The
Christian Atheist, part 6
When
you believe in God but don’t want to go overboard
Sunday,
October 20th, 2013- MRWC
We
are concluding our 6 part series today called the Christian Atheist.
As
this series has progressed, we’ve learnt that a Christian Atheist is someone who believes
in God, but lives as if He doesn’t exist. It may sound like an
oxymoron, but unfortunately it’s true.
Many
people believe in God; they believe that He is all powerful and all knowing,
but they also live as if He doesn’t exist.
Oswald
Chambers once said: “Beware of worshipping Jesus as the Son of God, and
professing your faith in Him as the Savior of the world, while you blaspheme
Him by the complete evidence in your daily life that He is powerless to do
anything in and through you.” (Christianity today, Vol. 37, no.11)
Chambers
was telling us not to be Christian Atheists. He was reminding us to live in
such a way that Christ is honored at all times in our lives.
God
isn’t looking for people who know about Him—as I know about Third day; surface
level—God is looking for people who are fully devoted followers and are willing
to be led by the Holy Spirit.
I
hope that this series has caused you examine your walk with the Lord and helped
you determine if you are a Christian; someone who believes in God and lives has
if He exists, or this series has revealed to you that you are a Christian
Atheist: someone who believes in God but lives as if He doesn’t exist.
Please
know that you don’t have to be a Christian Atheist for the rest of your life.
If you make it your heart’s desire to
seek after God, and allow Him to transform you, He will be found by you:
God said in
Jeremiah 29 that: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
heart.” (Jer. 29:13, NIV)
If we are
serious about becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ; of believing in God
and living as if He does exist, it will involve us turning to God with all our
heart and trusting in Him alone.
The last lesson
in this series is, like the 5 before it, an interesting one.
A Christian
Atheist is someone who believes in God but doesn’t want to go overboard.
If you have a Bible
with you, I would like to have you turn to Revelation chapter 3, we will begin
reading in verse 14.
This is the 7th
church that received a message from Jesus, and it’s an interesting one.
“Write this letter
to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is
the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:”
(Rev. 3:14, NLT2)
I want to stop
here and describe the kind of place Laodicea was, as I believe it will provide
important context as to what Jesus had to say to this body of believers.
Laodicea was
located in modern day Turkey and in bible times it was an important city, by
important I mean wealthy.
One of its
claims to fame was glossy black wool which was used to make black coats and
carpets.
Laodicea was
also the home to a medical school and manufactured ointment for eyes and some
scholars even believe they also produced ear ointments.
People were able
to see better and hear better because of the medical advancements from
Laodicea.
As I mentioned,
Laodicea was a wealthy city that benefited from being in the middle of a trade route,
and after an earthquake ravaged the city in AD 60, they were able to completely
rebuild without help from Rome, which was quite an accomplishment and a
testament to their affluence.
Even with all of
its advancements, water was scarce in Laodicea.
It had to be
piped in from 10 kilometers away and when hot water left for Laodicea, it often
arrived lukewarm, making it bad-smelling and awful tasting.
Jesus had a
specific message for the body of believers in the Laodicean church: “I know your deeds,
that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you
are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, 'I am
rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize
that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
18 I counsel you to
buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes
to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your
eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love
I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” (Rev. 3:15-19,
NIV)
I’ll have you
notice a few things that stand out from this passage, the first being: The people
thought they had it all!
The people in
Laodicea were relying on what they had to keep them, instead of relying on God.
They put their
trust in their material possessions, and in so doing, it handicapped their
spiritual lives.
They relied on what made them
happy instead of relying on the One who could make them Holy.
They were
Christian Atheists: they believed in God, but didn’t want to go overboard.
Life was good
for them, they had all they needed! They had acquired great wealth! They had a
form of godliness, but they denied its power.
Jesus had a
message for these Christian Atheists; to the ones who thought they had it all
He said: You’re
poor!
Look at verse
17: “You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a
thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and
blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:17, NLT2)
These
Christians thought they had it all, but according to Jesus, they had nothing.
I
wonder if we can be that blind. I wonder if we, who have just as much as the Laodicean’s
had, can be guilty of thinking that we have all that we need.
We
have money in the bank, we have health care, we have, we have, we have; but
next to Jesus, we actually have nothing that really matters.
These folks placed greater emphasis on what they had
and what they could acquire than WHO they needed—Jesus Himself.
Even
though they had all they thought they needed, Jesus still said to them: “I advise you to
buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire.Then you will be rich.
Also buy white
garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for
your eyes so you will be able to see.” (Rev. 3:18, NLT2)
Jesus
was inviting the Laodicean’s to return to Him and receive what truly mattered:
Life with the King of Kings.
What
these folks had was an empty relationship with God, they believed in Him, but
they lived as if He didn’t exist.
They
believed in God, but they didn’t want to go overboard in their faith with God
and because of this, I’ll have you notice The Warning- which is found in verses 15-16:
“I know your deeds,
that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you
are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16, NIV)
Because the Laodicean’s
believed in God, but didn’t want to go overboard, God was going to—literally
vomit them out of His mouth.
God didn’t want
them trusting in what they could manufacture, God wanted them trusting in
Jesus.
This church had
trusted in what their hands could produce; they trusted in their wealth, they
trusted in their medical improvements, more than they trusted in God.
They believed in
God, but they didn’t want to go overboard.
They wanted
enough of God to get them into heaven and keep them out of hell, but they
didn’t want enough of God to be transformed.
Because this was
the case, God was going to vomit them out of His mouth.
I don’t know of
a clearer picture of how God wants us to live—either boiling hot, or freezing
cold. God does not have an appetite for middle of the road Christianity.
You see dear
friend, God doesn’t want part-time followers.
He doesn’t want
people who pick and choose when to follow Him, He doesn't want people who read
the Bible once in a while, nor does God want people who pray only when they are
in a mess.
God wants fully
devoted followers of Christ; people who are willing to place their trust in
Him.
The apostle Paul
said: “I have
been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20,
NIV)
Paul no longer
lived for himself, and the life that he did live was for Jesus who gave His all
for him.
Paul jumped in
head first and gave his all for the cause of Christ.
How about
you? How about me? Are we like the folks
in the church of Laodicea, having just enough of Christ to save us but not
enough of Him to transform us?
Or do we
identify with Paul who said I’m all in with Jesus, what happens to me happens
to Jesus because we are one in the same?
Are you giving your all to Jesus?
Maybe I can
illustrate it with this video:
God
is not looking for lukewarm Christians, people who only follow Him when it’s
convenient or easy.
God is looking for people who are
willing to dive in head first, people who are willing to put Him first above
everything else. God wants you to give Him the stool…
Dr.
Charles Stanley said that: “If your relationship with the Savior is tepid, your
Christian experience will be lack luster, impotent and uncompelling to a world
awash with mediocrity….
But…you can
find a new passion for God and fulfilment in His service if you desire.”
(Stanley, 2002, 152)
This new passion
for God begins as we give Him complete access to the stool.
In Revelation
3:20 Jesus said: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”(NIV)
ILLUSTRATION- I have a ceramic depiction of
this verse on a shelf in my office.
Upon
closer inspection, you will notice that there is no doorknob on the outside of
the door that Jesus is knocking at.
This leads me
to believe that the doorknob is on the inside…
So
is it with our lives.
Jesus
will not open the door of our lives; this is something that only we can do.
So the question that I want us to
consider this morning is: Are you going to give Jesus the stool?
Doing so represents your willingness to open
the door of your heart and let Jesus come in and fellowship with you.
Giving
the stool of your life over to Jesus is your choice; it’s not something anyone else
can do for you, you must decide if you will believe in God and live as if He
exists.
Only you can chose to give Jesus your
all.
So
as we prepare to enter into a time of reflection, I’m going to ask those who
want to go all in for Jesus, to stand and make your way to the front.
By
doing so, you are telling Jesus that He can have His way with you. You will
allow Him to make the decisions; you will open the door of your heart and give
Him the stool.
If
you are unsure if you want to make this step, I want you to know that no one
will judge you for not coming to the front.
I would ask
however, that you spend that time in prayer asking Jesus to help you come to
the place where you can give Him the stool of your life.
So
the choice is up to you, will you open the door of your heart and allow Jesus
to have all of you? Or will you remain a Christian Atheist?
If
you want to give Jesus the stool of your life, then I invite you to come as we
stand and sing this song.
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