Preaching to the Choir
Preaching to the choir is a metaphor
that we sometimes use to say we are telling people something that they already
know.
In the Cumberland Presbyterian Church,
I literally preach to the choir. You see
in our denomination; the congregation is the choir. Those people sitting up front are called the
leading choir.
This evening, I use preaching to the
choir in its metaphorical sense. Who comes to these community services? It’s people who are probably in regular
attendance in a sanctuary somewhere on most Sunday mornings and some Sunday or
Wednesday evenings as well.
I love to tell the story,
for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting
to hear it like the rest.
So it’s no surprise to you that after
a kangaroo court held by the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus was handed over to
a Roman governor who was manipulated by Jewish Religious leaders into sending
Jesus to the cross after some torture and mutilation of his body.
It’s no surprise that Jesus did this
freely—of his own free will because he came to do his Father’s will and his
will required the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb.
It’s no surprise to you that only Jesus
could be that unblemished lamb. He said
that he did not come to do away with the law but to fulfill it. Do any among us doubt that he did what he
said he would do. He fulfilled the law
and the prophecies that were set before his people.
Not even the patriarchs qualified as
an unblemished lamb. Only Jesus
qualified.
It’s no surprise that the blood of
Jesus was the atoning sacrifice to take away the sin of the world.
Do any of us doubt that we are the
beneficiaries of that sacrifice?
Do any of us not know that on the
first day of the week, the women who came to the tomb found it empty. We remember the words, why do you look for
the living among the dead.
Do we know that Jesus was
crucified, died, buried, and rose from the dead? Do we also not have that promise of
resurrection?
So far this guy has not said anything
that I didn’t know. He hasn’t pointed
out anything new. Am I not preaching to the choir?
Of course, I am. You know all of this. So let’s say amen, have a prayer and go home.
Wasn’t it Columbo who always had one
more question? Just one more thing. Peter Falk had that last question thing down
to a science.
So, I would like to ask just one more
question.
Jesus was crucified, suffered, died
for our sins, and rose from the dead—amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord—so that
we might have life, life abundant, and eternal life.
Just one more question…
What are you going to do about it?
We are saved by grace through faith so
that nobody can boast. We get that. Jesus paid it all. We even know the next words in the song—all
to him I owe. But what are we going to
do about it.
How will we respond to the mercy and
grace of God that we know in Christ Jesus? How will we respond to the salvation
that we know in Christ Jesus?
Paul said work
out your salvation with fear and trembling.
He didn’t say work for but work out.
We get by grace through faith.
Paul is answering the question with a
charge to us. The question is what are
we going to do in response to the unbelievable gift of grace that we have
received by faith.
He said, work out your salvation with
fear and trembling
Let’s use the term live instead of
work so we don’t think we are working for our salvation. Live out your salvation with
fear and trembling. He doesn’t mean to
walk around like a dog that’s been kicked all of its life.
He doesn’t mean to walk around fearful of
being struck down by lighting. He charges us to live a life worthy of the
calling that we have received. He has
told us that how we respond to God’s mercy and grace is the most important
thing that we will do with our lives.
We need to profess Jesus is
Lord! We have done that.
We need to believe that God raised
Jesus from the dead! We have done that.
Then what’s left? Living out our salvation as the most
important thing we will ever do is what’s before us.
We need to understand that in our
profession of faith, we have not reached the finish line but only come to the
starting blocks of life and life abundant and life eternal.
Jesus said that we passed from death to life when we believed in him. Our
eternity has begun but what is our remaining time on this earth going to look
like?
Will people know that we belong to
Jesus by our love? We should be people
that others see and think, dude, that guy must follow Jesus. I can tell by his love or by her love.
Will we be a light in this dark world?
The number one sport in the world today is complaining followed closely by
blaming. Can we be the person still
doing the good works that God planned for us to do long ago while the rest of
the world just complains and points fingers?
Will people taste the goodness of God
whenever they cross our paths? Are we truly the salt of the earth?
Will people see the good works that we
do and not glorify us but glorify the Father in heaven?
Paul wrote that in whatever we do, we
should work at it as if we are working for the Lord and not for men. In whatever we do, we should do it to the
glory of God. It is the Lord, Christ
whom we serve.
Our entire lives should be lived to
bring glory to God!
Because of the atonement that came in
the blood of Jesus, because of the promise of resurrection for ourselves that
we see in the resurrection of our Lord, and because we have passed from death
to life in believing in Christ Jesus, we get to live this life to the full and
have already begun our eternity.
We can live a life worthy
of the calling that we have received. I have come a long way in this
message without reading a single Bible verse, so it’s about time we had one.
This is Paul writing to the church in Ephesus.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I
urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Ephesians
4:1
This Sunday, I want you to celebrate
resurrection like never before.
Up from the grave
he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes. He arose the victor…
He lives! He lives!
Christ Jesus lives today…
Christ the Lord
is risen today, alleluia. Sing and
celebrate as you have waited all year for this day, then take all of that
energy and focus it on living out your salvation as the most important thing
that you will ever do.
Then go lift someone’s burden.
Then help someone carry a load that’s
too much for them alone.
Next, go study to show yourself a
workman approved. Dig into your Bibles
with the intent of putting the words of our Lord into practice.
Bible study is not an academic
exercise. We desire to put God’s words
into practice.
We get to live a life worthy of the
calling that we have received.
But, you knew to do that. I’ve been preaching to the choir.
Amen.
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