"THE LANGUAGE OF LIFE"
Look Up: Hebrews
10:24-25
INTRODUCTION:
Is your Christian
life ever boring? Do you ever feel like it is stagnant—like you are just
going through the motions? How can that be when Jesus said He came to
offer us abundant life [Jh.
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full [Jh.
What are
we missing? Do you know what He is talking about? Are you
experiencing that? Wouldn’t it be a shame to get to heaven and have to
ask, “What was that abundant life thing all about?”
The truth of the matter is that a lot of us who can quote
that verse don’t know what Jesus is talking about. We have received
eternal life as a gift through salvation, but don’t really know about this
dynamic life that Christ makes available. Understanding what
“abundant” means is not my biggest problem. Understanding how to
experience that kind of life is where I need help.
If I could give you the secret of abundant life, would you be interested?
In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the secret of life [physical
life]—the chemical structure of DNA [Nucleic Acid].
DNA stores information—the detailed instructions for assembling proteins—in
the form of a four character digital code, represented by the letters A, T, C
and G [Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine]. They are called the four
bases—the language of life. Properly arranging these four bases will
instruct the cell to build different sequences of amino acids, which are the
building blocks of proteins. Now life is from God. If He uses four
bases of code for physical life, is there a code base for spiritual life,
abundant life? Yes. W, C, G and S. Worship, Connect, Grow and
Serve. If the discovery of the chemical structure of DNA revolutionized
our understanding of life—this ought to revolutionize our understanding of
spiritual [abundant] life. These four base components are real. God
really made us to worship, connect, grow and serve [it is obvious from observing
life and reading scripture]. We have seen that. I believe that life
is abundant when these 4 are properly functioning in our spiritual cells.
If one is missing or if there is misarrangement, it will result in spiritual
disorder. That results in missing abundant life.
So let’s
walk through the code again.
All of the
code is present in our Hebrews passage.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let
us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching [Heb.
10:24-25].
I.
Worship [W]
We were
made to worship [there has never been a worship void in human history]. We
were made to worship God. Neglect of this results in spiritual disorder.
We have seen that worship is honoring God. We reflect back to God in
praise the glories emanating from His presence.
These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
They worship Me in vain….[Mt. 15:8,9].
It is the
heart drawing near to God—approaching God—that results in the coming alive
of our feelings for God [brokenness and contrition, longing for, fear and awe,
gratitude, joy and hope]—in the context of biblical truth.
The goal
of worship is worship. Of all the things we do in the church, only one is
an end in itself—worship. The goal of worship is not horizontal
fellowship. I hope that it happens. The goal of worship is not
evangelism. I hope that it happens. The goal of worship is not is
not just to give Bible information. I want that to happen. The goal
of worship is worship.
The
reality of abundant life is based upon this base code being right.
If you are
not experiencing abundant life, you might be neglecting worship. It is not
a priority in your life. You might be just honoring God with your lips.
You might be pouring out your worship on someone or something else [something
material, human, fleshly gratifying]. Satan cannot stop worship—it is in
our DNA—but he can surely steal it from God.
This could be the place where you are losing the possibility of abundant life.
Is there something missing here? Take a step.
Everybody is welcome in worship. Those who have a relationship with God
through Christ and those who presently do not. What can the latter get out
of it? They can sense the presence of God [if they can sense the presence
of evil, they can sense the presence of God]. They can see people
authentically worshiping and not just going through the motions. And there
they can be awakened to their DNA—they were made to worship—to worship Him
Who we were made to worship.
“Let us not give up meeting together.”
II.
Connect [C]
We were
made to connect. And we express this one way or another. But are you
connecting the way your spiritual DNA has wired you?
God has created us to connect and recreated us to connect,
making provision for our deepest connection and belonging [has dealt with the
sin factor which is the interrupter to connect]. Here in the church we are
likened to a kingdom, a temple and a family. It is here that we find a
place to belong, people who care for us, accept us encourage us, spur us on,
friendship to the deepest sharing [koinonia]. Have you found connection
here? Bible Study classes are where you can begin to be known and to know.
It is where you can begin to form friendships. It is where the bigness is
broken down.
Is there something missing here? You are denying your
DNA and the right ordering of life. Where are you connecting? If you
don’t find connection, there will be a spiritual disorder that will rob you of
abundant life. Take a step.
“One another”; “meeting together”; “Spur on, encourage one
another.”
III.
Grow [G]
We have
been made to grow. You may be giving attention to growth in many areas, but
neglecting spiritual growth. Consequently, there is spiritual disorder in
your life. The Scripture indicates that we are to grow up into Him Who is
the head. God’s goal is that we become as mature as the head. The
means of growth is the Word of God [Eph.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another [Jh.
Discipleship is described in
terms of healthy relationships. It is not how much you know but how you
love. The “taught ones” who follow Christ know how to love. We
tend to think of spiritual maturity in terms of what we know. That is not
the case. The Pharisees knew more than any body else in their day about
the Old Testament scripture, but they were neither disciples nor spiritually
mature. You can consider yourself a deep Christian because of what you
know and be a walking disaster in your relationships. You are not the mate
you need to be, the parent you need to be and you are not loving those around
you. The essence of maturity is healthy relationships—with God and
others.
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He answered:
Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And
the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself [Mt.
And guess who asked Him the question? A Pharisee.
Are you
growing in your relationship with God? With others? Are you growing
in loving people in here and beyond these walls?
When some who are unchurched are our guests in worship, they may not understand
all of the sermon, may not understand some of what we do—but they ought to be
able to say—“Those people love you.” That will make a difference in
whether they come back.
Most people leave a church over relationships—no relationships, strained
relationships, disrupted relationships. Most people will come to church or
stay away from church because of relationships. Relationships.
Relationships.
Are you growing this way? If not there is spiritual
disorder. If you want abundance in your life, give attention to Grow.
Do we need to take a step here?
Are we growing in maturity by serving and building up the body?
Let
us consider how we may spur one another on toward love…
IV.
Serve [S]
We have
been made to serve. Every part of the physical body has been given the
information and ability it needs to function within the body. The parts
[us] in the body of Christ have as well. We are created in Christ Jesus to
serve. We are gifted to serve. We are being prepared to serve.
Christ modeled it for us and expects it from us.
So where are you serving. Where have you assumed at least one task?
It is in your DNA to serve. Are you? Do you need to take a step?
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good
deeds.
If we are
not enjoying and experiencing abundant life in Christ, it is because of a
problem in the life code. Something is missing or misarranged.
Do you
want to experience abundant life? Then W, C, G and S need to be present
and properly arranged.
What do
you need to do?
Think
about the four areas. Where is there a blank or misarrangement ?
Start there. Take a step.
What would
it look like if all of us were 100% into our W, C, G and S and enjoying the life
in abundance?
I am
evaluation my life by this DNA code.
Staff is
evaluating their lives and we are evaluating our ministries.
How about
you?