CMLC 2025-07-20 Sermon

Have you ever been invited to something? That

you didn't feel worthy of that you didn't think

that you quite fit in maybe as a dinner party

a banquet or or a wedding You walk in and you

wonder if the invitation was really meant for

somebody else maybe it was a black tie event

and you're dressed with your T -shirt and your

jeans for the backyard barbecue. You thought

it was going to be maybe the times whenever you're

talking with people and you hear them discussing

stocks and bonds and You're just talking about

the four -game losing streak that the Astros

just had Or even the times whenever you're trying

to walk in and you're just wondering whether

or not anybody in there even wants you there,

but the truth is Even when you walk up and you're

wondering did I just double dip without meaning

to right in front of the host, which by the way

is almost the unforgivable sin in my opinion.

The truth is that you weren't meant to earn your

place on that guest list. It wasn't a question

of whether you were impressive enough. It was

just that the host wanted you there. And that's

why you were invited. See, that's the Gospel.

That's grace. It's the start of the mystery of

who Christ is. the sort of tone that Paul is

striking in our Colossians reading. He's writing

to a group of Christians that are trying to figure

out what it even means to follow Jesus in the

first place. Is it about making sure that you're

wise and learning some new type of knowledge

that not everybody has? Is it about looking more

spiritual than the people that are around you?

It's so easy to get caught into one of these

traps, right? See, they haven't just stumbled

into it though. They've been brought into something

that is good, mysterious, eternal, but something

costly, even as it's also joyful. The mystery

of Christ in the midst of this party. So what

does this invitation look like once we're inside?

Let's look at someone who's at the party then.

someone in the middle of the action, someone

named Martha. Let's be honest, Martha always

gets a bad rap. Isn't that the truth, right?

Oh man, oh, are you being a Martha? Blah, blah,

blah, blah, blah. Really? Come on. Martha was

a dedicated disciple, y 'all. She was someone,

she and her sister and her brother, they were

following Jesus wholeheartedly. And in fact,

John 11, when Lazarus dies, it's Martha, it's

not Mary, it's Martha who runs to meet Jesus

and makes one of the most stunning declarations

of faith in all the Gospels. Yes, Lord, I believe

you are the Messiah, the Son of God, and she's

the one who believes that there will be a resurrection.

She just doesn't realize it's about to happen

right there with her brother, but she believes.

And when in John 12, Lazarus, he's made alive

again, and Jesus is sitting at the table, guess

what Martha's up to? Martha is serving everybody.

Martha shows up. Martha opens her home. She's

the one that tends to the people that are gathered

around Jesus. I mean, Martha's the one who gets

things done, and typically she's just doing it

because she cares. She serves the meal, she sets

the table. And we even see her work so hard that

she gets overwhelmed. And there was her sister

looking like she's doing nothing. Jesus, could

you just get her to do something? She's worried

and distracted by many things. You know that

moment. You've been doing well 99 .9 % of the

time and you just have that one part when it

just comes out. and it was just a little too

much. Sorry, that's just me. None of you have

ever done that before, I'm sure. The emotions

are just too strong, and one of the disciples

just happened to be writing it down for the next

2 ,000 years of people to know about. I'm really

glad nobody records all of my stuff. But Jesus

says that Mary has chosen the better part, that

being with Him matters more than performing.

for him. Martha is us. How often do we get so

caught up in doing more or trying harder to make

everything better because we somehow think it's

more about our efforts than it is about Christ

and the relationships that we're meant to celebrate.

We want the appetizer spread to be better so

we leave everybody and get in the kitchen and

start cooking again. We want to see games being

played, so we interrupt everyone's conversation

to make sure that a game of Settlers of Catan

gets started up. I've never done that. Sure.

Martha is all of us who are trying to be faithful

in the details while wrestling with the tension

between doing more, being more. Sometimes miss

the moment because we're working so hard to make

it happen. But Jesus... doesn't dismiss Martha.

We need to realize that's not what's happening

here. He loves her. And Paul says that in Christ,

even people like us, the worried people, the

distracted people, the imperfect people, are

holy in His sight without blemish and free from

accusation. You see, the party of faith, this

life of faith, it's different from other things.

Not every moment in the party is frivolous or

easy. Sometimes the music fades and we find ourselves

face to face with conflict, with struggle, or

sometimes the pain that we were hoping that the

music would just play over. But you see, suffering

is sometimes a part of the party. See, Paul says

that he rejoices in what he is suffering for

them. for the Colossians and that he fills up

in his flesh what is still lacking in regard

to Christ's afflictions. What a strange thing

to say that Paul is somehow filling what is lacking

in Christ's afflictions. But it's meant in a

very profound way, even as Christians suffer

in so many ways. See, suffering, it's not an

interruption to the Christian life. When you're

suffering, This is not somehow causing a gap

in your Christian existence. It's part of the

pattern that Jesus modeled for us. It's not because

God somehow delights in our pain, but because

we follow a Savior who suffered in love and we're

being made like Him. The way of life includes

the suffering. And in many ways, the suffering

makes it more real. See, as we listen to Paul,

there are three types of struggle that we can

really hear that resonate in us. One of them

is when the world pushes back on us. The times

whenever we feel that the world is out to get

us. This is the one that we often focus on. Whenever

we're hearing about Paul speaking about suffering,

Oftentimes Christians will talk about this idea

that living out our faith in a culture that doesn't

always understand it can lead to resistance,

rejection, even ridicule. And it happens. It

does. Sometimes, sometimes the world pushes back

simply because you showed up to the party. You

brought your faith to work, to school, to public

life, and someone told you it doesn't belong

here. You don't belong here. That kind of suffering

can feel like being the only one at a costume

party who actually wore a costume. Been there,

done that. It was still a good costume though.

You see, you stand out, but it's not in a comfortable

way. This is the one that we often see in the

world as Christians, whether it's true or not.

But you see, there's a second type of struggle,

a second type of suffering. It's when the world

weighs heavy. It's not that the world is always

pushing at us Sometimes the world is just heavy

just because it is Sometimes we struggle in the

world just because we exist, you know being God's

children Even with no one and nothing pushing

us at all We see injustice. We see brokenness

and war poverty racism our hearts ache To love

like Christ means to hurt like Christ. There

are times when it's not about persecution. No

one's persecuting us. But the pressure is still

there. Life itself is just heavy. Grief, illness,

exhaustion, anxiety. These are things that weigh

us down even when no one is targeting us. Being

at the party doesn't always mean that the music

is too loud because they want to annoy you Sometimes

you just need to sit quietly and try to hold

it together because frankly you've just had a

long week And no one can read your mind But third

sometimes my soul just weighs heavy sometimes

The hardest struggles are what's happening in

the inside. The doubt, the depression, the anxiety,

the loneliness, the anger, even the feeling of

failure when we realize that maybe we missed

the point today, and maybe we even missed Christ

right there. But even then, Christ is with us.

See, this is the internal struggle. When you

realize the real burden, it's not just outside,

it's also in you. The times when you want control,

the times when you want to be right, the times

when you want to be the host for what you think

God is going to do in the world and in your life.

But the Spirit keeps pulling you back and reminding

you that this party isn't about you and your

power. It's about surrender. It's the maturity.

where we're seeking in Christ that involves allowing

ourselves to break in a holy and refining way,

because it is actually a good thing, not self

-destruction, but self -surrender, to let the

brokenness happen inside, because God is speaking

something new into your life. See, Paul isn't

glorifying suffering for its own sake. It's always

weird when we hear these parts from Paul, right?

You're like, man, Paul, you are not quite the

upbeat person we needed at this party. You're

kind of a downer, buddy. But you see, he's reframing

the suffering as something that can refine us

or be used as God's purposes. He's saying that

the party that we've been invited to, it's not

about shining. It's about growing. And growth

often comes through the struggle. And yet, even

in the struggling, the suffering, something deeper

is happening. Something mysterious. And now we

begin to see who's really hosting this gathering.

Because the mystery of Christ in us, everything

in the party gets flipped. See, this is where

we truly see what God is doing. See, we thought

we were the ones throwing a party for Jesus.

Man, I'm really glad I set my life aside for

God and for Jesus to really speak. I'm glad I

have this ready for Him. We built the space.

We sent the invites. We set the table. But the

mystery is, He's still the host. He always has

been. He always will be. He always should be.

Christ in you. The hope of glory. That's the

mystery. That this whole thing isn't about us

inviting Him into our lives. It's about Him inviting

us into His. Into His life. Into His suffering.

His joy. His resurrection. See, everything you

thought you brought to the table, He already

prepared it. I've been the guy who had to go

to the party with the Kroger bought potato salad,

alright? I know what it's like when you realize

you don't have it. You had someone else make

it for you. Or every story that you thought you

owned and you realize that God's been writing

it. Yeah, I've been at the party before where

I was telling the story and then realized everybody

around me knew it better than I did. But you

see the real celebration, it's not about what

you've done for Him. It's what He has done for

you. See this section it opens not just the identity

of Jesus, but the scale of what He's doing. He's

not just a teacher, a miracle worker, or some

abstract idea of salvation that anybody and everybody

is okay with. He's the living presence of God

who has taken you into Himself. And that's what

Mary knew. See, Mary, she wasn't just contemplative.

She received the mystery revealed. She received

Christ Himself. You see, the Gospel is not some

spiritual idea or a motivational framework that

you can internalize with a self -help audio book

in the few minutes that you have with Christ

before your Cheerios, which frankly should be

honey nut. But rather, the Gospel is Christ in

you. the hope of glory in the midst of suffering

each and every day each and every hour of the

day we don't grow by fixing our mindset or out

thinking our anxiety somehow we grow by receiving

Christ in our mess and in our struggles Mary

received this mystery not because she figured

it out like some Zen master but because she sat

and let Jesus reveal it Mary didn't do anything.

That's the whole point. That's why Martha was

so upset. But you see, Paul calls it a mystery

that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,

but is now disclosed to the Lord's people, which

is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And that's

the center of the party. Not your derves, not

the games. That's the thing that changes everything.

Not that we've shown up to do something good,

but that someone great has shown up in us. Someone

who brings a struggle because of what he's doing

in our lives. The mystery isn't that we found

Christ, it's that Christ found us. It's that

Christ is throwing the party. And the guest list

includes us. That's the mystery. Not because

of our resume, but because of his grace. We're

there at the watch party for the championship

game Realizing that we get to cheer on for our

team even though we're doing nothing We have

the jersey on The ring is going to belong to

us The victory is ours, but we didn't earn it

Because the one who did has made room for us

So now at the end of the night what's left a

bunch of take -home leftovers, and maybe that

one song that got stuck in your head. What do

we carry out with us after everything we've experienced

in this party of God's grace? See, that's the

thing is that maturity happens as we grow in

Christ. Paul says he is the one we proclaim admonishing

and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that

we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

To this end, I strenuously contend with all the

energy Christ so powerfully works in me. What

is the maturity that we're looking for? It's

not having all the answers. It's not conquering

every emotion or distraction that ever grabs

us. It's knowing who the host is. It's being

able to sit down at the table without thinking

you have to earn the spot. It's not earning the

spot to be at the table, but by being at the

table, we are changed forever. And frankly, maturity

doesn't mean perfection. This isn't trying to

figure out which of you here in this place has

somehow attained the right level. It means becoming

who you were meant to be. It means knowing where

your home is. It means living with gratitude

and courage and trust. Not just because you've

been to the party, but because you now know the

host. Maturity is gratitude. Maturity is humility.

Maturity is confidence that grows not because

you figured it all out, but because you stayed

and accepted the mystery of Christ. Because you

learned how to dance even when the music didn't

make sense. Because you kept coming back to the

table because the food is delicious. The invitation

is still open. The doors are still wide. The

mystery still holds Christ in you, Christ in

me. The hope of glory is not your deviled eggs.

The hope of glory is the mystery of Christ. And

that you didn't throw this party. But you, by

the grace of God, are in the middle of it. And

the host is so glad that you're here. Thanks

be to God.