Sunday 02/16/14 Freeville/Homer Ave
UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Try to be Holy”
(The things that Jesus
taught us series, Part 3 of 5)
Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 119:1-8
New Testament Scripture Lesson: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Gospel Lesson: Mathew 5:21-37
Well good
morning once again, and welcome on this the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany.
The Epiphany, that day so long ago that the Three-Wise Men or Magi saw that
bright “Bethlehem Star” in the sky, and they followed that star to the manger
of the Christ-Child, our savior.
Soon then, Jesus
Christ grew up to be a man, and his earthly ministry went on for three-years,
until Jesus went to Calvary to give up his life us for all of us. During these
three years of his earthly ministry though, Jesus not only revealed to world
who he was, he not only performed miracles and raised the dead, but he also taught
us countless things. Many of these things, were things that had never ever been
said before.
You see then,
the savior comes to us as a baby on Christmas, then he grows up, and as we
approach this Lenten Season, we know that Jesus will be arrested, tried,
beaten, mocked, and crucified. Three days later though, Jesus will then will be
raised to new life on Easter Sunday.
All of these things
are the very core of the Christian faith, but beyond being born, dying, and being
resurrected, did Jesus teach us anything?
While I could
preach for weeks about all of the many things that Jesus Christ did in fact
teach us, I have narrowed it down to just five of the many things that Jesus
has taught us all. When Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount, he taught us
“Who was truly blessed,” and how God loves the lowly, the poor, and the down-trodden.
Jesus taught us to be as pure and as holy as salt, and to be like a bright light
to a dark world that knows him not.
This Sunday,
Jesus teaches us to “Try to be Holy.” Given this, how many of you here, feel like
that you are anything but Holy? How many of you have days once and awhile,
where you say, “I don’t even know if I am good Christian today?”
Perhaps you
say, “I know I am supposed to be like Jesus, but I sometimes feel like that I
have no hope.” Or for some of us, we have that day once in a “Blue Moon,” where
we feel like that we have been trying to be loving and caring to many people
for a long time, and then we feel tired out. On that given day we say, “You
know, I just don’t feel like being Holy or nice today.”
Maybe people
that you know that aren’t Christian have expectations of you, because you are a
Christian. Perhaps they think that you are always supposed to be “Holy,” and that
you always supposed to be “perfect,” all the time, every day. We of course,
pull this off easily though right, because we are Christians, and all Christians
are perfect and never make any mistakes. If only this was true!
In the Psalm
119 reading from this morning, the Psalm says, “Happy are those whose way is
blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD.” By “blameless,” this means sinless,
Holy, perfect and upright before God. So many of us read words such as these,
and simply say, “Well I could never do that!”
The Psalm goes on to say, “Happy are
those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no
wrong, but walk in his ways.” Anybody here, ever feel like that they fall short
of this? If so, are we to believe that we should just instantly become perfect
before God?
The Psalm
continues on, “O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!” Then
the Psalm then says, “Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on
all your commandments,” and this Psalm reading concludes by saying that if we
follow God, he won’t forsake us.
Yet in hearing
all of this, I remember in the Gospels how Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen
from the dead, how Peter denied Jesus three times, how the Pharisees denied
Jesus being the savior, how the Apostles debated who was the greatest among
them, and so on, and so forth. Oh, and did I mention Judas Iscariot. Of course
these were the followers of Jesus Christ, yet even they did not always do
everything perfect that I just read from Psalm 119. In this Psalm reading
though, it basically says be perfect, never make a mistake, and it seems almost
impossible for most of us. I mean how could we possibly never error or never
sin, no matter how hard we try?
I think that
the reality is brothers and sisters, that seeking Holiness, pureness, and righteousness,
is a process, a process that takes a lifetime. In going through this process
though, if we can say that we are a little more holy than this time last year,
then we have indeed succeeded in trying to be more holy. The founder of
Methodism John Wesley, described this as us believers, “going on to
perfection.” By this, that we are becoming more and more holy, with the hard
goal of becoming perfectly like Jesus Christ, which is what I will be talking
about more next week. While I think that it is possible to become perfect, it certainly
is not easy. Yet, as I did the funeral/celebration of life service for Avard
Parker this past Wednesday, I thought, “Now here was a man who was close to
Christian perfection and total holiness, if I had ever seen one.”
In the Apostle
Paul’s First Epistle or letter to the church in Corinth, or 1st Corinthians,
the Apostle Paul said, “And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you
as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.”
Then the Apostle Paul said, “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were
not ready for solid food.” You see even the church in Corinth struggled with
holiness almost 2,000 years, in that, the Apostle Paul basically said, you aren’t
ready for deep faith and deep holiness. In fact, the Apostle Paul said, “Even
now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as
there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of flesh, and behaving
according to human inclinations?” The Apostle Paul concludes this piece of
scripture from this letter by saying, “For we are God’s servants, working
together; you are God’s field, God’s building.” “Try to be Holy.” Jesus Christ
calls us to “Try to be Holy.” It’s a process.
In our Gospel
reading for this morning, Jesus explains how the 10-Commandments teach us that
we should not murder, but Jesus then says, “if you are angry with a brother or
sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister,
you will be liable to the council.” Jesus tells us to be “reconciled” to each
other in this gospel reading. For why else would Christ teach us all of this,
if he knew that we would never make a mistake? The reality is, Jesus already
knows that were going screw up, that were going fall.
Jesus then tells us in this gospel
reading to “Come to terms quickly with you accuser,” for sin, anger, and
division, is the opposite of holiness. You see, to Jesus, it isn’t just not
doing something bad, it is also knowing him more in the process. To know Jesus
more, to be more like Jesus, is to become more Holy. To not commit murder, is
to not break a law, but if you still feel anger and murder in your heart, then
you are still not fully trying to be more Holy. Showing restraint is not always
being fully more Holy. So for most of us, were not at the level of Psalm 119
yet, but were working at it. In the time of the Old Testament, it was expected
that the people of Israel were to perfect and sinless immediately, which as I
said, is not easy. This is why we need a savior, this is why we need Jesus
Christ, who forgives us, over and over, and over again.
Jesus goes on
to say, that one of the 10-Commandments says, “You shall not commit adultery,”
but then he said, “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus then metaphorically says that
we can “tear” out our eyes, or cut off our hands if they cause us to sin. Of
course, Jesus was just making a point here, and not being literal, as I don’t
see anyone here wearing eye patches, where your eyes used to be. This point
that Jesus was making, was “Will you try every day to be more Holy, and to
follow me in your actions and in your heart?” “Will you not only follow the
laws, but seek me in your heart, as well?” Jesus concludes this gospel reading
by saying, “let you word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or “No, No’; anything more that this
comes from the evil one.” By this Jesus meant, will you just restrain yourself
to not do bad with you actions, or will truly seek me? Will you “Try to be
Holy?” Will you say, “Yes, Yes,” or “No, No.”
“Try to be
Holy.” Much more than just what we do, Jesus says, “how is your heart?” Jesus
says, “True, you might not have broken that commandment, but are you also trying
to be Holy in your heart?” Instead of just doing what looks good or what is
good, do we in addition to this, seek to rid ourselves of unrighteousness, un-holiness,
and ungodliness, in our hearts?”
In “Trying to
be Holy,” we must wake up and give our lives to Jesus Christ daily. For every
day is a new opportunity to become more Holy. So don’t think that you have to
or will likely become perfected in Christ’s image in a day, and don’t feel like
a failure if you fall. Imagine if you were with Jesus for three years, if you
saw and heard everything he did and said, and then you still denied him three
times? “Try to be holy,” brothers and sisters.
For as I heard a pastor say once,
“Jesus knows all about you, and he loves you just the same.” You see when we
carry that load of burden in our hearts, those sins, that pain, it weighs us
down like bricks. Jesus says, brothers and sisters, leave the bags and the
bricks at the foot of my cross, and let me take them away forever. Be made free
in me, begin to follow me, and every day of your life, “Try to be Holy.” Try to
be like me, and when you fail, and you will, tell me why you’re sorry, repent,
and I’ll pick you back up, dust you off, and you will continue to “Try to be
Holy.” When you give your life to Jesus Christ, and ask him to be your Lord and
savior, you start on a path of holiness.
I would like to close this message
with a poem called, “When I say…I am a Christian,” by Carol S. Wimmer. Here is
how it goes: “When I say ... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting,
"I'm saved," I'm whispering, "I get lost!" "That is
why I chose this way." When I say ... "I am a Christian" I don't
speak of this with pride, I'm confessing that I stumble, and need someone to be
my guide. When I say ... "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be
strong, I'm professing that I'm weak, and pray for strength to carry on. When I say ...
"I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success, I'm admitting that
I've failed, and cannot ever pay the debt. When I say ... "I am a Christian" I'm
not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are way too visible, but God believes I'm
worth it. When I say ... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of
pain, I have my share of heartaches, which is why I seek His Name. When I say
... "I am a Christian" I do not wish to judge, I have no authority, I
only know I'm loved!
Brothers and sisters, the church is
nothing more than a place full of broken people, who need God’s grace. People
who fall, people who stumble, but people who Jesus calls to “Try to be Holy.”
So do not be discouraged my brothers and sisters if you fall, be of good cheer,
for he has overcome the world, and he offers you salvation freely. So let us
seek this salvation and let us “Try to be Holy.” Amen.
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