Romaine Park Church Service – 28/11/2021, Nick Booth:- Not I but Christ-Galatians 2:20-21
Introduction
Good Morning church and good morning church online. I am so glad to see you here at church and very encouraged with all of you who join us online both at the time of church or later throughout the coming days.
For most of us who have been coming here for a little while, we can clearly observe that God is doing something fairly remarkable at Romaine Park. We are excited by the new people coming to faith and the families that have been joining us. I love the way that worship is deepening, Kid’s church is filling and people are growing in their faith. All of this is very exciting and I want to boast in Jesus about it and not in our ability.
Recently when talking with a precious saint from our church – they noted that we need to be very careful not to take the glory for this but to give it to God! I fully agree and I want to encourage as many of you as can and will – please keep praying that God will continue to do His work in us and through us and so extend his kingdom here and abroad. All the Glory belongs to God. Christ builds His Church and we are just his builders or brickies labourers. We partner with God in our prayers, in our witness and in our serving and with our giving. Nothing will happen if we as God’s people don’t cooperate with what God wants to do.
With that being said, can I encourage you again to be at prayer meetings. We are praying together tonight for 1 hour (30 Worship 30 Prayer). It’s our last end of month worship and prayer night for the year. If you are a leader – please find a way to pray with other saints for the church. Pray for unity and for the furtherance of the Gospel in our region. If you are a new Christian or worried that you do not know how to pray – the way that we learn to pray is to gather with others and pray! We need to pray individually and we also certainly need to follow the New Testament example of the church and pray corporately! Great things happen when God’s people pray! Together! It’s the POWER – OF – AGREEMENT!
Well in last weeks sermon, I mentioned that we need to press on. But I do not want to give you reason to think that it all depends on you and your abilities or strength though. Neither do I want you to think that everything that happens to us is in life is because of decisions that we have made.
No rather, I want us to know that God has a way of making things work out right in the end if we hold on to Him, trusting that He is actually the one holding on to us. Yes, this is the co-operative agreement of a life of faith.
This morning, we are going to take a look at a passage from the book of Galatians,
Let’s read the passage Galatians 2:20-21
20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
So, before I get into these verses this morning, let me give you a little background to the book of Galatians. There are these 2 main theories about when the letter was written, but one main reason that it was written for. It was written to counteract the divisiveness of people who were proclaiming following Jewish law was necessary for someone to be saved. What we might commonly call now ‘works versus Grace’! The same message is picked up in many other NT books such as ‘Romans’ and Ephesians. In fact Eph 2:8 – 9 says it emphatically
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
I believe personally that the letter was written early and was possibly even the first book written in the NT. I stand in the company of many good bible teachers on that point but many others great scholars think that it was written later and if you hold that view, you will stand in company of plenty of good teachers also.
I want to emphasise this again that, the message is the most important thing, not the arguments about to whom and when! The issue was sectarianism, division, Legalism and diminishing the work and importance of Christ! So we should never get all caught up on differences of opinions and thoughts when faith in Jesus needs to be our main message, our primary passion and our supreme purpose! All for His Glory! Amen?
In the letter of Galatians, BTW – Paul actually got pretty angry with Religious people and the hypocrisy that comes with rule keeping!
So I title this message “Not I but Christ” – a great title that I stole from a little article that I’ve printed and left on the front counter for anyone that wants a copy. It’s probably better than my message and they actually bare very little in common other than the title. NOT I BUT CHRIST.
I can’t keep myself blameless or Sinless – I need Christ
I can’t follow Christ faithfully – I need His help all the way.
I can’t even make my own family follow Jesus – but Jesus can call them to follow!
I can’t pray well enough or long enough or effectively enough. Lord Help!
Allow me to turn this from the personal pronoun of I and turn it to the collective pronoun of we!
We can’t convert people – only Jesus can – We can witness but the Holy Spirit does the convicting and the converting!
We are powerless in prayer – but Jesus, by His Spirit calls us and empowers us to pray!
We can’t stop disagreements from breaking down relationships in family, in church or in workplaces! But Jesus is able to change situations and work them out for good and for his glory!
Yes in totality – It is NOT I BUT CHRIST
Friend, Please note that when Paul writes this letter it is to a church. To believers who were getting off track and trying to make themselves righteous by keeping Holy Days, by getting circumcised and by only eating ceremonially clean foods. Many of the Galatians had come to Christ under Paul’s preaching. They started in grace and got twisted up by religion that brought rules for righteousness rather than restoration of relationship by grace through faith.
Now if anyone here this morning has not come to a saving knowledge of Christ. That is, you have never declared that Christ is your Lord. If you have never invited Jesus into your life, to not only be Saviour, but to follow his directions you through His word, this message is for you today also. Today, you will hear what faith in Christ means for you and how to live that life out.
Let’s come back to the text Galatians 2:20:
20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
• My number one enemy in this world is not another person, not even Satan. It is me! I cause myself the most harm in this world. My sin, my pride, my tongue! You name it and just like me – I am sure that you would have to admit the same thing.
God’s remedy for this is a crucified and a cruciformed life! (When I first heard that word, I thought that it was a made up word by my New Testament lecturer!) No – it is the way that we let God form Christ in us by identifying with him on the Cross!
1. I have been crucified with Christ!
We Need to yield and submit to Christ! Not I but Christ lives in me. Dead to self alive to God
Jesus said we had to follow him with our cross. (Take up our Cross daily)
I (that is a Capital I) I have been crucified with Christ!
We are living sacrifices, but we keep crawling off the altar. Why?
I don’t like it – it’s not comfortable, its not easy! I don’t get my own way – I have to let go of my selfishness and my pride! Of my desire for prominence, for recognition! But as a Christian, as a Christ Follower, It is no longer I who lives! It’s not about Us. It’s all about Jesus!
The Frank Sinatra’s song “I Did It My Way” is not a song that Christians can adhere to! No, we have to join John the Baptist and say “He must increase and I must decrease!”
This is precisely where religion and relationship part company. They separate in methodology! You see religion seeks to kill our flesh by self-flagellation, by self-denial and by self-hatred!
Christianity – Grace filled Christianity seeks to do it by inviting and submitting to Christ’s Lordship in every area of our lives! When I don’t look to be recognised and to succeed – well then, we need to do it for Jesus’ name and for His glory.
I have been so encouraged joining Romaine after previous great pastors! We just recently farewelled Bruce French. A man who has humbly served Jesus in small and bigger ministries alike. A man who has sought to feed the poor and hungry of this world and did it for their sake and not to make a name for himself. He has gained recognition! He has previously been acknowledged as an Officer of Australia (I believe that I got that honou right) and now he has recently received the Tasmanian senior Australian of the Year – and we hope that he gets the full recognition in January for senior Australian of the year. The part that astounds me with Bruce, is that this is simply the crown that Christ has given him to lay before Jesus as an offering. At every opportunity, at every interview – Bruce seeks to bring the message of Jesus to people.
2. Christ Lives in me. (I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.)
As part of a church, I must recognise that Christ also Lives in you!
How I treat my family and my church family, even how I treat the stranger is how I treat Jesus. Every Time!
This recognises that there is no room for my pride – for my hypocritical, judgmental attitudes. No room for unforgiveness! No room for unrepentance towards other people either! There is no room for infighting.
3. I live by Faith!
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
We started in faith, we must finish in faith. This faith is demonstrated in how I love the Lord! The greatest commandment! It is also demonstrated by how I love my fellow Christian and my neighbour! The second greatest commandment!
Jesus loved me and gave himself or ME! When I recognise that, well what other response can I have other than to say! Lord, I love you too! This deep heartfelt act of worship that recognises the Love of God and in utter amazement says “How could you have ever loved me?” “How could you have loved me enough to die for me?” It says in response – Lord here is my life in devotion to you who loved me and gave yourself for me. I humbly return my life and devotion to you!
Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me.
I believe that you died on the cross to save me. You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and I give my life to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you.
I love you, Lord, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you.
Amen.
