25 July 2021 Sunday Service
Message: How Wide, Long, High, & Deep is Christ?
Today’s Call to worship ended with, and today’s Message begins with a Benediction. But what is a Benediction? Well, according to Wikipedia (so you know it’s true!), a Benediction is a short invocation or blessing asking for divine help and guidance, usually at the end of a service. I always close our Sunday services with a Benediction as a way to leave God’s Blessing upon each of you each week. This was the last part of today’s Call to Worship from Ephesians 3:20-21:
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Paul is known for his powerful Benedictions, and he will throw them even in the middle of his letters when making a point to his readers. Giving all credit and grace to God is their common hallmark. A good Benediction can bless, teach, and inspire those on the receiving end if they choose to live miracle and gift God is providing.
So why start out a Sunday morning message with a blessing? I think because it brings us into closer harmony with scripture, whose ultimate author is the Lord.
Just listen to Paul’s words in his letter to the Church in Ephesus. This was a church that had greatly distressed him, and yet Paul will continue to teach this church through himself personally and through his student Timothy who will become the young Pastor of the Ephesian church towards the latter part of Paul’s career and life. (You can read more about that episode in Paul’s 1st and 2nd Timothy letters known as Pastoral letters, towards the end of your New Testament.)
In our passage from Ephesians, Paul says and instructs plenty by training us that God can do things unimaginable in our lives, by working through us. Each of us is empowered to be tapped into this incredible force for good when we invite Christ into our lives and live with His Holy Spirit. That’s why “to God be the glory”, and not some human being acting as His tool, implement, or messenger. God is glorified not people, and it makes one reflect on the question raised earlier in Paul’s passage and also in Today’s Call to Worship in Ephesians 3:16-19
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
** and now here it comes;
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
That is where today’s Message title; “How Wide, Long, High, & Deep is Christ?”, comes from. Our ability to reflect on a profound question, statement, and thought like that, makes you and I the “Crown of Creation” as we understand it. Just refer to David’s Psalm 139:13-16;
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
And in terms of realizing that this moment is majestic and reverent in our walk together, praises, glorifies, and magnifies His Holy Name, and proves that our Lord does indeed strengthen us with His grace, as we let Him into our lives more and more.
This is when we begin to realize just a fraction of; How Wide, Long, High, & Deep Christ is! A question, thought, and reflection that we can be engaged with for the rest of our time here and then beyond in eternity.
You see as we begin to ponder on “How Wide, Long, High, & Deep is Christ?”, we must multiply eternity into each of the categories of; Wide, Long, High, & Deep. Or by contemplating wide by forever, or reflecting long into infinity, high by oblivion, and deep into perpetuity. Getting lost in the words is part of the exercise, with the idea going into this that we must rely on God to lead our way.
In fact, without the Lord as your beacon, you can get so lost in those thoughts that a person can begin to get overwhelmed by all the stuff called life. What is all that stuff? I’ll give you my short list for today, ask me tomorrow and the list will change with my mood. And here they are;
- The state of things, world, nation, society
- The state of my relationships
- Inflation (I just spent a mortgage to fill the tank)
- The drought, and flooding in other places. (Ok weather)
- My age. (I’m getting old enough to care about weather!)
- Kids these days. (Refer back to my earlier statement)
- Why does God let this stuff happen?
And then I find myself in that place. You know. That place many of you go that is bleak, dark. A place of dinge and self-incrimination ( if I had only…), a place of accusation ( why don’t they…), a place where the celestial battles between good and evil are overshadowed with thoughts of personal loss, abandonment, hurt, hatred, and self-blame / recrimination.
I know that place where some of you venture, because many of us just wake up from a fog and find ourselves in that bad spot. It may have begun as a deep sadness, hurt, or anger. Maybe it began as a disappointment that grew, or a loss of someone or something, and over time became familiar. Yes, and over time took a life of its own, but here we are.
More importantly He knows where you are, and where you go. Our Good Shepherd is the only one who working with you, can redeem you, build or rebuild your life with you. When you are willing to own the miracle, that is your life and your relationships. Indeed, the only one that can ground you is God and His family. That’s; How Wide, Long, High, & Deep Christ is!
Personally, I don’t care about infinity, perpetuity, or forever, of my own doing. My ideas deeds, and demands all die on the vine. I just care about here and now, a new start and a beginning of a new day with Him, that will last into eternity on its reliance on Christ.
We get an excellent demonstration of what reliance on our Lord Jesus Christ is like from today’s Message Reading from the Gospel of John. Depicting a passage where Jesus and the Disciples are out in the wilderness of the Galilee the area around the Sea of Galilee. The Celebration of the Passover (Israel’s release from bondage, slavery in Egypt is celebrated once a year for a week leading up to what we call Easter, our celebration from the release if slavery to sin)
Well, these followers of the Lord are about to celebrate a Passover Meal with the Lord out in the wilderness just as our ancestors did in the wilderness with Moses. From John 6:3-12;
3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
First some quick math. John says there were “about five thousand men there”, which means women and children were not being counted, which means a lot of people to line up for five loafs of bread and two fish! How Wide, Long, High, & Deep is Christ? Enough to feed a multitude of people then and on into eternity, if they are willing to own the miracle that is life with and in Him.
We don’t read of any complaints about there not being enough to eat, there is a lake full of water to drink, and it appears everyone is getting along. You see when it is the Lord taking the lead in all of our lives, we already have ample leadership and guidance because we all are willing to follow, submit, share, help, and cover for each other, because Christ has already done all of that for each of us individually, and as a family in Him. God’s family. That’s How Wide, Long, High, & Deep Christ is!
Jesus’ followers and the others in the crowd are fed. I suppose there are all kinds of people following Jesus’ ministry. You know those that go with the crowd just because there is something going on. There are those that will never buy into what God is providing because in their own narrative they think that they themselves are; Wide, Long, High, & Deep! Well, they are but not with the kind of stuff that wears well. Regardless, all are fed.
In John’s passage, Jesus feeds His followers and all others on hand. All will get physical refreshment through dinner, and others who want more in life will be fed physically, and more importantly spiritually by God Himself. All those who wish to own their lives with God, own the miracle of this life with the Lord, realize in the moment God is creating masterpieces called you and me, to praise, glorify, and magnify His holy and precious name, are invited to do so. And feed spiritually at the ultimate Manger of life itself, and then drink from the living water of God spiritually.
Even before there was a Last Supper, Sacrament, Eucharist, Communion, or Christian Passover Meal, there was and is the ultimate Communion with God in the Wilderness. Communion with God, a meal in common with other members of God’s creation, is God’s creation.
In fact, God shows an inkling of How Wide, Long, High, & Deep Christ is, by having a communal dinner with His creation people like you and me in;
- The wilderness with Israel and Moses for 40 years.
- A meal will the Priests and the whole family when offering at the Temple before Christ’s Gospel ministry.
- Again in the wilderness with followers and Christ in the Gospel.
- Communion of today’s churches throughout the Christian world, even with us Baptist.
All churches have their own way of going about how they want to do their worship and celebrations with God. My thought is that instead of worrying about who may be wrong out there in practice, we need to work on our own worship, and our own hearts in the here and now. Who cares if you are right about all of the manmade battles in life, if you lose your sole of love and service in and with Him who can fix all? And by living as examples of His grace and love, may we reach all. This is my thought it is your heavy burden to read, study, pray, and think with God for yourself.
In our faithwalk we have dedicated ourselves to being a doorway to the Lord and not a roadblock, and so all who have a relationship with the Lord are welcomed to celebrate Passover with us.
And for me Passover is the whole package of living in and with God and each other, by; worship, study, fellowship, building each other up, and most importantly service to God through other people.
If you today are stuck in a rut, have gone to that place we talked about earlier, and want to begin to build or even rebuild your life for the umpteenth time, welcome home! That’s the answer to; How Wide, Long, High, & Deep is Christ?
Amen!
Benediction; Based on 23 Psalm, and Numbers 6:23-26;
1 May the Lord be your shepherd, and you not want.
2 May He make you lie down in green pastures,
lead you beside still waters,
3 May He restore your soul.
May He guide you on paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though you walk
through the deepest, darkest valley,
May you fear no evil,
for He is with you;
His rod and your staff,
may they comfort you.
5 May He prepare a table before you
in the presence of your enemies.
You anoint your head with oil;
your cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow you
all the days of your life,
and may you will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
And
24 The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’ Amen!