2004-11-14 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

Dueteronomy 12:1-9

1. These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
2. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
3. And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
4. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.
5. But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
6. And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
7. And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.
8. Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
9. For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you.

Should my words and deeds ever seem righteous to me, it’s needful that I be reminded of the dusty composition of my frame, and how it soils my every work (Psalm 103:13-18).

You know the feeling you get whenever you've done something that did your heart good, but before you realize it, that good feeling goes to your head?

Lord, let my contributions be considered as filthy rags, and let thine always be the glory (Isaiah 64:6).

Now I ask you, is that saying discouraging to you, or does it give you freedom and joy?

We sometimes say to ourselves, "Well, if all my works are tainted, and they don’t get me closer to heaven, then why should I even try? And besides, I’m not like her, or I just can’t do what he does.” And so it goes; we convince ourselves that we're "OK" with that. We accept the notion that we're not meant for anything different than what we're doing right now, so we just keep on doing what we’ve been doing.

Do you see any danger in that?

If the Lord is my Shepherd, then He - has - written His law in my heart, and I should know His voice, but am I listening? (Psalm 23, Jer 31:33, John 10:27)

If I’m satistfied with the notion that I’m already doing what God has planned for me, then I might easily become complacent, and that causes my neck to stiffen, and that leads to disobedience. If I’ve become comfortable in my walk with the Lord Jesus, then I probably only think I’m walking with Him. I’m convinced that my reasonable service is to do what I’m already doing, and I’ve fallen into one of the devil’s traps; the belief that my works somehow "get me right," or keep me right with God.

On the other hand, if I understand that the pastor is not made righteous by his works, that the governing board, the music ministry, the elders, the deacons and deaconesses, the cleaning crews and the lawn mowers aren’t justified by their works, then I also understand that no matter how hard these people serve the Lord with their words and deeds, none of them can approach the throne of God in their own righteousness. Even though God sees what we cannot see, He is no respecter of persons. He sees the temple made without hands, the temple in your heart, in my heart. He sees our faith like no one else can.

Do the "high mountains" and "hills" of my good works justify me before God? No, they bless my heart and then they go to my head. Do the "green trees" of my giving save me? No, but if I ever allow myself to think so, I worship no different than pagans do. Go back to verse 4; "Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God."

Can I honestly say that I’ve overthrown the altars and pillars of worship made with hands? Can I look in the mirror and say, “It gives me great joy to know that all my works are tainted, it gives me great joy to know that even so, God wants to work through me, and it gives me great joy to give all the credit to Him whenever good things happen?" If you ask me, it takes a lot of pressure off, because whenever I'm part of something that blesses someone else and does my heart good, I know it's Him and not me.

So we prepare in His Word, we listen for His voice, standing guard with each other against the fiery darts of Satan, and we allow God to form us according to His will. As we sit at His table and remember His Son, we seek Him in the place where He chose to put His name, in His habitation, in the temple of our hearts. We say, "I will not seek Him in the works of my hands."

On the night that He was betrayed, Jesus said (John 15:13-14), "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Jesus has called you His friend. Have you laid down your life for Him, or are you still worshipping at the altar of works? There is only one work that helps us, and on the cross Jesus said, "It is finished." (John 19:30). Let us not add to it or take away from it.