Our per\u00adso\u00adnal sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon should grow out of our ama\u00adze\u00adment at the mys\u00adtery of God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. This hap\u00adpens in part\u00adner\u00adship bet\u00adween God and us humans. The human part con\u00adsists of taking off the old clo\u00adthes of deceitful desi\u00adres and put\u00adting on the new clo\u00adthes cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adri\u00adsed by righ\u00adteous\u00adness, holi\u00adne\u00adss and truth. What hap\u00adpens in the dres\u00adsing room is cru\u00adcial for our per\u00adso\u00adnal sanctification.<\/p>\n
A few months ago, I shared one of my most exci\u00adting and won\u00adderful child\u00adhood memo\u00adries here. As a lar\u00adge hor\u00adde of armed boys, we often went into the forest. The\u00adre were cave-like inden\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons on cer\u00adtain slo\u00adpes. We sur\u00admi\u00adsed that the\u00adse were fox dens. On the one hand, we were some\u00adwhat awes\u00adt\u00adruck and afraid, but also fasci\u00adna\u00adted by the thought of encoun\u00adtering a fox in the near future. We tried to lure the foxes out of the den with fire\u00adcra\u00adckers. Alt\u00adhough we did\u00adn\u2019t start\u00adle any foxes, we tried again and again. It was sca\u00adry, fasci\u00adna\u00adting, attrac\u00adti\u00adve, frigh\u00adtening and adven\u00adtur\u00adous all at the same time. \tMen\u00adtal\u00adly paint a pic\u00adtu\u00adre of a church that takes the holi\u00adne\u00adss of God serious\u00adly. What does it look like? Our per\u00adso\u00adnal sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon should grow out of our ama\u00adze\u00adment at the mys\u00adtery of God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. This hap\u00adpens in part\u00adner\u00adship bet\u00adween God and us humans. The human part is to take off the old clo\u00adthes of deceitful desi\u00adres and put on the new clo\u00adthes cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adri\u00adsed by righ\u00adteous\u00adness, holi\u00adne\u00adss and truth. What hap\u00adpens in the dres\u00adsing room is decisi\u00adve for\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[90],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-heilig-heilig-heilig","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-7590","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"hentry","11":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nHoly Church
\nMy dream of a church looks some\u00adthing like this. A church who\u00adse heart burns pas\u00adsio\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly for its God and which is awa\u00adre that He is holy. A church that rea\u00adli\u00adses who we are actual\u00adly encoun\u00adtering in our pray\u00aders and songs and redis\u00adco\u00advers the won\u00adder of His beau\u00adty. A church whe\u00adre we mar\u00advel in awe and whe\u00adre the mys\u00adtery of divi\u00adni\u00adty is not dis\u00adsec\u00adted or given human attri\u00adbu\u00adtes to make it more tan\u00adgi\u00adble. A church in which God is allo\u00adwed to remain mys\u00adte\u00adrious and which has rea\u00adli\u00adsed that it is pre\u00adcis\u00ade\u00adly in his mys\u00adte\u00adrious, holy natu\u00adre that the spe\u00adcial attrac\u00adtion lies. Nobo\u00addy needs a tamed God whom we have mere\u00adly down\u00adgra\u00added to a bet\u00adter ver\u00adsi\u00adon of our\u00adsel\u00adves. We need the God and Father of Jesus Christ, who is ter\u00adri\u00adbly beau\u00adtiful, loving and mer\u00adciful and who remains fore\u00adver unta\u00admed. If God is no lon\u00adger a mys\u00adtery to us, we lose not only our awe but also our fasci\u00adna\u00adti\u00adon with Him and faith beco\u00admes boring.
\nHoly grace
\nOur per\u00adso\u00adnal sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon should grow out of our ama\u00adze\u00adment at the mys\u00adtery of God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. \u00abYou shall be holy, for I am holy!\u00bb (Exodus 19:2 LUT<\/span>).
\nTime and again, we recei\u00adve incre\u00addi\u00adbly attrac\u00adti\u00adve offers via social media. Many fall for them and only rea\u00adli\u00adse too late that they have fal\u00adlen into a trap. The attrac\u00adti\u00adve pro\u00adfit has to be paid for dear\u00adly after\u00adwards through month\u00adly direct debits. Are we con\u00adfron\u00adted with the same pro\u00adblem in our faith in Jesus Christ? First the pro\u00admi\u00adse that a per\u00adson is rede\u00ade\u00admed by pure grace and gains access to the hea\u00adven\u00adly Father. Then the cos\u00adt\u00adly bill for sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon, which invol\u00adves pains\u00adta\u00adkin\u00adgly chan\u00adging one\u2019s life in order to ful\u00adfil the ins\u00adtruc\u00adtions of the Bible?
\nLast August, the men\u2019s event took us on the Klin\u00adgen\u00adstock \u2013 Fron\u00adalp\u00adstock ridge hike. With the world\u2019s stee\u00adpest funi\u00adcu\u00adlar rail\u00adway and a chair\u00adlift, we clim\u00adbed com\u00adfor\u00adta\u00adb\u00adly up to 1934 m wit\u00adhout any effort. That is grace. And many peo\u00adp\u00adle think that this is the begin\u00adning of life with Jesus Christ. A per\u00adson is rede\u00ade\u00admed by grace \u2013 up to the sum\u00admit wit\u00adhout any effort. Soon, at least some of the men rea\u00adli\u00adsed that their own per\u00adfor\u00admance was requi\u00adred after all. Via Rot Turm, Huser Stock and Furg\u00adge\u00adlen, the rou\u00adte leads up to Fron\u00adalp\u00adstock. The sweat is drip\u00adping. Is it also the case in faith that the uplif\u00adting start is fol\u00adlo\u00adwed by years of stre\u00adnuous and swea\u00adty sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon? No. C.H. Spur\u00adge\u00adon says on this sub\u00adject: \u00abGrace is the mother and nur\u00adse of holi\u00adne\u00adss, and not the defen\u00adder of sin.\u00bb Grace is more than \u00abjust\u00bb for\u00adgi\u00adve\u00adness of sin. It is the unde\u00adser\u00adved gift of God that enables us to lead a holy life in the first place. Our sal\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon is a pure gift of grace; from it we embark on the path of sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon in order to beco\u00adme more like Jesus. In doing so, we can count on the trans\u00adforming power of God\u2019s grace.
\nAel\u00adred of Riev\u00adaulx (Cis\u00adter\u00adci\u00adan abbot in the 12th cen\u00adtu\u00adry) wro\u00adte about the pro\u00adcess of sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon: \u00abOur decis\u00adi\u00adon of will alo\u00adne will not bring about a chan\u00adge in our natu\u00adre. But in it, with it and through it, God works on us and moulds us more into the image of Jesus.\u00bb It beco\u00admes clear: our sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon can only hap\u00adpen in part\u00adner\u00adship bet\u00adween God and us, but never out\u00adside of grace. Yet within this grace we may, inde\u00aded must, beco\u00adme per\u00adso\u00adnal\u00adly acti\u00adve and pur\u00adsue sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon, wit\u00adhout which no one will see God (Hebrews 12:14). Grace is a con\u00adtrast to merit, but not a con\u00adtrast to effort.
\nAs I pro\u00adclai\u00admed in my last ser\u00admon, we will want to chan\u00adge when God\u2019s love in our lives beco\u00admes grea\u00adter than any\u00adthing else. And this love will take hold of us in the sight of God\u2019s glo\u00adry. This is the start\u00ading point for taking con\u00adcre\u00adte steps. No lon\u00adger becau\u00adse we have to, but becau\u00adse we want to \u2013 enve\u00adlo\u00adped in God\u2019s grace.
\nHoly clothes
\nSome hou\u00adses have spa\u00adcious walk-in ward\u00adro\u00adbes or sepa\u00adra\u00adte dres\u00adsing rooms. Ima\u00adgi\u00adne you are stan\u00adding in the dres\u00adsing room. On one side of you is the laun\u00addry chu\u00adte and in front of you are the shel\u00adves with the clean clo\u00adthes. Every mor\u00adning you stand the\u00adre and pick up dif\u00adfe\u00adrent items of clot\u00adhing and weigh up what the right dress code might be for the day. In pas\u00adsing, you throw the clo\u00adthes with signs of wear that you wore yes\u00adter\u00adday into the laun\u00addry chute.
\nPaul needs this image for sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon: \u00abOr have you not heard his mes\u00adsa\u00adge? Have you not been ins\u00adtruc\u00adted in his tea\u00adching, in the truth as it came to us in Jesus? But then you have also been taught not to go on living as you have been living, but to put off the old man who gives in to his deceitful desi\u00adres and so brings ruin on hims\u00adelf. And you were taught to be rene\u00adwed in spi\u00adrit and mind, and to put on the new man who is crea\u00adted in the image of God, who\u00adse cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adristics are righ\u00adteous\u00adness and holi\u00adne\u00adss based on truth\u00bb (Ephe\u00adsi\u00adans 4:21\u201324 NKJV<\/span>).
\nWhat is grace about it? The new clo\u00adthes, which stand for the new man who is alre\u00ada\u00addy crea\u00adted in God\u2019s image, are rea\u00addy. We can take them off the shelf and put them on. From a full ward\u00adro\u00adbe we can choo\u00adse clo\u00adthes that are cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adri\u00adsed by righ\u00adteous\u00adness, holi\u00adne\u00adss and truth. At the same time, we are chal\u00adlen\u00adged to take off the old man, who lives accor\u00adding to deceitful desi\u00adres, and throw him into the laun\u00addry bin.
\nSomeone once told the sto\u00adry of how, many years ago, beans were repea\u00adted\u00adly sto\u00adlen from the gar\u00adden of a pre\u00ada\u00adcher in the Suh\u00adren\u00adtal val\u00adley. Over time, an over\u00adwhel\u00adming bur\u00adden of pro\u00adof deve\u00adlo\u00adped against a resi\u00addent of the vil\u00adla\u00adge. After ano\u00adther offence, the vic\u00adtim bought bacon in the butcher\u2019s shop and brought it to the baf\u00adf\u00adled thief so that he could cook bacon and beans. The man took off his pants of reta\u00adlia\u00adti\u00adon and clo\u00adthed hims\u00adelf with gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty. This is enti\u00adre\u00adly in the spi\u00adrit of Jesus, the human face of God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. He recom\u00admends: \u00abIf someone snat\u00adches your shirt, wrap your best coat and make a gift of it\u00bb (Luke 6:30a MSG<\/span> -> The Message).
\nIn time\u00adout, I often stood in the dres\u00adsing room and rum\u00adma\u00adged through the shel\u00adves for holy matrim\u00ado\u00adny out\u00adfits. I found what I was loo\u00adking for: Under\u00adwear, socks, trou\u00adsers and shirts. The new clo\u00adthes make me see my part\u00adner with dif\u00adfe\u00adrent eyes. He was crea\u00adted by God the way he is, and that is good. I want to see him with God\u2019s eyes, who says: \u00abIt\u2019s very good!\u00bb And as such, I want to love him uncon\u00addi\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly. The old man in his deceitful desi\u00adres wants to chan\u00adge him and cha\u00adfes at cer\u00adtain beha\u00adviours. The\u00adse self-cent\u00adred clo\u00adthes belong in the laun\u00addry basket.
\nJesus often spo\u00adke of old and new clo\u00adthes. Euge\u00adne H. Peter\u00adson sum\u00adma\u00adri\u00adsed this well in his trans\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon of the Bible The Mes\u00adsa\u00adge. Here are three samples:
\n\u00abIf you live only for the appr\u00adoval of others, say\u00ading what flat\u00adters them, doing what flat\u00adters them, you are in for trou\u00adble. Popu\u00adla\u00adri\u00adty con\u00adtests are not truth con\u00adtests\u00bb (Luke 6:26 MSG<\/span>).
\n\u00abLove your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst\u00bb (Luke 6:27 MSG<\/span>).
\n\u00abIf someone takes unfair advan\u00adta\u00adge of you, use the oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to prac\u00adti\u00adce the ser\u00advant life. No more reta\u00adlia\u00adti\u00adon. Live gene\u00adrous\u00adly!\u00bb (Luke 6:30b MSG<\/span>).
\nAll facets of the new man, as we see them in Jesus, are rea\u00addy as clo\u00adthes in the dres\u00adsing room. We need to chan\u00adge our clo\u00adthes \u2013 and when we come out of loo\u00adking at God\u2019s glo\u00adry, we want to chan\u00adge our clo\u00adthes! The dir\u00adty, self-important, reac\u00adti\u00adve, self-righ\u00adteous, sel\u00adfi\u00adsh clo\u00adthes in the laun\u00addry bas\u00adket, the gra\u00adcious, gene\u00adrous, loving, who\u00adle\u00adso\u00adme ones on the body.
\nBefo\u00adre I get dres\u00adsed in the mor\u00adning, I always think brief\u00adly about what my pro\u00adgram\u00adme for the day invol\u00adves. For exam\u00adp\u00adle, if I have to lead a ser\u00advice in a reti\u00adre\u00adment home, I put on a slight\u00adly nicer pair of jeans ins\u00adtead of the washed-out ones. I also slip into an ele\u00adgant shirt ins\u00adtead of the polo shirt I wore the day before.
\nWhat if we were to go to the spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal dres\u00adsing room vir\u00adtual\u00adly every mor\u00adning to think careful\u00adly about what clo\u00adthes we should wear to face the chal\u00adlenges of the day? If I have a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon coming up whe\u00adre I expect to be cri\u00adti\u00adcis\u00aded, I urgen\u00adtly need to put on a T\u2019shirt that will help me to be meek and rea\u00addy for free coun\u00adsel\u00adling. For upco\u00adming mee\u00adtings with pas\u00adtors, I need to pro\u00adtect mys\u00adelf by wea\u00adring my trou\u00adsers to help me not get into a com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adti\u00adve situa\u00adti\u00adon intern\u00adal\u00adly. The jum\u00adper helps me to under\u00adstand, encou\u00adra\u00adge and sup\u00adport the young sava\u00adges in a fat\u00adher\u00adly way.
\nEach of us has our own chal\u00adlenges and will find the right clo\u00adthes in God\u2019s dres\u00adsing room. I invi\u00adte you to con\u00adscious\u00adly spend some qua\u00adli\u00adty time in the walk-in ward\u00adro\u00adbe in the mor\u00adning and careful\u00adly put on the clo\u00adthes of the new man crea\u00adted by God. This requi\u00adres time, silence and dia\u00adlo\u00adgue with God. So it is clear: all tho\u00adse who think that sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon is a cramp and has to do with per\u00adfor\u00admance are mista\u00adken. Beco\u00adming holy, as God is holy, is a pri\u00advi\u00adle\u00adge and a gift. And holy peo\u00adp\u00adle are a gift to and for this world.
\n
\nThe new clo\u00adthes sym\u00adbo\u00adli\u00adsing the new man crea\u00adted by God are rea\u00addy for you and me in the dres\u00adsing room. We just have to pull them off the shelf and put them on our\u00adsel\u00adves. Hmmmh caught: the cor\u00adrect modal verb is not \u00abhave to\u00bb, but \u00abwant to\u00bb. At least when we have dis\u00adco\u00adver\u00aded God\u2019s incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble love and his glo\u00adry. Let us never for\u00adget: grace is the mother and nur\u00adse of sanctification.
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small group
\nRead the Bible text: Ephe\u00adsi\u00adans 4:21\u201324<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat does grace mean to you? What role does it play in sal\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon and what role does it play in sanctification?
\n\tDo you belie\u00adve that the clo\u00adthes are rea\u00addy for you as an image of the new\u00adly crea\u00adted man?
\n\tSpe\u00adci\u00adfi\u00adcal\u00adly: How can you put on the right spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal clo\u00adthes in the mor\u00adning? How do you do that?
\n\tAfter a moment of silence: What clo\u00adthes would you like to throw in the laun\u00addry bas\u00adket? What new clo\u00adthes would you like to wear? Pray for each other!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"