Message: How We Fail God thru Form, Style & Show
Today, I get to share with you like we do almost every Sunday this incredible thing we have in common with the creator of the Universe and all that stuff beyond. Everything in addition to what we know or understand into that which we are not capable of even to begin to comprehend. You and I are members of a family that transcends time and dimension, into regions of both that exceed our very understanding. And yet on faith, our family believes.
Into the inner recesses of unknown physics, through the intense depths of microbiology, into the voids of magnetic, dynamic, and hypothermic fields streaming through the universe itself, cross cutting the inner regions of human dynamics, and knowing the trillions of trillions of thoughts, ideas, and hopes. Including things done wrong, our Lord uses corrects, and rectifies all stray paths for His glory. Our God knows all, because our God created all, sustains all, and will vouchsafe all when His plans come to their logical and inevitable conclusion.
Yes, we members of the family of God try daily to live our family creed based on that final verse of 1 Corinthians 13, where the apostle Paul teaches about Faith, Hope, and Love. We indeed as a family are deeply tied to Faith, Hope and Love. That’s us! And, the absence of those three family attributes, leaves our lives with the emptiness of only form, style and show. Bogus Bling and a hopeless fling into the abyss and the shallowness of bla.
I think Faith is sometimes (many times) such an allusive gift of grace for us, primarily because we forget or overlook asking God for His help with our faith in Him. Reminding me of the Old Testament list of heroes in our family, who lived in faith. Reading Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16;
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
*Interrupting the Apostle to say; Here are the basics that our family has always had faith in, even in the Old Testament times: We believe in God even when we can’t see Him, and our God made the universe by His command. And now, here’s the who’s who list out of God’s family, our elders from days of old;
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
And we get to join them (our family), when we are glorified in Him who is over all, in all, and sustains all. That means that our faithwalk and worship life needs to reflect this incredible bond with our God that comes from being a part of such a family. Meaning that the person that sees us on a Wednesday, sees the same person in worship on a Sunday. If not, God is cheated, robbed, and pickpocketed of our devotion to Him.
We get a sense of what God thinks of our sinfulness when we are only about form and style, just putting on a show instead of loving Gove with all of our being, from today’s Call to Worship. Reading again from Isaiah 1:1-2, 10-20;
1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
*I Am Cutting in to Say; That this very personal, very intimate statement from God, give us a no kidding idea of just how hurt God is when we blow Him off, and only worship with our mouths or go through the motions. That isn’t living our faith, its being a Stepford Christian on autopilot. Dead in faith, and void of hope! Here’s more from God through Isaiah, continuing with verse 10;
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
**Interrupting again just to say; When God compares you to Sodom and Gomorrah, it’s not a compliment. It means you have tempted God beyond your means to comprehend your filth and repugnance. Time to listen and take heed, your creator is speaking. Verse 11;
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
***Side Bar to Say; our event celebrations, days of rest, and our very Worship Services are appalling to God because we don’t mean it. Were faking it, and wing-in it, cuz we aint living it as His children. God has more to say;
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
****Interrupting once more to say; God makes the same case always, help those in need. Also, some translations say; “Come now, let us reason together”says the God who wants to be in a personal relationship with … you!
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Life or death. Your choice. That’s what free choice is all about. By the way, free choice is not free of costs! And now we know our options. God will love us take care of us, and protect us, if we will only believe and trust in Him, a life of faith with grow in us, instead of living today’s message title of; “How We Fail God thru Form, Style & Show”
Living life in the shallowness of form, style and show means that we are detached from God for a variety of reasons, beginning with plain and simple selfishness. Even when we think we are putting on a good show in our church, personal, and faith life, God knows different. Sometimes we even think that we are rich enough, or successful enough, or even popular and loved by others enough, we will be saved from ourselves. The Psalmist knows differently, hear his instruction. Reading from Psalm 33:12-16;
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
Because all victory in life and death, ultimately comes from our Lord who knows all. Which means that when we diligently seek our Lord’s will in our lives through faith, hope and love in Him who is all, we need not worry about things outside our control. Here again is our Lord’s word on it from todays Message Reading. Reading again Luke 12:32-40;
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
*Cutting in to say; When God is my treasure, my whole attitude changes. Now instead of worrying over how much I am required to give God; I am now focused on what God will empower me to do for others. Hence saving me from me. Continuing now at verse 35;
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
When I make God my treasure instead of my selfishness, fears, and the petty junk of the world, I am now about my Father’s business, equipped and prepared for more. Which is loving Him with all I have, and loving my neighbor as myself.
Now when a person sees me on a Thursday, they will see the same person in church on Sunday worship. May the Lord find us engaged in His business, and not in our own foolishness and selfish pursuits into the morbid abyss of the flesh.
My hope and Prayer for all of you this week as you live, learn, and build your beautiful lives with and in our incredible Lord, is that you will get more than a moment to step back and reflect on just what lays ahead for you in eternity. This will help you to know that the good we try to bring into the world is not in vain, because our God and His plans are not haphazard ideas, but the future for all of humanity. May He bless you all deeply,
Amen!