I am posting a link to the Sunday evening service at Gateway Church in Austin, Texas on April 18, 2010. Spiritual Formation Pastor Rick Shurtz is teaching on Romans 3, about the problem that comes from taking what we know for granted, when “familiarity breeds contempt.”
This addresses the problem that so many of us face, the disconnect between what we know explicitly/understand theologically, and what we know implicitly/deep down in our hearts. Have we allowed ourselves to believe that we know everything about what Christ did for us on the cross just because we have crafted a theological understanding of it, or do we permit ourselves to return again and allow Him to become increasingly and truly familiar through intimacy with Him?
As I reflect on that question for myself, I come face to face with the ways in which I am merely familiar when I find myself in some kind of trouble. I tend to avoid God and to try to fix myself rather than running to Him for help. Why? Because, deep down, I fear His judgment and wrath. Why would I fear that? I know (explicitly/theologically) that Christ has taken all of God’s wrath upon Himself so that I am left to freely relate to God without fear of His judgment. And yet, I still feel (implicitly/heart-level) like He might disapprove or me, reject me, or worse. Why don’t those two things match?
As the sermon will make clear, the heart of the solution is getting past the mere familiarity so that I can more fully feel the full weight of what Christ did for me on the cross.
Here’s the video of the service: Deepen 4.18.2010 from Gateway Church on Vimeo. Here are some questions for reflection, which pastor Rick Shurtz asks toward the end of the sermon, to help you get a better sense of where you are with this, whether the seeming familiarity has served to create distance between you and God, or if you are open and close to Him in a way that allows you to be continually nourished and transformed by Him. If you answer these in a way that illustrate to you that you are not close and trusting of God like you want, this video may be a useful tool to help you get one step closer. 1. Do I sense God's disposition of love toward me? As one who struggles with insecurity, and because of that continually runs from God, and as one who tends toward avoidance as a way of coping with fear and anxiety, I found these questions very helpful, and I found the message very encouraging, because I am reminded once again that I only need the work of Christ, and only the work of Christ can help me. All of the other ways I try to fend for myself are hollow, futile, and leave me unnecessarily distressed. I am reminded that I can come home, and that I have a home to come back to. May God bless you with this as well.
2. Do I look forward to the pleasure of being in God's presence? (Do I fear that day or do I treasure that day?)
3. Are my confidence in God's disposition of love toward me, and my looking forward to being in God's presence, based solely and fully in the cross of Christ?
4. Does my understanding of grace motivate me to run toward God or from God?
An interesting message to say the least.
One of my friends already told me about this place and I do not regret that I found this article.