In, Not Of

These are my notes from the Sermon "In, Not Of" which I preached @ Faith Country Chapel on June 4 2012.  An audio version can be found at www.faithcountrychapel.org

Outline

A.      Introduction

B.      Jesus’ Prayer

·         “In, Not Of”-What does it mean?

·         The Reason We Remain

C.      Keys to being “in the world but not of it.”

a.       Relationship with God through Christ.

b.      Relationship with each other.

c.       God’s protection.

d.      Joy.

e.      Sanctification.

D.      Take Home Challenge

a.       Matthew West song

Introduction

·         This morning I want to talk with you about a concept that I find to be one of the most challenging expectations that we deal with as Christians.

·         It is something that we struggle with from the moment we give our life to Christ until we leave this earth.  And though it is a life-long struggle and something that we can’t escape, it is imperative that we face it head-on.

·         If we do, our relationship with God will be deeper, more exciting and our impact for The Kingdom will be all the more significant.

·         If that is your desire this morning, then you need to listen intently to what God is saying in His Word this morning.  If its not, then you still need to listen because you need a fire lit in you before you flame out!

·         As we read through the passage and go through the message this morning, I want you to keep 1 question in the back of your mind—“Is this all there is?”

·         This message is primarily directed at the graduates because they are entering a new stage in their life and like any passages in our life—it’s a time of excitement, hope, dreams and plans.  It is a time of questioning and imagining.  It’s a time of anxiety.  I want to speak God’s truth into your lives today at such a pivotal moment in your life.

·         Everyone else doesn’t need to check out though—this is something that all of us as Christians and soon-to-be Christians need to pray over and pursue.

John 17:6-19

·         This passage comes in the last days of Jesus on earth.  Back in chapter 13, Jesus has already washed the disciples feet and celebrated the Passover Feast—The Last Supper with them and then he begins a series of teachings with His disciples.  His last words that He wants to share with them.

·         At the end of chapter 16, Jesus has just said to them: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”

·         Now, in chapter 17, Jesus prays.  This is a text that we could spend a lot of time in—after all, this is Jesus praying!  We know that Jesus was a man of prayer and He instructed us to be people of prayer, yet we don’t have many recordings of His prayers.  What better way to know someone’s heart than to know what they pray for?  In fact, you want to know the condition of your heart, want to know the depth of your faith and your relationship with God?  Then examine your prayer life and what you pray for and pray about—you will get some real insight to what’s really important to you!

·         So here we not only have Jesus praying but doing so right before His crucifixion and resurrection!  The timing of this prayer gives it a lot of weight.  What was on Jesus’ heart just before He was going to take the sin of the world upon His shoulders and provide a way for man to once again be in relationship with God the Father?

·         I encourage you sometime to spend a lot of time studying this chapter because you will learn a lot about the heart of Jesus and your heart as well.

·         Jesus 1^st prays for Himself then for His disciples, and then future believers.  Let’s focus this morning on the middle section of His prayers as He prays for His disciples.

·         Read John 17:6-19

I.                    Jesus’ Prayer

               

A.      Be in the world but not of it.

“In, Not Of”-What does it mean?

·         Jesus clearly prays that we will be “in the world” but we are not to be “of the world.” 

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.  John 17:11

….for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  John 17: 14b-16.

·         It is obvious to us this morning that we are literally, by location, “in the world.” (If that is not obvious to you, therapy & medication may help you with that!)

·         So here we are, followers of Christ, living in the midst of an evil world that does not follow Christ.  Instead of being taken home to glory, to a place where there is no sin, sorrow or shame, we remain earth-bound, surrounded by sin and evil, by people who do not follow Christ, are hostile towards Him and hostile to those who follow Him and the question becomes—WHY?!!

·         We’ll answer that in a moment.

·         But first, why is it that we are to be “in the world, but not of it”?  What does that mean to be “in, not of”?

·         As I said, this is extremely challenging and perplexing and something that we will always need to wrestle with—“How can I be in the world but not of the world?”

·         The Church has wrestled with this from the very beginning.

·         You have those who say “look we are not to be ‘of the world’ so we must separate ourselves from the world.” Examples: monks, communities like The Harmonists who founded Old Economy Village in Ambridge and later the town of Harmony just to the south of us, The Amish.

·         Others have not wanted to go that far, but still want to maintain a visible distinction so legalism creeps in and the focus becomes on the superficial what we wear, what we do and what we don’t do and when we do it or don’t do it.  We narrow it down to a list of rules and say look “we are not of the world!”

·         Others go to the other extreme and become too “in the world” to the point that there is no clear distinction between “the Christian” and “the world”.

·         It’s not one or the other, its both and there is an inherent tension to being “in the world but not of it”.

We are to be a part of the world and to engage the

world yet, be different from the world.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.  John 17:17-19

·         While we live on earth, we are to very much be part of the world and to engage the world yet we are to stand out as different from the world.

·         The key to doing that is found in v.17—to be sanctified, to be set apart.  Not removed or distant from but set apart.  And we are set apart for a purpose.

·         Which brings us back to the question of why?

·         Why is it as believers that once we enter into a relationship with Christ; the moment we give our life to Him and place our trust in Him, are we not then whisked away to heavenly glory?  Why do we remain—be it for a day, a year, 10 years, 80 years—why does God keep us here?

·         There are many reasons why—not the least of which is our purpose in His Kingdom work.  The reason we are in the world but not of it, is so that we can engage the world and reach those who are lost and lead them to Christ.

·         We are the light of the world, shining brightly that all may see what God has done and will do, showing the path to Him and tending to the needs of all of His creation, His people.

·         We cannot do that by hiding ourselves from the world nor can we do that by following a list of rules that we have made up that have no bearing in Scripture.  Neither can we do that if the sum of our religion is what we do for a few hours on a Sunday.

·         We have been sanctified for a purpose—The Great Commission.

·         All of us are here because of someone else.  Sure all the ultimate glory goes to what Jesus Christ has done and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  But, all of us can probably point to someone as the reason for our salvation or for our spiritual growth. (My story).

·         In order for us to be “in, not of” we must be sanctified—that’s the only way we can do it; the only way possible and we do that not by our own will but by surrendering our will to the work of the Holy Spirit that He might bring about a heart change.

·         It’s as Jesus said,  “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart,….”  Our words and our actions have their roots in our heart and so our heart must be changed for our actions and words to be any different.

·         If we are to stand separate and distinct from the world, in order to be that shining light, then we first must have a divine change of the heart.

·         If we don’t, it’s as Paul said to the Corinthians, “…. I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal.”  I can have all this great religious stuff but if I don’t have the love of God and the love for God in my heart, “….I am nothing.”

·         It’s about the Great Commandment: Matthew 22:37-40.

We need a revival of The Great Commandment!

Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.  Matthew 22:37-40

·         We need a revival of The Great Commandment.  It’s about loving God as He loves us.  It’s about loving others as He loves them.  That can only happen with a heart change—a heart that is first justified by Jesus’ saving work and then sanctified by the power of The Holy Spirit.

·         We talk about revival, we pray for it, we ask for it, we say we need it. But truth be told, many of us want revival because we want the world cleaned up, we want it to be comfortable for us.  “After all God, if you are going to leave us here, let’s clean the place up a bit so I don’t have to see the sinful mess and deal with its temptations.”  We are more concerned on sin’s impact on us than we are on its impact on those who are still stuck in sin!

·         If we are honest, we are content with our neighbor going to hell as long as they don’t bother us on their way there.

·         Zach example—I need God to preach this sermon to me over and over again!

·         As I said, this idea of being “in the world, but not of it” is not easy.  It requires a heart change!

II.                  Keys to being “in the world but not of it”

a.      Relationship with God through Christ.  First, this whole discussion has no bearing or weight with us, if we first don’t have a relationship with God which only comes through Christ. 

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  John 17:3

We must begin a relationship with God and continually grow in that relationship, if we are going to truly “be in but not of the world.”

b.      Relationship with each other.

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.  John 17:11

We live out our faith, not in isolation, but with others.  That’s one of the primary purposes for The Church.  To worship and serve God together.  From our fellow believers, we receive encouragement, care, accountability, we are sharpened, we share the load, we bring our individual gifts to the work and our impact is far greater.  In fact, it is our unity that truly impacts the world.

c.       God’s protection.

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.  John 17:11

It’s a dangerous place out there.  The world hates us, people don’t easily change.  The world doesn’t want to easily give up its ways and to follow the narrow path that Christ calls us to follow.  There is much suffering.  Temptation to sin is great.  If we are to remain and thrive in a place where we ultimately don’t belong, we need the power of God to survive and thrive!  We need His protection.

d.      Joy.

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  John 17:13

Even though we live in a dark and evil world, there is still joy and enjoyment to be had.  Even in the midst of suffering and trials, we can experience joy.  Joy includes happiness.  Happiness is not the same as joy—it is based on circumstances and joy transcends our circumstances.  Joy comes from a intimate relationship with Christ.  Jesus wants us to have a ‘full measure” of His joy.  It is what will allow us to thrive in this world and to have a greater impact for His Kingdom.  Joy is infectious.  People are drawn to joy because they are desperate for it!

e.      Be sanctified.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.  John 17:17-19

We are called to be “set apart” not to distance ourselves from the world but to engage the world for Christ.  We can only effectively do that if our heart has been changed by God Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.

III.                Take Home Challenge

At the start, I asked you to keep this question in the back of your minds—“Is this all there is?”

Ponder for a moment what Christ has done for you—new life in Him, eternal life, the full measure of joy and the great suffering and miracle it took to provide it to you.

Then take a look at The Church today.  Examine your own walk with Him.  Ask yourself, is this what Jesus died for?  Is this the church He intended to launch in the world?  Did He go to such great lengths for our salvation only so you and I can have a place to go to; something to do for a few hours on a Sunday morning?  Is this just a safe resting place until He calls you home to glory or a support to help you through Monday-Saturday?  It can be all of these—but is this all there is?

Or did He really intend for what we experience here to be set free into the world 7 days a week to draw others to Him?

Did He desire that the relationship we have with Him so transform us that our desire is to be nothing less than “light in the darkness” in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces, in our community and in our world?

Was it His intent that The Church—the one who He said the “gates of hell would not prevail against it”—would be so radical in its love for God and for their neighbors that it would be an irresistible force for good in this world?

Was it His intent for you and I together to be that Church?

Question: Are you going through the motions?  Listen to the words of this Matthew West song (“Through The Motions”) as you pray.

Closing

To the class of 2012 and to us all:

·         Passionately pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ.

·         Don’t insulate yourself from the world by don’t be immersed in it—remember your purpose for being in the world.

·         Continue to be surrendered to the Holy Spirit and live in God’s Grace.