[podcast]http://www.revkwon.com/podcast/how_we_go.mp3[/podcast] I want to start with a story this morning. The story is about how we go and not where we are. The reason Im going to share this story with you is because, like this story will demonstrate, faith is about how we go and not where we are. This story, unlike any of my other stories, is about a cat or at least about a family that took pity on a cat. Let me tell the story as best as I can, actually, its not my story, so Ill just read it to you.
A family was driving along a country road and the children spotted a kitten in the tall weeds by the side of the road. The kitten looked quite sick. Stop, they all yelled. They wanted to take the cat home. The father protested. We have a zoo at home already. There is no room for one more animal. But the childrens begging finally got to him. He reversed the car, right there in the middle of the road and got out to pick up the kitten. It was emaciated. Its ribs were showing. You could tell that it had not eaten in ages. The fur was matted and there were wounds. He reached out to pick the kitten up and it took a swipe at him. The cat hissed and growled. Well he was just frustrated and wanted to walk away. But he looked at his childrens pleading eyes. So he picked up the cat by the scruff of the neck and wrapped it in his jacket. When they arrived home the father insisted on making a place for the cat in the parents room so that the rest of the zoo didnt bother him. It didnt take very long before that cat became strong and beautiful. One day the father looked around to see if anyone was looking and then he gently put his hand down in front of the cat. Instead of being scarred by the claws of that cat, that cat just nuzzled up against his hand and began to purr. (Fred Craddock, 2013 Easter)
I want to now read from a letter to a pastor named Titus. Titus was a young man that went with Paul on his mission trips. In fact, Paul leaves Titus in the Island of Crete so that he can continue to build churches on the Island. There was one problem, and it was a big problem. The problem was that the people in the churches were going to church and the church was growing, but the people in the church were doing all the right things, the wrong way. Do you know what Im talking about? Its like asking for justice, and then you become a vigilante and beat up the bad guys like judge, jury and executioner. I mean, if youve ever read the comic book Daredevil you would know what Im talking about. It was the right intention to help people that were defenseless, but the way he went about it was just wrong. The church in the first century, when Paul is writing this had that same problem. There were a whole lot of Christians so focused on the motions of being Christian, that they didnt actually live as Christians, they lived as heretics, at best, and at worst, hypocrites. Lets read Titus 2:11-15.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. (Titus 2:11-15)
Verse 11: the grace of God has appeared this phrase is very technical and nuanced when we read it. Paul takes the idea of grace and transforms it into something real and tangible. Because when we think about grace, as in somebody is graceful we see it as an adjective that describes something. You see, Paul takes grace and makes it a noun by saying that the grace of God appears. Its such a beautiful thing to have an epiphany (the appearance) of a hero that brings salvation. I want you to see thiswhen grace appears, as opposed to grace being bestowed, you are left with the impression that the grace in itself from God is unmerited. But thats the beginning. The Grace of God is Jesus. It is His life, death and resurrection. When we believe this, we understand that we have received grace from Godthat is to say that we are blessed with an opportunity. We dont get unmerited grace for no reason. If grace is purposeless, then we are receivers of uselessness. That is not what we believe. Not at all. It is impossible to believe in the grace of God and the power of God and believe that there was no purpose in receiving an unmerited grace. Do you understand what Im saying? Im saying, that Gods purpose to give us grace is deeper than just our salvation. Lets look at verse 12 now. The grace of God appears and brings salvation to all people which, in turn, changes the way we should live. The goal of Gods grace is to give us new life….training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age I think it is pretty clear, but just in case its notgenuine Christianity, or Christ following, as a result of believing in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, our Christ, is a visible antithesis of our old life, the values shaped by the world in our current life. In plain English that means that how we get somewhere is more important than where we are now and where we end up later. Like, have you ever met somebody that says they believe and they work so hard at church, but in the middle of the week, their values and goals are not being defined by what they are doing? Just think about it in your head. What if I told you that how you lived your life was more important than where you end up in life, wouldnt your life change? Of course it would. It has to. The Apostle Paul is telling Titus that when we show good faith in everything we do, God our savior is glorified through us. I want to go back to the story about the cat. When God reaches out to each one of us, we see that Gods hands are covered with scars and scratch marks. Jesus reflects the hand of God. God doesnt give up .loves us .even at the ugliest times of our lives and nurtures us to transformation. We believe that how we live now is a reflection of this. It doesnt take very long for that cat to become strong and beautiful. When we believe this, we live in a way that stands in the face of the world and defies it. We become a people whom Jesus purifies as His own, much like the owner who took the cat into his own room to be left unbothered by the zoo at his house, we become the zealous possession of God. This changes everything in our life. The way we think, the way we react, the way we prioritize, the way we behaveit all changes. We are no longer trying to follow rules that couldnt be followed or achieve things we didnt really want to achieve. We are given to a forward looking life that understands the culmination of life will end in Gods glory, so how will we get there? If all life ends with Gods glory, how will we choose to experience it? Will we get there willingly with integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us? (v7b-8) Or will we live kicking and screaming like the cat, in the beginning of the story– hissing at our savior? I want to leave us with a statement of empowerment as we choose to believe that how we get to Gods glory is important than where we started and where we are now. It comes from verse 15, lets look at that again: Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. The way you live will not be in vain when believing Christ is at the heart of everything you do. There is no shame. There is only Gods glory. Believe it. Lets pray.
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