"Almost" Isn't Good Enough

Tonight at The Summit Church, Pastor Raudel gave an awesome sermon chock-full of fuego latino while Pastor JD was away with family mourning the loss of his Grandmother and celebrating her life. I want to have a little think-out-loud time with you all as I reflect on Pastor Raudel's thought-provoking message. However, I first want to tell you that if you haven't tried the Brier Creek PM campus, you should. It's amazing. I can't always attend the Saturday night service because of scheduling, but I never leave without truly encountering God, without feeling overwhelmed by His grace and his amazing love for me.  Also, it's kind of awesome that my stuff and I occupied three whole seats... you just can't do that on a Sunday morning! And as a side note, I think it is a good possibility that Pastor Raudel could give Pastor JD a run for his money in a "who spits more while preaching?" contest!

The title of the sermon was "Casi Cielo", yes like the Starbucks coffee.  Translated into English, Casi Cielo means "Almost Heaven", and this served as an appropriate theme for the message.  Pastor Raudel used 2 Peter 3 as his main text in which Peter is talking about living our days on earth with an eternal mindset.  He said we get so stuck on thinking about "the things of this world" that we forget about Heaven.  Pastor Raudel said "why would you get attached to something that is going to burn up anyway? It is not worth it to live for false saviors of this earth that will perish anyway" (2 Peter 3:7, Matthew 24:35).  We all reject God daily, but God is infinitely patient, lavishing grace upon us (2 Peter 3:9).  Live each day mindfully, remembering the sacrifice of Christ and God's unfailing love.

What consumes your thoughts? When our daily meditation centers on "me" we have lost our eternal perspective. We have to die daily to ourselves. We must ask the Holy Spirit to align our daily activities with God's purpose.  Who is the captain of your ship? You or God? We are to be living life on mission for Christ because that is what we were created for... that is the best life we can live!

I'm reminded of the Switchfoot song, "Meant to Live." The song says, "We were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves?" Is this true? Have we lost ourselves in "the things of this world" when in fact we have a much bigger, much grander purpose? Does your life center around Jesus or around yourself? Are you dedicating your life to the advancement of His Kingdom or your own? I hope you find this question as challenging as I do.

We often think about judgment day and wonder "will I be ready?" (2 Peter 3:10). But Pastor Raudel reminded us that we must remember that those who have not heard the gospel will also be held accountable. This isn't all about us! Live each day mindful of that fact and live on mission for God! Is your mindset on "the things of this world"or on the salvation of the world?

Don't almost love God. Don't almost love the world. Because almost isn't good enough.

Somewhere during the sermon, my mind took a right turn and began to apply this idea of "almost" to lukewarm Christians.  Revelation 3:15-16 says "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you our of my mouth." You don't want to stand before Jesus and hear him say "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23).

Don't almost get into Heaven.

Think about that. I want to challenge you: do you really know Jesus or just know about Jesus? Are you living a half-way Christian life in name only? Does your life reflect the things you say you believe? Can someone look at your life and know that you are a Christian?

I want to end with the following passage from Matthew 25, not as a scare tactic, but because I believe it really drives home this point. I urge you to consider Jesus' words and pray about how your life might be centered around His mission for the world.

Matthew 25:31-46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.


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