Sermons
The Way In Need Of The Will
THE WAY IN NEED OF THE WILL
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / August 12, 2018
Perhaps the most audacious claim that was ever made by a person is found in Jn.14:6, where Jesus proclaims:
I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE; no one comes to the Father, except through Me.
If any normal human being would make such a claim we would rightly label him or her as one having one huge ego.
Indeed, they would be viewed not just as an egoist, but as an ego-maniac. However, in this case
the one making such a declaration is JESUS, God's only begotten Son - - the great “I AM” in the flesh.
This bold claim troubles many.
Living in a pluralistic world as we do, it is far too exclusive for many.
It puts Christianity on a level that displaces other world religions not anchored in Jesus Christ.
While we recognize that others have the freedom to choose a religion other than Christianity, it nevertheless
makes our challenge to share Christ with the world all the more difficult ... and all the more needful.
If this proclamation given by Jesus is true, and we are confident that it is, many are mistakenly misguided.
If Jesus had just said, I offer a way and a truth and a life, we would of necessity
have to acquiesce that there are many roads that can lead us to God, but He didn't.
Furthermore, Jesus doubled-down on this assertion by affirming, No one comes to the Father, except through Me.
We must not compromise on this bold claim of Jesus. It is given to us in the sacred writings authored by Jehovah God.
We must be kind and civil. And we must be willing to reason with those who disagree without being mean-spirited.
But we must not back away from this bold assertion.
In the book that we refer to as The Acts Of The Apostles, we read of how the first-century disciples fully
embraced this assertion. In Acts 4:12, Peter reiterates the redemptive-rich claim of Jesus by declaring,
There is salvation in no one else.
In preaching to the household of Cornelius, Peter reprises this proclmation by saying (Acts 10:43) - -
Of HIM all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
It is worth pointing out that Peter was also preaching the gospel of Christ to a multi-cultural, pluralistic world.
The Roman Empire of the first-century was a world filled with the worship of many so-called gods.
Acts 17:22 records, “Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'I observe that you are very religious in
all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar
with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD'. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”
Nothing witnesses to the full endorsement of the claim of Jesus to be THE ONLY WAY more than several
passages in the book of Acts that reflect the logical extension of Jesus' claim in terms of the church.
In Acts 9:2 we encounter for the first time, the church being alluded to as THE WAY.
In just a very a very short time following Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, we read a historical
note about how Saul of Tarsus. still breathing threat and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the (Jewish) high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus,so that
if he found any belonging to THE WAY, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
This reference to “the way” is repeated several times in Acts - - cf. Acts 19:9 & 23; 22:4; 24:14 & 22.
There are also variations of this reference in the epistles, such as - - the way of salvation (Acts 16:17) …
instructed in the way of the Lord (Acts 18:25) … the way of truth (2Pet.2:2) … and the new and living way (Heb.10:20).
My comments thus far have been prefatory and hopefully foundational.
I want to shift gears at this point and springboard off of that old adage: where there's a will, there must be a way.
We all know the meaning of that expression: If we have a deep desire for something, we will find a way to obtain it.
For the balance of our time this morning I want to transpose that old cliché to suggest
where there's a WAY, there must be a will.
We continually remain concerned about the future of church.
While we need not be overly anxious about this matter, we ought to have a genuine concern.
The front-side footer of today's FamilyMatters includes a quote from Neil Postman:
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.
What will the church (The Way) look like in the year 2025?
What will it look like in the year 2050 or 2075 or in the year 2100?
Neil Postman was the former chairman of the communication arts at New York University.
In his book, Amusing Ourselves To Death, (written in 1985) he writes about the dumbing-down efffect of
television on major aspects of American culture - - in particular politics, news, religion, education and commerce.
Postman was writing in an era that pre-dated the arrival of the Internet & Smart Phones and Facebook & Twitter.
How interesting it would be if Professor Postman could write a sequel for an American public now dominated by
social media. Unfortunately he can't because he passed away fifteen years ago - - in the 2003.
in his book, Amusing Ourselves To Death (pg.121), in a chapter titled, “Shuffle Off To Bethlehem”, he writes:
I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion.
When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.
If we want to do our best to insure the future of our Cortland Church version of The Way, we will need WILLPOWER.
There's a (Texas) colloquialism that says, “sometimes you have to grab your wanter by your willer.'
I'm imagining that this expression means one has to be seriously diligent in the pursuit of one's goals.
We can wish all we want, but what's often needed is the will to accomplish our aim.
In 1Jn.2:17, John pens an exhortation that was very timely for Christians living in the last days of Biblical Judaism.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
What an encouragement this word of exhortation must have been for our first-century brothers and sisters.
In principle this is a wonderful word of admonition for all generations.
The one who does the will of God abides forever.
As a church we must be willing to do the will of God.
This is our preeminent charge.
To do this and do it well, OUR WILLINGNESS TO DO HIS WILL will need to be fortified with three key ingredients.
SINGLE-MINDEDNESS
On the very eve of His crucifixion, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane with His disciples.
Before going a distance to pray in private, Jesus made of them a singular request: watch and pray.
After a while Jesus returned to His disciples and found them asleep.
He said to them the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mt.6:41).
This challenge remains for disciples of every generation - - to willfully override our weak flesh with a strong spirit.
A teacher of the Law once asked Jesus, Teacher, what commandment is the foremost of all? (Mk.12:28)
Jesus answered Him saying, You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
As in the case of Martha, a single-minded vision is often distracted and blurred by so many (secondary) things (Lk.10:41).
In 1855 Thomas Chalmers presented a sermon titled, “The Expulsive Power Of A New Affection”.
Many who wear the name of Christ are too in love with the things of the world and its taking a toll on the church.
The only way to overcome such is to completely fall in love with Jesus.
Such will put these many other and less important things on the back burner.
SACRIFICE
Doing the will of God requires much sacrifice - - of our time & talent and our energy & economic resources.
All of us need to continually ask ourselves, “Am I giving God my utmost for His highest?”.
A single-minded heart will always be the driving force behind a sacrificial life.
It's almost impossible to live a sacrificial life if we are not “all in”.
We we never be fully committed to Christ if we persist in having in one foot in the world and the other in the church.
STEADFASTNESS
Often we hear that Christianity is not a sprint, it is a marathon.
In Heb.12:1-2a, Paul writes: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin that so easily entangles us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus...
Sometimes we are tempted to become weary in well-doing (Gal.6:9a).
We must not yield to this common pitfall of lethargy and lassitude.
Let us trust God - - that in due time, we shall reap if we do not grow weary (Gal.6:9b).
If individually and collectively we as a church of Jesus Christ will to do God's will,
we can rest assured that God will give the increase (1Cor.3:7). So then, let us plant and let
water to the best of our ability, but let us also trust in God to deliver the increase in due time.
Jesus began His ministry at the age of about 30.
For three and a half years or so, He went about preaching and teaching and doing good (Acts 10:38).
Thousands upon thousands were forever changed by His ministry.
He finished His earthly ministry in the first-century metropolis of Jerusalem.
After His crucifixion and resurrection (Jesus) presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing
proofs, appearing to them over forty days, and speaking of things concerning the kingdom (Acts 1:3).
In the days immediately following Jesus' ascension “the way” could be found assembled in Jerusalem.
Acts 1:14 states: all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer...
Acts 1:15 further notes, a gathering of about 120 persons was there together.
Jesus was the Master Teacher, the greatest preacher the world has ever known.
He was God in the flesh and He was surrounded by 12 apostles empowered by the Lord.
Yet there were only 120 gathered. How could this be?
I don't point this out to lower our expectations of growth, but to encourage us.
To remind us that we must trust in the sovereignty of God.
Let us truly will to do His will and let us trust Him to provide the increase.
He will provide if we faithfully WILL to do HIS WILL.
