Choose Your Reward: Praise and Pain

Choose Your Reward: Praise and Pain

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Praise from God is greater than praise from people and comes with an enduring reward. 

• Tell Me That I Matter

• Love of Praise 

• Praise from God

Tell Me That I Matter

We all want to feel like we matter in life - we need to get that affirmation from God.   

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Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭25‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."“

When I love God first and well, I am better able to love the other important relationships in my life - whether they be parents, spouses, children or friends.  

When we allow God to maintain the preeminent, right place in our lives, it allows us to order every other relationship and decision that follows well. 

Seeking affirmation is not a bad thing - as long as it is for the right reason and from the right source.  

Why is this difficult at times? 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ONMJFkuXBo

1:54-4:32 

Having affirmation from God who does not change allows you stability in life.  

It allows you to prioritize healthy Kingdom choices and make difficult decisions amidst people who do change.  

Whose praise do you covet the most in life? 

What will you do to get it?

What are you willing to do to keep it?

If your highest value in life is not praise from God, it will lead you to compromise and sin.  

Living for the praise of God alone provides certainty, security and stability in your soul (your mind, will and emotions).  

It is your access to what we so desperately crave - which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit of joy and peace. 

Love of Praise 

What we think that praise will bring us is peace - but it will only bring us peace if it is coming from the right source. 

This is why loss of a loved one can be so difficult, because in them we found, at least temporarily, a source of love, acceptance and a perceived peace.  

 Melancholy by Albert György in Geneva, Switzerland 

This is what grief is.

A hole ripped through the very fabric of your being.

The hole eventually heals along the jagged edges that remain. It may even shrink in size.

But that hole will always be there.

A piece of you always missing.

For where there is deep grief, there was great love.

Don’t be ashamed of your grief.

Don’t judge it.

Don’t suppress it.

Don’t rush it.

Rather, acknowledge it.

Lean into it.

Listen to it.

Feel it.

Sit with it.

Sit with the pain. And remember the love.

This is where the healing will begin.

Monica Bobbit

Yet is there peace beyond the temporal? 

When we set our focus on Jesus, it leads to a lasting, eternal joy and peace. 

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Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.“

What does it say about your state when you live for other people’s praise?

What does it say about you when you live for God’s praise? 

Living for God’s praise alone does not mean that you have the right to pendulum swing to being a jerk, an independent or an isolationist.  

It means that you love people well when you’ve been grounded in the palpable, enduring love that God has for you.  

Praise from God

Desiring praise from God is what led Jesus to the cross and ultimately to our hope of resurrection life.  

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John‬ ‭5‬:‭30‬-‭47‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”"I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"“

God will ultimately test the motives of our hearts.  

Proverbs 16:2

”All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.“

What we see in Jesus is that something had to die that we might actually live.  

In your personal life:

What is it that needs to die in your life, that has a death grip on you, that you might actually live?

In terms of our call to make disciples:

To what are you willing to die so that others might actually live?

Your reputation?

Your free time?

Being able to do all that you want with your money? 

Your feelings of acceptance from those who might not love God but whom God loves?

Because Jesus lived for the praise of the Father alone, he was able to live sinlessly, perform miracles, die sacrificially at the cross for our sins and rise victoriously from the dead so that we might have new life in him.  

Let us turn from putting our hope in anyone or anything else above Jesus to make us healthy, happy or whole.  

Let us live for the praise of God alone to know him, experience his freedom and make him known offering the life that is truly life to others through the gospel.  

In doing so, we will be both free and motivated to obey this life-giving command:

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ NIV

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Choose Your Reward: Balaam and Balak

Choose Your Reward: Balaam and Balak

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: When God speaks, we must learn to obey - for his glory and our good.  

Numbers 22-24

• God Has Spoken 

• Say Again? 

• Don’t Negotiate, Trust the Cross 

God Has Spoken

When God speaks, we need to take him at his word so that we and others might be blessed.  

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. And Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field." So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message. And he said to them, "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. And God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?" And Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 'Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.'" God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed." So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you." So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."“

We need to stop looking for omens and trust what God has already said. 

What has God already spoken to you about - in his word and through prayer that he expects you to obey?

“There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God’s favor to them in life, through death and on for ever.”

-J.I. Packer

Say Again?

What God has blessed, no man can curse. 

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Numbers‬ ‭22‬:‭15‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: 'Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.'" But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me." And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you." So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.“

Have no doubt about it, Satan and his hordes will try over and over again to throw you off track with God, just as Balaam attempted multiple times to have Israel cursed.  

Each time the devil tempts, the deal will seem sweeter and sweeter to you, and he’ll show you different angles from which to look at his offer. 

The good news is that God is resolute. 

Relationally:

The good news is that in this spiritual battle in which we find ourselves, God is for us, not against us, and is intent on blessing his people.  

“Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”

-J.I. Packer 

When we have enemies who arise, because of the righteousness of God and the cross of Christ, even in our imperfections, we remain in the grace of God because he has called his children blessed.  

Covenantally:

When God has spoken by his word (what is revealed in the Scripture) he is communicating to us what he has and will bless.  

No amount of desire, reasoning or cultural shifts will change that - because God is disclosing his immutable character and giving us the blueprints of his all-wise design in creation.  

Yet if we persist in trying to find ways around God’s clearly stated commands and decrees, we will reap the consequences of it.  

Israel would see this later as they gave themselves over to sexual immorality with the Moabites.  

Trying to add or subtract from God’s commands is sin and leads to death. 

God continually says that he opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble; that unless we become like children, we will never enter his kingdom (Matthew 18:3; I Peter 5:5). 

Yet we’ve become like modern oracles with all of our instant access to information deeming it wisdom.  

Yet knowledge and wisdom before God lead to life giving instruction.  

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.“

Knowledge can be cheap and easy to attain - wisdom is found in God’s unchanging word and is gained at the price of humbling ourselves and listening to his instruction.  

I get nervous if my wife and I have been in a disagreement and eventually she says with a certain tone, “that’s fine.”

It usually does not mean that she agrees, but that she is no longer willing to argue and that the consequences of my decisions are now in my hands.  

God’s discipline and wrath are revealed when he turns us over to what we desire (Romans 1:18-32) despite his commands that are contrary to our choices.  

God’s mercy is revealed when people in our lives who we have looked down upon thinking they are less educated, skilled or experienced can be the very voice of God to turn us away from folly and to Christ.  

This was the case with Balaam and the donkey.  

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭22‬:‭22‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you." And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" And he said, "No." Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live." Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back." And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you." So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.“

Who has it been in your life that has attempted to act as an obstacle to sin and folly?

How have you treated them?

How were your eyes opened to the impending consequences of your choices?  

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.“

Don’t Negotiate, Trust the Cross

When God has spoken, we should not expect him to change his mind. 

Balsam’s Second Oracle 

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭23‬:‭18‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, 'What has God wrought!' Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain." And Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all." But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell you, 'All that the Lord says, that I must do'?" And Balak said to Balaam, "Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there."“

We often persist in our negotiations with God hoping that he will change his mind.  

However, God has made it clear that he does not change his character, his mind or his commands, regardless of the fluctuating convictions of the environments in which we live.  

What have we tried to hold onto in life, thinking that it held our great reward, that God has told us to let go?

The things that we hold onto that God has told us to let go will be disappointing in the end.  

What I thought to be my numismatic coin collection:

When we understand the cross, we will begin to trust God more in every circumstance because:

1. We know that God loves us and wants what is best for us, demonstrating this in that he was willing to lay down the life of his own beloved son to save ours. 

2. We know that whatever we endure is not the end of the story since through Christ’s resurrection, those who trust and obey him are ushered into an eternal good that far surpasses anything that we feel we might have lost.   

When we embrace these two truths, our prayers begin to change to seek God to fortify our trust in his divine will rather than trying to hold onto what we perceive to be better, our temporary gain. 

Balaam’s negotiation with God was different from Jesus’ prayers offered at Gethsemane.  

Jesus asked the Father if there was any other way, yet when the Father answered, Jesus did not go back to the Father to get a different answer, but the resolve and strength that he needed to go to the cross. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."“

Because God has spoken and Jesus has obeyed, we have immutable benefits from the cross of Christ.  

“Readiness to die is the first step in learning to live.”

-J.I. Packer 

Let’s trust Jesus by picking up our cross daily to truly live in the best that he has for us as we focus on God’s glory and he focuses on our good. 

Balaam’s Fourth and Final Oracle 

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Numbers‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬, ‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. 

And he took up his discourse and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.“

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Choose Your Reward: Judas Iscariot

Choose Your Reward: Judas Iscariot

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Your relationship with God must be seen as priceless - as reflected by the cross of Jesus Christ. 

• What is the Value of Your Relationship with God?

• What’s Your Price?

• The Price of the Cross

What is the Value of Your Relationship with God?

Jesus is worth all that we have - worth every act of devotion. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭6‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor." But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.“

What is your devotion to Jesus worth to you?

Everything is a trade off and you are always sacrificing one thing for another - whether it be your time, use of your talent, relationships or treasure. 

What’s Your Price?

If there is a price on our love for Jesus, we will eventually sell out.  

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.“

Judas was up close and personal with the one who held all good things in his hands.  

Yet it wasn’t enough for him.  

Judas was focusing on what he didn’t have rather than what he did.  

That discontent led him into sin.  

How has God been good to you?

A good rule of thumb in life is be about God’s business and he’ll be about yours. 

The question we all need to eventually ask ourselves to deepen our love and expression of that love for God:

What can I do without for the sake of and advancement of God’s Kingdom?   

This becomes the essence of living a life of sacrifice.  

I Samuel 2:30 NIV

“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.”

How are you trying to profit from Jesus rather than simply being blessed by following him? 

How are you using Jesus for your own selfish ends?

This is serving Jesus according to your own whims and desires. 

If you are doing this you are positioning yourself to eventually sell Jesus out. 

The Price of the Cross

Jesus demonstrated the greatest form of love by laying down his life to reconcile repentant sinners to God.  

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Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me."“

Who or what is more valuable to you than Jesus?

For what would you trade your relationship with God?

For what or whom can you be bought?

Ultimately, for what are you willing to die and spend an eternity in hell?

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John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.“

Why is it all worth it?

“It is a matter of glimpsing that in God's new creation, of which Jesus's resurrection is the start, all that was good in the original creation is reaffirmed. All that has corrupted and defaced it--including many things which are woven so tightly in to the fabric of the world as we know it that we can't imagine being without them--will be done away. Learning to live as a Christian is learning to live as a renewed human being, anticipating the eventual new creation in and with a world which is still longing and groaning for that final redemption.”

-N. T. Wright

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

The Road to Emmaus

The Road to Emmaus 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: When you meet the resurrected Jesus, he opens your eyes to change you and save your life.  

• Botched Expectations 

• Broken Bread 

• Burning Hearts 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.“

“there is an important difference between the apostle martyrs and those who die for their beliefs today. Modern martyrs act solely out of their trust in beliefs that others have taught them. The apostles died for holding to their own testimony that they had personally seen the risen Jesus. Contemporary martyrs die for what they believe to be true. The disciples of Jesus died for what they knew to be either true or false.”

-Gary R. Habermas, The Case For The Resurrection Of Jesus

Botched Expectations 

We all have expectations in life that get shattered because of sin and death. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭13‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."“

Issue #1: 

I had skepticism in a world of options. 

“You cannot go on 'seeing through' things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to 'see through' first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

What I began to see:

“We can start with approximately nine traditional authors of the New Testament. If we consider the critical thesis that other authors wrote the pastoral letters and such letters as Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians, we'd have an even larger number. Another twenty early Christian authors and four heretical writings mention Jesus within 150 years of his death on the cross.  Moreover, nine secular, non-Christian sources mention Jesus within the 150 years: Josephus, the Jewish historian; Tacitus, the Roman historian; Pliny the Younger, a politician of Rome; Phlegon, a freed slave who wrote histories; Lucian, the Greek satirist; Celsus, a Roman philosopher; and probably the historians Suetonius and Thallus, as well as the prisoner Mara Bar-Serapion.  In all, at least forty-two authors, nine of them secular, mention Jesus within 150 years of his death.

In comparison, let's take a look at Julius Caesar, one of Rome's most prominent figures. Caesar is well known for his military conquests. After his Gallic Wars, he made the famous statement, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Only five sources report his military conquests: writings by Caesar himself, Cicero, Livy, the Salona Decree, and Appian.  If Julius Caesar really made a profound impact on Roman society, why didn't more writers of antiquity mention his great military accomplishments? No one questions whether Julius did make a tremendous impact on the Roman Empire. It is evident that he did. Yet in those 150 years after his death, more non-Christian authors alone comment on Jesus than all of the sources who mentioned Julius Caesar's great military conquests within 150 years of his death.

Let's look at an even better example, a contemporary of Jesus. Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus' ministry and execution. Tiberius is mentioned by ten sources within 150 years of his death: Tacitus, Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, Plutarch, Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Seneca, Valerius Maximus, Josephus, and Luke.  Compare that to Jesus' forty-two total sources in the same length of time. That's more than four times the number of total sources who mention the Roman emperor during roughly the same period. If we only considered the number of secular non-Christian sources who mention Jesus and Tiberius within 150 years of their lives, we arrive at a tie of nine each.”

-Gary R. Habermas, The Case For The Resurrection Of Jesus

Broken Bread 

Jesus comes to reconcile us to God and fill the void that is present in our broken souls.  

‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭25‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.“

Issue #2: 

I had motive for a lack of morality. 

"I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves. … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political." --Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means (London: Chatto & Windus, 1946), pp. 270, 273

Jesus gave me a better option:

John 6:35-40 ESV

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." 

I, those on the road to Emmaus and others were transformed by encounters with the living Jesus.  

"Transformations often occur even based on false causes, but there is a qualitative difference here. It is generally acknowledged that almost anyone who is willing to die for something genuinely believes in that cause. But the chief similarities stop here. Jesus's disciples suffered not only for their belief in a cause, but precisely because they thought they had seen Jesus after his death. In short, their transformation was not simply due to their beliefs, as is the case for those who live and die for other causes, but was expressly based on their experience with the risen Jesus. Without the resurrection experience, there would have been no transformation."

-Gary Habermas

Burning Hearts 

When God is calling us, our hearts burn within us yearning for the promise of a second chance - resurrection life found in Jesus.  

‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭32‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.“

Issue #3: 

I had to allow Jesus to cross my intellect and my will. 

Who’s to say?

“If the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection depends on death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak, then these things are perfectly natural. On what basis, then, does the atheist judge the natural world to be horribly wrong, unfair, and unjust?”

-Timothy Keller

Would God ever cross me?

“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible’s teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he wouldn’t have any views that upset you. Does that belief make sense?”

-Timothy Keller

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”

-Timothy Keller

What about suffering?

“The basic premise of religion—that if you live a good life, things will go well for you—is wrong.  Jesus was the most morally upright person who ever lived, yet he had a life filled with the experience of poverty, rejection, injustice, and even torture.”

-Timothy Keller

The blind men and the elephant. 

Jesus is self-revelatory truth and was the solution. 

‭‭

Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭36‬-‭49‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!" But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."“

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

On Prayer: Gethsemane

On Prayer: Gethsemane 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: The end goal of prayer is coming into perfect submission and agreement with the will of God. 

• In our Hearts 

• In our Minds 

• In our Actions

In our Hearts 

The point of a life of prayer is to get to the place where, like Christ, we say “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Leading up to Gethsemane, Jesus was able to walk through a high moment that we recognize during Palm Sunday. 

‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭36‬-‭46‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."“

On the eve of the biggest decision that Jesus would ever make, holding the fate of the world in his hands, he went to pray. 

Jesus’ disciples were with him, but he took his inner circle even further to the place where he would bear his soul.  

May it be that we would desire to be so intimate with Christ that he would bear his soul regarding the world today with us.  

Don’t try to be a spiritual cowboy or hero. 

People spin out way more often than we’d like to admit in the name of being spiritual, when really what they’re being is simply unaccountable in their independence.  

It said that Jesus “went a little farther” to pray. 

You need to stay close enough to your godly support, even while in prayer, that you can have accountability to stay on the straight and narrow.   

Jesus took with him three of his closest companions in Kingdom affairs, for support for his troubled soul, imploring them to keep watch with him.  

Sometimes the will of God can feel like death to our souls.  

This is the essence of the cross, of which Jesus already warned, 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.“

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭21‬-‭26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." 23 And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.“

When has the will of God felt like death to your soul?

Have you avoided it or embraced it?

Though they helped Jesus to keep watch, they could not pray for him or make the decision that Jesus would have to make.   

Jesus fell on his face and prayed.  

Jesus appealed to his Heavenly Father who he knew loved him and had what was best for Christ and the whole world in mind.  

Jesus prostrated himself as an ultimate act of humility saying, Father, you are in charge.  

Jesus began with ultimate honesty realizing the task at hand and admitting that he did not want to do it.   

He asked the Father for another way to accomplish his will, if possible, but acquiesced in deference to the Father’s plan and will saying, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

Papa knows best

The difficult part reconciling with the will of God in our hearts is trusting, as Christ did, even as he acknowledged:

‭‭Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭36‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."“

“God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knows.”

-Timothy Keller 

In our Minds 

When we submit to the plan of God, we are fortified to do his will.  

We need to be fortified in prayer to do the will of God, especially when a cross is involved.  

Jesus came back and found Peter, James and John sleeping. 

How often have we fallen asleep from sorrow or while having to wait on God?

Be warned, we can fall asleep at the most critical hour in our walk with God.  

Mercifully, Jesus comes to wake them up and reminds them to watch and pray.   

Jesus reminds them to, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

The answer to a holy, set apart life where God is fulfilling his purposes in you and through you is one where you don’t just agree that Jesus is who he said he is, but you are staying awake, watching and praying that you might not fall into temptation and be pulled off the path.  

Judas, who walked with Jesus, is an example of this and we’ll speak more about him next week. 

“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life.”

-Timothy Keller

How is the spirit willing but the flesh weak in your life?

When have you failed to watch and pray? 

What has it produced in your life?

“The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray.”

-AW Towzer

Sometimes, submitting to the will of God is a process.  

Jesus went a second time to the Father, saying,

"My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." 

Resigning to his ultimate destiny at the cross to sacrifice himself to pay for the sins of humanity, Jesus reaffirms the point of his and all of our lives - that God’s will would be done.  

*Have no doubt about it - God’s will for your life will always come with a cross to bear.  

The good news is, just like with Christ, the is resurrection and eternal reward on the other side.  

Are you in pursuit of God’s will for your life, even as it comes with a cross to bear?

How could you easily escape that will?

How could you choose something different?

Do you have a heart to have God’s will in your life done above your own or anyone else’s?

Jesus comes back and finds his support sleeping two more times.  

Mark 14:40,41

And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.  And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.“

You have to get to a point in your life when you are so locked into God that you are going to press on, despite what family members, friends or even co-laborers are doing around you. 

Matthew 26:44

So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

Pray until you are convinced. 

*There are times when you have to keep going back to prayer to BUILD YOUR CONVICTION so that you can follow through on the will of God.  

Matthew 26:45,46

Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."“

This is the mark of a true spiritual leader. 

Once Jesus established his conviction, he was able to go back to the disciples and mobilize them for the hour at hand.  

Through prayer, Jesus was able to gain the fortitude to become, through action, the savior of the world.  

In our Actions

When we submit to the will of God, we order our lives accordingly.  

*Submission to the will of God is the victory, the end result because you are doing your part in seeing God redeeming and making all things right in the end.  

No matter how many times you stumble, you go again to prayer, that the transforming work of Jesus, including your complete freedom, might be fully be realized in your life. 

This applies to your struggles within and in regards to your struggles with people without.  

“It is hard to stay angry at someone if you are praying for them. It is also hard to stay angry unless you feel superior, and it is hard to feel superior if you are praying for them, since in prayer you approach God as a forgiven sinner.”

-Timothy Keller

Luke 22:43-46

And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."“

Not if, but when things get difficult/hard as you attempt to do the will of God, the answer to getting through is prayer.   

After living blamelessly, Jesus would sacrificially go to the cross, to fulfill the Scriptures so that anyone who would repent of their rebellion and put their trust in his atoning work would receive the gift of eternal life by his resurrection from the dead.  

Let’s go to him daily, bearing our cross, so that we might receive his eternal reward as we submit to his perfect will.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

On Prayer: King David on Prayer

On Prayer: King David on Prayer 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Prayer is always the right response to express our dependence on God and invite his miraculous intervention. 

• The Right Response 

• Dependent 

• Inviting the Miraculous 

The Right Response 

Prayer is the right response to all of life’s circumstances. 

It keeps God involved.  

‭‭

Psalm‬ ‭109‬:‭1‬-‭4 ‭ESV‬‬

”Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. 

David goes on to speak about the wickedness of his attackers and what we’ve all felt at times - that the treatment that he was receiving was undeserved. 

However, David makes his appeal to God. 

Psalm 109:21-31 ESV

But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads. Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love! Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it! Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad! May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.“

You should develop the habit of reading  the Scripture and praying at the same time. 

As you read the things that God has said, pray for him to work that part of his will into your heart, your family’s life, the life of your church, nation and the nations.  

Fasting while in need should be a practice to focus our dependence on God.  

Dependent

Prayer communicates dependence. 

God cares about relating with you.  

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭63‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.“

Dead religion is the result of knowing about God but not relating with him.  

Thus you have a “form of godliness yet deny its power.”

God cares about OUR battles.  

Self-sufficiency is a key to frustration, limitation and failure in the Kingdom.  

‭‭

Psalm‬ ‭108‬:‭1‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me! God has promised in his holiness: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies. Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.“

There are some battles that are personal and there are others that are corporate.  

We see David not just praying for himself, but his people in Israel who were surrounded by nations continually threatening their existence and the worship of God.  

David understood that there is no battle too small or too great that does not require God’s supernatural intervention.  

*We should regularly pray for that which only God can do. 

No one goes to war alone - we need to stop doing so in prayer.  

Prayer meetings are a great place to learn to pray for others - just as reading the Psalms gives you a picture of Holy Spirit led prayers offered by David and others. 

Some people say: “Prayer is more caught than taught.”

“Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer.”

— Charles Finney

Thanos says that he is “inevitable.”

The devil tries to give us gloom and doom reports he proclaims are inevitable as well:

There is no hope for you to overcome your sin. 

Your fate will be just like your family’s

The fate of our city and nation are doomed.  

Yet with one act, God can rewrite the story. 

God started changing things at the cross of Christ, crescendoed with Jesus’ resurrection and poured out his Holy Spirit to continue his work through his people today! 

*When we pray, both individually and with the saints, we step into God’s ability rather than man’s to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.   

In Avengers: End Game, Dr. Strange said of all the possible scenarios, there was only one that would lead to their allied victory.  

It was Tony Stark sacrificing himself while using the Gauntlet to rewrite the history Thanos had destroyed.  

Play this clip:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yu6WaM2u82I

Psalm‬ ‭109‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.“

Psalm 108:11-13

“Have you not rejected us, O God?  You do not go out, O God, with our armies. Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.“

In the same way, the only way out of the falleness and brokenness of the world around us is by coming into God’s supernatural ability through prayer where miracles can be released. 

Inviting the Miraculous 

Prayer invites the miraculous.  

Jesus was the better David making appeals to his Heavenly Father for the miraculous.  

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

”During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.“

All of Christ’s prayers had his redemptive purposes in mind. 

He prayed in such a way that miracles would take place, people’s true needs would be met and God would ultimately get the glory as he brought about people’s good.  

When a desperate father came to Jesus (prayer to God) asking him to deliver his son from a spirit that was repeatedly trying to destroy the boy’s life, this is how Jesus replied:

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes."“

“Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”

— Charles Spurgeon

While living a life of prayer and ministry of the Word of God, Jesus released revival in his time and desires to do the same with us as we pray and preach today. 

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

”“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.“

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

On Prayer: Jesus on Prayer

On Prayer: Paul on Prayer

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Prayer is God’s plan for fueling our hearts and all Kingdom advance. 

• My Prayer for You

• Pray for Me

• Wrestling in Prayer

My Prayer for You

Paul was continually praying for the church and so should we. 

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.“

We can learn to pray for others by learning to pray the things that Paul prayed for the church.   

The Holy Spirit was not only the author of the Scripture, using the men who wrote it as tools, but the Holy Spirit also highlighted through their writing the things about which we ought to be concerned and that for which we should pray.  

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Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV

”Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.“

Praying the Scriptures is an excellent way to learn to pray and have confidence that you are praying in alignment with the will of God.  

As you pray the Scriptures, you learn God’s heart, see his focus and have your desires molded to conform to his.   

Pray for Me

Paul asked that prayer be made for him as he ministered the gospel of Jesus - and so should we. 

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,“

*We should not expect what we do not pray for!

Prayer is like the air support that clears out the enemy in the heavenly places before the ground troops engage on land. 

Prayer is the assurance that you have waited on God for direction, have appealed to him to go before you, be with you and continue to cause things to grow in every endeavor as you serve him.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.“

“Life is war.  That’s not all it is.  But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth.  Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief.  It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den.  God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world.  Prayer gives us the significance of frontline forces and gives God the glory of limitless Provider.  The one who gives the power gets the glory.  Thus, prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with endless grace for every need.”

-John Piper

Our leaders who are the front lines need prayer as surely as we do in our daily lives, aspiring to do the same.  

As we pray for others we see them in the light of the cross, needing the same mercy, forgiveness and grace that we do to stand. 

I will love people like Jesus to the degree that I pray for them. 

Even as we are exhorted to pray without ceasing, setting aside a time of prayer each day ensures that you are making space for God to perform miracles by his intervening hand!‬‬

Wrestling in Prayer

Our aim should be to wrestle in prayer that those that we’re serving and serving with may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.   

Lest you ever think that it was only Paul or the apostles who prayed in this manner…

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Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.“

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.“

God, without question, uses prayer and the exhortation of other believers filled with the Word of God to keep us running the race with Christ, and away from the trappings of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for pleasures/other things that Jesus said come to choke the word of God, making it unfruitful in your life.

Have no doubt about it - prayer is work whose payoff is seeing the miraculous hand of God move!

As surely as evangelism, discipleship and parenting your children is a labor of love, so crying out to God on behalf of others is Biblically an invaluable use of time and energy!

Jesus wrestled in the garden of Gethsemane on the way to the cross. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

On Prayer: Jesus on Prayer

On Prayer: Jesus on Prayer

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Jesus gives us perfect instruction on how we should pray. 

• With Impudence

• With Persistence 

• With Faith

With Impudence 

Jesus instructs us to pray with impudence and confidence in the Father’s heart.  

‭‭Luke‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"“

We come to God in prayer to know him, through experience, as our holy, gracious and loving Heavenly Father.  

A life of worship and prayer is the end goal of all of our spirituality - everything begins and ends with our relating with God (John 4:24).  

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Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV

”He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.“‬‬

You were made by God and for him - 

The 1647 Westminster Confession begins with:

What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

The importance of church community in “our daily bread…”

It’s one thing to hear about someone, another to know them through spending time with them in their presence and in the company of those who also know them (example).  

“In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets... Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, "Here comes one who will augment our loves." For in this love "to divide is not to take away.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Relating with God in his word and prayer is how you learn his mind, his heart and his priorities - his plan for our lives.  

All of the zoe life of God comes out of that place and should inform our business (what we do with our time, our work and what we pursue). 

Our hearts and our lenses must be first shaped and aligned with Jesus in prayer. 

“First, Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will; then, give us, forgive us, lead us, deliver us. The lesson is of more importance than we think. In true worship the Father must be first, must be all.”

-Andrew Murray who ministered for 60 years in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in his book, Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Impudence can be defined as a boldness, audacity or even brazen disposition.  

The more time that we spend with Jesus, in his word and in prayer, the more confidence we have in his goodness, his kindness, his ability and his willingness to do miraculous things for his people and Kingdom.  

 When we have confidence, we dare to ask for amazing things. 

“God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil.”

— E.M. Bounds

With Persistence

Jesus tells us to pray with persistence.  

‭‭

Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"“

Persistence is equated with faith in the mind of Christ.  

People can be disappointed through unanswered prayers. 

God will never contradict his truth, nature or will and never obligates himself to answer prayers that are not for his glory and our ultimate good.  

What we think is good and what God knows to be best are often worlds apart.  

The Christian must learn to trust God - this is the nature of faith as we walk with Jesus in the unchanging nature of his Kingdom purposes. 

We must first know the word of God, to make sure we are aligned with the heart of God, before we choose to be persistent with God. 

‭‭

1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.“

“We will never be happy until we make God the source of our fulfillment and the answer to our longings. He is the only one who should have power over our souls.”

-Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Woman

With Faith

Jesus modeled that we receive faith and power for each day of Kingdom work when we start with him in prayer.  

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬-‭39‬ ‭ESV‬‬

”And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.“

It is not enough to simply think about prayer or agree that it is good - we must get up and actually pray!

God wants our first and our best of each day!

What you give God in the morning sets the course for everything else. 

“The amount of time we spend with Jesus — meditating on his Word and his majesty, seeking his face — establishes our fruitfulness in the kingdom.”

— Charles Stanley

Time with Jesus in the Word and prayer illuminates the gospel, draws us to the cross and sets us on fire for God’s kingdom purposes.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Set Apart: Holiness Completed

Set Apart: Holiness Completed

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Notes prepared by Bruce Fidler 

Focus: The story of redemption is completed, and God’s people now reflect the holiness of God so that he can dwell among them.

Revelation 21:1–7 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Revelation 21:1–7 are the opening verses for a section (21:1–22:5) describing the new heaven and earth that God’s people will experience in the coming age. Revelation is predominantly an apocalyptic work portraying God’s progressive victory over sin and worldly and spiritual forces of evil. Written explicitly to seven churches in Asia Minor of the Roman empire in the first century, it contains extraordinary, symbolic visions and words given to John. John urges the churches to be faithful to Christ despite persecution, ungodly Roman society, and internal threats from false teaching.

This section begins the celebratory description of God’s consummation of redemption after Jesus has returned to the earth and the final judgment has occurred. John describes the beginning of the new age and our new experience of everlasting life. God has finalized his victory over sin, evil, and death, conformed his people into the image of Jesus, and begun to dwell openly with them in a new world characterized by his holiness and goodness.

The vision is beautiful and compelling, inspiring hope and longing for the Lord’s return and God’s consummation of all things. John intended his message to stir the faith-filled imagination of the believers in Asia Minor with an anticipation of everlasting life with God and one another in the wonderful age to come. His text sought to motivate them to persevere in their love for God and one another, their faithfulness to the gospel, and their commitment to holy living. Despite their difficult trials, a glorious, certain future awaited them.

This sermon should provide a motivational vision to spur us to a life of holiness.  When we see the destination clearly, we will sacrifice to get there.

Successful athletes picture the prize at the end of the season. A young football player may envision holding the FIFA World Cup trophy one day. An aspiring swimmer may imagine herself receiving the gold medal in a future Olympics. These visions empower the athlete to press on through setbacks, injuries, and pain.

In 1968, John Stephen Akhwari represented Tanzania in the men’s marathon. But in a collision with other athletes jockeying for position, he fell to the ground, gashing and dislocating his knee. Most observers assumed he would pull out and go to the hospital. Instead, he received medical attention and returned to the track. Though eighteen of the seventy-five starters had pulled out, he resolved to complete the event.

More than an hour after the winner crossed the line and the awards were distributed, Akhwari finished the race, cheered on by a few thousand remaining spectators. When reporters asked why he’d carried on, he said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

Temptation, trial, and difficulty militate against a life of holiness, but the vision of the new creation spurs us to action when we get weary of the fight.

Revelation 21 gives us a picture of the race completed and motivates us to press on despite the obstacles.

1. God will bless his people with a new creation and a new city.

21:1–2: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The New Creation

The story of the new creation begins with the Genesis account of God’s original creation. Six times God declared that what he had created “was good” (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). Then God created humans in his image, male and female. He blessed them and told them to be fruitful, fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over all living creatures (1:26–28). After this, “God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (1:31).

The Garden: God planted a garden on the earth in the land of Eden (2:8). The Hebrew word for Eden has a range of meaning that includes joy, delight, and gladness based on favorable circumstances and anything of outstanding quality. God filled the Garden of Eden with visually beautiful trees bearing delicious, nutritious fruit, including the Tree of Life that could impart immortality (2:9). God placed the first humans in his garden (2:8, 18) and tasked them to cultivate and keep it (2:15). The Hebrew terms for this responsibility commonly describe the priestly service rendered to Yahweh in Israel’s Tabernacle and Temple. We should understand Adam and Eve’s garden responsibilities as a way God ordained for them to express worship to him as the Creator.

Adam and Eve were God’s royal representatives to harness the creation’s potential for the glory of God and the good of creation. The result would have been a cultivated earth of worship filled with God’s glorious presence. But man’s sin delayed the fulfillment of God’s intentions. Although they were delayed, they were not terminated.

Jesus will fulfill them through the gospel of his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return.

In Romans 8, Paul looks forward to the final resurrection and Jesus’ return to the earth. God’s glorious presence and power will roll back the curse and liberate the planet. The creation will no longer be subjected to futility but will be freed to fulfill its divinely intended purpose.

Romans 8:19–23

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

God will eradicate sin and evil from the new creation. Nothing and no one unholy will have any part in it (Revelation 21:8, 27). Righteousness will permeate the new heavens and earth (2 Peter 3:13).

The New City

Genesis 1–2 describes God’s mission for humans in a way that implies a broad range of cultural activities.

Genesis 4 purposefully identifies numerous cultural developments, such as animal husbandry, musical instruments, and toolmaking.

But the population increase created cities, leading to greater sin. This is true historically and is true today. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that in 2021, the violent-crime rate in urban areas was 121 percent higher than in rural areas. Violent and property crime rates in the largest cities were three to four times as high as in rural communities. These statistics are accurate in nearly all other nations. There is more violent and property crime in cities worldwide.

In contrast to ungodly cities, God designated Jerusalem as his earthly dwelling place. The Tabernacle and the Temple were located there with their Holy of Holies—the inner sanctuary where God manifested his presence.

Isaiah envisioned a time when the nations would send delegates to Jerusalem to worship and learn God’s law  (Isaiah 2:2–4). Sadly, Jerusalem was judged and destroyed, first by Babylon, then by Rome. The earthly Jerusalem never became what God desired.

Instead, God will bless us with a new city, the New Jerusalem—the city we long for. The author of Hebrews states that Abraham lived as a sojourner in tents, “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (11:10). Instead of longing for their Mesopotamian homeland, the patriarchs lived as “strangers and exiles on the earth,” because they desired “a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (11:13, 16). The author encourages his readers, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (13:14).

This new Jerusalem will have all the communal and cultural advantages of cities without all the chaos and evil.

Human cultural development stripped of every vestige of sinful influence will continue in the age to come as God’s people, holy and conformed into the image of Christ, worship and serve him and reign together with Christ forever. 

The song “Hallelujah” by the Newsboys expresses the theme of longing for the new creation.

I’m looking up

Holding out

Pressing forward

Without a doubt

Longing for the things unseen

Longing for things I believe

My true country

We hope and wait

For the glorious day

All tears will vanish

Wiped away

On the saints this day already shines

On the saints this day already shines

It already shines

We’ll be singing hallelujah

We’ll be singing hallelujah

At the top of our lungs, hallelujah

To Your glory, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah

And I know that it’s coming

But I can’t see it now

And I’ve touched it in moments

But I can’t hold it yet

And it glows in the darkness

And it calls us away

To our true destination

To that glorious day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPK9nzF8qzs

2. God will dwell with his people in the new Jerusalem.

21:3–5: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

This is an extraordinary promise. God will live with us former sinners, having cleansed, sanctified, and conformed us into the holy image of Jesus. We will not be ashamed in his presence. Everyone will experience the full extent of his merciful and gracious love. We will know he loves us like a groom loves his newlywed bride (19:7–9).

In profoundly moving terms, a voice from the throne assures John that God will remove all the grief and misery of this world. The sadness of past sins committed and suffered will forever be forgotten. God will wipe the tears from our eyes and comfort us. Never again will anyone or anything cause sorrow in the age to come.

The Lord will put an end to the turbulence of the nations. No longer will kingdom rise against kingdom. God will eradicate greed, covetousness, envy, pride, resentment, vengeance, anger, hatred, and prejudice from our hearts. We will be pure even as God is pure.

Concerning this glorious future, God declares, “Behold, I am making all things new” (21:5). Nothing will be the same as it is now in this sinful, weary, troublesome world. The excitement of God’s people will overflow as we experience all the new things God has planned for us. God’s presence and beauty will permeate everything that we encounter.

Best of all, we will enjoy God. From festive gatherings to direct face-to-face conversations, we will enjoy God’s company.

3. Those who thirst and overcome will inherit life with God in the new creation.

21:6–7: And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Those Who Thirst

John 4:14

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

In Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, he promised to satisfy our spiritual longing if we would come to him. God offers this water of life “without payment” to thirsty people. If payment were required, we could not receive it because of our indebtedness to God due to sin. Instead, Jesus paid for our sins through his death on the cross. With great love, he offers everlasting life free of charge to everyone who comes to him. He invites all to come and drink from the refreshing water of life.

Those Who Overcome

1 John 5:4–5

Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 

The verb translated three times as “overcome(s)” is the same verb translated as “conquers” in Revelation 21:7.

We conquer when we trust in Jesus. We overcome the world when we persevere in trusting and obeying him.

Overcoming does not depend on age, gender, ethnicity, wealth, education, strength, intelligence, or other human characteristics. Faith overcomes the world and inherits all God has prepared for the new age.

God promises that he will be our God, and we will be his “son(s).” The context implies that this promise belongs to men and women. In the Greco-Roman world, women’s legal standing and inheritance rights varied. Societies were patriarchal, with male heads of households possessing the estate’s legal and property rights. God’s promise, however, belongs to all his redeemed living images, male and female.

God’s inheritance includes a deep, familial relationship with him. God has always desired a parent-child relationship with us. Being made in God’s image and likeness implies God intended to relate to us as his children (Genesis 5:1–3 with 1:26). In the age to come, we will thoroughly know and experience God as our Father, full of grace, rich in kindness, and entirely good. Everyone will confess with John, “We have come to know and to believe the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16). No one will ever again doubt that God loves them as his children. All will know that God’s posture of heart and disposition of mind toward us is always that of a good Father. We will be filled with righteous pride, knowing that our inseparable Father is the great, holy, powerful, sovereign Creator and Ruler of all that exists.

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

God’s power, faithfulness, and goodness are on full display as he fulfills his ancient promises to renew the creation and fully redeem all who would come to him.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our hearts should be filled with hope, longing, adoration, and thankfulness for what God will bring about in the end. We should be motivated to live set apart to him as our heavenly Father.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

The great hope of eternal salvation should motivate us to communicate the gospel to others in the hope that they, too, will inherit the magnificent redemption God has planned.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

God offers salvation “without payment” (21:6). The Son of God lived, died, and rose again so that we might be forgiven and inherit eternal life in the new creation and new city. Our responsibility is to believe in Jesus and overcome the world as we long for God and the age to come.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Set Apart: Holiness Lived

Set Apart: Holiness Lived

Pastor Joel Magpantay

Jesus gives us a new status of righteousness that enables us to live the daily process of becoming holy.

Colossians 1:21–23 ESV

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians 1:10-12 ESV

…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 4:12 ESV

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

Life Empowered by Christ

• They will bear fruit in every good work (1:10).

• They will grow in the knowledge of God (1:10)

• They will be strengthened with power (1:11).

• They will possess endurance and patience (1:11).

• They will give joyful thanks to the Father (1:12).

Colossians 2:4 ESV

 “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”

Colossians 2:8 ESV

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Colossians 2:21-23 ESV

“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch”  according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Colossians 1:21–23 ESV

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

1.  Alienation

Colossians 1:21 ESV

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds . . .

Colossians 1:21 The Message

“At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got.”

If you fail to see your sin, you have failed to see the Holy God. We don’t consider our sins very evil until we see the goodness and holiness of God.

2.  Reconciliation

Colossians 1:21 ESV

“… he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death . . .”

Hebrews 9:11-12  ESV

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

3.  Restoration

Colossians 1:21 ESV

“. . . in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him . . .”

John 15:15  ESV

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

No matter who you were, you can be transformed into someone new and given access to someplace new…

…God’s presence. 

4.  Faith

Colossians 1:23 ESV

“…if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard . . .”

Everyone who puts their hope in Jesus’ life and death for the forgiveness of their sin has a new status. 

• How will you live differently as a result? 

• Do you believe he has made you holy? 

Jesus has, and you can live each day with that reality shaping who you are and transforming you more and more into his image.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

The Greatness of Grace

The Greatness of Grace

Bishop Ron Lewis

Focus: God’s grace in Jesus Christ finds you, saves you, keeps you, and empowers you for his glory.

Points:

 I shouldn’t be here…except for the grace of God. 

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. - John 1:14-17

• Jesus is full of grace.

• It doesn’t matter how bad or good we’ve been.

• Grace is mentioned 4 times in these 4 verses.

• Jesus came to the lowest place in the world: Israel (geography), manger (like an animal), cross (like a criminal).

• All we can do, is RECEIVE the grace of God. 

• 39 of the 40 miracles in Acts were outside the church.

• Where we are, God is there. 

What is grace?

• God’s→Riches→At→Christ’s→Expense

• Jesus did it all and we can only receive.

• The blood of Jesus Christ for our sins is God’s grace toward us. 

• If we reject God’s grace we must rely on our obedience to the Old Testament standard of righteousness based on perfect obedience to 600+ laws.

• Grace guarantees that we have been acknowledged, accepted, redeemed, chosen, loved, ransomned, adopted and adored by the living God through Jesus Christ. 

We Become New 

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. - 1 Corinthians 15:10

• Grace makes us brand new.

• Grace restores us to God and others 

6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”- Malachi 4:6

We Are Kept 

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, - Titus 2:11-12

• The grace of God brings salvation.

• The grace of God trains us to live godly lives here and now. 

• Before grace sin was normal.

• ‘Hesed’ is God’s covenant kindness to love us, never leave us, or forsake us. 

• This Hesed empowers us to do God’s work.

• We are now living in grace and we can expect good things to happen. 

• Grace is the gift of God that help you be who you’re meant to be.Questions:

• Are you too proud to receive God’s grace in Jesus Christ?

• Does your success keep you from God’s grace?

• Are your failures keeping you from God’s grace?

• No matter what you’re going through God is with you, never leaving you, and is giving you his grace.

• All we can do is say thank you.  

Pray

Thank you God for your grace that finds me, saves me, makes me new, and empowers me to be who you’ve called me to be in Jesus Christ. Fill me again now. Amen.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:16-17

Second City Church - Bishop Ron Lewis 

Set Apart: Holiness Restored

Set Apart: Holiness Restored

Notes prepared by William Murrell

Focus: Jesus displayed perfect holiness as a man and bore our sins so that we could share his holiness.

Hebrews 7:23–28 ESV

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 

28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

The Hebrews’ author wrote to first-century Jewish Christians tempted to give up because of severe persecution.

Some were tempted to stop gathering for corporate worship—perhaps to protect themselves from the social consequences of following Jesus (10:25). Others were tempted to abandon their Christian confession and return to the familiar rituals and practices of Judaism (10:23)—and in some cases paganism.

To encourage this group of beleaguered disciples, the author of Hebrews calls them to focus on the person of Jesus—our only hope in life and death.

Throughout this rich letter, the author develops two interrelated themes to help us see Jesus more clearly—the Word of God (revelation) and the Work of Christ (redemption). Recognizing that his primary listeners were Jewish believers, the anonymous author roots these themes in the story of Israel in the Old Testament. 

Many potential authors have been suggested for the book of Hebrews. Some have suggested Paul while others have suggested one of Paul’s close ministry associates—like Barnabas, Apollos, or Priscilla.

For the first ten chapters, he demonstrates how Jesus brings about “a better covenant” (7:22) as the ultimate revelation of God (Hebrews 1:2) and the redeemer of God’s people (1:3). Then, in the last three chapters, the author explains how these truths about Jesus can help us live in confidence (10:19), perseverance (12:1), and holiness (12:10).

Because of these thematic links with the Old Testament, Hebrews is an appropriate place to continue our holiness study—and to bridge this theme in the Old and New Testaments. While every New Testament book testifies to Jesus as the Messiah and fulfillment of God’s covenant to Abraham, Hebrews systematically works through specific elements of the Jewish sacrificial system and demonstrates how Jesus brings about “a better covenant.” This theme crescendos in our passage in Hebrews 7.

1. The Problem with Priests

In this passage, the author of Hebrews highlights two weaknesses of the sacrificial system.  Priests die and priests are sinners.

7:23: The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office . . .

7:27: . . . those high priests, offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people . . .

• On Priestly Finitude

It is important not to run past this point without considering the significant implications of human mortality.

Throughout the Old Testament, great spiritual leaders arose, like Moses, Samuel, David, etc., and everyone died. This is a feature of our mortality and a typical pattern in Scripture and history.  A great leader emerges who leads the people well and oversees an era of covenant faithfulness, and then they die. No matter how outstanding and beloved these spiritual leaders are, their work is temporary.

• On Priestly Fallenness

However, most priests weren’t great leaders. For every Moses on the mountain, there is an Aaron in the valley molding a golden calf. For every Samuel serving God from his childhood, there are the sons of Eli preying on women serving in the Tabernacle. For every David—a man after God’s heart, an Ahab leads the people away from God. Even the great priests and spiritual leaders were sinful. Moses, Samuel, and David were all deeply flawed spiritual leaders who needed a substitute to atone for their sins.

This highlights the perennial problem with priests. They all die. They all sin. None of them live forever, and none of them—even the good ones—are holy.

2. The Problem with Lambs

In this passage, the author of Hebrews highlights two weaknesses of the sacrifice itself. All lambs die, and because people keep on sinning, they need more lambs.

• On Sacrifice and Mortality

Most of us live in modern societies that are not structured around a sacrificial system, so it is easy to forget that sacrificial animals are slaughtered at the altar. Because we don’t see it (and smell it) regularly, it is easy to forget that the animal brought to the temple does not come home. When the worshiper returns to sacrifice, he must always bring a new animal. How many goats and lambs were killed to atone for the sins of God’s people over thousands of years? This was an unsustainable solution to the sin problem because “in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:3–4).

• On Human Fallenness

The reason why sacrificial animals have been slaughtered in the thousands (millions?) over the millennia is not because they deserved death. It’s because unholy people deserved death. Because of human fallenness, more animals were needed day after day, year after year, and century after century. (How often have we repented of our sins and vowed never to do “that” again—only to find ourselves back where we started?) Another day, another innocent lamb killed.

This is the perennial problem with lambs (and all sacrificial animals). They all die. And we all sin. None of them live forever (as perpetual sacrifices), and none of us—even the “good” ones—is free from sin.

3. The Promise of Jesus

In this passage, the author of Hebrews tells us how Jesus offers “a better covenant” as a better priest and a

better sacrifice.

• A Better Priest

Jesus’ priesthood is the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament priesthood. But he is different from every other priest because he lived a perfectly holy life (7:27) and lives forever (7:23). This is good news because, in Jesus, humanity has finally found a truly holy priest who won’t die.

7:24: . . . he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

7:26–27: For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily . . .

• A Better Sacrifice

The author points to the stunning fact that our perfect high priest also “. . . once for all . . . offered himself up” as the sacrifice (7:27). Not only did Jesus solve the problem with priests but he also simultaneously solved the problem with lambs. All sacrificial victims die, but Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, was sacrificed and rose again from the dead. Moreover, Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate sacrifice—the last one ever needed for sins. Though people keep sinning, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and atoned for the sins of his people—the dead and living saints and those who will one day put their trust in him.

7:27: He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

4. The Promise for Us

The author packs a lot of good news into this pivotal text in the middle of Hebrews. Even though every priest in human history has sinned and died, Jesus lives forever as a sinless priest making intercession for us. He was the perfect sacrifice who died and rose again, satisfying the problem of sin and death once and for all.

There’s one more promise we should not miss—implied in this text and developed elsewhere in the New Testament. Not only is Jesus our better priest and our better sacrifice, but his mediatorial and sacrificial work also makes us holy.

7:25: . . . he is able to save to the uttermost . . .

The verb to save (sozo) is used absolutely, which means that Christ will save in the most comprehensive sense; he saves us from all we need saving from. Christ’s salvation is a complete deliverance no matter what our need is.

The verb is able (dynatai) refers to power. Christ has the capacity (as other priests did not) to bring complete salvation to all who approach God through him. This is salvation from the guilt of sin, the effects of sin, and the power of sin. Christ’s mediatorial priesthood empowers us to be holy as he is holy.

Through Jesus, God secured our pardon from sin and restored our purpose as humans—to be kings and priests with God. This idea is put beautifully by Peter.

1 Peter 2:9–10

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

This idea of God’s people being redeemed by Jesus to be made holy and to participate in the priestly work of God on the earth is reiterated and cherished in church tradition.

Athanasius, the 4th-century African theologian, discussing God’s goal for our holiness, put it succinctly, “He became what we are so that He might make us what He is.”

Martin Luther, discussing one of his favorite theological topics—the priesthood of the believer, wrote this: “Not only are we the freest kings of all, but we are also priests forever. This is more excellent by far than kingship because through the priesthood we are worthy to appear before God, to pray for others, and to teach one another the things that are of God. For these are the priestly duties that absolutely cannot be bestowed on anyone who does not believe. Christ obtained this priesthood for us if we trust in him so that as we are colleagues, coheirs, co- rulers, so we are co-priests with him, daring to come with confidence into God’s presence in the spirit of faith and cry, ‘Abba, Father,’ to pray for another and to do all the things that we see are done and prefigured by the visible and corporeal office of priests.”

Conclusion

1. No priest was holy, and no priest was immortal—until Jesus, the resurrected and holy high priest.

2. All sacrifices died, and their atoning efficacy always fell short—until Jesus, the resurrected and holy lamb of God.

3. Jesus’ work as a perpetual priest and a holy sacrifice saves us completely.

4. Jesus’ saving work enables us to live a holy life.

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

God is glorified in this text because he is the hero of the story. Jesus is the better high priest and the better sacrifice. He is the primary “grammatical subject” in almost every sentence, and we [believers] are the “grammatical objects” of God’s gracious actions.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our hearts are transformed when we contemplate the reality that Jesus saved (past tense) us as the perfect sacrifice and is interceding for us (present tense) as our high priest. More than any mentor, pastor, or parent, Jesus cares about the state of our soul and wants to lead us into holiness, worship, and mission.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

When we understand that Jesus’ redemptive work has a “missional telos”—that of being a royal priesthood—

then we realize, as Luther put it, that “we are worthy to appear before God, to pray for others, and to teach one

another the things that are of God.”

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

Athanasius says it best: “He became what we are [human] so that he might make us what he is [a holy priest].”

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Running In The Rain

 Running In The Rain

Pastor Jim Critcher

1 Kings 18:41-46 (NIV84)

[41] And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” [42] So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. [43] “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” [44] The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' ” [45] Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. [46] The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1. Running In The Rain - 1Kings 18:46; Psalm 20:7-8; Joshua 3:3-4

2. Rain and Revolt - 1Kings 19; 2Cor. 4:4

3. Rain Reveals - Isaiah 6:5; Romans 7:24-25

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV84)

… since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Set Apart: Holiness Revealed

Set Apart: Holiness Revealed 

A Biblical View of Holiness 

Notes prepared by Paul Barker

Focus: God’s holiness is deadly to sinful humanity, but he creates a way for people to have a relationship with him.

Leviticus 16:1–5, 20–22, 29, 30 ESV

1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die.  For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

20 And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

29 “And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.

30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Leviticus is the middle book of the Pentateuch. It details the answer to the question continually raised in Exodus:

“How can a holy God have a relationship with a sinful people?”

The Exodus narrative contains two events concerning fire. The first is the fire in the bush (3:1–5), and the second is the fire on the mountain (19:18). In both cases, the fire represents the holiness of God and the threat that holiness is to sinful humans. The Passover narrative in Exodus answers how a holy God can dwell with sinful people.

Passover night redefined Israel’s problem. Hitherto, they had lived under the threat of a genocidal king, but now another king is on his way, even more fearful than Pharaoh. With this King, there is no negotiation. The ensuing death of the firstborn of Egypt showed how real the threat was. But while there was no negotiation, there was a provision: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

Without the lamb’s blood, Israel was naked before the avenging angel. But covered by the blood, they were protected.

The concluding chapters of Exodus lead naturally into Leviticus. Leviticus explains how God’s covenant people will maintain the relationship God established through the Passover blood. 

The Passover solution finds its highest expression on the Day of Atonement—the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Commentators agree that Leviticus 16 is one of the mountain peaks of the Scriptures. They have called it the Good Friday of the Old Testament. It is the day when the holiness and grace of God find their fullest Old Testament revelation.

“In Leviticus 16, the sacrificial law of Moses attains it supreme expression, the holiness and the grace of God, their fullest revelation. If every sacrifice pointed to Christ, this most luminously of all. What the fifty-third of Isaiah is to his Messianic prophecies, that, we may truly say, is the sixteenth of Leviticus to the whole system of Mosaic types—the most consummate flower of the Messianic symbolism. All the sin offerings pointed to Christ, the great High Priest and Victim of the future; but this with a distinctness found in no other.”

-S. H. Kellogg, The Book of Leviticus (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903), 272.

1. Our sin is much worse than we think.

Leviticus 16 begins with a reference to the death of Nadab and Abihu.

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died . . . (Leviticus 16:1) 

The death of Aaron’s sons provides the context for the events that unfold throughout the chapter.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:1–3)

The death of Aaron’s sons vividly illustrates that no sin is small in the presence of a holy God.

God is fearsome in his holiness, and his holiness is intense and dangerous to sinful humans. It is little wonder that the vision of the Holy God is both awe-inspiring and frighteningly terrible.

Humans either retreat in dread or bow in contrite worship. The glory would devour anyone who approached the Holy unclean or unworthily.

Leviticus reveals the great gulf that exists between us and God. Nadab and Abihu were confused because their actions blemished God’s holiness and did not glorify the Lord. The Scriptures record many other times when seemingly small sins had enormous consequences. Adam ate some fruit (Genesis 3:6). Lot’s wife looked back at a burning city (Genesis 19:26). Moses hit a rock twice (Numbers 20:11). Uzzah touched the ark (2 Samuel 6:7).

Ananias and Saphira lied about real estate profits (Acts 5:1–11). What do we learn from these events? There are no small sins against a holy God.

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6) The term “polluted garment” refers to “ornamental dress.” The analogy is clear. When we try to dress ourselves up to look good, we are still polluted. Even though sin defiles us, we try decorating ourselves with our deeds to masquerade our true state.”

-Paul Barker

Sin only seems trivial to us when God’s holiness seems trite. God is an all-consuming fire who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 12:29). There is no impurity in him whose eyes are too pure to look on evil (Psalm 92:15; Habakkuk 1:13). Sinless angels who unceasingly cry “Holy! Holy! Holy!”—while covering their eyes and feet—do so because God’s unfiltered holiness is unbearable to endure (Isaiah 6:4; Revelation 4:8). When righteous Isaiah stood before God, he exclaimed, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). When we see God as holy, we see that no sin is small. 

2. God’s grace is much greater than we think.

The priests sacrificed two goats on the Day of Atonement, each illustrating a different aspect of God’s grace. The High Priest chose the first goat by the lot and then sacrificed it for the sins of the nation. The death of this goat as an innocent substitute represents the atoning sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world. (The following verses confirm this truth.)

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats . . . but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats . . . sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrew 9:11–14) 

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2 NIV)

The first goat pictures atonement—the theological truth that God has restored our broken relationship with him and paid for our sins; they no longer have a claim on us. If you wreck someone’s car and their insurance pays the damage, that person has no more claim against you. The debt is settled.

God settled our debt through the death of his sinless Son—an event prefigured in the death of the innocent goat. 

And though it is “impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4), the Israelis who had faith in God had their sins taken away by “the Lamb of God who was slain from the creation of the world”

(Revelation 13:8 NIV).

“Surely, Sinner, there is nothing that should move you to repentance like the thought of that great Sacrifice of Christ which is necessary to wash away your guilt. Law and terrors do but harden, but I think the thought that Jesus died is enough to make us melt. It is well, when we hear the name of Calvary, always to shed a tear, for there is nothing that ought to make a sinner weep like the mention of the death of Jesus.”

“Alas! And did my Savior bleed?

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

Drops of grief ought to flow—yes, streams of sympathy with him—to show our grief for what we did to pierce the Savior. Afflict your souls, O you children of Israel, for the Day of Atonement is come! Weep over your Jesus! Weep for him who died, weep for him who was murdered by your sins! Then, better still, we are to ‘do no work at all,’ as you find in the same verse, the twenty-ninth. When we consider the Atonement, we should rest and ‘do no work at all.’ Rest from your works as God did from his on the great Sabbath of the world. Rest from your own righteousness, rest from your toilsome duties—rest in him. Now I will no longer seek to save myself—it is done, it is done forever!”

-Charles Spurgeon, The Day of Atonement, August 10, 1856.

The second goat was called “azalea.” This Hebrew word means “the goat that departs”—traditionally called the “scapegoat.”

The High Priest would lay his hands upon the scapegoat and confess all the nation’s sins. This symbolic act transferred the transgressions of the people onto the scapegoat. A chosen Israelite would then lead the goat into the wilderness, where the goat would wander off and, presumably, die.

The second goat pictures the result of the atonement. We see what has become of our sins—they are gone forever. When the man returns from the wilderness, he informs the people that the scapegoat is gone, and the people clap their hands, for their sins are all gone too. This is cleansing—the theological truth that God pays for our sins and removes them as far from us as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12 NLT).

3. Jesus is our High Priest that solves the problem of our sin.

The noted author Corrie Ten Boom often said, “When we confess our sins, God casts them into the deepest ocean, and they are gone forever. I believe God then places a sign there that says, ‘NO FISHING ALLOWED.’”

“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man puts himself where only God deserves to be; God puts himself where only man deserves to be.”

-John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 160.

Usually, all the priests participated in the sacrifices, but on the Day of Atonement, only the High Priest performed any work. He did everything that day: lighting the candles, the fires, the incense, and all the required offices. He was the only one to take the blood beyond the veil into the Holy Place. Jesus is our High Priest who provides our atonement; only he can go beyond the veil.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever . . . (Hebrews 6:19–20)

But after the Day of Atonement, work was complete; the High Priest would put on his golden garments again.The High Priest wore his golden garments every other day of the year, but on the Day of Atonement, he shed his royal robes and donned simple linen vestments. Jesus Christ, then, when he made atonement for our sins, laid aside his glory and took on humble human flesh. He did not atone for our sins arrayed in the glories of his ancient throne. There was no royal diadem upon his brow save the crown of thorns.

Christ, having suffered once for sin, is never to die again. He will return as a royal king.

4. We must receive God’s grace by faith.

God required the Israelites to respond to the events of the Day of Atonement by humbling themselves and doing no work.

And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work. (Leviticus 16:29)

The High Priest was to do all the work, and the people could do none. “And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people” (Leviticus 23:30). This is a clear picture of the gospel. We add nothing to the finished work of Christ.

Paul wrote to the Galatians concerning this topic, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6–9). In this passage, the contrary gospel Paul refers to is a religion that places human effort at the center. Anyone who embraces that religion is accursed just like anyone who works for their atonement is cut off from among the covenant people.

The Apostle Paul summarized the message of the Day of Atonement with these words, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

The pardon God issues on the Day of Atonement must be received by faith. If an Israelite did not believe in the work of God’s grace, he would not receive the pardon offered.

In 1829, George Wilson robbed the US Mail, jeopardizing the mailman's life. He pleaded guilty to the charges, and the court sentenced him to death by hanging. Friends arranged for President Andrew Jackson to issue Wilson a pardon. But Wilson refused the pardon, and the case went to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the official ruling for the court. “A pardon is an act of grace,” he said, “the validity of which is not complete without acceptance. It might be rejected by the person to whom it was offered, and the court could not force it upon him. The court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon unless he claims the benefit of it.”

We cannot receive the benefits of Christ’s atonement unless we receive it by faith.

5. Holy living results from our experience of God’s grace.

The first fifteen chapters of Leviticus lead to the Day of Atonement. These chapters teach us about worship and the way to God. The last eleven chapters follow from the Day of Atonement. They are about holy living and our walk with God. This is an essential pattern in the Bible: God’s work of salvation comes first; our obedience is done in response. Holy living always follows worship.

Worship is our response to God’s complete work to secure our redemption. Holy living is what follows our experience of the grace of God.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Set Apart: Holiness Lost

Set Apart: Holiness Lost

A Biblical View of Holiness

Notes prepared by Pastor Brian Taylor

Focus: Sin caused man to lose what could only be found in God.

Genesis 3:1–8, 21 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 

5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Up to this point in the narrative, there has been no mention of sin, brokenness, or anything unholy in God’s creation. The consistent response of God to his creation in Genesis 1 is, 

“And God saw that it was good.” 

When we reach Genesis 1:31, “God saw that it was very good.”

However, from Genesis 1 and 2 to Chapter 4 onward, the question arises: How did we get from a good creation to murder, wickedness, pride, and all manner of unholiness? Genesis 3 gives us the context of the rest of Genesis and all history.

We refer to Genesis 3 as the Fall, and if you have grown up in church, it is easy to rush past this story with a few general details: 

• Satan deceived Eve.

• Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit and disobeyed God.

• God sent them out of the Garden.

However, if we slow down, we will notice some details of this story that will shape our lives and reveal something lost.

Textual Exegesis

Last week we saw how Scripture reveals God’s holiness. Holiness is a weighty word. When we see angels and other heavenly creatures worshiping God in Revelation 4:8, they cry, 

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.”

When we say that God is holy, we recognize that he is set apart, unlike anything or anyone else. In this message, we will examine how sin has affected our ability to relate to a holy God and understand what was lost in what we know as “The Fall.” 3:1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

The serpent is part of the created order, made by God but not equal to God. In Revelation, we learn that the serpent is the devil (Revelation 12:9). He is crafty (arum [Hebrew] cunning or shrewd, usually in a negative sense) with a deceiving nature, and he plans to deceive Eve.

The first thing we hear from the serpent is, “Indeed, has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?”

This statement implies that the serpent was aware of God’s command in Genesis 2. Here we see that the true motive of the serpent is to question God’s Word.

3:2, 3: He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

Eve adds something not found in God’s command in Genesis 2:17, indicating that she was familiar with the command even though it was spoken directly to the man. She recognizes God’s authority to command because she deemed his words as binding, at least at first.

3:4, 5: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The conversation is not over yet; the serpent still has deception planned. The tactics of the serpent still ring true today: question God’s words, minimize the cost of disobedience, and paint a false reality of freedom apart from God.

The devil used three strategies against our first parents.

# 1: Undermine the word of God: “Has God said . . .” This question challenged God’s truthfulness.

# 2: Deny the reality of divine judgment: “You will surely not die . . .” This statement challenged God’s authority—especially his authority to execute judgment.

# 3: Attack the character of God: “For God knows . . . your eyes will be opened . . .” This statement challenged God’s goodness.

3:6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Now the story turns for the worse: Eve considers what she once knew was restricted. The text highlights the positive attributes of the tree with these adjectives: good, delightful, and desirable. It’s as though Eve had never noticed these attributes before. She trusted what she saw and what she desired above what God said. Not only did she sin, but she also passed it on to her husband, and he ate. 

3:7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Their eyes were opened to the point that now they recognized they were naked. There was an innocence lost.

This shows that the serpent was not entirely dishonest about the fact that their eyes would be opened (verse 5).

Satan doesn’t always approach us with outright lies but rather with little half-truths that cause us to entertain what we know is forbidden.

3:8: And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

This could be God physically walking in some anthropomorphic state or his presence felt and heard through the wind. Either way, Adam and his wife recognized it was the Lord and hid. Adam later explains in verse 10 why he did this, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked.” Interestingly, God’s eyes were not the ones that were opened. Their shame was not the result of God seeing them; it was the result of them seeing themselves with sin in the picture.

1. What We Lost through Sin

To understand what was lost through Adam’s cosmic decision, let’s examine what mankind had before it:

Genesis 1:26 God made them in his image and likeness.

Genesis 1:26 God created them to rule over his creation.

Genesis 1:27 God commissioned them to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue creation.

Genesis 1:29 God provided food for him.

Genesis 1:31 God placed them in a very good creation.

Genesis 2:8 God placed them in a luxurious garden.

Genesis 2:16–17 God gave them permission to eat freely except from one tree.

But sin changed everything.

• We lost our connection with God , and we now experience separation.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1–2)

• We lost our right standing with God, and we now are children of wrath.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

(Ephesians 2:1–3)

• We lost our purpose, and we now go our own way.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6)

• We lost our provision, and we now sweat for our existence.

Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. (Genesis 3:17–19)

• We lost our confidence, and we now experience shame.

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3:7)

• We lost our connection with others and now experience alienation and broken relationships.

He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me. The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes. (Job 19:13–15)

• We lost our awareness of how terrible sin is, and we now attempt to justify our sin.

“There is not one man who fully knows the evil of sin. Men who have lived underground all their lives do not know how dark the mine is, nor can they know it until they stand in the blaze of a summer’s noon. This is one of the most deplorable results of sin. It injures us most by taking from us the capacity to know how much we are injured. O you demon, Sin! You do not only poison us but make us imagine our poison to be medicine—you defile us and make us think ourselves the more beautiful. You slay us and make us dream that we are enjoying life.”

-Charles Spurgeon, The Monster Dragged to Light, February 9, 1873

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

(Genesis 3:12)

[The one thing that was not lost because of sin was God’s pursuit of fallen humanity. This leads us to our second point.]

2. What We Gained through Christ

“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man puts himself where only God deserves to be; God puts himself where only man deserves to be.”

-John Stott, The Cross of Christ

Fortunately, the Fall of mankind is not the end of the story.

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

In Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves. But God clothed them by making garments of skin crafted from a dead animal. Blood was shed to cover Adam and Eve’s sin. This is the foreshadowing of how God would heal humanity. In our fallen state, we try to create our own coverings to deal with the shame, fear, and brokenness caused by sin. However, just as with Adam, our attempts to cover our own sin is inadequate so God had to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Now, everything lost in sin is restored in Christ.

• He restores our connection to him.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9–10)

• He restores our right standing with him.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

• He restores our purpose.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14)

• He restores his provision for us.

J. R. R. Tolkien writes: “Such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.” 

(The Fellowship of the Ring, 287) 

The good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is of such a quality that the past, present, or imagined future, “good or ill, are not forgotten, but cease to have any power over the present.” We could write pages of application on this. If you are prone to worry about tomorrow, you need the gospel. If you tend to fear people or circumstances, you need the gospel. If you are paralyzed by regret or plagued by guilt, you need the gospel. Only the gospel can free us from these things.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19)

• He restores our confidence before him.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19–22)

• He restores our relationships.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (Acts 2:42, 44)

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

The text glorifies God through the revelation of his authority, holiness, and mercy. As we understand and respond to these attributes, we bring him glory by acknowledging his greatness, embracing his provision, and participating in his work.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

The text challenges us to acknowledge the consequences of sin, recognize our need for a Savior, and embrace the restoration offered through Jesus Christ. As we grasp the implications of the Fall and the redemptive work of Christ, our hearts are filled with gratitude, worship, and a renewed desire to walk in obedience to God.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

The text advances God’s mission by exposing our need for a Savior and explaining the redemption available in Christ. It highlights the contrast between what was lost in the Fall and what is regained in Christ, motivating us to actively participate in the mission of redemption.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

The text applies the gospel by showing us the severity of sin and our inadequacy to resolve it on our own. This encourages us to embrace the salvation offered through Christ, live out our new identity as redeemed children of God, and share the gospel with others.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Set Apart: A Biblical View of Holiness

Set Apart: A Biblical View of Holiness 

Part 1: God is Holy

Notes prepared by Jessica Lee

Focus: Our personal holiness is grounded in the holiness of God. When we see him, we worship him in the beauty of his holiness.

“Holiness is one of the central themes in the Bible. The word and its derivatives occur more than 700 times in the Bible. You can’t make sense of the Bible without understanding that God is holy and intends to make a holy people to live with him forever in a holy heaven.”

-Adapted from Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness

Psalm 96:1–9 ESV

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

The Text in the Story of Redemption

God’s holiness is the underpinning of the entire narrative arc of Scripture. His holiness means that all the created order functions within a fixed moral order wherein good and evil are never simply relative terms contingent upon a culture’s moral taste buds. Human flourishing is always a function of delighting in that which God delights and desiring that which God desires.

In Psalm 96, we find a hymn of praise for divine kingship. The Lord is king over all creation, and he is the one who has provided salvation for his people. He is the Creator-Redeemer-King. This psalm calls the redeemed people of God to worship him in response to who he is and what he has done. But this call to worship is not only for the Israelites; the invitation goes out to “all the earth.” The psalmist invites the whole world (Gentiles included) to come and worship Yahweh in the splendor of his holiness. 

The universality of this psalm looks back to the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1–3). In the call of Abraham, God’s redemption story advances when he calls Abraham and his descendants to be the channel to bless all the families of the earth. Psalm 96 foreshadows the Abrahamic Covenant fulfilled in Jesus when all the nations are blessed in him, and all people worship God in the splendor of his holiness.

Introduction

Our personal holiness is grounded in the holiness of God. 

“A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.”

-D.L. Moody

Therefore, to be holy, we must understand the holiness of God.

There are two aspects to God’s holiness. First is God’s uniqueness. As Creator, he is separate and unique from his creation. This is sometimes called the “majesty-holiness” of God. Second is God’s absolute goodness. He is untouched by sin or evil.

This psalm paints a picture of God’s majestic holiness by multiplying descriptive words.

1. He is glorious.

96:3, 7–8: Declare his glory among the nations . . . ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.

2. He is great.

96:4: For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”

3. He is the Creator.

96:5: For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

(Unlike the powerless gods of surrounding nations, the Lord is the Creator. )

4. He is majestic.

96:6: Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”

And it all crescendos in the psalmist’s call to worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

“The Psalmist means that we cannot be said to know God if we have not discovered that there is in him an incomparable glory and majesty.”

-John Calvin 

How does the psalmist call the people to respond to God’s majestic holiness? In these three verbs: sing, declare, and ascribe.

1. Sing

96:1–2: Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name.

The psalmist says that the people’s first response should be to sing. The call to sing is not just going out to the nation of Israel but to “all the earth.”

The phrase “a new song” doesn’t necessarily mean they are singing a song that has been recently composed; instead, it is a song that overflows from a recent encounter with God and his majestic holiness.

2. Declare

96:2–3: . . . tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Next, the psalmist charges the people to declare his glory among the nations and his marvelous works among the people.

As they worship God, they become aware that the Holy One is also the one who has saved them. And so, their response to God’s majestic holiness should be to declare his glory to the nations—to testify of what he has done.

3. Ascribe

96:7–8: Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!

The repetition of ascribe parallels the repetition of sing at the beginning of the psalm, but with a new development. In the opening verses, the psalmist calls the people to sing in response to God’s majestic holiness.

But now, the psalmist takes it a step further and calls the people to ascribe (to attribute or give) to the Lord the glory he is due. “He expects that proper honor be given to his name in recognition of his greatness, majesty, and strength.”

Gospel Reflection

96:9: Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

There is a fourth verb that informs us how we should respond to the majestic holiness of God—tremble.

1. When we look upon God’s holiness—his complete otherness and his moral purity—we can’t help but tremble in fear and awe.

“In today’s world, holy is the most offensive of all four-letter words. Why is holiness so reviled? Because the pursuit of holiness involves the acknowledgement of sin and the necessity of repentance—two words as unfashionable as the word holy.”

-Adapted from Brett McCracken, Uncomfortable

2. The psalmist goes on to speak of how God will come to judge (“He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.”)

3. He comes to judge. Can we pass his judgement? He is untouched by sin and evil. Are we?

4. The university of this psalm harkens back to the Abrahamic Covenant when God says that through Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And so, it foreshadows the day when that will be true, when all people will be able to approach Yahweh in the splendor of his holiness.

5. That fulfillment is found in Jesus. Jesus is our Great Mediator. He lived the perfect life we should have lived and died the death we deserved for our sins.

6. He comes to judge. Can we pass his judgement? Only in Jesus can we stand in the splendor of God’s holiness, his complete otherness and moral purity, and not be consumed because, in him, we trade our sin for his righteousness.

7. And so, as it says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

When we experience again and again the grace offered to us in Jesus that allows us to enter the holy of holies, to worship God in all his splendor, majesty, strength, and beauty, then our lives will erupt with new songs, just like perennial flowers deliver fresh blooms each spring. (Perennial flowers bloom each spring; annual flowers bloom once and then fade.)

Applications

1. Sing when you don’t feel like it.

I perceive that our minds are more devoutly and earnestly elevated into a flame of piety by the holy words themselves when they are thus sung, than when they are not.

2. Sing in community.

. . . addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart . . . (Ephesians 5:19)

The Christian church sings . . . its singing is not a concert. But from inner, material necessity it sings. Singing is the highest form of human expression. . . . What we can and must say quite confidently is that the church which does not sing is not the church.

3. Sing with a life offered to Christ.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)

1. How is God glorified in the text?

The psalmist paints a picture of God’s majestic holiness. He is unlike any other. He is full of glory, splendor, majesty, strength, and beauty, and we are called to worship him in the splendor of his holiness.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our heart is transformed as we look upon the beauty and splendor of God’s holiness. As we encounter his majestic holiness and reflect on what he has done to save us, our hearts will erupt in a new song.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

The psalmist charges the people to “sing” and “declare.” As we come into contact with the majestic holiness of God, we are reminded of what God has done to save us. And so, we will tell of his salvation and declare his glory among the nations.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

He comes to judge. Can we pass his judgment? The answer is yes, but only in Jesus. Only in Jesus can we stand in the splendor of God’s holiness, his complete otherness and moral purity, and not be consumed because, in him, we trade our sin for his righteousness.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Invitation To An Open Heaven

Invitation To An Open Heaven

Pastor Cole Parleir

Finish with hope because…

Focus: This year has been God's divine setup for you to experience more of Him and His coming kingdom next year.

• Incorporating the past

• Kingdom Transition

• Weeds in the kingdom

• Heavenly momentum 

 

Incorporating the past (Romans 8:31-39 ESV)

Your past has divine purpose.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be[i] against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.[j] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Your past sins don't have to condemn you. 

Rather they can bring you great comfort when brought to Christ. 

This is the Good News called the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God knew your past when it was still your future and he still sent Christ to die for your sins. 

Your past with it's sin can be proof of God's great love for you as displayed in his patience and provision in Christ.

The priceless gift of Christ dying for us while we were still sinners confirms that our sinful past, when given to Christ in repentance, does not forfeit future blessing.  (vs 32)

You are free from the devil's direct accusation as well as those unknowingly employed by him to be his mouthpiece.  This can be lies or reminders of sin you've repented of. (vs 33-34)

The devil is the master gas lighter, but Christ is the Judge and dispense of mercy and grace.

Have hope knowing that God's willingness to give you a second chance in Christ is also a third chance, a four chance and so on because Christ now intercedes for you until His Kingdom comes in full one day.

Do not let your failed attempts at righteousness or ministry to others this past year inform your hope for the future.  

Because of Christ we can truly can count trials, challenges, and persecutions as successes in forming Christ in us. James 1:2-4

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Because of Christ, the Christian who perseveres by pursing righteousness can never fail.

Your past has divine purpose.

Kingdom Transition

Plan for Righteousness (James 4:13-17 ESV)

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

God has plans and you have plans. 

You have to choose life or death, blessing or cursing, eternal success or failure this coming year.

Though these decisions have to be played out daily, like a marriage covenant you can pre-choose with a plan for righteousness and to be led by the Spirit of God.

Be clear in your understanding:

• God's blessing on your life comes when you choose to participate in what he says he is doing.  

• God's wrath (absence of blessing) comes when we engage in rebellion. Rebellion is choosing to use our life (time, talent, and treasure) in our own plan rather than God's.

Prophesying is kingdom planning.

When you choose to surrender your life to Christ and his kingdom of heaven coming through your life, and are committed to enacting what his Word and Holy Spirit says, then you are choosing to prophesy in your planning.

In God's reality your life and mine are blips on the radar, drops in the ocean, dust specks in the universe, and to imagine I can construct and implement on my own a plan for eternal impact is nonsensical.

 

Question:

• Do you know the 'right' thing to do and are you doing it? (vs 17)

 

Planning is an act of faith AND discipleship and therefor will take some work and power.

 

The old word comes with new power (Matthew 13:51-53 ESV)

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Matthew 13 is a series of parables and prophecies.  The theme of the parables are people who recognized the value of God's kingdom and sold everything to secure their place in it. 

The disciples ask Jesus for the meaning of the parables while others went away perplexed and later some in his hometown who were familiar with him ended up rejecting him.

To enter into God's plan of His Kingdom coming in and through your life you will

• Need to follow Jesus as Lord and have the Holy Spirit abiding in you

• need to become a 'scribe who is trained for the kingdom of heaven' who knows God's revealed will in his Word (Bible).  You do this by interpreting the Old Testament through the New Testament asking God to reveal Christ as you do.   (John 5:37-40 ESV)

• listens to the Holy Spirit for implementation and receive power.

When God's will is your plan you will have God's power to accomplish it.  

Now you can transition with the strength of God's blessing and promise for life and mercy.

Questions:

What did you treasure (sacrifice for) in 2023? 

What has this treasure done for your faith and life in Christ?

If your treasure was Christ and His Kingdom you can expect a firm foundation to build on in 2024.

Everything else is a weed crowding out the life God has for you in his kingdom.

Weeds in the Kingdom (Matthew 13:24-30)

Even when you do everything right there will be weeds only God can deal with.

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds[c] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[d] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The reality of pursuing God's Kingdom as a disciple of Christ, making disciples of Christ, and doing good works as you go, is that there will be weeds.

Jesus defines the weeds as "sons of the evil one".

These people along with their leader come to kill, steal, and destroy the work of God. 

These means that even when you are perfectly in sync with the Holy Sprit, knowing and doing God's will, you will still be in a spiritual fight.

This fight will continue until the end of 2024…joke…but until the end comes.  Probably your whole life.

Illustration:

• My father-in-law meticulously digging up dandelions in my yard

  • Helped…but the wind is still blowing from others peoples yards (lives) into mine

  • Keep digging and casting

  • Until all dandelions in everyone's yards IN THE WHOLE WORLD are burned up…I'm digging.

The promise of Matthew 28 is yours: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The result of that promise is hope to fight until we win.

Heavenly Momentum (Matthew 16:18-19 MSG)

The good work of the past will multiply into the future.

17-18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.

19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

God is building you, your family, and His Kingdom.

When you and your family live out a confession of faith in Christ Jesus you become rocks on which God build's his church and kingdom. 

Though the devil may rage you can be assured that any past, present, or future work done in the name of Jesus Christ  will not be burnt up.

Even more, momentum will be developed as last years work becomes a spring board for this years work. 

 

Prophetic Summary

• I don't know exactly what 2024 holds for you, your family or Second City Church…but I do hear God saying He invites us to more of his manifest kingdom in 2024 IF we will work with him by faith.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

From Beginning to End

From Beginning to End

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: From beginning to end, Jesus is the Savior and King who deserves all that we have to give.  

• An Epic Beginning 

• The Coming of the King

• How it All Ends

An Epic Beginning

Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise of covenant nearness with supernatural origins.  

In authoring salvation, Jesus came so that God could be near and present with us.  

He is the everlasting God whose love never dies and our relationship with whom will have to know no end.  

“Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose. If love is to be a blessing, not a misery, it must be for the only Beloved who will never pass away.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

 In the gospel according to Matthew, the apostle gives us seven prophecies fulfilled in the first advent of Jesus - seven reasons to worship and praise the Lord.  

• God always has a plan - he is powerful to complete it. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).”

God chose to introduce Jesus through a preordained virgin birth - meaning he always has a plan that he is working to fulfill supernaturally.

Christ’s life, miracles, death on the cross, burial and resurrection paved the way for the Holy Spirit to forever be in us and to come on us in power.   

• God has unlimited resources from unexpected places to bring about that plan.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"”

Jesus drew near through humble beginnings and continues to give his grace to the humble today.   

• God knows what he is doing - even in the detours.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."”

God’s plan of redemption comes with detours - you may have deviated from your plan but are not off of God’s path.  

The Coming of the King

The prophetic fulfillment of Jesus’ birth meant there would be a new ruler in town who would need to be king of our hearts. 

• God allows trials to bring us to the end of ourselves and into the strength of Jesus. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."”

God means for trials to point us to Jesus that we might be comforted in our pain and given an eternal hope. 

In what ways have you encountered challenging times but are reminded through the first advent of Jesus that God is in control?

• God expects his word to us to be honored that we might fulfill his plan. 

‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

When we look to God, he directs our steps to fulfill his plan in Jesus Christ, even down to the place we will live and the things we will do there.  

• God’s plan is for you to glorify Jesus with your life - pointing the way to him. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"”

God divinely arranges the right relationships for you to fulfill his will in Jesus.  

• God brings us into his blessed life through repentance and faith. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."”

God’s promise of hope was fulfilled in Jesus who would lead people through their repentance and faith into his kingdom.  

“Addiction is giving up everything for one thing.  Recovery is giving up one thing for everything.”

-Unknown

How it All Ends

In the end, when we realize all that Jesus is and all that he has done, the only proper response is to give him our all.  

‭‭

Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"”

To Jesus belongs:

1. Power

2. Wealth

3. Wisdom

4. Might

5. Honor 

6. Glory 

7. Blessing

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Hopeful Expectations

Hopeful Expectations

Anthony Connington

Focus: Have you prepared your heart for the arrival of the Messiah?

Part 1: Setting the Stage

Part 2: Simeon’s Prophetic Praise

Part 3: Anna’s Testimony

Part 1: Setting the Stage 

Isaiah 29:13-14 (CSB)

13 The Lord said:

These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service,[h] yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.[i]

14 Therefore, I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.

Sometimes when you study Scripture, digging into the historical and cultural context of the time reveals insights you may have otherwise missed. We are going to attempt to summarize 400 years of history in a very short time. Basically, from the end of Malachi to the birth of Jesus. 

Questions to consider: What was it like for God’s people? How did they prepare their hearts for the arrival of the Messiah? What was it like politically, socially, economically, and religiously? 

Intertestamental Period 

We see at the end of Malachi that God promised to send a prophet who would be like Elijah and turn the hearts of the fathers towards their children. This is like a … (dot dot dot) that is designed to show the reader that something, or more specifically someone, is coming next in the future. This was meant to lead the people to have a hopeful expectation for the long-awaited Messiah who would come into the world. 

After the death of Alexander the Great, the world was thrown into chaos for several centuries. Wars and battles raged. Many factions fought for dominance and control. As Israel was thrust into these new realities, two notable things happened.

The First is what we call the Maccabean revolt. Many in Israel attempted to set up their own empire and use military might and political power to affect change. For a time, this revolt gained traction, and they were able to establish a momentary kingdom. However, this experiment ultimately failed due to internal conflicts and eventually the might of Rome would eclipse everything. 

A second notable event to take place during this time was the Judean civil which broke out 93-87BC. The Sadducees were the minority group in this conflict, and they supported King Alexander Jannaeus against the Pharisees. The political infighting and brutality done in the name of religious correctness was unimaginably horrible. Jewish brothers fought and killed one another endlessly until finally a truce was called. All parties involved eventually looked to Rome to help mitigate a peaceful resolution. As a result, many syncretistic practices found its way into everyday temple life and worship of God. 

Israel was fractured, politically, socially, economically and religiously. Fractured. This is the scene in which the Messiah comes into the world. God was moving and setting the stage to prepare for Jesus’ arrival, but by in large, those that were meant to receive Him missed what God was doing. Their focus and attention were divided and given to other priorities. 

Now Let’s take a moment and look at the spiritual climate of the nation. How did the religious people live in response to the invitation to watch and look for the coming Messiah?

The Sadducees

• They were very sectarian in their beliefs and practices. 

• They generally held high positions within the religious system and prioritized the finer things in life like gold jewels and the like as they worshipped.

• They thought of themselves as the elite priestly class within Israel. This meant that they did not usually associate with those who were not in their own circles. They often secluded and isolated themselves from their own people. 

• They did not believe in a resurrection or an afterlife.  

Pharisees

• They were the majority religious group within Judaism at this time.

• They believed in the Oral-Torah, which means they made the Torah divine. In effect, they elevated the status of the Torah to be God Himself. This is why so often in their pursuit of purity and holiness they developed and practiced other rules and regulations.

• They rejected the virgin birth of Jesus and missed the Messiah.

Zealots

• They were known to be militant and radical.

• By any means necessary they attempted to inaugurate the coming of God’s kingdom through their own efforts.

• They had a misplaced trust in their own political and social efforts to bring forth change and in turn they missed what God was doing.

The Essenes

• They were a very communal people who believed in the prophesies and lived with an expectation that the Messiah would come soon.

• They commonly proclaimed the truths about the Messiah and were willing to tell anyone one who would listen, including men, woman, and children. 

• Early church fathers record that John the Baptist as a member from their community. 

In Summary: The most monumental moment in the history of the universe, the Incarnation of Christ in the person of Jesus was about to take place in Bethlehem and most people missed it. Even with all the prophecies in His Word, the signs in the heavens, and the miraculous angelic visitations, most people still missed it. Why? Because they hadn’t prepared their hearts.

You may be asking at this point, so what? Why does all this history matter?

As we think of this Christmas season, in 2023 I venture to think that some of us are just like so many in the first century who missed out on what God was doing. Some of us are much like the Sadducees. We may not have an error in our doctrine about the resurrection, but our hearts are still far from Him. Maybe Christmas has become all about our own families. Maybe our focus has turned to be all about me and mine. Maybe we have lost our ability to see outside of our own situations and look at what God might be trying to do in and through you right now, today. Maybe we have been struggling as of late and our reaction to the pain and suffering in our life is to isolate and segregate ourselves out of community. In doing so we are missing the Messiah. We are missing out on all that Jesus wants to bring into your life this Christmas season.

Maybe we are like the Pharisees. Maybe Christmas for you is all about tradition. Maybe for you things need to be a certain way. The food served and cooked at the right time, and the schedule and timing must be just right. Maybe the hustle and bustle of our own lives have gotten in the way of what is truly most important. Could it be that all the distractions of this season have gotten us off course. Maybe we have forgotten to just take a moment to just breath and bask in the presence and light of Jesus. Have we taken a moment to pause and reflect on what a gift God has given us through the incarnation. Or have we legislated out the presence of God through our own rules, expectations, and traditions? Have we taken a moment to behold the face of God to find life anew this Christmas season?

Or maybe we feel like we are in a war and this Christmas is has been hard for you to find peace. Maybe we are not as radical as the zealots, but maybe the weapons of our warfare have become our words. Maybe our words have cut deep and have caused great damage. Maybe we have neglected to speak the things of God into our lives and encouragement is far from our lips. Could it be that we have forgotten that our words help shape and change the perspective of the realities of our situations? Our words have the power to bring healing and life this Christmas. Maybe much like the zealots, we have misplaced our trust. Maybe we are looking to our strength, our own understanding, or our own effort to create the change we so desire to see. Maybe we have a misplaced trust in someone or something else outside of the person of Christ alone. 

Or could it be that some of us are like the Essenes, we have been faithfully serving God in every season. We have given ourselves over to His service and have answered the call on our lives with great passion and zeal. But maybe for some of us this Christmas we are feeling the weariness of life creep up into your soul. Maybe the everyday rhythms of life have tired you out. Though we have great affection for the Lord Jesus, we are just feeling weary. Let me encourage you…Breakthrough is coming. The Light of Christ is coming. Just like Christmas morning so many years ago, the promises of God will be fulfilled. He did it back then, and He will do it again for us today. Do not give up. Keep pressing, Keep believing. New and days are ahead. 

Part 2: Simeon’s Prophetic Praise 

Luke 2:25-35

25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles[m] and glory to your people Israel. 33 His father and mother[n] were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed[o]— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts[p] of many hearts may be revealed.”

• Simeon was watchful. 

  • He had an expectation for God to show up and fulfill his promises.

  • He understood the moment in which he lived and didn’t miss the opportunity.

• Simeon was guided by the Holy Spirit

  • He had an intimate walk with God.

  • He opened Himself up to receive form God, He listened well.

  • He longed for God’s presence and excitedly beheld the face of God.

• Simeon spoke forth God’s Word

  • He accurately assessed the times in which he lived and boldly proclaimed the truth of the Messiah into the culture around Him.

  • He encouraged Mary with a word that would later sustain her in her darkest moment and in her deepest pain. 

Questions: Have you positioned yourself this Christmas season to receive from God all that He desires to give you? Have you postured your heart to be guided by the Holy Spirit or do you run the show in your own life? Are you speaking the Word boldly into your life and using it to encourage and build up others around you?

Part 3: Anna’s Testimony 

Luke 2:36-38

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,[q] 37 and was a widow for eighty-four years.[r] She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. 38 At that very moment,[s] she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.[t]

• Anna was faithful with her commitments.

• Anna noticed God’s movement in the moment.

• Anna praised God and gave thanks for all He was doing.

• Anna spoke about Jesus to all those who were looking forward to His coming

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Foundation of Hope

Foundation of Hope

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Our foundation of hope is God’s peace which was promised and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  

• Family Planning 

• Prophetic Promises 

• Our Benevolent King

Family Planning

We have hope because Jesus came in God’s perfect timing through an imperfect family to save a lost and dying world. 

There are those that say that Jesus attempted, like others before and after him, to intentionally present himself as the promised savior of the world. 

However, in his first advent, some of the greatest evidence for the identity of Jesus as the Messiah were the prophecies fulfilled about him regarding elements Jesus could not control - including God’s sovereignty in arranging Christ’s exact family line.   

To Abraham, God spoke:

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."”

Of Jacob’s line, the Scripture predicted a ruler would come:‭‭

Numbers‬ ‭24‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”

God made it clear that rulership would continue through Judah’s line:

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭49‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

Isaiah would bring things home through Jesse:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

And keep it in the family through an eternal lineage established through King David, Jesse’s son:

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

Despite challenges, how has God used your natural and spiritual family line to bring you into his Kingdom purposes?

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Prophetic Promises 

God has a plan to bring peace that has been and will ultimately be fulfilled through the first and second advent (coming) of Jesus Christ.  

The prophetic promises of God spoke of Jesus who, though having humble beginnings in a manger, would be prophet, priest and ultimately the world’s eternal ruler and King. 

In addition to being unable to control his family line, Jesus could not determine his place of birth if not for the intervention and direction of God.  

‭‭Micah‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

This ruler in Israel would have the wisdom to define and shape all of life because he is from of old, from ancient days. 

“God made life, and God alone can tell us its meaning.”

-J.I. PACKER

Our Benevolent King

In the first advent of Jesus, we have the benevolent king revealed who was God in the flesh to initiate God’s Kingdom rule without end.   

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Isaiah’s prophecy, delivered approximately 700 years before Christ’s birth, is a beautiful picture of the incarnation and Jesus revealing the triune God through as he took on flesh.  

In coming to the earth, Jesus fulfilled in his person four of the greatest needs that we have as humanity and paved the way for our salvation.  

• Wonderful Counselor (a name later given to the Holy Spirit - John 14-16)

• Mighty God (as Jesus was recognized in the early church - John 1:1; Titus 2:11-13)

• Everlasting Father (the one with whom Jesus would say he is one - John 10:30; 14:9; Philippians 2)

• Prince of Peace (Jesus as the Son of God came to bestow the peace of which Isaiah speaks through the cross - Romans 5)

“A God whom we could understand exhaustively, and whose revelation of Himself confronted us with no mysteries whatsoever, would be a God in man’s image, and therefore an imaginary God, not the God of the Bible at all.”

-J.I. Packer

What we do understand fully is the good news that:

The government will be on his shoulders.

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  

He would sit on the throne of David. 

His rule would be marked by justice and righteousness. 

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.  

This will all be fully accomplished through the second coming (advent) of Jesus Christ.  

How should we respond?

Another prophecy that many believe would speak of the three wise men coming to worship Jesus:

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭72‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!”

“We cannot worship the suffering God today and ignore him tomorrow. We cannot eat and drink the body and blood of the passionate and compassionate God today, and then refuse to live passionately and compassionately tomorrow. If we say or sing, as we so often do, ‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit’, we thereby commit ourselves, in love, to the work of making his love known to the world that still stands so sorely in need of it. This is not the god the world wants. This is the God the world needs.”

― N.T. Wright

We can turn to Jesus in repentance and faith to serve him through faith and enjoy the new life and peace the prince has come to bring!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher