Sermon Dan
Neary
Into the
Mystery –
Experiential
Today I’m
looking forward to bringing you the first part of a two-part sermon that I’m
calling Into the Mystery. I’ve been sort of mulling on this for several
months now. You might remember that back on March 12, we touched on this a bit
in our series on Hymns in the New Testament when this NT passage was our text
(1 Timothy 3:16) as part of a Hymns in
the New Testament series.
… the mystery of godliness is great…
Getting started today we’ll focus on the experiential…
these lives we live. Then the week after next, after Bob Stallman brings the
next part of his series, I’ll see if we can also introduce themes of relational,
and mystical.
… the mystery
of godliness is great…
Does that seem like the sort of thing with which we
are comfortable when it comes to church, religion and God?
It is not an uncommon word in our Bibles.
In some instances, the word mystery is used really as
an indication of capacity. In Job 11 we can read:
7 “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths of the gravea—what can you know?
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea. [1]
In this case we might get the idea that if given
enough time, and if we could just think bigger and better, we might be able to
figure it all out and rid ourselves of the mystery.
In other cases the word mystery is used in such a way
as to indicate something that is unknowable because it hasn’t yet happened. In
1 Corinthians 15:51 we see the second coming, the resurrection of the dead, and
the rapture described as a mystery.
50 I declare to you, brothers,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
In many cases, the Gospel itself is
described as the greatest of all mysteries, as it does in Colossians 1, and in
the text that Jen read earlier.
24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [3]
In
addition to the Scripture that has me thinking about mystery, I want to also
credit Dr. Leonard Sweet, and specifically his book Out of the Question… Into the
Mystery. It was my privilege to get to know him a bit when he brought a
short lecture series to
I commend his book to you. I think I’ll draw more of
my comments for the second half of this sermon (two weeks from today) from this
book.
Mystery… I
think we’ll be best served if we go beyond the plain meanings that I mentioned
earlier.
·
More than not knowing because we have limited capacity
·
More than not knowing because something hasn’t yet
happened
For us today, especially us gathered here at The
Chapel, I think we need to grab a bigger meaning.
I say that
about us because I think we have a propensity to emphasize knowing.
As far as the average church goes, we lean
a bit more academic… we like to know. We like to apply techniques and scientific
methods and diligent study to these Christian lives. And that is a very good
thing.
It is easy for us to think of these Christian lives we
lead as mostly about knowing the right things and doing the right things. It is
an inexhaustible pursuit; we can always know more, do more… know great detail,
and execute what we know more perfectly.
Pursuit
of, and insistence on, Truth is fundamental to Christian life and practice.
Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” This church has a high regard for Truth:
·
Revealed Truth: Scriptures
·
Understood Truth: Creeds
We place high value on Truth,
knowing that it is our anchor. We believe that the church has a unique
relationship to Truth:
God’s
household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of
the truth[4]
(1 Ti 3:15)
But, we also know that Jesus
didn’t merely say He was the Truth.
Jesus
said that He is the Way and He is the Truth and
He is the Life.
·
The Truth – Foundational
·
The Way – Provisional
·
The Life – Missional
I know that if we only embrace
one of these three… we are missing all that God has in mind for us. Our modern,
Western culture has trained us to be truth-people… and that is a good thing.
But Truth, without the Way and
the Life is not good enough.
Leonard Sweet asks the question
“How did we get the point but miss the person?” Have we lost the Way?
In the same book he writes: “Why
are Christians the ones who like to hover around the Tree of Knowledge, as
pastor and theologian John Baker-Batsel puts it, baiting the serpent and
battling each other, rather than being the people who like to play in the
garden?” Have we lost the Life?
Of course there are those who
are only way-people, and those who are only life-people, and they too are
missing all that God has for us.
But I think that this group,
people like you and me, are those who are steeped in Western, modern,
truth-seeking, explanation hungry, certainty craving truth-types. We are driven
to get things right, and do things right. I want to remind us all that the
mystery of godliness is great.
·
Great – big
·
Great – marvelous
It is mystery because it is more
than truth, more than a set of rules and beliefs
·
It is the Way to eternal
relationship with God
·
It is the Life we were meant to
have. Full life, adventurous life, challenging life, a life that is different
than the sin-soaked-and-stained life that we left. Jesus loves us the way we
are… and loves us too much to leave us this way.
So embrace the Truth, choose the
Way, and live this Life fully.
Honestly, I’m as much a truth-person
as the rest of us. It is the way I have been trained. I know that I don’t have
all the answers about choosing this Way and living this Life… but I know there
is at least something good about identifying the problem. Jesus is calling us
to enjoy this relationship with Him, this great mystery, not merely ritual,
idea, knowledge, theology, or a transaction.
Over
these past several weeks I have felt a bit like a one-trick-pony. I haven’t been able to get away from the idea of how
these lives we live are so very important to God.
In my estimation the two most spectacular events in
all of time simply have to be creation and the cross.
Of all the spectacular moments in history… I can’t think of anything that even
comes close to either… and both underscore the importance of these lives we
lead.
Think of it… God created everything that we know,
earth, sun, stars, water, air, and every living thing, for His pleasure and
glory. Then He completed His creation with a creature created in His own image,
us humans. We are the creation in His own image created to enjoy His creation
with Him. And He continues to create the likes of us… not recreated (or
reincarnated), not some sort of preexistent spirit that is captured in flesh,
but created in a moment in time to enjoy God’s creation with Him, and then
continue to enjoy Him through all eternity. These lives are the work of God’s
hand, and that alone makes them worth living.
And then the cross… redemption from sin
·
redemption from the bondage of original sin, and
·
redemption from the scars of past sin, and
·
redemption from the specter of even future failings.
When Christ gave Himself for our salvation on the cross he redeemed
these lives
·
Out of a human life
·
Providing for healing of human existence
·
Conquering the destruction of sin
And God makes good on His promise that He will never leave us.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”a
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”b [5] Hebrews 13
His redemptive work on the cross is ongoing through the power of the
Holy Spirit working in us and through us.
This Christian life is more than a great idea; it is more than a
proposition. It is more than about knowing the right things, or saying the
right things, or even doing the right things. The Christian lives are God’s
amazing gift to us, and they are to be lived with great enjoyment. Like any
gift, the best way to honor the gift giver is to enjoy the gift.
So today I’m
calling for balance… and many of you know what I mean by balance… balance
through abundance. I’m not saying “stop trying to know so much and get a life.”
·
Know AND Live
·
Eternity AND Now
·
Think AND Laugh
·
Concentrate AND Relax
·
Read AND Sing, Love, Smile, Play, Enjoy!
·
Ask Questions AND Enjoy the Journey
I mentioned that Leonard Sweet’s book helped me get to thinking along
these lines. In the acknowledgements, he writes “the title for this book is a
high-seas act of piracy. Folk singer David Wilcox wrote “Out of the Question,”
one line which forms the title of his fantastic 2002 CD Into the Mystery. For those of you who don’t want to read a couple
hundred pages on the subject, go right to his CD. It’s all there in less than
one hundred words.” I didn’t know anything about David Wilcox, and even though
I’m not much for folk music, I bought the album.
Let’s take
a moment and listen to that song together.
I had my scientific proof… never looked beyond my lenses… out of the
question, You’re closer than the air I breathe
Lord, help us to add to our knowledge of You an overwhelming enjoyment
of You and these lives that are Your most amazing gift to us!
I feel like
there have been a number of so whats already today. Practical
encouragements that we can take home with us today.
But I want to leave you with at least one more.
I think
that it is important that we consider today’s date: September 10, 2006… 9/10…
making tomorrow the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001.
We know from watching the news that there are events planned all around
our nation to commemorate all that happened on that dark day. We understand
those terrible attacks as acts of war… more ambush (really)
than battles, but battles won as the twin towers of the
·
Remember that we are despised by some because of our freedom
·
We will mourn those who were murdered on that
day
·
And we will mourn those who gave their lives as they
labored to save others
·
We will celebrate the heroes that emerged in
the face of this cowardly attack
·
We will pray for those who have volunteered to put
themselves in harms way, defending us from attack here in the
·
And we will mourn those lost in this struggle… praying
for those families who have continue to suffer unbearable loss, paying the
ultimate price for our freedom
·
And, if we have sufficient courage, we will pray
for our enemies. We’ll pray for mothers who have lost their sons and
daughters. We’ll pray for those who hate and persecute us on this world stage.
We’ll pray for those who are deceived… and we’ll pray for innocent bystanders
who may suffer loss in this ongoing struggle.
Tomorrow is an important day.
In light of all of that… I think that today’s message may be the most potent weapon in this response to
terror. We should answer those who hate us, those who have no regard for our
lives, or even their own lives for that matter, in one simple way: we must
answer by living our lives.
Terrorists win when we are terrorized…
they loose when we live, love, laugh, worship, celebrate, and prosper.
The most terrible deeds of devastation and acts of war waged by those
who hate us, are perpetrated by those who have no regard for life… suicide
murderers who strap on bombs or drive explosive-laden cars, trucks and
planes into their enemies. Although we may believe in God as fervently as they believe
in their ways, we are so very different. We are different because we
value life. We love and live and enjoy these lives as acts of worship
to the One who gives us life.
Let these commemorations be a profound reminder of our privilege to live
these lives to the fullest… honoring the Giver of this gift of life by enjoying
the gift.
Let’s pray
to these ends.
Father, we are grateful that we know about You, and so much more
grateful that we know You. We are not merely Your students, but Your children.
Thanks be to God!
Give us grace today to fully enjoy these lives You’ve given us.
Give us courage to commit these lives to Your service and Your leading.
Give us mercy when we fall, and humility to come quickly to You for
healing… especially when we need healing from self inflicted wounds.
Help us to resolve to worship You and proclaim Your goodness through
lives lived well… through lives enjoyed by Your children.
We ask that You would teach us to life this godlife well. In the name
of the One who showed us the perfect godlife, Jesus. Amen.