Committed to Christ
Sycamore Creek Church
Tom Arthur
March 2/3, 2014 

How committed are you, friends?  Today we begin a series called “Committed to Christ.”  We’re beginning this series as Lent begins this week.  Lent is the forty days that lead up to Easter.  Lent is a time when we prepare to celebrate the resurrection.  An ancient practice of preparation is to fast.  Fasting is giving up something good to get something better.  It takes pretty serious commitment to fast.  How committed are you?  I’d like to ask you to consider fasting from something for the next several weeks leading up to Easter and to fast for something very specific.  I’d like to ask you to fast and pray that we would touch more people at Easter than we have touched before.  Last year we touched 297 people at Easter.  Can we touch 350 people?  Can we have 350 people attend our worship over our two venues on Sunday and Monday?  We can.  We can have even more.  We can double if we all do one thing: invite a friend.  Will you fast and pray that we reach that many people?

So how committed are you?  There are a wide variety of people here today with a wide variety of commitments.  There are those who are:

1. Dragged here against their will.  It’s not your first, second, third or even fourth choice.
2. Willingly here but not from their own initiative.  It’s not your first choice but not so bad either.  You learn something each week.
3. Actively seeking.  You realize you need more than you’ve got.  You hope you’ll find it here.
4. Giving Jesus a try.  You realize Jesus has something you need.
5. Made some commitment to Jesus.  You realize Jesus not only has what you need but he is what you need.
6. All in for Jesus.  You realize that there is nothing else but Jesus.

Through the month of February we took an anonymous survey of those who attended worship and these are the results:

Are you a committed follower and disciple of Jesus Christ?

2 – No, I do not think I have accepted Jesus Christ.
1 – No, but maybe someday.
1 – No, but I want to with all my heart.
26 – Yes, I have accepted Jesus Christ.
42 – Yes, and someday I will be ready for an even closer walk.

I suspect that this wide variety of people suppose a wide variety of responses to who Jesus is and reflects our broader culture.  If you go out on the street and ask people who Jesus is, you might get answers like this:

 

What were the answers you heard people say to the question: Who is Jesus?  Some that I heard were: a myth, a man, a moral teacher, a spiritual power, a spiritual leader among many, the best spiritual leader, and the savior and lord.

Here’s something I want you to know about SCC:   No matter where you are at in answering this question of who Jesus is, you are welcome!  I went through a period, and in many ways am still in it, of asking this same question: Who is Jesus?  I grew up in a Christian home and went regularly to worship with my mom.  I was very active in the youth group at my church.  When I was a senior in high school, my youth director was let go for being someone who had lots of questions and not a lot of answers.  I’m not sure it was the questions that got him fired, but the lack of answers wasn’t always welcome at my church.  I went off to Wheaton College, a Christian liberal arts school, with a lot of those questions including: who is Jesus.  At a certain point I thought I could no longer trust in who Jesus was.  I let that belief go for a time period.  It was a very dark period in my life.  I felt that almost all the hope and meaning had left my life too.

Asking the question, Who is Jesus, is nothing new.  It happened even back in Bible times.  One day Jesus brought the question up himself:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Matthew 16:13 NRSV

Now that’s a weird thing to say, isn’t it?  What does Jesus mean by “Son of Man”?  It’s a bit of code language that Jesus is using here.  It’s like sharing a funny line from a movie with someone who didn’t see the movie.  Here’s the original reference from the book of Daniel, a book written about the Israelite time of exile after they were conquered by the Babylonian Empire.

I saw one like a son of man
    coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient of Days
    and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
    and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
    that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
    that shall never be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14 NRSV

So this “son of man” was expected to come back and bring a kind of glorious political revival to the nation of Israel after their humiliation by the Babylonian Empire.  To have dominion and play the role of a king for Israel.  But even more than that, this is a global vision because it is for “all people, nations, and languages.”  And it lasts forever.  He won’t die.  Whoa.  Something is going to be really different about this “son of man.”  He may look like a man, “like a son of man”, but he will also be a whole lot more.

OK, now that you’ve got the code language down, let’s go back to the story of Jesus with his disciples.  He asks them who people are saying he is.  This is their answer:

And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:14-16 NRSV

So they give lots of answers just like the man on the street video.  Nothing new there.  But Jesus takes the question and makes it much more personal.  He asks, “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter answers with some more code language. He says Jesus is the Messiah.  What’s the messiah?

Messiah is Hebrew for the Greek word “Christ” which means “anointed one.”   You might think that Peter is using code language from the Old Testament, just like Jesus was using code language from the Old Testament when he said “son of man.”  But the word Messiah doesn’t show up anywhere in the Old Testament.  It only shows up in the New Testament.  It is a cultural and political term.  It is usually used as an adjective as in “The anointed king” and usually referred to a king although it also would be used of a priest or a prophet.  So Peter borrows a cultural and political term to answer Jesus’ question.  And he says that Jesus is the Messiah, not a messiah, not a prophet, priest and king but The Prophet, Priest, and King

We’re really drilling down on the answer to who Jesus is right now.  So what does it mean that Jesus is The Prophet, Priest, and King?  While you may think of a prophet as someone who tells the future, a biblical prophet is less about telling the future and more about convicting you of how you are not living into God’s will, particularly when it comes to idols and injustice.  Jesus is The Prophet of all prophets.  A priest is someone who makes you right with God.  A priest offers sacrifices and prayers to God on your behalf.  Jesus The Priest ultimately offers us himself.  A king is someone who exercises authority over you and demands your allegiance.  Jesus is The King, your ultimate authority for how to live and his love requires full and total allegiance.

I told you that when I went to college I wrestled deeply with the question: Who is Jesus?  I came to see that any answer to that question, even negative answers, required a certain level of faith.  Human knowledge is uncertain by its very nature.  It is finite.  To answer who Jesus is in the affirmative requires faith.  I already knew this.  What I did not know until I let go of my faith in Jesus was that to answer who Jesus is in the negative requires faith too.  The big difference was that to answer No meant that I no longer had any ultimate hope or meaning in my life.  To answer Yes meant that I did have hope and meaning.  And so I once again committed to Jesus answering: Yes, Jesus, you are the prophet, priest, and king of my life.  And my life has been and continues to be transformed every day because of that commitment.

Back to Peter.  Peter answered Jesus’ question saying that Jesus was the Messiah.  Jesus responded saying:

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18 NRSV

Jesus builds the community of his people on this confession: Jesus is the Messiah, The Prophet, Priest and King.  How is that community built?  How is that community slowly transformed when making that commitment?  Paul, the first missionary of the church, explains it this way:

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are [constantly] being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NRSV

We are “being transformed.”  It is a process that happens constantly.  And notice the passive tense.  Transformation is something that happens to you rather than you doing it yourself.  And it’s also present tense, right now…right now…right now…right now…

How does transformation happen?  Paul tells us it’s by “seeing the glory of the Lord.”  When we come into God’s presence, we see God’s glory, and you can’t walk away unchanged.  God transforms and changes us.  So how do we come into God’s presence?  That’s what the next six weeks are all about.  We come into God’s presence by making a commitment to follow Jesus in

1. Prayer
2. Bible Reading
3. Worship
4. Witness
5. Financial Giving
6. Serving

I shared with you my own story of how this has been happening, but I’d like to share with you the story of some new partners at SCC.  They are Dave and Erin Wasinger.  Here’s their story.

 

I don’t know what level your commitment has been to Jesus, but I know what level my commitment has been.  Today we are all invited to take one step in a new commitment.  Will you choose to be a committed follower and disciple of Jesus Christ?  Here are some options for you today:

1. No, today I am not ready to make a commitment.  If you’re at this place, I want to thank you for being here.  I thank God for you.  Since you’re here already, you might as well make the most of it: be open to being surprised.
2. No, but maybe someday.  Thank you for being here. I thank God for you.  Since you’re here, and it’s not so bad, how about taking it a step further and exploring a little bit more who this Jesus really is: pick up The Case for Christ or The Jesus I Never Knew, both are free by the door as you leave.
3. No, but I want to with all my heart. Thank you for being here. I thank God for you.  What’s keeping you from taking that initial step to follow Jesus?  Keep exploring.  Keep seeking.  Ask God for faith.  Consider Christianity 101, a nine-week small group that I begin leading today.
4. Yes, today, for the first time, I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. Thank you for being here. I thank God for you.  You’re on the road.  Let’s walk down the road a little further.  Join me for Christianity 101.
5. Yes, I have already accepted Jesus Christ.  Thank you for being here. I thank God for you.  How far have you traveled down the road with Jesus since you first began?  If you’re still in the same place as when you began, how can you go deeper?  This series is especially for you!
6. Yes, and someday I will be ready for an even closer walk with the Lord.  Thank you for being here. I thank God for you.  Maybe that “someday” will be during this series.  Will you ask God to show you what your next steps might be?
7. Yes, and today I am ready for a closer walk with the Lord, growing to include the following: Jesus is my guiding light, my compass, my lighthouse.  I will ask the Lord for that “peace that passes all understanding.” I will strive for my speech and behavior to please the Lord.  I will strive for my attitudes, values, and thoughts to please the Lord.  I will be passionate about the Lord as the priority of my life.  I will strive to be able to explain clearly what I believe and why. I look forward to having a constant awareness of the Lord’s presence.  I will strive for others to see Christ in my life, words, and actions. At each major decision of my life, I will ask, “What would Jesus have me do?”  I will bring the Lord into my marriage, my family, and all my relationships.  I will allow Christ to love others through me, even those who are different from me.  Thank you for being here. I thank God for you. Keep growing.  Keep going deeper.  Keep looking to commit more and more of your life to Christ.  And while you’re at it, who are you investing in?  Who are you sharing with what you’ve learned?  Who are you helping to take the next step of commitment?

After each week of this series, there will be the opportunity to join a one-week follow-up class right after worship led by someone different each week in our church.  If you’re ready to take a deeper step one week, join that class and learn from someone who has taken a deeper step of commitment.  Today’s follow-up class is a little different.  It’s a class I’m teaching called Christianity 101.  While all the other follow-up classes are just one week, this one runs for nine sessions, because it’s a class to prepare you for baptism or to prepare you to reaffirm your baptism or to prepare you to have your children baptized or to just go deeper in your faith.  If you are at the beginning of your commitment, would you join me for Christianity 101?

Jesus, today we ask you to help us respond to your question: Who do you say I am?  Today we ask you to give us your Spirit that we might say Yes to the commitment of following you.  May we follow you in the presence of God and see the glory of God and be transformed day by day from one degree of glory to another.  Amen.