With All The Saints

I had the privilege of giving the sermon at my church 3 weeks ago, on July 26. The mp3 is now up and I published my accompanying slides for anyone interested in listening. I appreciate any feedback or criticism:



Here's a reader's digest version of the message, "With All The Saints", based on Ephesians 3:17-21:

Wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone was just like me? Thought, believed, did things like me?

If only my husband or wife would have my point of view, we wouldn't be having this fight.
If only my coworkers knew how important it is to do things my way, we'd be so much more productive.
If only everyone believed in Jesus as their Savior like I do, then we wouldn't have to evangelize.
If only the church leaders would do what I think, we'd be a better church.

Ephesians 3 sheds some light on God's intent for dealing with messy people. As a multicultural church, they had disagreements, fights, and difficulties reconciling where they came from with their new identity in Christ, and how to be the church with other believers who were otherwise nothing like them.

17-21 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God's goal/purpose: glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations
Our (humanity's) goal/purpose: filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, made like him
Our method: know and grasp all the dimensions of the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge
How do we do that? Together with some of the saints you like. Together with the saints who look like you do, think the way that you do, work as hard as you do, live as morally as you do. No, it says, Together with ALL the saints. All the messy, disagreeable, stubborn, arrogant, unrepentant, first gen, second gen, saints who are still being changed by God from the inside out, some with more of a way to go than others.

We experience the fullness of God's love and glory when we are 1, not 1s.

We need to apply the gospel to ourselves (the depth and height of God's love):
Keller: “The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

We need to apply the gospel to each other (the width and length of God's love):
width = available to all ppl, including those we don't like or want to give grace to - "Reach out to each other. Bear each other's burdens," (Gal 6:2)
length = this was God's plan all along, part of the good works he prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10)

When we do this, the church becomes a hospital for the sick rather than a museum of saints, restoring broken, messy, flawed people to wholeness in Christ - and being part of that process enables us to experience the fullness of God's love and glory.