Sermon by Michael R. Martin
First United Methodist Church of Saranac Lake, NY
Introduction
In a couple of weeks, I will be spending the weekend with a number of pilgrims who will be experiencing the Walk to Emmaus program. In the past, my role on these weekends “Short Crash Courses in Christianity” has been as music team leader. This coming weekend, God has called me to serve as a group table leader and giving a talk, entitled “Life in Piety: Giving our Hearts to Christ.” The talk is the keystone talk on Friday. The day focuses on God’s grace and ends with my talk about developing a close relationship with Christ. I would like to share a little of this subject with you this morning.
The subject of my talks is “Life in Piety.” My dictionary defines Piety as “Religious devotion and reverence to God” and it stems from the Latin pietás, meaning dutiful conduct.* A life in piety is a life lived in close relationship with God. I am not talking about random acts of kindness here, but a life where God is THE priority. It means surrendering your heart, mind & will to God. As Kahlil Gibran wrote in The Prophet, "Your daily life is your temple and your religion." Living a life in piety means changing the priority of your life. Think about your life today. How do you spend your time? How do you spend your money? Where you spend your time and/or money is generally where your priority is. A life in piety means living a life where God is number one, above all else.
Living a life in piety doesn’t mean that you give up your present life & livelihood to become pious. It does not mean we become celibate or silent monks or anything like that. Living a life in piety doesn’t mean your life will be without its share of pain and woes. Even Jesus, whose relationship with God was his total being, experienced some tremendously painful events. Living a pious life does not mean you become perfect, either. None of us are perfect, we are humans. Fortunately, God never asked us to be perfect. But God does expect us to live as best we can in His way, to have a personal and ongoing relationship with him. Lastly, living a pious life does not mean you are better than anyone else. In fact, in time you’ll seek being the least, the servant.
Ephesians 3:7-8 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me. . .Characteristics of High Priority Relationship
Philippians 2:3&5 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. . . Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
The characteristics of ANY high priority relationship are honesty, authenticity, depth, and resourcefulness. These are also the characteristics of a high priority relationship with God. To me, the key to living a life of piety is recognizing, truly recognizing, that all that you are, all that you have, all that you have been, life’s past journey and your future, all of these you owe to Christ, to God, to the Holy Spirit. Be ever thankful for all that you are and have been given.
Let’s examine the four characteristics of the high priority relationship we seek with God: Honesty, Authenticity, Depth & Resourcefullness. Honesty, first and foremost, is essential in any relationship that matters. Honesty means sharing your true feelings with God, even when they are negative. One of the most wonderful enlightenments I have ever had in my conversations with God began with me alone in church late one night, kneeling at the alter, yelling in anger at God. I don’t even remember now what got me to that place, but I clearly remember how my honesty was rewarded with an overwhelming feeling of peace.
Authenticity means sharing yourself completely. It means giving your best to God, rather than trying to hold a little something back for yourself. Depth means being willing to give your self completely to God, all that you are and all that you do. Resourcefulness in your relationship with God means having the assurance to deal with life’s ups and downs without forgetting your most IMPORTANT relationship. Resourcefulness is living a life in God’s grace, using the gifts He has given you, to make a difference in the world.
Devotional Practices That Enhance the Relationship
God wants a total commitment. Mark 12:30 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
Any great relationship requires focus and attention. As Rick Warren tells us in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, "Like any friendship, you must work at developing your friendship with God. It won't happen by accident. It takes desire, time, and energy. If you want a deeper, more intimate connection with God you must learn to honestly share your feelings with him, trust him when he asks you to do something, learn to care about what he cares about, and desire his friendship more than anything else."
John Wesley talked about a variety of works of piety – devotional practices that enhance our relationship with God. Wesley said: “The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the Scriptures; (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon;) and receiving the Lord's Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him. . .”
With that in mind, let us now examine the devotional practices that enhance our relationship with God.
Prayer: constant conversation with God
The first of these devotional practices is prayer, what I like to call a constant conversation with God. John Wesley considered prayer an essential part of Christian living, calling it, in many of his writings, the most important means of grace. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reminds us to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I’ve spoken to you here about prayer before. Remember that the average American Christian prays four minutes a day and the average American pastor prays seven minutes a day. Jesus tought us to persistence in prayer, to knock often (knock, knock, knock, knock, knock) yet this is the prayer life of American Christians (knock). Prayer was enormously vital to Jesus. And so it should be with us. God wants that relationship with you as much as you need it from Him. Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life reminds us that "Friendship with God is built by sharing all your life experiences with him. . . . He wants to be included in every activity, every conversation, every problem, and even every thought. You can carry on a continuous, open-ended conversation with him throughout your day, talking with him about whatever you are doing or thinking at that moment. "Praying without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) means conversing with God while shopping, driving, working, or performing any other everyday tasks."
Searching the Scripture
Conversation in any relationship is a two way street. One of the best ways we can become closer to God so that His will becomes more evident in our lives is to read the scripture. The scripture is the source from which we learn the heart, mind, and soul of the One who calls us into this relationship. If all you get of the Bible are the few verses that are read to you each Sunday and the preacher’s interpretation, you are not getting the full story at all and you are not having a conversation with God. It wasn’t until I really started studying the bible that I realized how MUCH I was missing from this brief exposure to the scripture. It is but a teaspoonful of the Bible’s richness at best. Immerse yourself in the book, and read beyond the few verses that come up every year in church. This book will illuminate your life!
Meditation: Seek God's word & will
Meditation is another devotional practice that enhances your relationship with God. Meditating on the scripture is how we seek God’s word and will for our lives. As Billy Graham wrote in his wonderful summary called Living the Christian Life†, “The Bible is God's inspired Word. Besides revealing the Good News about forgiveness and eternal life, it can also answer the many questions you will have as you try to live a life that pleases God. It will enable you to be "thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17, NIV). Think about what you read; study and analyze it. Pray for understanding. The Holy Spirit will help you (Psalm 119:18), and you will begin to see life from God's perspective.”
The bible tells us in John 4:23-24
''Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."One cannot worship in truth unless one knows the Bible, God’s word. We are not commanded to worship God as we'd like him to be, but in truth, as He is revealed to us.
Once you become more confidant in your understanding of God’s word through study and meditation, venture forth and start reading some of the “popular” Christian books – you’ve heard me quote from several here already. But always be strong in your personal relationship with God, put your relationship with God first, and filter everything else through that relationship, no MATTER the source. As Rev. Matthew Baldwin tells us in the Dirty Hippy Liberal Christian Home Journal: “We must not assume that a Biblical teaching is immediately clear or applicable . . . (and) . . . We must also not simply accept another Christian's interpretation, however authoritatively it is given.” The familiarity with God’s word I have gained through study and meditation helps me evaluate all that I hear and read, whether it comes from a pastor, radio minister, or Christian author.
Worship
Worship is another devotional practice that enhances your relationship with God. Billy Graham wrote “When you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you began a relationship not only with Him but also with all other Christians. Whatever it meant to you in the past, going to church can now become a rich and rewarding experience”
Billy Graham pointed out that, through organized worship:
- “You will grow in understanding by hearing God's Word preached and taught.
- You can ask questions and discuss Scripture with others.
- You will learn to worship God, which means praising Him for all that He is and thanking Him for all that He has done for you.
- As you worship, learn and serve with other Christians, you will find individuals with whom you can form lasting friendships (friendships that will last for all eternity!).”
Communion
Communion is another form of worship that enhances our relationship with God. Through communion, we actively participate in the drama of forgiveness and thanksgiving, receiving the bread of life and being restored as brothers and sisters in God’s family. Through communion, we celebrate with God remembering the love He shows us in Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is a practice that will help you get the most out of the other relationship-enhancing practices. Spiritual direction is a relationship with a clergy or layperson who practices a relationship with God and is willing to guide you as you seek to experience your own fuller relationship with God. As your relationship with God grows, this spiritual guidance can grow into a mutual relationship of spiritual guidance called spiritual friendship.
Conclusion
Living a life of piety IS a life lived in a close relationship with God; a life lived with God as your number one priority. It is a life not just committed to making a better you, but becoming more Christ-like through your relationship with Him. It is a life of constant conversation with God, through prayer, scriptural study, meditation, and worship.
I promise you this: do these things and there will come a time when all of this will be natural, this conversation with God, this closeness to God, and that will be its own reward. Do these things and you will find that which is bad in you will become easier to manage, and that which is good in you will become richer, more evident, and more beneficial to you and those around you.
Romans 8:35-39 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Michael R. Martin – September 19, 2004
First UMC of Saranac Lake, 8:30AM
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