Out with the Old

Prayer

Clash of World

So, many of you may know that my oldest stepson, Evan, is stationed in Italy now, he moved to the Army base there in November.

He’s immediately taken advantage of the opportunity to travel to see different parts of Italy. So, instead of just being jealous, we’re making plans to go see him next summer.

Now the thing about traveling to other countries, you have to be mindful of their cultural practices and norms. In European countries, that often comes to play when you go to visit the cathedrals (there are a lot of big beautiful churches to visit).

This is especially true for Americans - Joke that you can always spot Americans traveling overseas - because of how casual we tend to dress

much more likely to wear shorts, t-shirts, ball caps, sneakers - see somebody dressed like that, that’s an American. That will not fly in visiting cathedrals, often require more modest and proper attire - long pants, no caps, no bare shoulders.

This is one of the things about traveling - it can be an opportunity to learn. It can reveal things that you often take for granted - that is, values and norms of your culture. Fall into trap that everyone around world thinks the same way we do because it seems so normal to us (water you swim in)

As Americans, way we dress reveals things we value - we value comfort, non-hierarchical (common man), individualism, highly sexualized (tend to reveal more of our bodies with the way we dress)

That’s very different from other cultures, where modesty and community concerns and roles can take priority.

Lots of examples where this cultural clash can be played out. Consider families that immigrate to U.S. or other Western countries from much more traditional cultures, kids especially have to negotiate two worlds.

I don’t know if you remember the controversial movie that came out on Netflix, Cuties. It played off of that cultural clash.

Story centers on a young girl, around 11 years old, whose family has immigrated from Senegal to France. Very traditional, patriarchal Muslim culture. One of the things that’s greatly upsetting the girl is that her dad has gone back to Senegal to get a second wife.

One of the ways she works to fit in with the other French kids is by getting involved with a girls dance group. Little by little, especially through social media, watching videos, she and her friends get sucked into this hyper-sexualized world of dance.

That’s controversial part of the movie, shows these young girls dancing very provocatively.

Part of the goal of the director was to show this clash of cultures and some of the positives - but especially the negatives of both.

Another example: Some of my brother and his wife’s best friends have served as long-term missionaries in Africa. They always struggle with culture shock when they come back to the states - especially the sheer materialism and utter waste and extravagance of our culture.

We won’t think much about it because we’re immersed in it, just part of our everyday normal lives. But when you’ve been living in a very different world, where entire families live in single room dirt floor huts, have to go to local water pump for clean water, people cook with oil or sticks, and food is very basic - and not a whole lot of variety.

Then to come back to states and see stores stocked full of food, top to bottom - of every type and variety. How much food gets wasted, thrown away. Think nothing about dropping hundreds of dollars every week eating out. You can see where you’d have a very different perspective on our spending habits - and what they reveal about our values and priorities having lived in a country where people have so little.

Why do I bring all this up? Because it has everything to do with what we’re talking about in our new sermon series, Made New.

Last week, we talked about God’s incredible promise of the Great Restoration, from Revelation 21:5, “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new.” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

God is making literally everything new - creating a new heavens and a new earth. And that new making includes us. God will - if we let him - make you and I new. If we’re willing to join in.

Today, I want to talk about what it means to join with Jesus in his new making in us. It begins with this: Out with the old!

It begins with recognizing that to embrace faith in Jesus is to move from one culture into another, from one Kingdom - with all of its norms and values and priorities - into another, the Kingdom of God.

Moving out from one Kingdom, one world - namely from our kingdoms saturated with the thinking and values of 21st century highly secularized America into the Kingdom of God.

And there are vast differences between the two (far more than a more traditional culture versus ours)

To follow Jesus is to move out of that old Kingdom, out of the old, in order to take on the new. That’s our main point this morning...

Dallas Willard, in his book the Divine Conspiracy talks about this move, out of the old, into the new - or as he describes it, becoming like Jesus. He says there are two main objectives in learning to be like Jesus.

The first objective he says is this: It...“is the breaking of the power of patterns of wrongdoing and evil that govern our lives because of our long habituation to a world alienated from God. We must learn to recognize these habitual patterns for what they are and escape from their grasp.”

There is a power that holds sway over us - long established habits because we’re immersed in a culture that knows little of the ways of Jesus. Those patterns of wrongdoing and evil govern our lives.

In order to break those patterns, we have to first, learn to recognize them and second, escape their grasp.

Willard isn’t saying anything new here, he’s talking about what we see throughout the Scriptures - that we’ve been in the world, enslaved to its ways. And to become like Jesus we must break that connection. Out with the old. The Bible is full of imagery that captures this idea.

Colossians 3:5 puts it this way: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

This is same imagery we were referring to before, the idea of joining with Christ in dying to sin. Letting sin be crucified in us. We want the old self put to death.

Romans 6:6-7 - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

It’s what Jesus is telling us we must do when, in order to follow him, we must deny ourselves (our old selves), and pick up our crosses and follow him.

Ephesians uses the imagery of clothing, of taking off old clothing in order to put on new clothing, 4:20-24.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

One of the early practices of the church was in baptism, for those being baptized, to take off their clothing, to take off the old self…be immersed in the water while naked, then receive new clothing when they merged.

Imagery of Get rid of / trash - Colossians 3:7-8, You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Get rid of it, toss it out, out with the old.

Do you see how pervasive this is? Whether you crucify it, put it to death, or take it off or toss it out - all same idea. This call, this command to escape the grasp of our old way of being, those patterns that have been so deeply rooted in us because we’ve been long immersed in a culture as Willard puts it, alienated from God.

We’ve been so accustomed, so immersed in values and thinking of our own (God alienated) culture - affects us in ways we don’t even recognize. By the way, this has been true for every Christian who has ever lived in every age and in every place. Doesn’t matter - all had to wrestle through moving out of the old way into the new way of the Kingdom of God.

One quick example, when disciples get into an argument about which of them is the greatest. That’s a pride-filled, worldly attitude. Jesus uses the argument to teach them to recognize that attitude in themselves.

He tells them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.” This is the way of world, to think you’re better. To want to be above, get your way. But that’s old way.

“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” This is the new way, my way. Willingness to serve others.

And then he points to himself as an example: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” How incredibly different this is!!

This is true for all of us. We are all held by power of these patterns of wrongdoing and evil in our lives, this old self. It’s what we’ve been taught, our culture, our family (some of you had the advantage of growing up in a household that sought to teach and follow the ways of Jesus).

If we’re going to learn to recognize those patterns that hold us, and escape their grasp, we have to join with Jesus in taking off the old.

Dallas Willard: “The consumer Christian is one who utilizes the grace of God for forgiveness and the services of the church for special occasions, but does not give his or her life and innermost thoughts, feelings and intentions over to the kingdom of the heavens. Such Christians are not inwardly transformed and not committed to it.” They remain governed by sin, stuck in the old.

From leadership point, this is really where we’ve been trying to live out and nudge and encourage the church as a whole. To not be consumer Christians (what I can get from God and church - consumer is an American mindset), but to be those who are absolutely committed to Jesus, to becoming like him - be those who give our lives and innermost thoughts, feelings and intentions to him. To join him in his new making of us.

Spiritual Disciplines

Learning to recognize

Challenge is to learn to recognize those patterns: Reflect on some of the narratives, things your parents might have told you regularly when you were growing up. Some of that was likely helpful wisdom. Some of it was likely not. Every family had unspoken rules, things that were just understood to be the case. What did you learn about money and things? About handling conflict?

Reflect on your own responses - this is one of the beautiful gifts of emotions, reveal our hearts. Why did I get so angry when that person made that comment? Why am I feeling so anxious and hurried inside, what’s that deeply held belief I have?

God, what would you have me get rid of (use of post cards / pens…write it done, use during Renewal of Baptism, tear it up, get rid of)

Escape the grasp - how do we escape the grasp of deeply entrenched habits.

Begin to put on new - old habits must be replaced by new, examples...

Day without gossip

Day of silence

Deaccumulation (things you value)

Pray for your competitors

Inspiration

All in grace. Not doing this to earn God’s love, because we’ve already received it, want to live into the newness.

To imagine for a moment what it would be like to live without anger…fear…impatience…inner anxiety…egotism…resentment…stinginess…lust…attachment to our stuff…need to be right or better or liked by others…worry…to be freed from all that.

That’s exactly what Jesus wants to free us from. So much so that he laid down his life. Out with the old!

The followers of Jesus I respect the most - those who’ve done this hard work (recognizing, escaping the grasp), they’re such a joy to be with. The new always is. Laugh easily. Not defensive, they don’t take themselves too serious, never feel rushed around them. They have a generous spirit - compliments, encouragement, listening, their time.

Type of folks that bring best out of you. Exactly like Jesus. And it’s exactly what he wants to do in us - bring out the best. The new.

But it begins here - Out with the old.