Intending To Live
The Company We Keep, prt. 5
Wildwind Community Church
David Flowers
May 30, 2009
How do you intend to live? That’s a strange question, isn’t it? How do you intend to live? This is a question most people don’t think about, and it’s this fact that is responsible for the significant numbers of people who are chronically unpleased with themselves. They are living for the moment. They want to watch their TV shows or enjoy their computers and other distractions (pick your distraction), but they have not determined to live in a certain way and then arranged their lives so as to live that way. I’m going to give you a very specific challenge at the end of this sermon geared toward helping you live in a certain way that is necessary in order for you to learn to obey Jesus. I hope you will take it seriously and go for it, because I think it has potential to start a revolution in the lives of a lot of people. I’m not going to tell you what it is right now, but I’ll tell you that today is the day when we stop dinking around with the idea of following Jesus and get serious about doing what it takes.
How do you intend to live? Living the Jesus life, as I said last week, requires that you get a vision for how your life could be different, and better, if you were actually living that life. Indeed many Christians do not even seriously attempt to live like Jesus because our vision of the Jesus life is a dour and somber vision. We cannot imagine that life would be any fun if we were holy. We can’t see ourselves BEING holy and in our most honest moments some of us might even say we don’t want to be holy, or that holiness is too much of a spiritual term for them – they’re just regular people.
But we are called to be holy. That’s the thing. That’s our call.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Jesus has issued that call to you – come and work with me and walk with me. Watch how I live and let me teach you. Well, if Jesus has issued a call for us to learn from him how to live, and Jesus was God and therefore holy, what is our calling actually TO? Our calling is to holiness!!
So last week I shared with you that we need to have a positive vision of what it would mean to be holy, to be like Jesus, to live the life he has called us to live. If you think that the more you live like Jesus, the more miserable you will be and the less you will enjoy life, then you will simply never muster what it takes to follow him. You cannot motivate yourself to a basically negative vision for your life. I passed out that sheet last week where the Apostle Paul lists all the great stuff that comes from a life of holiness, and I’ve been talking to you for weeks about what it would mean for you to live free from fear, from anger, from addictions, from pettiness and jealousy and resentment, etc. etc. I’ve been trying to help you get, or reinforce, a positive vision for life in the Kingdom of God. Because that’s the kind of life it is – one of richness and depth and fullness and joy and completeness. In order to follow Jesus you must believe that the life he calls you to is better than the life you are already living. If you do not have that trust in him, you simply will not be able to follow him. This means that you must understand that the life of holiness Jesus calls you to IS a life of joy! Some of you might have to wrestle with that for months. Do whatever it takes to bring yourself to understand that, because you’ll find it hard to motivate yourself to a life that deep down you think is going to be terrible.
We talked about how existing and accepted methods of “following Jesus” are not bringing the transformation Jesus promised. To bring that home to you, let me repeat some recent statistics I have shared with you.
In November 2006, A Christian research organization surveyed a region of the FMC.
46% reported negative on relationship with spouse specifically
29% ongoing problems in sexuality—porn, extra-marital affairs, uncontrollable lust, fantasies, masturbation
58% emotional or stress management—anxiety, depression, fear, worry, anger, loneliness, insecurity, discouragement
60% concern over not growing in love for God
52% concern over not growing in love for others
64% concern about hearing from God
75% concern over not practicing spiritual disciplines
48% concern over degree of personal transformation
These are Christians, people who claim to follow Christ. Yet we’re as mired in “sameness” as the next person. Clearly what we are doing isn’t working. Clearly a different approach is needed that can produce the needed results. And that is the approach I am teaching you now.
But is it your intention to learn to live the life Jesus has called you to? I mean, once you have a vision for that life, you must intend to grab a hold of that life. If you have a positive vision for the life Jesus has called you to, if you are convinced, or even suspect, or are even willing to venture, that life in the Kingdom of God is better than life outside of it, then you are ready to move to the level of intention.
Is it your intention to learn to live your life the way Jesus would live it if he were you today? This calls for a great deal of honesty. You will not get anywhere by giving the easy Sunday school “yes” answer. If you do not actually intend to arrange your life and structure your affairs so that you can enter into training for the Jesus life, then you will never learn to live it. That’s obvious right? So honesty at this point is essential. What life do you actually intend to lead? Many of us here tonight haven’t really put much thought into that. We’re going to work, going to church, doing our quiet time, going to small group – doing what we think is right – but we have not answered the larger question of what kind of life am I going to lead. That question is massive.
Psalms 39:4 (NLT)
4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is.
Speaking of running, and not to get too morbid, but we all running out of time. That’s just the fact of the matter. Whatever you’re going to do, get going! God, remind us of how fleeting our lives are, why? So we can get depressed and eat chips? Of course not, but so that we will use them intentionally for good! And we’d better get on with it!
Let’s look at our text for this evening.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)
1 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
We’d better get on with it! I could line every one of you up in a straight line here tonight and ask you the question, “Is it your intention to complete a marathon?” Every one of you could answer that question for me with complete honesty. For those who said no, there would be zero expectations. I would never call you and say, “How come you missed our run this week?” I’d never mention anything if I saw you eating a whole cake in one sitting, or suggest that you shut off the TV and go for a walk. But for the few who said yes, a certain kind of lifestyle would be required. That’s just the way it is. We covered all that last week. If you have a vision to do something that requires training, then it must be your intention to do what is required to bring your vision into reality. Our text says it well. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Study how he did it. That is how progress is made. We’d better get on with it!
Now I want to take a moment to talk about how you know what your spiritual intentions are. None of you would have a problem telling me whether or not you want to train for a marathon. But we’ve been sold a cheap and easy gospel. Many of us were told that following Jesus is just about praying the sinner’s prayer, or attending church or learning to be good. Many of us weren’t told when we signed on to be Christians that the life Christ calls us to is good, requires training, and is worth training for! It’s time to take an inventory about your feelings about that statement. The life Christ calls you to is good, it requires training, and it is worth training for! Back to the idea that your life will be better with Jesus than with this dying religion we call Christianity.
So we don’t want the cheap, Sunday school answer here. We don’t want you saying, “I’m in” if you’re not in. I have had knee trouble for the past two years as I’ve been aspiring to be a runner. I love running and I have seen signs that if I could pull my body together, I might be pretty good at it. I’ve endured a lot of physical therapy that has been unproductive and ineffective. So recently I went to see Clint Verran, who helped Cindy Perkins recover from her injury and finish a couple marathons. Do you know the difference between seeing Clint and my experience in physical therapy before? Clint does stuff, and forces me to do stuff, that is excruciating. It hurts so bad sometimes I can barely breathe. And as he’s doing it sometimes he’ll say, “I know this hurts – sorry.” Now let’s think about this. I want to get better. I want to run the Crim this summer and I want to complete a marathon in the next year. I want it bad, and I’m willing to do what I have to do to get it done. So given that my serious intention is to get my body into condition and train for these races, what do I say when Clint says, “Sorry, I know it hurts.” I say, “Hurt me as much as you need to –just fix me. Get me in the game.”
What if we said that to Jesus?
1 Timothy 4:8 (MSG)
8 Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.
What if we could hear Jesus saying, “I know this is going to hurt sometimes. My intention is not to harm you but to heal you,” and what if we said, “Lord I trust you. I know your intentions for me. Hurt me as much as you need to, Lord -- just fix me. Get me in the game.” Now I think God could work with that, don’t you?
But what if I have only said my intention is to get out there and run? What if I didn’t mean it? What if I just went to see Clint to make Christy think I was serious about getting better, or so as not to hurt Cindy’s feelings after she gave me the referral? What if I didn’t really want this for myself? What would I say then, when Clint says, “Sorry, I know this hurts.” I’m gonna say, “Hey – take it easy.” I’m gonna say, “Chill out, dude, dang.” I’m gonna say, “A little overzealous, aren’t we?” See, in order for Clint to do his job, I have to want this. If I want it, he is free to work and do what needs to be done. If I don’t want it, I will be constantly frustrated with him, telling him to back off, and consequently he just won’t be able to help me. And of course I’ll take that same attitude into my personal exercises too. Instead of doing an exercise that hurts, I’ll finesse it and try to make it more comfortable. If I want it for myself, I’ll do whatever it takes to get it. If I don’t want it for myself, I’ll blame the guy trying to help me for going too far.
That’s how you know what your intentions are. Let me give you a few other examples that aren’t running-related. How about mathematics or any other academic pursuit? Lisa Light is a math teacher. You come into Lisa’s class one year and she starts teaching math. And you notice she teaches differently than your teacher last year. She gives different amounts of homework, allows different amounts of time for in-class work, treats students differently (way better I’m sure!), and has different grading policies. Any or all of these you could dispute with her, get upset about this and that – but the one thing you can count on is this. If you truly desire to learn math and it is your intention to do that, and if you will listen to Lisa and do the homework she assigns, and go to her with your questions and let her explain, and if you will be patient with her and with yourself, she will teach you how to do math. There is no question about whether you will learn. The only question is whether you will allow her to teach you.
The same with Christy and reading. She has a master’s degree in reading education. If you will be patient with her and with yourself, if you will listen to her and keep your eyes on your vision, and it is truly your intention to learn to read, Christy will teach you to read. There’s no question about that.
You begin with a positive vision for what your life could be like if you dedicated it to this purpose or that. And then you are honest with yourself about whether it is truly your intention to dedicate your life to that purpose and arrange it in a way that will allow you to do what needs to be done to realize your vision. If you continually find fault with the teacher’s methods, or the physical therapist’s exercises, and keep darting around and won’t settle down and learn or be healed, you have an underlying intention problem. You are saying you have intentions that you do not really have.
Jesus Christ is the master of all of life. He created the universe, including every law of nature. He knows more about math and science than any of us ever will. He could arrange molecules of water to support his body weight. He could reverse death and raise people to life. He could cause water to turn into wine at a party. If energy can be converted into mass, Jesus contained within himself enough energy to give birth to the entire universe and it is little wonder he was able to take a few loaves of bread and a few fishes and convert them to enough food to feed thousands. He is the master of life and knows everything that can be known about it and about you, including what is going to happen to you after you die. He also knows your potential for good and for joy while you live! If you will be patient with Jesus, and with yourself, if you will listen to him, keep your eyes on your vision of becoming like him, and it is truly your intention to have that life, Jesus will lead you into it. There’s simply no question about that. Because in addition to that amazing resume I just shared with you, Jesus is also the finest teacher that has ever lived, and is 100% capable of delivering to you the experiences, the information, and the relationships you need to learn to live your life the way he would live it today if he were you. You can absolutely count on him to do that, if it is your intention to allow him to.
So that’s how you determine your intention. You can determine your intention by your response to the person/people who are trying to help you attain what you say you want. This is where I come in. For seven years I have been leading us to the place where we are now, preparing us to be ready to listen and receive all that God has for us. The question now is do you want that and is it your intention to get it? I of course am not God anymore than Lisa is mathematics, or Christy is reading, but I can show you, and have a responsibility to show you, how to walk with Jesus and learn from him. What you have to decide is what kind of life you intend to lead. If you will be patient with me, and with yourself, if you will listen to me, keep your eyes on your vision of becoming like Jesus, and it is truly your intention to have that life, I can show you where to find it.
But that is entirely up to you. You can dismiss it. You can criticize or find fault with my methods. You can act as if this whole thing is just one more program and will eventually fade away. Or you can take it seriously as the way to the life you’ve always wanted, and learn to live in a new way. It is my desire to show you, and for us to learn together.
So it’s time to move. I’ve already emailed you about learning most of Psalm 139 “by heart.” That’s a great starting place, determining to learn who God is and who we are because of him. And I said it’s not a suggestion or recommendation. If your desire is to live the Christ-life, you must learn who God is and who you are because of him, just like if you desire to learn mathematics, you MUST learn to multiply and divide! If you intend to learn to read, Christy doesn’t recommend or suggest that you learn the alphabet.
I said I was going to challenge you specifically at the end of today’s sermon in a way that would allow every person here to take a step toward restructuring our lives to follow Jesus. Here it is. I’m calling everyone in this church, parents, children, everybody – to not turn your TV sets on in your house again until after church NEXT Saturday. A seven day fast from television, because television is probably the #1 reason more of us have not already moved toward Christ in the way we say we want to. The good news is you’re already halfway there. I assume your TV sets are already off. Simply don’t turn them back on until after church next week.
You know what I love about this challenge? You can say it’s radical, or difficult, but you can’t say it’s harmful. The fact is ONLY good things can come from turning off your TV. You’ll eat more family meals together. You’ll talk more. You’ll play games. Best of all, I hope we’ll see how much of a barrier that box is for all of us and determine to take control of it. This isn’t something you need to pray about – you don’t need time to discuss it or figure it out. (The only exception is if your spouse isn’t here tonight!) It can only be a good thing.
Tonight is the night. Let’s stop saying we need to do something and do something. Let’s stop wishing we were closer to God and start moving closer. Let’s stop lamenting how much time our kids spend in front of the TV and shut that thing off so they don’t see US watching it. Let’s do what families should do – let’s take walks together this week and play board games and have conversations and eat meals together. Do think Jesus is in those things? Do you think that will please God? Do you think that’s a step in the right direction? Heck, shut your TV off this week and you’ll find yourself spending more time learning Psalm 139! Guess which is best for you to have in your head – that or CSI? Can there possibly be any question about that? Or are we so Americanized that we can’t even see it?
So if you’re willing to do that tonight – to potentially start a revolution in your life – to silence that box – I’d like you to stand up. Just right in your seat where you are. I know all the kids here are hoping their parents don’t stand, but parents - lead your kids! Place yourself firmly between them and anything that’s keeping them from knowing God – or knowing YOU!
Do you know what else you’ll find? You’ll go to bed earlier. You’ll snack less. You’ll read more. I hope you’ll pray more, and sit in silence more. I hope you’ll have more sex instead of watching other people have it on TV! How about the spiritual discipline of having sex? Would it disappoint God if couples decided to turn off the TV and have sex every night this week? Not at all. Would God be in that? You’d better believe it. There’s no reason as we’re fasting in one area of life, we can’t feast in another!!
Folks, this life God calls you to – it’s a wonderful life. We’re going to find it together. If it is your intention to learn to follow Jesus, shutting off your TV this week will help you create space where you can hear God. I will be emailing you to give you some suggestions this week.
Hebrews 12:1 (MSG)
1 …we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
Let’s DO something this week – let’s get rid of one of those parasites for a while and see what happens! Will you pray with me?
