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November 21, 2004
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Hebrews
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Pastor Brian Shimer
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"HOLINESS ACHIEVED"
Hebrews 10: 1-18
- One of my team members on the Alumni Leadership Team with Asbury Theological Seminary is a friend of mine named Carolyn Moore. God called her into the ordained ministry when she was 32. She argued, but God won and she found herself, her husband and her 4 yr old daughter in Wilmore, KY 12 years ago to attend seminary.
Carolyn had had little Bible training, did not know her way around the New Testament much less the Old, but here she was to study with world class professors alongside of fellow students from every continent. It took Carolyn 6 tries just to pass the Old Testament proficiency exam. She says of herself: "I am not the brightest bulb in the seminary's box of bright lights."
Once there, she felt she had gone in over her head. She could not handle it. It was way beyond her abilities, so mid semester after one chapel she found herself down at the altar, tears streaming down her cheeks, crying out to God: "Get me out of here. I'll do anything. I'll face any humiliation. I'll give back all the money, only, get me out of here."
- Carolyn may not have thought she knew too much of the Bible, but she knew God. She was living what today's Bible passage talks about -- a life of holy obedience. The first verses in chapter 10 speak of the fact that the whole system of the law was just a shadow of something so wonderful that all these Old Testament commands and practices were only the bare outline of what God was going to do. The hopes of perfection, cleansing, freedom from sin were not available in all that system, only the yearly reminder of sin.
So, God came in Jesus, and the author quoting from David's own prophetic fortieth psalm recognizes that God was not pleased with sacrifices.
Carolyn knew God was not looking for her to beat on herself, do penance for some sin or think that God was punishing her with school, but that God was looking for Carolyn to stop seeking to do school on her own strength and start relying on His.
For Jesus came and offered himself back to God, saying, "Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, O God." And God's Will made a change for people. He made set us apart from others (verse 10) and set us on the path to become holy (verse 14) at the same time. On the one hand he says, "You are set apart, you are 'holy' right now" (v 10). And on the other hand he says, "You are being made holy or being sanctified" through every experience of your life (v. 14).
This is the reality of what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians saying: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
"In him" we become the righteousness of God - we are made righteous (holy) and we walk in that righteousness (holy action), all because Jesus offered his body, and we receive the benefits of his offering once and for all.
Because Carolyn knew God, she came to that altar to seek Him. Because God knew Carolyn He was waiting for her at the altar like a tender father calms his child with a touch by wiping her brow. God touched Carolyn at that altar. He spoke a word into her heart saying, "Carolyn, I will write the wisdom on your heart."
She did not know God was quoting Scripture to her at that time.
Later she found that statement in the book of Jeremiah and bumped into it again in the book of Hebrews when God says, "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16).
Carolyn knew she had received a word from the Lord at that altar and doesn't know how long she stayed there, hands in the air, tears streaming down her face, somehow trying to adequately say 'thank you' to this God who is so merciful and so kind that he would care about the theological education of an ordinary woman from Georgia.
- Carolyn graduated from Asbury, served two years as an associate pastor, and then received her dream appointment to plant a new congregation in Augusta, GA. There again she found she was in over her head. She was not four months into that appointment when she found herself on her knees in her living room, tears streaming down her face, crying out to God saying: "Get me out of here. I'll do anything but this!"
Have you ever been there?
Have you discovered that the New Covenant which we talked about last week and is again dealt with in this chapter, the internal work of God, the setting up of tabernacle in the heart of His people, the work by which God has taken away sins, is about God's work in you? Have you discovered that God is more interested in you, in your heart transformation, than in what you do? Do you know there is no sacrifice to be made for sins any longer, for the only sacrifice has already been made?
So, far from being angry, God was thrilled when Carolyn again reached the end of her rope. Thrilled, for God had been waiting for her to run out of her own steam in order for her to let Him work. God knew she had basically said, "I'll take it from here, God" when she arrived in Augusta, so He met her there in her living room and let her see that.
Again, she had proof that she was, "not the brightest bulb in Asbury's box," and knew she had come by it honestly.
You see, Carolyn's great, great, great grandfather was Bishop William Capers in the Methodist Church. He was sent once to do an ordination of a man named Mr. Birch. When he called Mr. Birch to come forward, the wrong man came. Bishop Capers didn't realize until later that day that he'd ordained the wrong man, so the next day he went back and performed what may well be the only recorded incident of a service of Un-ordination.
But even if she thinks she is not the brightest bulb and that dimness runs in her family, what Carolyn does have is a heart in love with Jesus and a willingness to humbly say: "God, I have come to do your will."
After her living room prayer time, Carolyn took the Holy Spirit off the shelf and gave God her mornings and He became Lord of her days. She realized she had not been taking any Sabbath day, so began to set aside one day just for rest, prayer and play. She gave up singing the song "I did it my way" and instead sang: "I've decided to follow Jesus," day by day from the heart, and God began to do what he desired with her life.
- Wouldn't you like to allow God to fully do the same with yours? For I believe that your life and mine is like a canvas upon which God is painting a portrait of Jesus. He wants to make an exact representation of the character of His Son in and through your life. Do you want to let him do that?
"Well, I don't know," you might be saying, "What will God make me do?"
This passage lets us see that holiness far from making us weird, makes us fully human - it allows us to do from the heart what we are meant to do, and live lives that are in concert with Jesus' own. Holiness is doing God's will. And what will that look like?
First holiness looks receptive. As we have heard in Carolyn's story, she listened and heard. In the Psalm 40 passage quoted in verse 5 it says, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;" in the translation from the Greek OT translation. But in the Hebrew version it says, "ears have you dug for me." In contrast to some offering we could do for God, is our receiving of what God will do for us - dig out our ears, give us a body.
Sometimes we hear but refuse to follow.
This happened to our dog Jenny Friday morning. I had arrived home from taking her on a walk and at the front door asked if Gabrielle would bring towels and shampoo to the back door so that I could give her a bath. Well, I did not anticipate that it would be necessary to spell out the words. Jenny understood exactly what I had said. So, when I called for her to follow me around to the back of the house, she would not come. I called and called, and when I returned to the front door she was cowering, in a tiny, little ball, shaking all over but not coming! I had to carry that poor animal into the back yard. The water felt warm compared with the 50 degree temperature outside and we both survived. But she was definitely not receptive.
Second, this holiness is ready: Verse 7 says, "Here I am". This is the simplest prayer we can pray: "Here I am, Lord, it is written about me in your book."
This readiness also brings forth another prayer: "I have come to do your will, O God."
And remember, God's will is not drudgery, but joyful. It is a delight, it is our desire, as the next verse in Psalm 40 goes on to say: "I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
When my friend Carolyn began to follow, God began to move at Mosaic UMC in Augusta, Georgia
This new congregation now sponsors a daily radio program reaching 46,000 unchurched people in their community. In May they began a Christ-centered 12 step program called Celebrate Recovery and they have seen some of the most remarkable healings. Since the first of October four more people have come to Christ, three of whom laid down their addictions on their way through the door of the kingdom.
They've partnered this fall with a minister from Puerto Rico who has moved to Augusta to minister to Hispanics. He wants to start a church and needs help, and they want to be that help for him.
They've also partnered with a minister from India who came to Augusta to share the gospel with the four hundred families from India living in their area. Before coming to the states, Pastor Jerry had planted five churches in small villages in south India. Those churches still want for places to meet. The people at Mosaic UMC thought about that. They could spend a half-million dollars putting yet another church building on yet another corner in their town … or they could spend $5000 to erect the only physical witness to Jesus Christ in an entire village in India. Carolyn said, "I may not be the brightest bulb, but I could do the math."
So they've decided to build their first building on the other side of the world … to bless a little church the way they've been blessed … to be a demonstration of the kingdom for those who have not yet heard there's Good News available to them because Jesus offered His body on their behalf!
How many say, "Well, I think I need God to dig out my ears?" Come, let him do so.
How many would like to pray today: "Here I am, God, I have come to do your will" and see what God will do?
Let's pray.
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