3-11-2018 - The Handiwork of God

Sermon

Thesis: The Telos of salvation is to be the handiwork of God.

The Telos of salvation is to be the handiwork of God.

For Kids: Parable of the 4 soils

Parable of the 4 soils

Me

Hymn of Promise 707 verse 1

Sometimes we get glimpses of what this hymn says only God can see

Philosophy of Aristotle

Telos

We

We are like seeds

We all have a telos or purpose to grow into

God

Scripture

Ephesians 2:1–10 NIV

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:1-3

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh  and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Everyone Equally Lost

Seeds on the road

We cannot awaken, be born spiritually without being rescued or saved and planted in soil

We remain essentially dead, only good for feeding the birds

The birds represent the devil and his rebellious angels

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Saved by Grace

Being saved usually means moving

Dead in your transgressions

Alive in Christ

Which of those do you live in and which do you visit occasionally?

We have a tendency of taking our mess with us

Some people think that if they just get married and settle down

Or if they start a family

That will provide enough motivation to help them get past some of their issues

The reality is though, most of us bring all our junk with us even as we start these new phases of life

The Greek words Paul uses to describe living in sin, or trespassing, could be literally translated:

Walking in the way of the world

Or sometimes, wandering in the way of the world

By contrast, Paul describe salvation as being lifted up and sitting in the heavenly places with Christ

6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Saved with a purpose

Only by asking Jesus to pick us up and move us into His place are we able to escape life living in trespasses

That's why no one can boast.

We can wander ourselves into all kinds of sin.

But we cannot walk to heaven.

We have to be carried

If salvation here only meant going to Heaven...

That would mean you're not saved for sure until you get to heaven

Some people believe that

But that does not match up with what Paul wrote to the Corinthian's

When he told them that the cross power and wisdom for those of us who are being saved day by day. ()

Paul understood that the movement we have experience Is not just a physical movement from earth to heaven

It is a change allegiance, lifestyle, culture, tradition,… It means joining a new family.

Being raised up here has a little bit of a double meaning

Whatever kind of see you and I are, we sometimes get excited for just being sprouts

Sprouts are small but they enjoy the sun and the rain as long as it's not too much of either and they have very little burden to bear.

On the whole life is pretty easy as a sprout

Eat, sleep, and avoid extremes

But sprouts, like seeds, still face the dangers of being stepped or eaten

They are the most helpless of plants

To survive, a sprout has to dig it's roots deep so that it can grow tall and strong

They can't stay sprouts forever

But they only grow by God's grace

They have nothing to boast about themselves

A Sprout has to persevere

Even in good soil, weeds will grow up around it to try to pull it away from the sun and the water of life needs to survive

It needs those deep roots and tall stems to persevere through the weeds

But in the end, it is only by God's grace they will survive.

Those fields that allow the gardener to come in and pull out the weeds, it is only those plants that will thrive.

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God's handiwork

What does it mean to be God's handiwork?

Jesus like to tell stories about seeds.

He had a short one about a mustard seed

The smallest seed that grew into the biggest bush, or tree by middle eastern standard

When does that mustard seed officially become tree?

When it begins to provide shade for the ground animals

When it begins to make room for birds to nest in its branches

And when it begins to let loose little mustard seeds of its own

To be God's handiwork minutes reflect as much as God's character as you can as a human being

Loving, serving, and witnessing

Making new disciples all around you

Telling others that it's only Jesus can who could carry you to good soil in him

That it is only Jesus who helped you grow into the person you are today

And that is only Jesus will bring your growth to completion, the author and perfector of your faith

You

Where are you today?

Are you a dead seed seed wondering on the road trespasses and sins?

Are you a new Christian, a sprout, just happy to soak up God's love without risking any real responsibilities in your faith?

Are you trying to grow, but the way the world is pulling you down and strangling you… With fears, anxieties, and desires?

Or are you Loving, serving, and witnessing, and by gods grace, making new disciples all around you?

We

We are not Jesus

Everything we have to be proud of is simply a gift from God.

It could have been given to someone else.

That's why we point others to Jesus

Not ourselves

Not our church

That's why we bring people to Jesus

Not just to ourselves

Not just to our church

It's only by God's grace that any of us can be given new life

We make disciples by sharing every gift of grace that God gives to us.