Spin Off Series

We have completed our series on discipleship "Walking The Way".  However, we're going spend the rest of the summer considering the examples of some of those who walked the Way.  This Sunday (August 1) we will begin with a sort of time paradox as we look at Abraham.  Then, on the following weeks, we will look at some examples from the early Church such as Timothy, Priscilla & Aquila, the first converts at Philippi and perhaps others.  If you want a head start, the central passages for this Sunday are:  Romans 4 and Hebrews 11:8-19.

The Good Shepherd and Living Sacrifices

Sacrifice is “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered to have a higher or more pressing claim.”  That’s a basic definition from dictionary.com but I think it’s a good one.  A sacrifice is made not for its own sake, but for the sake of something else. In Hebrews 12 we read that Jesus endured the cross, not for the sake of the cross but for the joy set before Him – for the joy of what his going to the cross would accomplish.  He was willing to sacrifice Himself in order to achieve a greater end.  When we face obstacles as we ‘walk the Way’ of discipleship are we willing to make sacrifices to achieve our end – to reach the upward call of God?

What does that mean?  It doesn’t mean that our sacrifice is in any way an atoning sacrifice.  There is only one atoning sacrifice and that was Christ’s on the cross.  What it does mean is that we are to be Living Sacrifices.  We are not striving to do what only God can do, rather we glorify God for what he has already done.  We respond to His grace by being Living Sacrifices.

Now, to understand that, we need to look at Jesus (something we have been doing throughout this series).  And when we look at Jesus, as He reveals Himself in John 10, we find that He is the Good Shepherd.  He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  And so, when we look to Jesus, we find that:

ð sacrifice comes from love. We read in our text (v12-15) that the hired hand does not love the sheep and so is not willing to sacrifice himself for them.  But the Good Shepherd loves the sheep (He knows them and they know Him) and so He is willing to lay down His life for them.

ð sacrifice is freely offered.  Jesus said in John 10, “I lay it down of my own accord.”  Jesus’ sacrifice was not constrained or forced.  Jesus freely gave Himself up for us.

ð sacrifice brings life.  Jesus said, “I lay down my life - only to take it up again.”  Jesus’ sacrifice was a death that brought about life.  His death and resurrection gives us salvation and new life.

And so, in Christ’s example we find our model.  Since Christ’s sacrifice comes from love, our sacrifice is responding to that love with love for God and for one another.  Since we receive the blessings of Christ’s sacrifice freely by grace, our sacrifice is freely offered.  And since Christ’s sacrifice brings life, we are to be Living Sacrifices.

But what is a Living Sacrifice?  In Romans 12:1, we read, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.”  A Living Sacrifice is not merely a “spiritual” sacrifice.  We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, meaning that what we do and how we live – what our mouths say; what our hands do; where our feet go; what our eyes look at; what our ears listen to; what our minds think about – are to be offered in obedience to the Lord.  The apostle Paul goes on in Romans to define what a living sacrifice is.  Among several things, he speaks of holiness – in that we are not to conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds; he speaks of humility – not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought; and he speaks of being open-handed - serving others – each member of the Body of Christ belongs to all the others and we each have gifts to share.

In each of these things, we see that sacrifice involves giving. 

ð It is giving up something for the sake of holiness. 

ð It is giving over something (like control) in humility.

ð And it is giving to – being open handed. 

And so, sacrifice involves giving up some things for the sake of holiness.   For we are not to conform to the world but rather be transformed.  Paul would go on in Romans to write, “let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”  We read in Eph that we are called to, “Put to death … whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” If something has control over you, whether it be lust, anger, pride unforgiveness) must be put to death.  It must be given up to God for it to be killed.  Only then can we live.  As Lewis says at the end of Mere Christianity, “Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.”  Walking the Way involves sacrifice and sacrifice involves giving up certain things.

And sacrifice involves giving over.  We do this in humility.  For in humility we give over control of ours lives to God and follow, not our own way, but His Way.  Discipleship is impossible without humility, for if we are always running ahead and trying to lead, it is impossible to follow behind.  To follow Jesus, we have to give over control and trust Him fully.  Walking the Way involves sacrifice and sacrifice involves humbly giving over control.

And sacrifice involves giving to – giving to God and to others – being open-handed. As followers of Jesus, we are called to generosity and simplicity.  We are to live simply – not ostentatiously , not pridefully, not showing off, not keeping up with the Jones’, not striving to accumulate wealth and possessions, but simply – so that being open-handed, being generous comes more easily.  We are to be gracious stewards – those who are wise with their money but who hold it lightly and are generous with it – who give to the needy and who share with one another.  We’re not to be stingy with our money, nor are we to be stingy with our time, energy and talents. 

ð We are to give time to worship, to study, to pray and to serve. 

ð We are to give our energy by doing our very best and giving our all as we serve the Lord.

ð We are to give our talents, recognizing the gifts God has given us and therefore developing them and using them for His glory.  God has given His people gifts and those gifts are to be used to build one another up.  Walking the Way involves sacrifice and sacrifice involves giving to God and others.

As Living Sacrifices, we give up, give over and give to.  We die to sin in order to live for holiness.  We die to self in order to live in humility.   We die to selfishness in order to live open-handedly. That is what it means to be a Living sacrifice. 

Being a Living Sacrifice is a life-long process.  It may happen that that process is cut short if we are called to lay down our lives in martyrdom for the sake of Christ (as so many of our brothers and sisters have).  But even if we are not called to that, we are called to lay down our lives in life-long obedience.  Being a Living Sacrifice is not saying, “Ok, now how can I get myself killed for the Gospel?”  Being a Living sacrifice is being obedient to Christ even if it gets you killed.  It is obedience in life and in death.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “The American Board of Missions has for its seal an ox, with an altar on one side and a plough on the other, and the motto "Ready for either, "- ready to live and labour, or ready to suffer and die.” We are called to radical obedience in life and in death.

Jesus, our Good Shepherd laid down His life for us.  We, His flock who follow after Him, are called to respond to His sacrifice and follow His example.  We are to be Living Sacrifices who give ourselves freely in love to God and to others.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8:34-35).  Walking The Way of our Good Shepherd calls us to be Living Sacrifices.

Part of the Mission

Jesus is the Light of the world and He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Consequently, as His followers, we are to be reflective, convinced and connected.

REFLECTIVE - John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

In his book, Theology for the Community of God, Stan Grenz asks:  What is God’s purpose for creation?  He says, “God’s intention in history is an outworking of his own eternal nature.  His goal for humankind is that we be the image of God, that is, the reflection of the very nature of the Creator” (TCG, 489).  As those who are being renewed by God in Christ, we are to be a reflection of our Savior and Lord.  For Jesus who said that He is the light of the world also said that we are the light of the world.  He said, “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Mission requires us to be reflective – to show the world the Light of the world.

CONVINCED - In the John 14 passage that we read, we heard Jesus tell His disciples that He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place them.  Jesus said (4-6) “You know the way to the place where I am going."  Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

This is one of the most radical statements ever uttered.  In it, Jesus redefines life, truth and religion itself.

Jesus redefines life.  Life is not what you make of it; life is found in Jesus.  Life is not simply getting by, but knowing Christ; life is not, as Shakespeare’s MacBeth states, a “brief candle … but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more …a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” life is Christ – life finds meaning and purpose in Christ.  Christ is Life.

Jesus redefines truth.  Truth is not something that we make up.  This, however, runs contrary postmodernism’s patron saint, Friedrich Nietzsche (whose thought is extremely influential in our current cultural climate).  Nietzsche wrote, “What, then, is truth?  A mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms - in short a sum of human relations, which have been enhanced, transposed, and embellished poetically and rhetorically, and which after long use seem firm, canonical, and obligatory to a people; truths are illusions of which one has forgotten that this is what they are: metaphors which are worn out and without sensuous power; coins which have lost their pictures and now matter only as metal, no longer as coins.”  Truth is an illusion according to Nietzsche – something we construct ourselves.  Though Jesus might agree with Nietzsche that people often make up their own truths and attempt to force others to follow them (that is what Jesus condemned the Pharisees of) Jesus would disagree with Nietzsche’s overall definition of truth because Jesus redefines truth.  Jesus is not simply true or the bearer of truths , He IS THE TRUTH.  He is the ultimate purpose; He is the beginning and end – all things are held together in Him.

And Jesus redefines religion.  Jesus said, “I am the Way.”  Unlike Buddha who claimed to have discovered the way through the four noble truths, the noble eight-fold path and the middle way; unlike Mohammed who claimed to receive the right way through a series of angelic revelations, Jesus did not say, “Here is a way,” He said, “I am the way”.  Jesus did not give us a religious philosophy; He did not set out religious rules to follow so as to earn our way to God.  Jesus gave Himself as the atoning sacrifice for human sin and through faith in Him alone we are saved.  Salvation is had IN CHRIST – by coming to Him and believing in Him.  Walking the way is not doing things to earn God’s favor, walking the way is following Christ – receiving and responding to God’s grace to us in Jesus.

The way to God is through Christ alone.  Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Is this exclusive?  Yes.  There is only one way of salvation and that is Christ.  Is it exclusivist?  No.  For salvation through Christ is available to all who call upon the Lord.

Jesus is not one among many; He is the Only.  He is unique.  He is not a way or a truth or a lifestyle option, He is THE way, THE truth and THE Life.  He is the Only.

If we are to follow Christ as disciples and to make disciples of others, we must be convinced of this.  If we are not convinced of that fact, we cannot make disciples because we cannot be disciples.  Discipleship comes from looking to Jesus and being convinced that He is who He says He is.

Now when we are convinced of who Jesus is, we will reflect His love and character because we are CONNECTED to Him.  12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Because Jesus has gone to the Father and we are in Jesus, all things are possible.  We can pray to the One who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine and expect Him to act.  Jesus said, “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.”  Because we are in Christ, we are being made like Christ and we are empowered to continue the ministry Christ – the Kingdom of God.  We will do even greater things – not that what we, as the Church, will do would ever exceed what Christ has done in content, but it may exceed in scope – in that through the Church, Jesus’ ministry (what He has accomplished)  is taken to the whole world.

When we are convinced that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we are connected to Him and therefore can reflect Him to the world.  When we are convinced that Jesus is the Light of the world and connected to Him, we become the light of the world.

And as that happens,

ð Missions becomes a priority for us.  It is not just something we write a check for, but something we are concerned about and invested in. 

ð Fervency for mission grows in us.  We will long to see God’s Kingdom advance and our friends and neighbors, our colleagues and co-workers – even those we don’t like very much - to know the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

ð And we become vulnerable enough to go out in mission.

Jesus is the Light of the world; He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Therefore, brothers and sisters – let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV).  Let’s be part of Christ’s mission!