I was listening to another Paul Washer sermon...This one was on Isaiah 50. I took from it this..."May God break you down so bad that only he could put the pieces back together".
Have you ever said that? Does this fit our seeker-friendly society? I would like to think that if I ever preached a sermon, it would be this short and only utter those words. What would the response of the crowd be then? This should be the topic of more sermons than God loves you, now pray this prayer and (poof) you are now a christian; go and sin no more.
The more I experiance God, the less of a man I am.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Broken...
Posted by 17Wins at 2:22 PM
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No doubt. I find that the more and more I focus on him, the less I focus on myself. And quite honestly, that never ... NEVER got me anywhere. I tried to focus on that I wasn't good enough or smart enough (that could easily be debated) and no matter how hard I tried, it all came down to... I couldn't live the Christian life and no one else can either. Only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can you do it!
Let me ask you this then... Do you consider yourself "sanctified" and what does that mean?
The reason I ask is (and I might be reading your words wrong), it sounds like you are saying that saying that prayer doesn't make you a Christian.
There needs to be a balance in the pulpit, no doubt. But that's why God makes all of us differently and that we have different personalities, because we all show our image of him. Thank God we are all not robots of the same flavor!
Wow...it feels great to hear other people say that! As a pastor, it is an easy temptation to give the poeple what they want and not what they need! I just preached one of those hard sermons last Sunday through by the grace of God! I would love to have you guys listen to it and let me know what you think...but we are not sure for some reason if it got saved after being recorded. Satan is always at work though technology!
Way of the Pastor,
Joe Drew
Here is the link to the Paul Washer video that I was watching at the time I thought of these things: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4L9HPBL7n8. It is closer to the end of the sermon that he makes a statement about praying a prayer that automatically makes you a Christian.
As far as sanctification, what a “Church of God” word. Sorry, but I have not heard it in any other church affiliation (about 5 or so) I have been with in the past. The word sanctification refers to the act or process of making holy or setting apart. I had always thought that’s what ordained meant. So I looked ordination up in the dictionary and…
1.
a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on.
b. To authorize as a rabbi.
2. To order by virtue of superior authority; decree or enact.
3. To prearrange unalterably; predestine: by fate ordained.
Not the response I was looking for. I was expecting ordination to be defined as “being set apart” and Sanctification as an “act of being holy”. I think that the COG has done a poor job at clarifying these terms. I had always understood that sanctified meant I had arrived at the end of a spiritual quest for holiness. When the “elders” talked about sanctification, it was like a “badge of courage” that they had earned through the journeys of life and now they won.
Can we ever become sanctified? No…am I in the process of sanctification…Yes. With the ending …ed it means I have arrived to an end or it was in the past. With the ending…ion…it is a process. A process which has no end.
I had to look up Holy as well. This is from the American Heritage dictionary: (note #4)
1. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.
2. Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book.
3. Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person.
4. Specified or set apart for a religious purpose: a holy place.
5. Solemnly undertaken; sacrosanct: a holy pledge.
6. Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence: The pursuit of peace is our holiest quest.
7. Informal Used as an intensive: raised holy hell over the mischief their children did.
Note that Holy and sanctified share a common definition. Again, not what I was expecting.
I would say that if we are sanctified, we have missed out on the rest of our human lives and our experience in heaven. Don’t we continue to learn when we get to heaven?
To your last question: I don't know. I can only assume that the answer is yes... but How does that work? Aren't I practicing for what will eventually be my reward in eternity. And if there is no sin and I have proven myself worthy of what God would have me be, Is it possible that I won't have anything else to learn?
You know I ask you these questions to challenge you. Not for me to challenge you but for you to be challenged and to have something to have some adventure into a new thought or a new idea.
You've told me what your mind tells you what sanctification is, now... What does your heart tell you?
Battle for God!
DJ
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