JAN 10 2016 | Built for God

Sea Change Church · "Built for God" · Adam Stadtmiller · January 10, 2016
Romans 12:1-2
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

Two, Romans 12, 1 and 2. We are going to do four weeks taking a break from Acts and looking at what you're built for, what God has made you to be, not to do. We're not human beings doing. We're human what? Beings. We're human beings. And we have a tendency to value our worth based on what we do. And we turn ourselves into a commodity. Let me just say, you're not on the spiritual commodity market for God. He doesn't trade you back and forth like a stock. God wants to come and he wants to have relationship with you.

And he built you to do his work, the work of the kingdom for a reason. And it's not because he needs you. He built you for a certain reason because he wants to have relationship with you in the doing of what he has built you for, what he's created you for. And we tend to put these, these, um, matrixes on. Well, if it isn't at least this successful, I'm not within my purpose or I'm not within whatever. And we, we start putting price tags on ourselves.

We start slashing prices when our self-worth is down and we look at what we've accomplished in our life and we look at the things we've done and we go and we just put a big discount. You know, we just discount ourselves on a regular basis. I go up to the faded awning. I love that place up on George's, my favorite store in La Jolla. I just go in there and just feel the vibe. I buy like a $15 thing for the house or whatever. I just, you guys been to the faded awning. They didn't ask me to do this. I love it.

So I go in there and every once in a while they have things on discount and I go, I go scoop it up. There's probably 90% of the things in there I'd put in my home. It's just, I don't know, maybe more. It's just amazing. And I'm just plugging, plugging. And I realized that sometimes I do that on my own. Like, Hey, you know, I haven't quite done what, as much as I thought I should, or I haven't quite accomplished this or this isn't quite going so well. And so I just put a discount on myself.

I take a big red, big red pen and I put it over my worth and what God has called me to. And that part that says child of God, well, God, I'm not, he's not really that happy with me. And I'm probably the stepchild of God. And so I just discounted myself and put a big red pen through myself because I just haven't lived up to what my sense of success in the godly life is worth.

And God says this, you're worth enough to me that I would die for you, that I sent my son to die for you. You are worth my best. You don't have to do anything to perform. You don't have to dance. You don't have to sing. You don't have to do anything to swim deep in the mercy and the love of God. God, when we, as we start until this four weeks of what you are built for, because built being built for something and then measuring it upon what you think success is are two different things.

As we start this series on what you're built for, I want to start where we always start with grace. I want to start with mercy and say that God accepts you completely. Can you just rest in that? That you don't have to, you don't have to write that book. You don't have to sing that song. You don't have to dance that dance. You don't have to do anything for God to love you because while we were yet sinners, it says in Romans 5, 8, before you had anything to offer God, and we still have nothing to offer God except ourselves, which he created.

While we were yet sinners, Christ did what for us? He died for us. He loved you before you ever knew who he was. He reaches out and we want to swim deep in grace. And so if you were in the bondage of your purpose, the bondage of I've got to create, I've got to do that thing, I've never quite accomplished this thing that I want so badly, I want to say, is it possible to set that aside and to step deeply into the grace and mercy of a relationship with God?

You know, in the hurts of it, God knows that you're not, there's going to be things that don't go the way that you think they should. And God says in that, I want to weep tears, big tears with you. I want to hug you and I want to hold you in the midst of that. I love you so much. But God, I haven't measured up. I haven't quite done that thing. Or my mortgage isn't in the zip code that I want it to be in.

Or my job career hasn't, or I'm not, I'm not. And he just wants to be there. And he says, but you're mine. And in the midst of it, I want to be with you. And I guess the question is this. If being, is being with God and what you consider failure enough for you? If you get God and relationship with him, but never accomplish the thing that you think you are called to do, or what your purpose is, or the measure in which you think it needs to be measured at, if you get God in the end anyways, but you never accomplish that, is that enough?

I want to say in Western Christianity and in a culture that is called to drive, the answer for many believers is no. Jesus is not enough unless it is Jesus plus this. God loves you. God loves you. So let's start this. Now with that, I want to dive so deep into what you were built for, into what you're passionate about, and what you want to do, and that you can experience life in the midst of that.

Because what you were built for should bring you life. The word I keep using, somebody said to me, I went with a bunch of guys this weekend, took four of the guys that just do a lot here at the church, and I said, hey, I want to take you guys up snowboarding. We went Thursday night, as soon as that storm was over, and we got four feet of powder, kind of powder, it was a little bit wet.

Nonetheless, we went up there on Wednesday, Friday, and we were back Friday night, had a great, great time. One of the things we experienced when we were up there was life. Life. I want to live. If I was Nacho Libre, I'd say it like this, I want to live. I want to win. I want to have life. I got a picture of trees that were so full of snow and flocked because of the way that the freeze came.

It was the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen. I should have sent it up to have it put up. And in the middle of it, I looked at it, and as I looked at it, my senses just exploded, and I thought, this is life. I can have this anywhere. I can have this with a cup of tea at home. I can have it walking down the street. Or I can get in bondage to all the mess that is the world.

But I love what Elliot said, that we are called to have dominion over the world, but we instead live under the world's dominion. Called to have dominion. At any moment, you can step in and have life. Or you can choose worry and anxiety and fear. And I understand that those bridges are hard to cross. I've been there for long months of anxiety where it begins to just destroy your life.

I've been in those seasons. God, where are you? But I have found that there is a way out. And that at any moment, you can say, I choose life. I want to live. And as you're built for something, step into what you're built for. We're going to live in grace, but we want to do what we're built for. And as you do what you're built for, you will experience life.

Open your Bibles if you haven't already. Romans 12, 1 and 2. Therefore, I love the therefore, the conjunctions. Therefore, he had just been speaking about the Jews and their nation. But then he goes on to say, now therefore, what are we going to do about it? The Jews, he says in Romans 11, have rejected God. And he goes on, but they will not be lost, he says.

But he says, therefore, what are we supposed to do? And here's his elixir. Here's his poultice for what we're supposed to do when hard times come. Brothers, by the mercies of God. Circle that, I highlighted it. The mercies of God. Have you tasted the mercies? Whoa, I just got real hot right there. Have you tasted the mercies of God? That's funny, I just got real hot right there.

I just can't stop. I had to say it. The mic got real hot right there. I urge you to present your bodies, present, circle the word present, your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to God. For this is your spiritual worship. Living your, you know what I mean? Let me just tell you a little something. Living your life is worship. Living your life in its fullness is worship.

I know we have our favorite songs. I know we have our favorite worship leaders on YouTube. I get that. Certain churches are all about worship. But the Westminster Confession points to this, and I believe so does the entire Council of God's Word, that if you just live in the fullness of God and experience him in life, you will be living such a beautiful song to God.

That's the call of worship. And then when you come in here, we tend to just, the worship needs to be an expression of what you've experienced all week as you've talked to somebody at the coffee house. As you've told your neighbor, yeah, I'll get your mail. I'll take your trash cans in when you're on vacation. As you've gone to the school and gone and volunteered at a school and given your time away at the Pregnancy Resource Center, whatever that is, that when you show up, this worship on stage, sung worship is an exclamation point.

Now, oftentimes we're so beat up by the world, we show up and it's like, just breathing, I'm on life support. Once again, I'm on life support. And I've got here, and thank God, oh, they sung the song I like, thank God. Because last week, they didn't sing any songs I like last week. That really makes me angry. I'm going to go find another church.

I get the importance of songs. And there's certain songs that are just, I mean, that one that we were singing, and it is well, I mean, that's the Lord just, the train of his robe was just going through the aisles. I don't know if you felt that. I was, I get, he understands the importance of song and the essence of that. But it's an exclamation point.

Show up ready. Live your life well. Live your life well, and you'll show up to worship. It'll change no matter who's singing. Even if they're up there with a kazoo and a saw. You know? Like the bear jamboree. You know? Disneyland. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Do you want a new mind? Christ offers it to you.

I'm, tell you what, I'm getting a new mind. I'm getting a new mind. One that is strong. One that no longer is, immediately I get a thought about, you know, a doubting my worth, and all of a sudden I'm three days in the hole. No, I'm not there anymore. God has put me in a spiritual hurt locker for a good reason and protected me from those thoughts.

Renewing my mind with joy and peace. And I say, I want peace. I want joy. I want to live. Renewing your mind. So that. There's another, there's another transitionary word. So that. Equals. Put an equals sign over that if you want. You may discern. You may understand. You may comprehend. What is the good, pleasing, and the perfect will of God? Circle the word perfect.

What I love about God's word is that it is balanced. God is a balanced word. Lord, we tend to want to live in extremes. And so I believe that extremes are easy. There were some people that will say the, in regard to spiritual gifts and charismatic understanding, if you're not laying on the ground every week and speaking in tongues and people, somebody got raised from the dead in the service, you missed it.

And then there's another extreme that says those things don't exist today. That was for the early believers. And if you do those things, you're crazy. And so we have these extremes. One of the things that's hard to do as believers is to live in the tension of the middle in balance. Because it means that we have to give room for God to move outside of our own understanding.

This is especially important when it comes to your peace. It says that you were called to have peace of your understanding. No. You were called to have a peace in Philippians beyond what? Your understanding. You see, there's a lot of things that go beyond our understanding. So with this word perfect, let's zero back in. We have this sense, especially in Western Christianity, that if you figure out God's perfect will for you, and there is a perfect, there's a center in God's will.

I never understood how something eternal has a center, but nonetheless, there is a perfect center of God's will. And it is your job as a Christian not to mess that up. Because if you mess that up, you've wasted your life. You're 46 years old. You're 62. You're 23. And you missed it. And now that you've missed it, everything is messed up. You've missed the center of God's will.

And there's this sense of this tension that God's not pleased with you until you get in that center. And so we start measuring ourselves. Am I here? Okay, I feel here. I had a good time in worship today. I didn't say anything mean to anybody today. And I got a call back on that job offer. I'm in the center of God's will. Didn't get the job. Maybe I'm not praying enough.

Maybe I need to fast more. Maybe God just doesn't like me. And all of a sudden, there's this sense of having to strive for perfection. There's a sense of this purpose. And if you mess it up, you're going to mess your life up. Well, thank God for the balance of God's word. Let me give you a couple of the scriptures that are not in your notes that I found this morning.

1 Corinthians 13.9, when it talks about being able to understand. Because this verse, if you read it in Romans, says that we can know God's perfect will, or at least seems to point to that. But in 1 Corinthians 13.9, it says, now our knowledge is partial and incomplete. This is New Living Translation. Now our knowledge, our understanding, your knowing of God, like how much you can know, because you're not God will always be partial and incomplete.

Even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture. I like how it said that. Another way that says it in some of the other translations is we only see in what? Part. And we only prophesy in what? Part. If you're a person who believes in prophecy, and I do, and I believe in modern prophecy, that God will speak prophecies. Not ones that change the epics of the Bible, but personal prophecies about your life, what he wants to do in a certain place, in different places.

That when we see that, we will always only see it in what? Part. It is always, it isn't like the Old Testament prophecy, where they saw so much of it, where God would speak of fullness, but oftentimes they didn't get it all as well. But they would speak, and all of it had to happen. We can do a different message on that at some point. But it says that we only see in part.

So how can we know the perfect will of God if this other scripture says, you know, you're only going to know part of it? That part will be filled up with a thing called faith. When you don't know, God says have faith. Romans 8.28 says this, and I firmly believe this, that you can fail at everything you do. You can make wrong decisions on a regular basis and do so believing in the love of God.

Meaning, God, I'm going to go out, I'm going to step out into this business venture or this friendship. And it doesn't work out, but you did it in his name. You can fail in everything you try and still end up before God and have him say, well done, good and faithful servant. Because you stepped out and we did it together. Listen to this verse.

Romans 8.28. And we know that all things work together for good for those that love him, God, and who have been called according to his purpose. That verse right there brings so much grace. If you want a balm of grace on your life, realize that if you just love God, if you commit your plans to him and say, God, I'm trying to love you in this.

I'm going to make the best decision I can. But in the end, I don't, I'm not sure. It doesn't have to be this perfect understanding. So many people are frozen in not being able to make a decision because you can't find perfection. It says that in this, even if you make a mistake, God will cause that to do what? He'll work it out. All things will work together for how many things?

All things will work together for good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose. Let me, let me assure you, if you know Christ, you've been called according to whose purpose? Whose purpose is it? Who's going to sort it out? That's right. Now, please, let's get ourselves out of the camp of having to figure out our exact purpose, our exact meaning, live in the perfect center of it.

And if you don't, you live in bondage to fear and guilt. I just see that all the time. As soon as I quit worrying about my purpose, I started enjoying my life. Now, you're built for something. Let's get balanced here. Let's bring it back. You're built for something. I see Vrenly right here. I know Molly. They're on the greeting team, and Vrenly has been on it forever.

However, we're giving a little time off right now. If they aren't built for hospitality and welcome, I don't know who is. I'm serious. I mean, have you ever seen a one-two punch when they were working, like Vrenly gets you at the, you know, the sidewalk, Molly hits you at the door, and then the rest of our greeters would come in. But I mean, come on.

That's a one-two. Hank Williams, you know, one fist is iron, the other is steel. If the left one don't get you, the right one will. That's generational. A lot of you guys won't get that. How about Proverbs 16.3? Listen to this. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he'll establish your plans. That shouldn't be in the Bible, right? Like, commit to the Lord whatever you do.

God, I just commit it to you. And he will establish your plans in the way that he thinks is best. Now, we give God plans all the time because we want to be a movie star. All you ever have, you ended up in a B-rated film, you know what I mean? Like, you never made it to the big screen. You made it to a small, or you're in a community theater, but you want to be on Broadway.

And if you don't make it to Broadway, you've messed your purpose up. You haven't quite lived it, and then you take that red pen out, and you put yourself on discount again. Forget that. Be who you were called to be and what you were built for, and live life. I firmly believe, and you can tell I'm passionate about this, that this search for the perfect will and purpose that we are called to in Western society is a huge burden upon people.

And it sucks the life out of the soul of believers especially. Sucks the life out of us. Imagine if you just got up and you ran into life like a child runs into a playground with your eyes open wide and your arms. And I might play soccer today, but I might be on the jungle gym. I don't know, but I'm just going to be who God has built me to be. I'm getting away from the words calling and purpose, and I'm moving into words to built for.

What are you built for? You're built for love. You're built for service. You're built for kindness. You're built for preaching. I know I'm built for preaching, so I do it. But I don't have to do it here on a grand stage. And if God had me, I'd find somewhere where God's told me to do it. I would just preach or I'd try to let my life preach. I just want to be who I'm built to be, knowing who you're built to be.

And we're going to be looking deeper and deeper into that. Go to the top of your notes. Augustine says, love the Lord your God. Love God and do whatever you please. For the soul, listen, this is so good. This is it. This is the essence. The soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the one who is beloved. Oh, put that in your spiritual pipe and smoke it.

Look at that. Love God and do whatever you please. For the soul, the soul that is trained in love. Oh, I love that. I need some love training. The soul that is trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the one who is beloved. Love God. Go enjoy your life. Joe Brandy, I went snowboarding with him, about broke his nose this week accidentally.

I slipped and fell and gave him a karate chop right under the bridge of the nose, like right here, like as hard as I could. Gave him a bloody nose up in the mountains. It was really bad. And it wasn't on purpose, I promise. A couple Wednesdays ago, I said, Joe, you want to go surfing? He says, I can't. He'll hate that I tell this story. Why not, dude?

Come on. The surf's really good. The surf's been really good. I'm going to Mexico. I said, dude, it's like one in the afternoon. We got a lunch break. Let's go. Let's get a quick wave. I'm going to Mexico right now because I'm going to take 11 orphans to go see a movie. Who takes 11 orphans on a Wednesday, drive across the border, take 11 orphans to a movie, then drive back?

Who does that? Somebody who's built for it. And then does what he's built for. See, he knows what he's built for and he shows up for it. Shows up for it. What are you built for? You're built for numbers. I know guys in here that are business minds. You're built for numbers. Women that are business minds. You know, if you could meet everyone in this congregation like I know, gifted, built for stuff.

Show up and do it and run into the playground of who you are. Love it. Let's look at it. The lie of purpose. I put on what are you built for. If you can figure out your purpose, then you'll have the happiness and contentment. Let me say this. We're not called to be in bondage to the task of finding out our purpose. But rather live in freedom and join God in it all.

Not measuring our lives on our scale. You're not a commodity. You're not a commodity. Write that down in your Bible. Write it on your refrigerator. You are not a commodity. You are a child of the king. And he loves you. He loves to spend time with you. He wants to walk down every sidewalk with you. He wants to smell the ocean breeze. He wants to eat dinner with you.

He wants to sup with you. He wants to be a part of it all. And he wants to enjoy it all with you. Even the brokenness. Even the sadness. He will be there in the midst of it. It might not be fun, but he'll be there. That's the God we serve. That's the one Molly was talking about. I want to tell you about the God I know. That's what Chris said. That we know.

I was so proud of us watching the different people who spoke today. Powerful. And so many of you, part of the journey of this church is becoming who we're built to be. And as you do that as individuals, as an individual drop of water, an individual raindrop, we will forge into a mighty river that the world cannot overcome. From this little corner, from the corner of your heart to this little corner to the four corners of the world, that's how we build church.

It's not me. It's us. And it's beautiful to watch it happen. The mercies of God. Verse 1. I'm going to power through this because we have communion today and I'm aware of the time. Verse 1. By the mercies of God. I love that. Your purpose and what you're built for, it's all about mercy. It's all about mercy. You get it? It's not about you trying harder.

It's not about you studying harder for the test. Although if you have a test, study hard for it. Do your best. We have a thing at my house above and beyond. Just above and beyond. Especially with cleaning the kitchen. Above and beyond. You know? Put your sisters, put your other her dishes. So what? Above and beyond. It's like Woody. Did he say something like that back in the day?

What was that cartoon? By the mercies of God. It's all about mercy. Philippians 2.13 in your notes. For it is God who works in you and will see to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Let's read that again. Just get these verses and write them in your house and you will take burdens. You will unshackle your arms and your feet and you will begin to renew your mind.

Let's read that again. Philippians 2.13. For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. It is God. He is working within you to make sure he is using his will to will what he wants done to accomplish his purpose. I tell you, if God has a will and God has a purpose, it's going to get sorted out. And he doesn't need you to do it.

But he wants you to show up so he can collaborate with you. To have fun in it all. To have fun in it all and to enjoy God in it all. It's mercy. Mercy removes striving. Ephesians 2.8. For you were saved by grace through faith. It is not from yourselves. It is God's gift. Let me say the greatest gift you have to give God is yourself. Give yourself back to him.

That's it. Mercy removes inadequacy. Because if it's all mercy, you can't value yourself based on how well you did or not. Imagine making, I know the Super Bowl is coming up. What if you're the losing quarterback in the Super Bowl? For the guy who never made it to a Super Bowl, that's pretty good. Oh, I'm that player, really good. Charles Barkley, you know, never won an NBA title.

Great player. One of the best of all time. These guys go and then there's a sense, well, you know, you hear the sports conversations. They never won the big one. But they made it to the NBA and they're going to the Hall of Fame. Pretty good. Round mound to rebound. Yeah, I get it. Yeah, I just didn't win the big one. You know. Kobe, five championships.

Jordan had how many? Six. I don't know. When it's all mercy, you can let all that go. Mercy removes pride. If it removes inadequacy, then it removes pride. This chapter, as we go through chapter 12, is going to say this to you. It's going to say, don't think more highly of yourself than you ought. I was meditating on that one this week. Coming down the hill.

I was talking to Kai about it. He dropped me off after a time in the snow. Things go really, really well. Oh, man. Get rid of that discount sign. We're Gucci. Okay? Putting the price up on me. Check me out. Mercy removes pride. For by grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think more highly of himself, herself, than you should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one of you.

We'll talk a little bit more about the measure of faith and how to increase your measure. We all have a measure, but you can increase it. Don't think more highly. But it says, think sensibly. Some of us, I'm included in this, live so low in doubt and worthlessness, you're not thinking sensibly anymore. And some of us live so high that we're just killing it.

You're not thinking sensibly. Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap. Wake up. God's mercy has you where you are. It is the mercy of God. The goodness and the grace of God. Just resist the temptation to value yourself too highly or lowly. But just call yourself what you are. A son and daughter of the king. A child of God. We talked about the word should. It's a word I really don't like.

I don't believe it has any use in the English language. I should do this. I shouldn't have done that. I should. What I think is I will. I will or I won't. But I won't live in should anymore. Because should has no sense other than to just make me feel that there's something I could, I should maybe. I will or I won't. And I'm going to make a decision.

I want to say there's certain things in your life. Either do it or don't. Even Yoda knew that. Do it. I'm not. Yes. That was really good. Help you. Yes. Tonight you will be. Come on. Give me some. Give it up for that. Oh. I'm going to close down shop here. I'm not going to get through half this. We'll come back and I think I'm going to finish it next week.

Mercy. And I love verse 1b. This is, we'll just finish it here in verse 1. Present a living sacrifice. Just present yourself to God. What? Just show up and just present yourself. When you go to that coffee house or you go to that store or you go to that, whatever that place is, just present. When you show it up, you're an offering. Think of the offerings in the Old Testament.

They would do all this stuff to make sure they could present it, the best offering. Just show up. And present what now? Yourself as a living sacrifice. Because Christ has already taken the death away. You know, in the Old Testament, when you gave a sacrifice, what did you have to do to the sacrifice? There was always this thing of death in the sacrifice.

I want to say we can present ourselves now as what kind of sacrifices? Living. We always show up. Oh, I got a little bit of death. How are you doing today? It's been better. It was pretty good. Yeah, but I don't know. Death. Living sacrifice. Life. Life. I came, John 10, I come to give you life and to give it to you how? More abundantly. The word in the Greek means super abundance.

So much I'm going to stand up on the pulpit like I'm doing. Super abundance. I came to give you life. If that seems out so far beyond where your reality is right now, let me just tell you to stop on the sidewalk and look at a flower and thank God for it and start there. That's where I started. I had so much anxiety. I thought I was going crazy. I was going to check myself in somewhere.

I was having panic attacks. Just a mess. Everything was crushing me. And I began to stop through a whole bunch of others. It was a lot of things going on that God used to will his purpose in me. But I began to just stop and thank God for flowers and take lavender and rub it in my hands. Smell it. And for a moment I'd have a break from the heavy burden of performance that was all over me.

Because I had to be the pastor of this church. I had to write books. I had to succeed, succeed, succeed. And none of it was any fun. Until God said, just show up because I love you and you want to do it. I want to be the pastor of this church. I don't have to be the pastor of this church. I don't have to anything. But I want to. And I want to present myself as what kind of sacrifice?

A living sacrifice. Alive. Alive with the power and the might and the mercy and all the eternal riches of God. What would happen? You'd blow your staff away if you show up at work like that tomorrow. Or your boss. Or whoever it is. Or meet your gardener on the front steps. Hey, how you doing? You know. There's no more literal death in the modern sacrifice.

The holy sacrifice. Well, we'll get to that next week. Let's have the worship team come forward. With that said, let me just close by saying God has built you for life. That's what you're going for. Listen to me again. Listen. I know the worship team is walking up there behind me. It's always fun to watch them. God has built you for life. And then he's going to have you do some stuff.

Everything else is stuff. If you're not living life, learn how to live again. We're going to teach you how as a congregation. We're going to do it as a church. And we're going to have a life here. Life more abundantly. Bow your heads. Lord Jesus, we just thank you, God, for your goodness and your grace. We bless you, Lord. We give you praise for what we're built for, God.

And we just thank you. We lean into it. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. On the night. On the night.