Sermon: Finding Functional Saviors
This week was our third week of Recovery. Michael Bailey led us through a sermon about finding our functional saviors from Mark 7:14-23. Here is a quick recap of this week’s Gathering:
When it comes to our Recovery, our initial approach is to just treat whatever we feel the issue is at the surface level. So typically it’s whatever we perceive is having a tangible negative impact on my life. But, the Bible is going to tell us that our felt hurts, sins, and struggles are really just scratching the surface of what is actually going on. And if we’re going to find real recovery in the gospel, we’re going to have to dig a little deeper - We need to find the Problem behind the problem.
You see the real Problem behind the problem is a problematic heart. So when we wrestle with sin we are really looking for fulfillment:
1. When its Insecurity our heart believes that the opinions of others will satisfy me.
2. When its Laziness we believe that doing what we want when we want it will satisfy.
3. When its Lust we believe having what we want when we want it will satisfy.
Functional Saviors
When we turn to things that aren’t God we’re essentially trading him for something else. We’re functionally changing gods and it’s a bad trade. It’s not just that our hearts want sinful things; it’s that our hearts believe that things are better than God. We believe that whatever we turn to will save us. It is our “functional savior”. A “functional savior” is anything you turn to fix you, to bring you comfort, to make you feel better, or whole.
So maybe you turn to your functional saviors for Approval, Respect, Control, Comfort, or Hope. However in Christ we are given all of these things:
1. Approval and Respect- in Christ, we are given an identity and a status as God’s children… heirs to his kingdom… there is no greater approval out there.
2. Control - in Christ, we are assured that there is a God who is control in the worst circumstances so we don’t have to worry or have anxiety over ours.
3. Comfort - that in Christ, we are far more loved than we ever thought possible. Loved to the point that He was willing to die for you.
4. Hope - In Christ, you have the hope because death didn’t beat him, it won’t beat you.
Songs:
Lord I Need You by Chris Tomlin
All Glory Be Forever by Sovereign Grace Music
God of Ages Past by Shane and Shane
All My Hope by Hillsong