When was the last time you experienced something that made you think or say, “Now THIS feels like Christianity,” or “Now THAT felt biblical?”

This morning’s reading showed two events, one Old Testament and one New Testament that show us what the Christian life is all about…living to see the glory of God. 

Leviticus 9 tells about the beginning of the Israelite priest’s ordination. Aaron and his sons were ordained as priests, a ceremony which took a week to complete. This event follows 8 chapters of instructions on how they were to offer sacrifices, which they finally get around to doing in chapters 8 and 9. 

In chapter 9, on the day the ordination was to begin, Moses comes to his brother Aaron and tells him what animals to collect for sacrice, “for today the LORD will appear to you.” (vs. 4)

I hope that sinks in a bit. “Today, Aaron, the God who created the heavens and the earth with the power of His spoken word, who melts the earth in judgment, who is so holy that angels that would terrify us cry out day and night ‘Holy, holy, holy,’ is Himself going to display His glory to you.” 

Imagine that is you and that day is today. Imagine someone from God coming to you today and saying “God is going to appear to you today.” What would you do differently today? What would you think? How would you respond? 

But elsewhere in the Bible it says that God cannot appear to a man without it killing him, so this display would only be a display of His glory, not a display of all of Himself. 

When it happens, it says, “The glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” 

It is appointed for every person to appear before God. If you are reading this, you will appear before this God. The inevitable trajectory of your life is to eventually appear before Him. This God will look at you face-to-face. Every time someone saw God in the Bible, even just part of His glory, they fell on their faces. The revelation of the glory of God will either melt us in fear, or melt us with grace. 

With that in mind, the second passage this morning that shows what life is all about is 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10. Paul had evangelized the people in Thessalonica and established a church, soon thereafter being arrested. He sent Timothy to check on them to see if their faith had fallen away due to Paul’s and their suffering (they were too being persecuted). They found out the believers there had increased in faith. This, Paul said in 2:19-20 gave him reason for hope and confidence in his own standing before God. 

In verse 8 Paul says something crazy. He says “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” In verse 9 he goes on to say “For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God…?”

“For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord?” Given the highly emotional tenor of this passage, it’s not likely that Paul means their collective salvation is contingent on the Thessalonians’ perseverance in faith. 

Here’s what I think Paul is saying…”We tried to establish you in the faith, and then we were hauled away. Persecution is scary, but we tried telling you that it would happen. It happened to us, and it happend to you, but you’re standing firm, you’re grounded, and you’re joyful with us! They’re trying to squash you, and they’re trying to squash me, and they can’t because Jesus is alive and the Spirit is binding our hearts together, and we’re growing more in love for each other, and for God, and because God is carrying us through, we’re unstoppable…..now THIS is life. THIS is what real life is, what life is supposed to be.  What we’re experiencing right now…this is the real thing. This is the abundant life Christ promised to us. Nothing can fulfill us more than this because THIS is  the life of Christ, this is the revelation of the life of Christ in us.”

When was the last time you experirenced somethign that felt like that? When was the last time you said “YES…THIS is real living. This is what Christianity is all about?” 

I’m troubled by how easily pleased we are in our churches today. We are satisfied if our church has a good band and a good speaker. We are happy if our church is accomodating for our kids. We are happy to live the American way of life during the week, and on Sunday go hear a speaker and some musicians, some momentary conversation to catch up with people, and then go back to our normal lives. 

Why is the Christian life  today centered around the production and attendance of an event on Sunday, and why is it surprising to see a church doing sonething outside of Sunday? Shouldn’t that be the norm? How often does the New Testament speak about a Sunday gathering compared to evanglism and doing justice? 

Having been a pastor and pastoral candiadate, I have read literally hundreds of job descriptions for pastors, and 90% list preaching a sermon, leading staff and administration as the primary job of the pastor. That assumes church “happens” on Sunday. Something is seriously wrong. 

The Church does not happen on Sunday, it does NOT center on a Sunday service. It centers on the life of  Christ revealed in us, living out the mission He started. Meeting together for encouragement and to hear the Word taught and proclaimed is needed, but it is not the main thing. 

The main thing is living to see the glory of God revealed. He reveals Himself in our lives, not just on Sunday in a sermon. God is better to us than that.