Sermons in Brief - Mini Messages from Pastor Harmon

“Is It Possible to be Godly?” - Luke 6:27-36

It's football season again! The Boise State Broncos are in training camp! Speaking of football, some churches in their never ending effort attract and communicate with the unchurched have begun identifying unfamiliar activities, and unfamiliar “churchy” words with more familiar football phrases. You've got to admit we use a lot of "churchy" word s that just don’t communicate in our world today. For instance: parsonage, prelude, benediction, invocation, offertory, cell groups (is that a prison ministry?). Or my favorites, foyer, vestibule, narthex. Anyway in order to identify unfamiliar activities with more familiar football phrases we have:

• A projection screen is now a jumbotron!
• Souvenir program? That's the bulletin.
• Blocking? That's talking endlessly to Pastor Mark at the church door and keeping everyone from exiting.
• Interference? When cell phones go off during the message.
• Offertory? That's now the half time show.
• And th quarterback sneak: when Sunday School teachers enter the building five minutes late for class!

Church words are fun. There is a word we don’t hear around the church much anymore that used to be a great church word: “godliness” or “godly.” We hear the word “ungodly” Used incorrectly. A man in my office was complaining about real estate where he came from: “real estate prices there are ungodly.” But we don’t hear “godliness” or “godly” used much anymore. The bible word is a compound word combining “well” and “ to be devout.” It means to be clearly, pleasingly, favorably devout; to have a god ward attitude and disposition. Our English word means to be "God-like." Perhaps we don’t use it much anymore because we question: can anyone be “god-like?” Like God? What does it mean to be like- God??

In our scripture portion today Luke recorded Jesus’ “sermon on the plain.” It appears to me to be an abridged version version of what Matthew recorded as the Sermon on the Mount. Luke looked into Jesus’ life and set out to give an “orderly account” (Chapter 1) and here we have what he researched. It differs a bit brom Matthew's version but here Jesus gives us a definition of what it means to be like God—godly. He doesn’t use the word, but instead says "here’s how to belike your Heavenly Father": "35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

There will be some family resemblance if you do these things--and he sums it all up with the word MERCY."Be merciful! Just as your Father is merciful!" We are godly Jesus says, we are most like the Father, we show family resemblance when we are merciful—when we show mercy! "Mercy" is a rich biblical word which includes • Outward manifestations of pity on thosethose less fortunate; • Compassion and • Meeting needs out of our own resources.

A famous definition reads: "Justice is getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve." How does Jesus teach us to show mercy? In this passage which takes our breath away; in this passage which sets our little self-world on its ear, he teaches:

• Not giving our enemies what enemies deserve. "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies."
• Not giving those who hate us what hateful people deserve. "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
• Not giving those who curse you what cursing people deserve "28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
• Not giving someone who hits you what hurtful people deserve "29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also."
• Not giving someone who takes from you what thieves deserve. "If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back."

Yes, Jesus’ definition of being like God and showing family resemblance takes our breath away. It's shocking! But this is how God shows his love towards thos who Hate him, Avoid him, Reject him, Curse him, Insult him, Abuse him, and enjoy his blessings without gratefulness. Mercy. Moses said: " for the Lord your god is a merciful god."

I want to read you a quote from one of my favorite authors (Warren Wiersbe): “We must not look at these admonitions as a series of rules to be obeyed. They describe an attitude of heart that expresses itself positively when others are negative, and generously when others are selfish, all to the glory of God. It is an inner disposition, not a legal duty. We must have wisdom to know when to turn the other cheek and when to claim our rights. Even Christian love must exercise discernment.” Mercy is an attitude of heart and an inner disposition. That is godliness. That is love. That is mercy as father in heaven is mercy.

CONCLUSION

I firmly believe the inent of our lives is summed up in this word we don’t hear much any more: Godliness. In recent years I have been captivated by Jesus’ summation of life in the greatest commandments. Matthew 22:36ff says "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

In Mr. Wesley’s sermon entitled “On Perfection” he wrote: "What is then the perfection of which man is capable while he dwells in a corruptible body? It is the complying with that kind command, "My son, give me thy heart." It is the "loving the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind." This is the sum of Christian perfection: It is all comprised in that one word, Love. The first branch of it is the love of God: And as he that loves God loves his brother also, it is inseparably connected with the second: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:" Thou shalt love every man as thy own soul, as Christ loved us. "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets:" These contain the whole of Christian perfection."

In response to these truths, I have narrowed down my definition of holiness, godliness, and the sanctified life to two gestures: hands raise towards God and hands outstretched to people. "Love the lord your God." Love your neighbor."

When I first became a Christian I began attending Sunday evening services because I didn’t know any better. As I sat under the preaching of Winston Ketchum at Olympia First I heard the words holiness, entire sanctification and sanctified for the first time. In fact during the altar call the preacher’s kid came up to me and asked “Do you want to get saved?” Incredulously I thought “If I weren’t already saved what would I be doing in church on a Sunday night missing The Wonderful World of Disney?” But, I told him I already was saved. Then he proceeded to ask if I wanted to get sanctified. I told him again I already was “sanctified’. On the way home I asked my dad “What’s ‘sanctified?’” To which he responded with a definition I’ll never forget: “’Sanctified,’” he said “Is something no two preachers agree upon, nobody in the church understands, and is confusing to everybody.” Therein was my first theological lecture. I have spent a ministerial lifetime trying to prove my dad wrong. I haven’t. I have spent a ministerial lifetime trying to be successful in making sure members of my congregations couldn’t say the same thing. I probably haven’t. I have spent the last twenty-five years attempting to be Biblical, experientially honest, and doctrinally sound. Interestingly enough, I trust I have preached holiness (GODLINESS) and nothing but holiness my entire ministry—not always using the accepted language or acknowledged vocabulary. Because I haven’t always used the “key words” the older Nazarenes in my three churches expected or wanted to hear, they probably wouldn’t agree and the younger Nazarenes probably haven’t caught on that I’m preaching the cardinal doctrine of the Church of the Nazarene. But that has been my goal. If you take nothing from my ministry or remember anything of my preaching I hope remember this: I realize that the longer and more diligently I wrestled to preach biblical, honest, faithfully orthodox holiness, that I narrowed it down to two gestures, two simple body language motions: Arms outstretched to heaven; arms outstretched to my neighbor. In all my bumbling and stumbling I have reduced the core notion of my holiness understanding to a very Wesleyan definition: Love the Lord your God, love your neighbor." Be merciful!