DNA - the building block of life.
DNA is the most basic building block of life! What we are, what we are becoming, even what our children and grandchildren will one day become is influenced by DNA. It's a remarkable thing. We don't see DNA. We don't really think about DNA. Yet every cell in our body functions according to a design, a blueprint, a recipe, and a microscopic set of instructions.
Now if you are a builder, you know that the quality of what you build is largely determined by the architect's blueprints. If you are a cook, the flavor of what you prepare is determined by the recipe you use. Choose a good recipe and people will tear down your door to get a taste. Choose a bad recipe, and even the dog loses his appetite. If you use a computer, the quality of your experience is determined by the programmer's source code.
Want a better building? Change the blueprints. Want a better meal? Change the recipe. Want a better computer? Buy a Macintosh! We need to make Bill Gates nervous. But seriously, do you want a better computer? Change the source code. Did you know that Macintoshes and personal computers use the same hardware? It's the source codes that make them different.
Now we cannot change our physical DNA per se. At least not that I know of. Why take the risk of looking any goofier? But what if we could change our spiritual DNA? What if we could change the blueprint, the recipe, and the source code by which we've come to live our lives? Or what if could let the divine architect, the divine chef, the divine programmer have his way in us? What if every cell in our bodies could fulfill its intended purpose just as God ordained in the beginning?
What is your spiritual DNA?
What is your spiritual DNA? What defines you? What shapes you? What spiritual DNA are you passing down to your children or grandchildren? And what is the DNA that defines our church family? If you have ever seen a picture of a strand of DNA it looks like a ladder that twists to the right. Well what are the individual rungs of that ladder that define who you are, who you are becoming, or who you want others to become?
By the way, this is an excellent time to consider joining a Life Group. As we move through this series of messages, our Life Groups will be taking an in-depth look at each topic. There is a place on your connection card to mark your interest in Life Groups.
Later this month we will also offer a Friday evening, Saturday morning retreat out at the camp. It will be an opportunity to get away, to reassess your spiritual DNA, and to get on the right track for this New Year. One thing is certain; if you keep on walking the same path you've been walking, you will keep on getting the same results and bearing the same old fruit. So why not consider some of these life-changing, DNA-changing opportunities?
Education is an important building block of the Christian life.
One of the most important building blocks of the Christian life is education. I'll admit that it is hard to get excited about education. It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in class as the professor droned on and on. I was staring at the clock, staring out the window, wishing I could go out and play, and wondering what relevance the lecture could possibly have on my life. But hey, that was last year! I don't have to go back anymore!
The essence of true education is being challenged. To be challenged and to be educated is to be confronted. It is to be defied. It is to face up to who we are and what we've come to believe. To be challenged is to be tested, to be questioned, and it is to leave no stone unturned. To be challenged is to have our every thought, every desire, every assumption, every value, every belief, every behavior, and every habit scrutinized by God's truth.
I wonder if you are someone who loves being challenged? Is that part of your spiritual DNA? Do you subject your heart, mind, body, soul, and every relationship to the scrutiny of God's word? Is it part of your DNA what you would lay prostrate before a holy God and allow him, through his word, to sift every thought and every motive of your heart, and every impulse of your flesh? Are you one who courageously invites God's correction, his rebuke, admonishment, counsel, and wisdom? Or are you one who hides?
God's word, the Bible, is powerful in our lives.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV) tells us, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
1 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
What could be the reason that we choose other activities over worship, and other activities over time in the word? What could be the reason that we choose other activities over Bible school and Life Groups and spiritual formation? Is it because we're afraid of what God might show us?
Why do we not spend time in God's word?
What does John 3:19-21 (NIV) say about this issue? "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
If I join that Life Group, people may find out who I really am. They may discover my problems. They might ask questions about my life. They might notice this behavior, this attitude, or that habit of mine. They might notice that I'm not talking to my spouse, that my relationship with my kids isn't as it should be, that I haven't spoken to my parents in years, that I hate my boss and job, that I question God's love and whether he has a purpose for my life.
Part of our spiritual DNA should be that God's word should consume us.
It should be part of our DNA that God's word consume us, that God's word expose anything impure and unrighteous within us, that we would want our consciences stricken, that we would want to be challenged and repent of those things that dishonor God, and that we would want to come into the light. It should be part of our DNA that we would fully expose ourselves to God's living and active word.
We're at our best when we open ourselves to God's truth, not when we hide ourselves God. Think of all the energy we spend hiding from God and hiding from others. Look where it has gotten us! Nowhere!
1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (NIV) describes what should happen when Christians gather. "But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!' "
Yet what is it that most offends Christians these days? You know what it is. They say, "I don't want to be judged." I don't want people to notice my bad behaviors. I don't want people to care. I don't want people to ask questions. I don't want my thoughts scrutinized. I don't want my attitudes, my behaviors, my habits, my priorities, my relationships, or my lifestyle scrutinized. I don't want to be rebuked or admonished. I don't want a guilt trip. I don't want to feel shame. I don't want my heart laid bare. I don't want to be overcome by the holiness of God. I just want everyone to accept me as I am and look the other way.
If you want to walk in darkness because your deeds are evil, at least be honest about it. Have the courage to say, "I am falling away because my deeds are evil." Don't say, "I'm busy, I don't have time, I slept in again, I bought a field, and I bought a yoke of oxen." These are the excuses men have been making for hundreds of years.
People who love righteousness, people who love the truth and walk in the truth aren't afraid of the light! They love the light, welcome the light, embrace the light, and they shine the light everywhere! They take a light and put it on a stand so that it gives light to everyone in their house. They open the windows, they open their doors, they open their blinds, they open the word, they open their lives up to others, they invite questions, they invite rebuke, they invite admonishment, and they invite scrutiny. They're not afraid of being judged. They're afraid of not being judged!
In a moment, our ushers will begin serving communion. As you take communion this morning, I will be reading from Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is all about being challenged and about being consumed by God's holy word. I pray that in this New Year, education through God's word will become part of your spiritual DNA and our church's DNA.