Boundaries Along the Way

Unlimited, unlimited, it's a useful word for advertising. It's an attractive word, isn't it? NorthernLife Unlimited.

That be a good tagline? Maybe it would be a good tagline. NorthernLife Unlimited.

But would it be true? But would it be true? God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, but is life meant to be unlimited?

Quoting Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount, James says, James 5.12, Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple yes or no. It's what God said in Genesis.

Yes and no. He said no to the sea. You can't keep coming in.

There's a boundary. It'll be called the land. And he said no to the atmosphere.

You can't just keep spilling out into space. It needs to be held. So no and yes to the animals.

He said yes, you can, cheater. You can run really fast, but no, you can't fly like the owl. Yes and no.

He said many yeses to the first humans. Life was filled with potential, but he did say no to that one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And then after Adam and Eve had sinned, God put boundaries on how long they could live.

He said, no, you won't live forever. And you're not allowed back into the garden to eat of the tree of eternal life. No, life is not unlimited, would you agree?

But it is still amazing. Courage is not the absence of fear and neither is freedom the absence of limits. Limits are boundaries.

We are designed by our creator to live within his loving boundaries. And boundaries are good. Kids need boundaries, don't they?

And so do adults. We need limits. Today, we're in the eighth message of 10, Lord willing.

We've called this series Waveform, spiritual Formation in the Way of the Master. If you're interested in this subject of discipleship, you can check out our website and have a look at some of the other messages. They're all there.

Boundaries are an essential component in this idea of discipleship. Limits are absolutely essential and crucial in following Jesus.

I hope this morning from our passage, we're going to see that, and many other passages, in fact, because it's a topical series, and we sort of do jump around a lot. We're going to see holiness requires boundaries.

Humility requires boundaries, and wholeness requires boundaries. Holiness, humility, and wholeness. Boundaries define holiness.

Hebrews 12 says, Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. We are called to live by the grace of God, a holy life, yes.

Surely, that's an enormous part of The Way of the Master, that we take on what he has made available for us. By faith in Christ, we are clothed in his righteousness. We are gifted to holiness, as it were.

Yet, there is this mystery that we're called to live in such a way that we appropriate his holiness. We become more and more like Jesus. At the core of holiness is yes and no.

We quoted James before as he quoted Jesus. Let me read again what Saran said to us from the Word of God.

Matthew 5.33, Jesus said, Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, Don't break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.

But I tell you, don't swear an oath at all, either by heaven for it's God's throne or by the earth for it's his footstool, or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king.

Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply yes or no. Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Jesus, in this incredible teaching called the Sermon on the Mount, is cutting straight to the heart of why people typically say oaths. They swear by something greater than them, to manipulate the hearers.

They are saying, by Jerusalem, even by God, I will do this thing. But Jesus is saying, no, you're being duplicitous in the oath. You're just trying to sway people by the weight of the person or being that you are swearing by.

No, he says, be a person of integrity. Yes and no. They profoundly designate how to live.

Don't they? Yes and no. In fact, I would put it to you that much of following Jesus can be brought back to this idea of yes and no.

Certainly, when it comes to personal holiness. Consider your thought life. Do you reckon yeses and nos are required for your thought life to be holy?

Obviously, Matthew 5, and we're exploring some of these teachings Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount.

He said, you've heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery, but if your righteousness, your holiness, is going to exceed that of the Pharisees who are, on the whole, hypocrites, fakes, I tell you, anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has

already committed adultery with her in his heart. It's a simple question. Are you allowed to look at the human being lustfully and dwell on that in your heart? Simple answer, no, for holiness.

Jesus says so. Our thought life matters. Earlier on in this series, we looked at 2 Corinthians 10 verse 5 and Paul writes, We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

In essence, we say, no, no, we're imposing some limits on what we will be allowed to think about spiritual formation and the way of the master is built upon yes and no.

I was, it was suggested to me not that long ago, a couple of months ago, that I should say less directives from God's word and invite people to express themselves more openly and freely. In fact, the word was, you need to say you be you more often.

Is it yes and no or you be you? Which did Jesus teach? I don't find in the Bible a you be you.

There is wonderful, open opportunity for us to express ourselves in very diverse ways. We'll come to that in a minute. But there are far more yeses and nos than just you be you.

And let me prove it. Colossians 3. Is it you be you or is it yes and no, as defined by God's word, with our thought life?

Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature. Colossians 3. Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these. Anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language from your lips.

We can see clearly that these sins beginning now thoughts. Yes? Personal holiness begins with yes and no, with boundaries that we are willing to impose with our will on our own thought life.

Jesus says, let your yes be yes. So we say, yes, Jesus, you are my Lord, or no, you're not in this situation. Now, of course, we're not suggesting here that we won't struggle with sin.

Of course, we will. Thinking a thought is not sinful, but allowing it to have a home and dwelling on it, Jesus would say, is a problem. Boundaries for personal holiness are required in our minds.

And that leads us to action, because as we think, we tend to act, we need to have boundaries and limits for our actions. Escalations 5.19 is similar to Colossians 3. The acts of the flesh are obvious, Paul writes.

Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, it's not a very savoury thing to be reading out, is it? Hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like.

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this, who act out these things, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Are there limits on our actions? Of course, I'm preaching to the choir.

We know there are limits. I grew up in going to church all my life, and I was a Christian from a young age, but I remember reading the New Testament for the first time when I was about late 19 years old, nearly 20.

And I read the New Testament for the first time, and I came across that verse, Galatians 5.19, and I was getting drunk a lot. And I thought, are there limits? Like really clear limits on our actions.

I'm sure the pastors had preached that stuff, but I'd somehow missed it for 20 years, that there were very clear guidelines from God's word saying that stuff is out. No, don't do it. What about Hebrews 13 verse 4?

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral. Are there limits on our actions? We live in a day and age which is dissolving, eroding those limits.

Again, it's you be you. So there aren't the yes and nos, but there are yes and nos in the Bible. Let me read another bunch of yeses and nos.

1st Corinthians 7 Paul writes, For the matters you wrote about, it is good for a man to not have, a man not to have sexual relationships with a woman. Oh, sorry. It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.

But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband. Now to the unmarried and the widows, I say, it is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.

But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Contrary to what many Christians tell me, sex is not allowed biblically outside of marriage.

But there's a growing wave that says, no, it's allowed. It's fine. As long as you're committed.

I don't believe that's what the Bible teaches. I think the Bible is really clear. It's saying, no, it's for the safe guidelines of a godly marriage.

It's not as though it can be not unsafe in a marriage because sometimes they're not always godly. But there are yes and no responses for our thought life and for our actions. And they are required by God's grace for holiness.

Amen. Boundaries define humility. They define humility.

We live in a day and age where that word unlimited tends to be thrown around a lot. You can do anything. You should get a trophy whether you come last or first as a kid, and you can do anything, anything you want.

But Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 12, that wonderful teaching about the body having many parts, and we're not all ears, and we're not all eyes. And verse 17, if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?

If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be, if they were all one part, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, but one body. We're different. We are all different.

We have different dreams, and we're good at different things. Have you discovered that realising you're not good at everything is wonderful for humility? Anybody?

Like, if you're okay, you're a broad bander, as they term it. You're a broad bander as a kid.

Everyone will say, oh, you're good, and you're great at sport and music and excellent at academics, and you're not bad interpersonally and even intrapersonally. But you're not good at everything, and you will be blessed when you discover your limits.

Amen? It's a wonderful thing to realise, you know what? I'm just not as good as that person and I need them, and maybe they need me.

We are called to be interdependent. As parents, Leanne and I, we have found that if you know your kids and you've spent time to love them and know them, there is a task you have to help them understand they're bent. What are they good at?

Now, we're not putting them in a box saying you can only be good at this, but I think parents have a really important job, and so do other influential people in a person's life when they're young in particular, to say, you know what, you're amazing

at this. Just saying. When you do that, you encourage and you build up, and God works through you in that. Humility embraces limits with grace.

Have you ever considered the incarnation of Jesus as a study in humility, Jesus accepting his limits? Jesus limited? You gotta be kidding.

But that's the essence of him being a saviour. God became human. Jesus accepted his personal limits in meeting his personal needs.

He ate healthy foods, got the sleep that he needed. He even took naps, took time to relax, did a lot of walking. He sought the company of friends because he needed community.

He withdrew from the crowds to go on retreat, sometimes alone, often with friends because he accepted the limits of his energy. He left one city to go to another. Why?

Because he wasn't God omnipresent at that point. He was limited. He chose to be limited.

He had to leave that city to go to this one. As God, he's in both. spiritual formation requires limits for our own holiness, and it's very helpful in us becoming humble like Jesus.

Would you agree? Just accepting the limits. And limits are required for wholeness in a community.

We need limits as we interact with one another because without limits, you can't have a spirit-filled, thriving, godly community. We need limits. Jesus let his yes be yes, and his no no in relationships, in community.

Think about some of these as a survey, an overview. Jesus said no to inappropriate behaviour, and we should too, because he believed in boundaries regarding the demands of others.

People were so demanding on his time, he withdrew from the crowds who wanted one on one time with him, and he went and had it with his father, Luke 5. Let me read a few scriptures pretty quickly.

The news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to him, demanding from him. They want to be healed of their sicknesses, but Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Limits.

He said no to abuse. Do you remember in Luke 4? They took him to the top of a hill and wanted to throw him off.

They wanted to abuse him to the point of death, and he found his way. He weaved his way. He walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

He said no to entitlement. He didn't give in to his mother and brothers who tried to use their relationship with him to pull him away from the crowd as he ministered. Matthew 12.

He said no to baiting questions when the religious leaders asked him baiting questions to make him look foolish. He answered them with incisive questions of his own. Matthew 21.

He said no to manipulation. He's going to the cross and Peter says, takes him aside and says, never, Lord, never, Lord, this will never happen to you. Jesus turned to Peter, get behind me, Satan.

You're a stumbling block to me. You don't have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. He said no to pride.

He didn't heal those who were too proud to trust him. Matthew 13. He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

He said no to exploitation. He used a whip and he cleared the temple because they were exploiting people in the money exchange. Are you being inspired?

This is our Lord. He said no to addiction. He told the rich young ruler that he couldn't help him until he gave away the money that was controlling him.

He said no to the misguided. He rebuked the disciples who said, keep the children away. Matthew 19 says, no, bring them to me.

He said no, Jesus had expectations for people in need. This is a really powerful one. Two blind men come out and ask him for help on the road to Jericho.

And what does Jesus say? What do you want me to do for you? He puts responsibility back on even the blind people.

To another, Jesus asked, do you want to get well? Do you remember the guy that was disabled at the sheep gate? And he needed to get to the pool.

And it was almost like he was saying, come and help me. I've got all these problems. And he says, do you want to get well?

And Jesus says, get up. Isn't that challenging? To this man who's disabled, but he can't stand him.

He says, pick up your mat and walk. You're going to do something too. I hope you're hearing this.

We need this in our community. Wholeness in community is not a boundary-less community. When broken and dysfunctional people.

And you know, guess what? Not everyone that comes to our church new is as perfect as us. And none of us are perfect, outside of Christ.

But as we grow, there's a lot of people just like us. Wonderful people who are dysfunctional and broken. And we have to say yes and no to each other.

And no one's the boss that has all the yeses and nos, but we come under the guidelines of the Bible and we say, you know, that is not appropriate because wholeness is defined really by differentiation.

No, I'm not going to be swept up in the whirlpool of your dysfunction, and neither is our church. So we will say no to things.

And we will say yes, because limits are required for wholeness, and they're required for holiness, and limits are required for humility. So what do you need to say yes to? And what do you need to say no to?

Because the way of the Master has a whole lot to do with yes and no. Let me read to you a little fable. Once upon a time there lived a man who had been given a great deal of thought and effort to determine what he wanted from life.

Then one day a door opened for him to actually live his dream. The opportunity would be available only for a short time and he would have to embark on a long journey to take hold of this opportunity. But he took it.

He began walking and grew more and more excited as he envisaged his future dream becoming a reality.

As he hurried along however he came to a bridge high above a dangerous, rapidly flowing river, as he started across the bridge, he noticed a stranger approaching him from the opposite direction. The man had a rope wrapped many times around his waist.

The rope looked like it might stretch to a length of at least 30 feet. The stranger began to unwrap the rope as he walked.

Just as the two men were about to meet, the stranger said, pardon me, sir, would you be so kind as to hold the end of this rope for me? Without thinking almost instinctively, the man who had the dream, this man reached out and took the rope.

Thank you, said the stranger. He then added, two hands now, and remember, hold tight. At that point, the stranger jumped off the bridge.

The strong pull from this now fully extended rope was so strong that it almost dragged the man over the side of the bridge into the treacherous river below. He shouted over the railing, just like you and I would shout, what are you trying to do?

Just hold tight. The stranger yelled back. This is ridiculous, the man thought.

He began trying to haul the stranger up, but the task was beyond his strength. Why did you do this? He yelled in frustration over the edge.

Remember, said the stranger, if you let go, I will die. The man was stumped. If I let go all my life, I will always regret it.

I let this stranger die. If I stay, I'll never reach my dreams or destiny. Finally, he said, I will not accept the position of choice for your life, only my own.

From this moment on, I give the power of choice for your own life back to you. What do you mean, the stranger asked? I mean simply, it's up to you.

You decide your future. I will be the counterweight. You do the pulling and bring yourself up.

I will tug some from here. The man unwound the rope from around his waist and braced himself to be a counterweight. You cannot mean what you say, the stranger shrieked.

You wouldn't be so selfish. I am your responsibility. What could be so important that you'd let me die?

After a long silence, the man on the bridge said slowly, I accept your choice. He let go of the rope and continued on his journey over the bridge. Bit of a jarring way to end a sermon.

Okay, let's go and have morning tea. But you get it, don't you? Some of you want to burst in tears right now because you know this is your life.

This is your life. You're like, I want to be a good Christian. I want to be loving.

But you need to hear that today, that in your life, you need to say, no, there's a boundary. I'm not God. I can't do it all for you, but I'll do my very best.

But every human being, you need to take responsibility for your life. Is there an amen in the house? The way of the master has boundaries.

We need boundaries in our thought life. Can I encourage you, as I'm challenged by this, we need to come under God's word to find what the boundaries are in our thoughts that we can take captive the wrong ones and say yes to the right ones.

We need boundaries in our actions. Praise God, He has given us them. Again, you find them in the Word of God.

And 1 John is a great place to start. It's a small book, but it packs a punch. We need limits to remind us that as Jesus was humble, we're meant to be humble.

And we need boundaries in relationships. Yes and no are allowed in godly community. Yes and no are required in godly community.

Jesus, praise him. He gives us the perfect example of holiness, humility and wholeness in relationship. I would put it to you that the way of the master is limited.

And that's a really good thing. Lord Jesus, thank you that you have demonstrated for us what it is to be true and new and right humanity, the way it was always meant to be. You're the second Adam and you got it right.

Lord, we are in awe when we think of you as God become human, and God man, who in the garden said, not my will but yours be done.

Thank you, Lord, that the cross itself, that crux, the point of salvation, the point of victory, was all about accepting limits. And because you accepted the limits, you have been given a name above every other name.

And it's our greatest joy as a community of people of faith to now sing to you, to remind ourselves that holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And holy, holy, holy is his son. And holy, holy, holy is his spirit.

We give you all the glory. In Jesus' name, amen.

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