The Idol of Normalcy
Becoming Human Again • Sermon • Submitted
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The number one question I have gotten over they years is why do I tend to use the terms Community of Faith over Church? Aren’t they the same thing.
The number one question I have gotten over they years is why do I tend to use the terms Community of Faith over Church? Aren’t they the same thing.
My answer is yes that are the same but one is defined as a culture and the other tends to be defined as an option. The words Going to Church in our world make Church seem like and option or simply a small part of our lives that we tend to compartmentalize or keep away from the other parts of our lives.
However the phrase community of faith communicates a culture we choose to be a part of.
The reason I used the word culture is that no matter how strong we are as an individual our Culture tends to shape us into its image.
If the culture we are in is good and focused on holiness then the that culture will being to naturally be lived out in our everyday lives. If the culture we live in is focused on toxic thinking and worldly ideals that will naturally seep out in our everyday lives as well.
When we Choose to live as a Community of Faith the Culture we live in during our times together lead us to be able to live the sanctified life…or in other words...it has the ability to make us Human again.
This is why it is so important to make sure we are living in Christian community as much as we can. That is why it is so important to volunteer in ministries that the local Church has.
When we choose to serve our community of faith we are in fact building a positive culture. We are also modeling a selfless Culture which is totally opposite of the ideals that seem to be in high esteem these days.
The more we choose to allow a sacred culture to be developed in us the more we can develop or live our faith in the broader world. God does not call us out of the world but he does call us into a faith journey in which his sanctifying power can be multiplied becuase a group allows themselves (ourselves) to be totally consecrated to God .
We can try as individuals to stand up against the negative culture of the world on our own but in so doing we may feel like trying to slow down a tornado.
Choosing to live in a sanctified community of faith develops the ability to live a sanctified life. The more time we spend in this the stronger we will be in a hostile culture.
Let’s look at a scripture today. 1 Peter 2:1-9 Focusing on the Goodness of Verse 9.
1 Peter 2:1–8 NLT
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. 4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
6 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him...
...But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” 8 And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Verse 9 sums up everything we have been talking about as it relates to holiness these last few weeks.
We are Called to an Empowered life of goodness.
We are Called to an Empowered life of goodness.
New Living Translation Psalm 31:19
19 How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.
Whether or not people will admit it especially right not they are dying for a culture of goodness. The goodness of the holiness of God in us is so powerful when understood and lived that the World will sit up and take notice.
Not everyone will appreciate it at first and like the passages points out the Culture of Holiness will cause some to stumble and struggle with God’s people but it will not be becuase of our hatred or our unkindness…it will be becuase no matter what philosophy the world throws at God’s Church it will not have the power to change the optimistic and loving culture that is TRUE Christianity.
In order to develop this culture we have to nurture it in an environment friendly to this type of living. The Church or community of faith is important.
In essence our commitment must be to developing a culture of holiness not a culture of normality…
Normalcy is a loaded term right now. Everyone has their own idea of what normal looks like and it could be said the normalcy has become the new idol for our world.
Normalcy is not the culture of holiness…Goodness is…I think we have forgotten this in this Covid era…as sanctified believers the idea of normal has never been nor should it be the most important aspect of living.
This may be hard to hear for some but I do not think the goal of this life is to achieve a sense of normalcy. I do not think the goal for this life is to find a rut and follow it to the end. I do not think the goal of life is to make money, have power, or even live in the right place. The goal of this life is not freedom to do whatever you want when eve you want. The Goal of this life is freedom from sin and the influence of a selfish secular mindset. That is Holiness.....
This life is to be lived nurturing God’s sanctifying grace in our own life for the expresses purpose of being a light to the world. It seems that Peter is telling us that normalcy is the enemy not the comfort so many have made it into.
The real genus of the early Church was not in their commitment to gather weekly (as important as it was) Their power came from their ability to live a culture of holiness in the midst of a culture gone mad.
To created a Culture of Holiness in the Church or community of faith so that we can be conduits of God in a hostile culture calls us to:
Nurture Empathy....Resist a Narcissist’s culture.
Nurture Grace…Resist a fear culture.
Put People First…People over Profit…How about people over normalcy
Tell the Truth…Resist False narratives…Make sure its really Biblical
Nurture Justice…Resit blind loyalties…Allegiance to God not man
Nurture Service…Resit Professional will do it…Priesthood of believers
Nurture Christlikeness…Resist the leader culture…Imitate God not me or any other Christian leader.
To nurture these things effectively we must intentionally choose Christian Community as essential to our life and not simply an option.
Now more than ever we need to intentionally gather as a community whether it be virtually or in person to pursue Jesus and God’s Holiness and goodness together. We can worship, serve, learn and love each other very effectively even in the midst of political turmoil, and a pandemic if our goal is to create an environment where these thing can be nurtured.
This is Christ the King Sunday which is the last Sunday before Advent on the Christian Calendar. Advent gives us a wonderful opprotunity to begin to Nurture a Culture of Holiness.
As we Change some habits, As we remember the Wonderful entrance of Jesus into the world and as a result the entrance of the Kingdom of God let us anticipate finding the Joy that comes only from Jesus during this season.
This week as a response to this message I want us all to carve out some space to help you and I to become more aware of the Holiness of God in our own lives by taking at least 5 min a day in silence. You can set a time in your phone or write in on your calendar as you begin with 5 min you may come to a place where you would want to lengthen the time to 15 to 30 as you get more comfortable with the silence.
I want you to repeat this simple prayer during this time with open hearts and minds to the voice of God. Holy Spirit, open my eyes and my heart to see you and to want you. Then you may want to write down what he tells you or share it and look for ways to live out boldly this new Culture of Holiness that we have been talking about for the last several weeks.
COMMUNION
Communion…is a great way to start this process to day…let us close our eyes and repeat after me OUT LOUD Holy Spirit, open my eyes and my heart to see you and to want you.