Our Plumb Line of Faith

Jesus is the Measure

Amos 7:7–9 “This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.””

Matthew 16:24–28 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.””

The Cruciform Life Series

This series is built on this one simple truth: Our Christian faith (those who call ourselves the church) is measured, not by how good we are or what prayer we might have prayed… Our faith is measured by how our everyday lives line up with Jesus. Specifically, the life Jesus lived that is expressed in the Cross.

Put even more simply: Jesus is a live-able model for life in the world today, and those of who are called his disciples are empowered by the Spirit to live that way.

We don’t choose the gospel, or determine what the gospel is, or even interpret the gospel… we receive the gospel.

Specifically we have received it from Jesus’ disciples recorded in the Gospels, who watched Jesus live as our model for what it means to be God’s sons and daughters in the world.

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Problem: Here’s the problem the church runs into. We want Jesus to be savior of the world, but not Lord of my life.

Amos and the Plumb Line

At the end of each year I typically break away by myself to reflect on what the previous year was like: victories, challenges, failures, trials, joys, milestones, etc. I’m often tempted to measure the results of the previous year when I compare myself to others, people who seem better off than me, people I think I’m better off than, how I’m doing compared to the crazy people I see on the news!!! But inevitably when I get quiet and prayerful I hear the Spirit ask, how has your private and public life lined up with Jesus?

That’s what’s happening in Amos…

Amos was actually not a prophet. He was a shepherd and a tree-trimmer.

During the time of Amos (mid-8th century BC), Israel was experiencing a "Golden Age" of wealth and military power that masked a deep moral and social rot. Under the long reign of King Jeroboam II, the nation reached its peak of prosperity, but this success was concentrated in the hands of a small elite at the expense of the poor.

God sends Amos to say, your success and power and wealthy are not the measure of God’s blessing on your life! ….WOW!!

{SLIDE: Picture of a Plumb Line}

God shows Amos a picture of a Plum Line and says, behold I am placing plumb line in the midst of my people, and I won’t be letting them judge their lives by their own estimates.

A simple tool…same today as it was in the 8th century BC..but in its simple design it holds true every time.

I know we have some builders and construction contractors in the room…

Anybody else every go with the “that’s close enough” strategy when building things?? I’m guessing that several dads in the room had some “assembly required” toys over Christmas this year!?? …when I was a younger dad I used to go with the “that’s close enough” strategy. Inevitably I would somehow have 6 random screws that somehow did not get used in the assembly, or one random side was turned to the left instead of turned to the right… How many know, that’s a recipe for DISASTER!!

How do we measure our lives?

My past experiences (success or failures) are not the measure of my life.

My family history or family heritage is not the measure of my life.

My favorite preacher, favorite politician, or popular culture are not the measure of my life.

Being a “good person” is not even the measure for my life.

1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I have decided to know nothing else among you except Christ and him crucified.”

For Pentecostals, even our shouts and praise aren’t the measure:

Tongues are one of the signs that go with every baptized person, but it is not the real evidence of the baptism in the every day life. Your life must measure up with the fruits of the Spirit. If you get angry, or speak evil, or backbite, I care not how many tongues you may have, you have not the baptism with the Holy Spirit. You have lost your salvation. You need the Blood in your soul ... 

Many may start in this salvation, and yet if they do not watch and keep under the Blood, they will lose the Spirit of Jesus, which is divine love, and have only gifts which will be as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, and sooner or later these will be taken away. If you want to live in the Spirit live in the fruits of the Spirit every day ... 

- William J. Seymour (1907)

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

The Cross is the test of everything. - Martin Luther

(For Luther, the cross isn't just a historical event; it is the lens through which all of reality must be viewed. If you don't start at the cross, you will inevitably misunderstand who God is.)

Making Jesus our Plumb Line:

The weight of the Holy Spirit “pulls” us into alignment. It’s his faithfulness in us that makes us like Jesus.

The weight at the end of the plumb line is the plumb bob…it pulls straight and true every time.

Inversion Table: Exercise equipment that straps in your feet and hangs you upside down??! I remember seeing these 1980s commercials by Roger Teeter…hanging upside down

The cross aligns us Vertically with God and Horizontally with our neighbors. The prophecy that came from Amos was not about how Israel was living in the Temple. It was concerning how their worship in the Temple failed to translate in how they lived towards their neighbor.

The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) are the markers we use to confirm we have the right plumb line.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in groups of pastors who were asking what measurement can we use in our churches to know they are like Jesus… and when I have said The Fruit of the Spirit, I get blank stares!!

What will be the measure of your life this year?