Sermon Central
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Holiness – Part 3 – Jesus Is Our Pattern Series
Contributed by John Bright on Jun 22, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: In the Wesleyan tradition, we rely on a clear understanding of holiness. This series clears ups some modern-day misunderstandings. Teaching sheet at the end of the text.
"Holiness – Part 3 – Jesus is our Pattern"
Pastor John Bright
1 John 2 “3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You must choose.
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It’s tough to be like Jesus. Old story about two kids fighting over the last pancake, so Mom asks the older brother, “What would Jesus do?”
He replied, “Jesus would let the other person have the last pancake.”
Mom smiled and said, “I think you are right.”
Then, the older brother grabbed the last pancake and told his little brother, “You can be like Jesus this time.” 😊
What about us? We should be like Jesus – especially us pastors! But that is hard and we often fail. I have been sharing some of the beginnings of my path to greater and greater holiness of heart and life. Let me give you a little picture of what I used to be like (it’s not pretty).
I used to take all criticism or any question about the way I was doing something as a personal attack. I used it as an excuse to strike out - especially with my words. (Notice – did not say it caused me to do something – I chose) It was bad at home with Lynn and it was worse at a church meeting. I would get so mad if I had to explain myself to anyone. It was horrible! I have taught you something – “hurt people hurt people” – remember? I needed inner healing – from past memories and distorted mirrors.
As I started down that road, I got some tools. I used to keep a Q-tip taped to my rearview mirror and inside my notebook that I took to meetings. It was a reminder to Quit Taking It Personally – QTIP. Nobody ever got out of bed in the morning and planned to do something around me on the road. I could have grace for them because I have done stuff on the road that others did not like. I also learned to walk away for a bit. During church meetings, I would go to the bathroom. My Council chair thought I had a bladder problem for a few months. 😊
When we receive that inner healing and start down the road toward holiness of heart and life, we need guidance – we need a pattern. I am going to offer you that today, but I have to confess up front that I am still in the process of establishing this pattern. I told you before, until last October (2022) – I was a Sabbath breaker. That was when I took a course on Sabbath Keeping. The practice of Sabbath Keeping and the others I will be sharing with you are all seen in the life of Jesus. We call these Spiritual Disciplines.
HURRY – HURRY - HURRY
The world we live in exact opposite of what is needed for us to practice holiness of heart and life. Everything today conspires to make us hurry from one thing to the next. I’m going to be relying on the best book from my Sabbath Keeping class – “The Relentless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world” by John Mark Comer. He lays out the pattern of following Jesus with a purpose – to unplug from a culture that is designed to pull you further and further from your Heavenly Father.
Comer uses a quote from Ronald Rolheiser – “We, for every kind of reason, good and bad, are distracting ourselves in spiritual oblivion. We are more busy than bad, more distracted than nonspiritual, and more interested in the movie theater, the sports stadium, and the shopping mall and the fantasy life they produce in us than we are in the church. Pathological busyness, distraction and restlessness are major blocks today within our spiritual lives.” (pg. 26)
“We are more busy than bad.” That one jumped off the page at me.
Much of what Comer focuses on is our constant connection to our phones and social media. One of the documentaries that really disturbed me came out in 2020 - “The Social Dilemma” – if you use social media or have kids, you really need to watch – let me share a couple of quotes so you can get a feel for it:
