeped in the Old Testament belief that if you saw the face of God you would die. Or maybe the angels preface their announcements with “do not be afraid” because what they announce usually means change, big change, but they want to also remind us that we will not face those changes alone.

My friend wondered why we do not seem to see angels anymore; Those angels who talked to Mary and sang to the shepherds to announce the birth of a Savior in Bethlehem. Where have the angels gone? Then my friend asked out loud, “what if you and I are the angels? What if God is waiting on us to deliver His message?”

I don’t know about you but I do have some angels in my life right now helping me negotiate the changes in my life; reminding me of God’s presence. They don’t wear white robes. They don’t have wings or a halo above their heads. No, my angels wear Dockers and sweaters. My angels wear suits and dresses. Do you have angels in your life? Are you an angel in someone else’s life?

“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” We are waiting for Jesus. If he came today, what would he find? Would he find people who are asleep and bored or people who are fully awake and growing in grace?