Sermon July 25, 2010

You Are Precious to God!

Scripture Psalm 85 and Colossians 2:6-19

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ July 25, 2010

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 85
During a time of national failure and sin, the people of Israel were strengthened in the knowledge of God’s righteousness. The psalmist reminds us that we must be quiet so we can hear what God has to say to us.

1Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.
5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
7Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
8Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

Colossians 2:6-19
Theology is the study of God. Theologians seek to understand the will of God and then interpret their understanding for believers. Throughout the life of the church there has been conflict over theology. It was the beginnings of the Reformation and other times of division in the life of the church. Sometimes believers have fought over property use, politics and how money is handled but it the end most of our fighting has been over theology. What do we really believe about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit? And what does that belief mean for our lives and our relationships with one another? Paul had founded church after church that was on fire for Jesus Christ and then they would slip into theological wrangling about who belonged. The church in Colossae is no different. They have been arguing over what leads to righteousness in relation to food, drink, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths. As if that was not enough to drag them away from their purpose to claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they also are concerned about heavenly powers and authorities, including some kind of veneration of angels. Paul’s letter is a challenge not to let go of what is important in their relationship with God and keep to their purpose in Christ Jesus.

6As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
13And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
16Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

SERMON
Do not let anyone condemn you or disqualify you. Terrible things have been done in the name of every religion. Sadly Christianity is not exempt from this condemnation. Further we have used our own interpretation of scripture and theology to deride not only enemies but friends and family. Many women still have a fear of stepping out in faith and taking a leadership role for God. Others tell me they have been told they don’t speak clearly so they should not be liturgists or don’t sing because they sing off-key. Young people hear they are too immature to take on certain tasks or they tell themselves no one appreciates them, and as people age they tell themselves that their time has past.

Do not let anyone condemn you or disqualify you, even yourself. For you are precious to God.

How do we know we are precious to God? The whole Bible speak volumes of God’s pursuit to save and redeem God’s chosen people for the purpose of leading the whole world back to righteousness, justice and love. Then God chose to come and dwell among us not just in a tent of meeting or a mountain top or a temple but as a human life lived within the divine parameters of God’s grace. Jesus the Christ is God with us. In him we are made perfect. Not by some act of piety, circumcision or worship of angels or even righteous behavior. Paul writes: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him.” Jesus promised that he and his Father will come and dwell with you. The divine, the wholly other dwells with you though the sacrifice of Jesus. How could you ever let anyone condemn you or disqualify you, because in that act they condemn and disqualify God. You are precious to God as God’s dwelling place. Through us, foolish and fearful though we may be, God speaks to the world of joy and hope and love. Through us, God touches the lost and gives shelter to the weary. This is your high calling, this is my calling, and this is the calling for every believer to be a dwelling place for God.

Rick Kohr shared this prayer with me that I think illustrates that we are all called by God into service and we are precious to God always.

The Knots Prayer
Dear God, please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life. Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind.  Erase the will nots, may nots, and might nots that find a home in my heart.  Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all, dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life all of the am nots that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough.  Amen.

Do not let anyone, especially yourself, condemn you or disqualify you. With so many people becoming jobless, homeless, penniless, directionless, we have a profound message that counters the violence of unmaking people into worthlessness. Do not let anyone condemn you or disqualify you. Let’s stop condemnation here and now. Instead be who God has called you to be, children of the light. Let us choose to affirm, exhort and bless others. Say to your family, your friends, even your enemies, “You are precious to God.” Amen!