What Would Jesus Say - Part 4

Mark 12:28-31
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Matthew 12:46,48-50
While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

"Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution.”
― Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

“The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed.” ― Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change

Revelation 7:9-12
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys. The aftermath of the ‘fight with fire’ method...is bitterness and chaos, the aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community...Yes , love-which means understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill, even for one’s enemies-is the solution. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Resistance and nonviolence are not in themselves good. There is another element that must be present in our struggle that then makes our resistance and nonviolence truly meaningful. That element is reconciliation. Our ultimate end must be the creation of the beloved community. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Second City Church - What Would Jesus Say - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2018

What Would Jesus Say - Part 3

John 14:12-24
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively pursuing God’s will.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

“Pray first. Then make plans. Don’t plan and then pray for your plan to work.” - Toby Mac

Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

"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

1 Corinthians 8:1-3
Now concerning  food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Second City Church - What Would Jesus Say - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2018

What Would Jesus Say - Part 2

Fasting

Luke 5:27-39 ESV (c.f.- Matthew 9:9-17, Mark 2:13-22)
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”  33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Luke 18:9-14 ESV
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Three Points

1. Following Jesus precedes fasting for Jesus  

   1. Jesus gave Levi an invitation to follow, not to fast.  

      1. This was an invitation into a relationship whether that would blossom into further obedience rather than law.

   2. Before we fast, we must leave everything and follow. We must repent.

      1. The disciples who would in the future fast first left everything to follow.

         1. Luke 5:27-28

            1. 27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him

            2. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

   3. Though Jesus was well acquainted with fasting He did not put this on Levi or his disciples during this time, for a bruised reed he will not break

      1. Luke 4:1-2 ESV

         1. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

      2. Matthew 12:19-21

         1. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
               nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
            20 a bruised reed he will not break,
               and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
            until he brings justice to victory;
            21     and in his name the Gentiles will hope

2. Fasting is for humbling, not grumbling

   1. The Pharisees were at a feast, and instead of being ‘humbled’ through fasting, they ‘grumbled’ at the disciples because they themselves were fasting rather than feasting. Attitude matters for a fast or a feast to be pleasing to God.  The fast of the Pharisees caused them to despise God and His love and compassion for the lost, while Jesus’ fast in the desert launched Him in his ministry to the lost sheep of Israel.

      1. Luke 5:30-31

         1. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick

   2. Everyone knew the Pharisees fast twice a week on Monday and Thursday, and it was not done in secret, but in superiority and self righteousness.   This is how we should fast.

      1. Matthew 6:16-18

         1. 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

   3. Everything is beautiful and acceptable in it’s time.  Fasting can either humble us to be used by God or harden us to sink us into self righteousness.  As we see here, God desires mercy, not sacrifice and was drawn to the humble and contrite heart exalting him.

      1. Luke 18:9-14

         1. 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

3. Fasting speeds up God’s mission in us and through us

   1. Fasting breaks chains in our lives and others

      1. Isaiah 58:6-9

         1. Is not this the fast that I choose:
               to loose the bonds of wickedness,
               to undo the straps of the yoke,
            to let the oppressed[b] go free,
               and to break every yoke?
            7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
               and bring the homeless poor into your house;
            when you see the naked, to cover him,
               and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
            8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
               and your healing shall spring up speedily;
            your righteousness shall go before you;
               the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
            9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
               you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

   2. The time to fast is now

      1. Acts 13:1-3 (After Jesus has ascended into Heaven)

         1. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

            1. Fasting is worship

            2. Holy Spirit speaks when we fast

            3. Fasting is coupled with praying 

Application:

1. Follow Jesus today!

2. Receive grace by fasting this Friday!

3. Order the book God’s Chosen Fast!

Second City Church - What Would Jesus Say - Pastor Cole Parleir 2018

What Would Jesus Say - Part 1

Luke 18:1-8
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. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 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. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

"If you never heal from what hurt you, you'll bleed on people who didn't cut you."

FIRST FRIDAY FAST - September 7th

"He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity." - Randy Alcorn 

Leaders Must Be Examples, Not Exceptions

Far too often, leaders drift. Once they get some experience under their belt and a track record of accomplishments, they often abandon the lifestyle that helped them reach the top. They chafe under the very rules that they once established or endorsed. Sadly, leaders like these forget the number one management principle in the world: People do what people see. If they want to succeed, leaders must incarnate the life they desire in their followers." - John Maxwell

"The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried." - Stephen McCranie

Luke 11:1-13
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. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 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, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 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’? 8 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. 9 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. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!”

"The Christian religion alone has been able to cure these two vices (pride in human dignity and despair in human misery), not by expelling the one through means of the other according to the wisdom of the world, but by expelling both according to the simplicity of the Gospel." - Blasie Pascal

Second City Church - What Would Jesus Say - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2018

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church Provides Protection

1 Timothy 4:12-16
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Acts 15:1-21
But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

Protection in Life

It doesn't matter how long you've been walking with God.  If you get disconnected from church community where you can sharpen one another in the faith, are building towards a common purpose in Christ's kingdom and have people with whom you are transparent and can peer into your life to see how things are truly going, deception will inevitably creep in to lead you astray and away from an ardent pursuit of Christ.

Protection in Doctrine

The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
      the Father almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.
      We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
      and to life in the world to come. Amen.

The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      he descended to hell.
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic* church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

"This creed is called the Apostles' Creed not because it was produced by the apostles themselves but because it contains a brief summary of their teachings. It sets forth their doctrine "in sublime simplicity, in unsurpassable brevity, in beautiful order, and with liturgical solemnity." In its present form it is dated no later than the fourth century. More than any other Christian creed, it may justly be called an ecumenical symbol of faith."
- Christian Reformed Church

Protection in Purpose

God wants to raise up mothers and fathers in the faith in the house of the Lord. 

"If you want to go quickly, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together."
- African Proverb

Second City Church: Chicago Fire Sermon Series 2017

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Well Built Church

There is a way that Jesus built His church to last through the living stones of real relationships.  To truly find your place in God's biblical story of kingdom advance, you will need to build your life in like fashion.

Acts 14:19-28
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

They Gathered Around Paul

"There is no way to have a real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt."
- Timothy Keller

They Returned to Those They Knew

There are three things that you can do with the life opportunity bricks that you are given by God.

1) Scatter Them - In no way does this build a useful dwelling.

2) Throw Them - You can injure others in your bitterness.

3) Lay Them - It takes time and consistency building into people's lives to make a true impact for the kingdom of God.

They Stayed

We need to be careful of millennial tendencies living as if there is nothing bigger than me.  

Going out of town or on vacation at every opportunity is like throwing bricks/stones at random and hoping to build a house.

Your decisions matter to those to whom you are connected in Christ. You need to live that way.

There is a difference between our generation's obsession with personal calling versus knowing God's purpose in the kingdom of God and finding your place in that.

What Encourages You & Discourages You About The Millennial Generation? | Tim Keller

“A man came across three masons who were working at chipping chunks of granite from large blocks. The first seemed unhappy at his job, chipping away and frequently looking at his watch. When the man asked what it was that he was doing, the first mason responded, rather curtly, “I’m hammering this stupid rock, and I can’t wait ’til 5 when I can go home.”

”A second mason, seemingly more interested in his work, was hammering diligently and when asked what it was that he was doing, answered, “Well, I’m molding this block of rock so that it can be used with others to construct a wall. It’s not bad work, but I’ll sure be glad when it’s done.”

”A third mason was hammering at his block fervently, taking time to stand back and admire his work. He chipped off small pieces until he was satisfied that it was the best he could do. When he was questioned about his work he stopped, gazed skyward and proudly proclaimed, “I…am building a cathedral to the glory of God!”

“Three men, three different attitudes, all doing the same job.”

Ephesians 2:17-22
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. 

Meet Jesus at the cross where you can die to your own ambitions and preferences that you might truly live for His.  This is the power of real resurrection life in Christ.

Second City Church: Chicago Fire Sermon Series 2017

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church Fully Aware of His Love

The gospel that drew men to repentance and faith in Christ was potent in the early church because it demonstrated the love of God in both word and deed.  It is to be the same today. 

Acts 14:8-18 
Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them. 

God's Love Affirms

God begins all things by affirming His love for us. 

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
- Frederick Douglass

Psalm 145:8-9
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” 

God's Love Comforts

Through life's afflictions, we are often torn down only to be driven into the loving arms of God for comfort. 

Isaiah 49:13-16 
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day.” 
- C.S. Lewis, The Collected Works of C.S. Lewis 

Isaiah 66:13-14 
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.

People need encouragement, not just another word of what's wrong in their world or what they're doing wrong, but how Jesus came to make all things right. 

Matthew 5:43-48 
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

God's Love Heals

In Jesus and the cross, God's love is perfectly demonstrated as He is both the healer and redeemer of broken lives. 

Romans 2:4
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

When you are wooing someone, you begin with what you like about someone, not dislike. Blessings always precede curses in the covenant. God shows us who He is and His goodness prior to the consequences of our rebellion, even when we are in it. 
 

Romans 5:6-11
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Second City Church: Chicago Fire Sermon Series 2017

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church Driven by His Word

At the beginning of Acts 13, we see that Paul and Barnabas were sent on their first missionary journey by the spoken word of the Lord, the voice of the Holy Spirit.  Just as importantly, as they begin their journey, we see that the written word of God defines and drives their mission.  In the same way, the written word of God should be the driving force behind all church life and activity for the Christian today. 

Know the Goal of the Game

The Word of the Lord is integral to all aspects of worship and service to God. 

Acts 13:13-15
Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” 

Jesus was the Savior in fulfillment of the Scripture. 

Acts 13:16-26
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. 

Your life is part of God's larger, ongoing story of redemption whose history began to be recorded in the pages of Scripture and continues to this day.  The road to reconciliation began as God set Abraham and his family apart to form the Jewish nation, reached its climax in the birth, life, miracles, death, burial and resurrection of the prophesied Messiah Jesus, and will culminate with His triumphant return to earth to judge the living and the dead, restoring all things.  

How would you live differently if you actually embraced this reality?

David a man after God's own heart-  He knew God's heart by His Word. 

Do you aspire to be one after God's own heart? 

Don't be Caught Offsides

Acts 13:27-31
For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

*Your life has already been described in Scripture. Make sure not to be found on the wrong side of the field. 

It is possible to sit in church every Sunday, hear the Word of God and leave without being properly aligned in your heart to follow Jesus. 

Acts 13:32-41
And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, “‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

David fulfilled God's purpose in his generation. 

The Word of God is eternal (Psalm 119:89-91).  This means it has both an application in context and a prophetic ongoing revelation, brought to life by the Holy Spirit which generation by generation directs Christ's church. The seemingly disconnected Scripture of the Old Testament prophets gave direction for what the church was to do after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Paul's proper application of the Old Testament Scripture determined the church's activity in his then present day. 
 

Bill Johnson

5 Steps to Interacting with God's Word

1) What does it say in context? (Proper Hermeneutics)
2) What does it say about God? (Proper Theology)

All Scripture points to and is properly understood through the person of Jesus Christ.  Everything in the OT foreshadows his reconciliatory work on the cross.  Everything in the NT looks forward to his restorative work through his resurrection from the dead whereby in his inevitable return he will both judge and rule over his creation.

"Jesus Christ is perfect theology."
-Bill Johnson

3) What does it say about me? (Proper Psychology)
4) What does it say about the world around me? (Proper Worldview)
5) What does it say regarding my present situation? (Prophetic Application)

Commit to the Right Team

The Word of God will produce either undivided love for Jesus or competition with Him where you will be forced to expel His influence from your life. 

Acts 13:42-52
As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Meet Jesus at the cross and give Him your undivided devotion today.

Second City Church: Chicago Fire Sermon Series 2017

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church That Has Only Just Begun

Acts 13:1-16
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician for that is the meaning of his name opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.

The reason that we are here today is because God set us apart for a work to which He called us. 

What happens if/when your Mark deserts you?   It's not an end but a beginning. 

What if Paul said it's over at that point?  His first, second and third missionary journeys would not have taken place.  Acts 13-28 would not be a reality and the Western march of the gospel that has impacted the entire known world for centuries would not have been a reality. 

Meet Jesus in your Second Half Life 

Second half of the book of Acts - the gospel to the Gentiles 

Abraham until 75, childless with barren wife Sarah. At 100 has Isaac and the nation of Israel begins.

Moses - first half in Pharoah's court until age 40, age 40-80 on the backside of a desert as a shepherd. Age 80-120 leading the Israelites in their historic exodus out of Egypt with signs and wonders to the precipice of the promised land, modern day Israel. 

Joseph - rejected by brothers and imprisoned until age 30. At 30, ruled as second to Pharoah and saved the known world from starvation by God's wisdom. 

King David - rejected by family and on the run from King Saul until age 30, Age 30 - King in Hebron; 37-death, King of all Israel extending its borders. 

Elizabeth and Zechariah - barren until older age and birth of John the Baptist. 

Jesus - until age 30 being prepared in obscurity.  Age 30-crucifixion and resurrection saved the world from its rebellion against God, triumphing over sin, death and hell. 

The enemy tries to feed you the lie that the best is behind after a trial. However, it was after Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross for our sins that He experienced His life saving resurrection from the dead through which the Holy Spirit was poured out, the church was built, the world was turned upside down and we now have access to eternal life.  Meet Jesus in your second mile life today!
 

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Second City Church: Chicago Fire Sermon Series 2017

Easter - 2017

Thank you for a great Easter Egg hunt and for all of those who volunteered to make it happen!

What Would You Do?  What Will You Do?

Today we are going to review the familiar narrative of the events leading to Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.  Good Friday involved the sobriety of Christ's sacrificial, substitutionary death on the cross.  Today celebrates the glorious reality of His resurrection.  During this time we will interact with Judas, Peter, Pilate and Jesus Himself.  

What drove them to the events leading to the crucifixion?

What would you have done in their place?  

What can we learn from these things that drive us today?

What will you do in the light of the resurrection?

Isaiah 25:8-9
He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Judas

Judas was driven by his secret sin - in his case, the love of money.

Matthew 26:6-16
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.

John 12:4-6
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples he who was about to betray him, said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 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.

Jesus was simply a means to an end.

Peter

Peter was driven by a fear of man.

He needed the power of the Holy Spirit to change him into a different man whose ultimate end was not comfort.

Mark 14:54
And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.

Matthew 26:69-75
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

"Jesus Christ did not come into this world to make bad people good; He came into this world to make dead people live."
- Lee Strobel

Pilate

Pilate was driven by a sense of self-preservation.

This manifested itself in a desire to please people in an attempt to maintain his power.  Pilate was unwilling to allow the truth of who Jesus was to cost him anything.

Matthew 27:15-26
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

"The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers."
- AW Tozer

Jesus

Jesus was driven by the love of the Father.

The love of the Father pushed Christ to perfect obedience resulting in His death on the cross for the sins of humanity.  His love of the world drove Him to voluntarily lay down His life with the promise of a triumphant resurrection.  

Matthew 28:1-10
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Regardless of whether you've been a Judas, a Peter or a Pilate, you can follow Jesus to the cross today and experience the power of His resurrection!

"Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection."
- Watchman Nee

In the light of Christ's sacrifice for you and triumphant resurrection, what will you do now?

Second City Church: Easter Sermon 2017

Redemption: Behold What You Want to Become

Genesis 30:25-43 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. Name your wages, and I will give it.” Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock. Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Strength comes by setting your eyes and heart on the things that will draw you closer to Jesus, bring you strength as you dwell with the author of life.

Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

God designed you in such a way that the relationships, messages and environments that you feed upon will either bring you into the health that He created you to live in, or it will slowly tear apart your life.

What are the music, entertainment, relationships and messages that you are feeding on doing for your relationship with Jesus?

Are they drawing you closer or giving you an uphill battle towards intimacy with Him?

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Christmas - Part 2

God has an identity for you that may be different than the one that the culture has tried to give you.

Luke 1:57-66 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

What you do in your private life with God will ultimately shape who you become publicly.

Luke 1:68-80 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

What you are to become will help bring the good news to all people.

Luke 2:8-21 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

What does that mean in the new year for you in Chicago?

Second City Church- Christmas Sermon Series 2015

Christmas - Part 1

Who Is This Jesus?

Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Jesus is the supernatural, prophesied Jewish Messiah - king and ruler of all the earth. The very meaning of His name points to the mission of the Son of God who comes to save this fallen world from its sins, it's self-destruction.

Matthew 1:21-23 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 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.

What He Meant to Elizabeth

Jesus was Elizabeth's source of redemption taking years of pain and disappointment and replacing them with fruitfulness. Elizabeth's faithfulness would make ready her son, John the Baptist, who would be the forerunner to the Savior of the world.

Luke 1:39-45 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Jesus brought restoration to Elizabeth's barren years and importance to her older years.

What He Meant to Mary

Jesus was Mary's definition, giving purpose to her youth. He is the one who the Father used to birth a heavenly call by the Holy Spirit taking Mary out of obscurity and placing her in humble service. She would have the enormous charge to care for, protect and nurture the Savior of the world.

Luke 1:46-56 And Mary said,“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

God chose Mary and it was her responsibility to believe Him and order her life accordingly.

In the same ways, God is calling out to you.

What He Means to You

Jesus has come to be your king. You can be made new through repentance for the forgiveness of your sins. Through faith in Jesus as the Son of God, you can receive adoption into His family.

Like Elizabeth, because of the cross, Jesus can redeem your barren years of pain and disappointment. He is ready to entrust one who has been faithful with responsibility in His Kingdom that your latter years may have eternal impact.

Like Mary, He is here to give you definition, birthing significance through His word to give your life a purpose that will ultimately glorify God through Jesus Christ.

You will not fulfill the purposes of God on your own.

Jesus wants to join you to others upon whom He is moving for His eternal purposes. You are together with those in God's church to be a part of His story of redemption for humanity. All parts are indispensable. Elizabeth was the older woman who had the life experience and wisdom of how to walk with God even through the trial of her barrenness. Mary was the youth, the teenager who was learning reverent submission to the divine will, overcoming stigma and allowing her life to be an offering to God.

In the church, God wants both the wisdom of age and the zeal of youth meeting at the feet of Jesus to provide redemption for this city and the world. Let's commit to this as a perpetual offering to God as we celebrate the birth of His Son, Jesus.

Second City Church- Christmas Sermon Series 2015

The Unshakables - Guest Speaker Reggie Roberson - The Baptism of the Holy Spirit - Week Eight

Introduction

(Pastor Reggie shared about his family, showing a picture.)

We’ve been in a series called The Unshakables.

Have you ever had someone give you a task to do but did not give you the right equipment?

Personal examples:

College entrance exam on Spanish Paper writing Trying out for football (Wonkey)

Jesus has given us a great task.

Jesus has given Christ followers the task of bringing Him glory and helping others to grow spiritually in order to fulfill His purpose for their lives. (Pastor Reggie showed a picture about being made great for a great purpose.) This is called being a disciple and making disciples. Matthew 28:18-20 speaks of this task.

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We need special equipment to complete the task.

(Pastor Reggie showed a picture with wrong equipment.)

Without the right equipment this can be a daunting task. Why?

• People immerse or baptize themselves into things that will promote them, give them possession, or give them pleasure.
• Our natural tendency is to be self-centered and not consider other people.
• We don’t want to be rejected.
• We don’t want to hold others to a standard because we don’t want anyone to hold us to a standard.
• People seem to love doing what they want to do: sin.
• We are convinced that other assignments are more important instead of that which will impact eternity.

When Jesus gave this task to His followers they were facing similar situations. Jews -thought a suffering savior was foolish. Romans -thought redemption of the world was foolish. They persecuted Christ's followers. Epicureans -emphasized enjoying earthly pleasure as the highest state of happiness. Stoics - believed that life was not about feelings, only ethics and morality which ultimately a man’s mind could control. Christians taught a need for Christ to change.

Despite all of these challenges they faced, His followers were able to complete the task. Christ followers multiplied and spread all over the earth. (Pastor Reggie referenced China, Sudan, and Indonesia.) How did they do it?

Jesus makes the right equipment available to us:

(Pastor Reggie showed a picture with firefighters.)

Let’s read the parallel verse to Matthew 28:18-20 which is Luke 24:

Luke 24:44-49 NIV He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus is saying He is going to give Christ followers special equipment to glorify Him and make disciples. This equipment is power. Acts 1:4-5 gives us another version of the same story:

Acts 1:4-5 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:7-8 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In both of the stories we see that Jesus is promising to give special equipment to Christ followers through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 2 they receive the equipment or power:

Acts 2:1-5, 7-8, 11 NIV When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is: An immersion into the Holy Spirit’s power; That happens immediately or some point after you’ve become a Christ follower; Accompanied with physical manifestations of the Spirit; For the purpose of power to serve and minister to others for Christ's glory.

Many other times throughout the Book of Acts we see this power through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit being used to glorify God and help others to grow spiritually in order to fulfill His purpose for their lives.

In Acts 4:8 Peter is again filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks with such power that the Jewish leaders were amazed at his boldness in spite of his being relatively uneducated (4:13). In Acts 4:31 other disciples were praying and the place where they were was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The effect of their fullness was that they spoke the Word of God with extraordinary boldness and Christ-exalting power. In Acts 6 we meet Stephen who is full of faith and the Holy Spirit (v. 5). And Luke tells us in verse 8 that he was therefore full of power and did wonders and signs among the people, but especially in verse 10, the leaders could not resist the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke. His fullness gave him an extraordinary power for Christ-exalting ministry. In Acts 9:17 Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit at his conversion and the result was that he spoke with such extraordinary power that the Jews of Damascus were confounded (9:22). In Acts 11:24 Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and faith and the effect Luke mentions was that “a large company was added to the Lord” (as at Pentecost).

Conclusion

Jesus has given us a great task. We need special equipment to complete the task. Jesus makes the right equipment (power) available to us through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit so we can complete the task.

If you have not yet, receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Pastor Reggie shared some testimonies.) If you have already, be active in using your equipment: God gave it to you for accomplishing His task.

1 Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Second City Church- The Unshakables Sermon Series 2015

The Unshakables - The Unshakeable Surrender - Week Two

The unshakable life lives in surrender to the lordship of Jesus.

Acts 2:36
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Lordship is one of the central messages of the Bible. Jesus is referred to as Lord ninety-nine times in the book of Acts and 616 times in the whole New Testament, while being referred to as "Savior" only twice in Acts and twenty-four times in the New Testament. The biblical emphasis is overwhelmingly on the concept of Lordship. Lord means master, the one who calls the shots, the one who makes the decisions. (From the One to One App)

Philippians 2:5-11
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:13-20
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

John 14:15, 23-24

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Jesus answered him,

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

Ephesians 5:1-8
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous that is, an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light..

(The free One to One App is a great resource to use.)

Personal Application

1. Are there areas in your life that you have not yet submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?

2. Are your relationships under His Lordship?

3. Are your finances under His Lordship?

4. Is your time submitted to His Lordship?

1 John 3:7-10
Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 1:5-9
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Second City Church- The Unshakables Sermon Series 2015

The Unshakables - The Unshakable Life - Week One

The Unshakable Life: The unshakable life is built upon the unshakable rock of Jesus and His Word.

The Unshakable Story: The unshakable life knows its place in the story of God.

Genesis 3:1-13
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’?” 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.’” 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.” 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 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. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Isaiah 59:1-2Behold, 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.

Romans 3:9-20What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good,not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave;they use their tongues to deceive.”“The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

John 3:3-7 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ Ephesians 2:8-10 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Matthew 16:24-26Then 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?

Second City Church- The Unshakeables Sermon Series 2015

Keep Your Enemies Closer

Man on a Mission: Keep Your Enemies Closer (God's Perfection)

Matthew 5:38-48 (NIV)

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We live in a fallen world.  Jesus Christ came to restore that world by reconciling humanity and all of creation to himself through the cross.  Until he makes his return, there will be evil in the world which provides the opportunity for enemies.  To live in the freedom of God in the midst of the wrongs that we will inevitably encounter, we must look to the watchful eye of God, be aware of our own proclivity for wrath and aspire to imitate Christ.

Why does it matter?

The Watchful Eye of God

Jesus is speaking to a culture with the law of revenge executed by civil authorities as its standard.  This law was instituted to deter people in their wickedness from unbridled crimes that otherwise would go unchecked.  It was also meant as a form of justice since in ancient societies, punishment was handed out without regard for individual cases with the penalty many times greatly exceeding the crime.

If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 19:16-21 NIV)

This made them think again about the consequences of their actions, since they understood the equitable cost to themselves.

When speaking of an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth, Jesus is still saying to leave just punishment to the authorities (Romans 13).  However, in this exhortation, he is going further by giving us individual responsibility to reverse the dynamic.  Instead of taking retribution, we are prompted to give grace as a reflection of God's overarching plan to redeem the world.  The goal is to win people's hearts through this and see them come to repentance as they see our extraordinary response.  The personal benefit is freedom in our own souls as we live in a posture of humble service (i.e. - how Jesus tells the people to respond in the midst of Roman abuses).  You have the liberty to refrain from fending for yourself because you know that there is a God in heaven who will.

This is the clear example that Victor Hugo gives of the priest in Les Misérables, who turned Jean Val Jean's course by showing him grace after being the victim of Jean Val Jean's theft.  As a recipient of this inordinate kindness, Jean Val Jean's heart is arrested by God and he is turned to a life driven to honor God and do good for his fellow man.  Javert, who could not show such grace, was consumed by his judgments and self-righteousness, coming to a pitiable end under the weight of his own condemnations.

Why should we refrain from revenge?

One of the biggest issues that people have with God is why the wicked prosper while the righteous have lives filled with grief. God is a God of justice, and there will be justice done for the evil committed against you, your family and the victims of this world.

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 NIV)

If God did not judge, he would not be loving in regards to those who are the victims of unwarranted crimes, abuse and evil.

Intrinsically, people know that there is a day of reckoning, even if disconnected from God.  The idea of karma is a classic example of human reasoning attempting to explain God's recompense in the world, give encouragement to the downtrodden and hope to the helpless.  Yet there is a real judge who will deal with it all.  Psalm 37

Our Proclivity for Wrath

“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” ― Thomas à Kempis

In the workplace or in school, when you know that someone has gotten ahead unfairly or through deceptive means, what do you do?

God has a reputation for being wrathful, punitive and vengeful.  These are characteristics that have secular, modern man writhe in disgust and disdain for the God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord . Repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:32 NIV)

It is ironic, however, that those who so often have the greatest grievances with the idea of God's wrath, have the most of it in regards to others.  It is in these moments that they deliberately forget Jesus' exhortation to love those who have done us the most harm, rather than mirror their sin.  He is the God of the OT who revealed His glory to Moses in this way:

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord , the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6, 7a NIV)

The Imitation of Christ

Jesus begins to provide a more positive and permanent deterrent to the evil amongst men by turning the thrust of our responses from taking to giving. He is calling us into the standard of the eternal Trinity, the perfectly contented God, who created not to receive love, but to give it.  In doing so, he knew that anything created would be less than his perfection, and would, in this sense, fall short.  Yet with that knowledge, he chose to create anyway and remained in the posture of giving to an undeserving and many times unappreciative world.  This is how Jesus saved our lives, won our hearts and calls us now to do the same for others.

We are agents of God's grace in the world.  Just as Jesus was of the same uncreated substance as the Father, so that he said, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so we as his adopted children are to reflect him in the world.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21 NIV)

One of the biggest tests of someone feeling like they've become your enemy is when an offense arises because the seasons and dynamics of your relationship change.  The key to godliness is to remain a giver and not go into self-preservation mode.  For example, the dynamics of relationships naturally change when two friends were working together, one becomes the boss and the other the employee.  Additionally, the time that you were formerly able to spend with a friend when you both were single will understandably undergo a metamorphosis when someone finds their soul mate, gets married and has kids.  The same is true when the demands of a job change.  However does it mean that it needs to be the death of the relationship?  No, Jesus instead instructs us that we are to remain in the humble place of grace, understanding and service to those that we love and with whom we interact.  The alternative is a perpetual cycle of disappointment and loneliness when those who were once your BFF's become friendenemies in your heart.

It is not enough to ignore our oppressors.  Sticks, stones and words actually do damage in the real world.  How should we proactively deal with our enemies?

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21, 22 NIV)

Why can we do this for our enemies?  Because we were once enemies of God, offered reconciliation through the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ

“Thunderously, inarguably, the Sermon on the Mount proves that before God we all stand on level ground: murderers and temper-throwers, adulterers and lusters, thieves and coveters. We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.” ― Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

How does this apply in the business world or at work when your goal is to make a profit or have bottom-line results?

Circumstances are allowed and used by God to shape us.  Offense often reveals the shortcomings in our own hearts.

One of the regular questions that we must ask ourselves is, with whom am I offended?  Is it valid in God's sight?  If I were to step outside of my myopic perspective, do they really deserve to be considered an enemy?  Even in the worst case scenario, following Christ's example, what can I do to serve and minister to them for their benefit?

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:42 NIV)

It does not mean that we enable evil or allow everyone to walk all over us.

Something is always better than nothing. Do not succumb to the paralysis of perfectionism.  It is like exercise, eating healthy and working out.  Something is always better than nothing.  Each decision counts and God is looking to see your progress.  In your relationships, in your service, in your giving, progress.  People should literally be able to find the breadcrumb trail to God's grace through our actions in society.

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” ― Winston Churchill

As we go into next week's final pre-launch, we can ask ourselves the question, not only who are our friends that we can invite, but also those who need Jesus who we have had broken family or romantic relationships, or owe us something.  Treat it as an extension of grace.  Who have been your downright enemies to whom you can show the grace that you've been shown?

Second City Church – Man On A Mission Sermon Series 2013

My Word is My Bond

Man on a Mission: My Word is My Bond (God's Promises)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus resolves to make clear what He's after in His teaching.  Life is ultimately about relationships - relationship with God and with one another.  Therefore, there is no serving God without coming to a submitted understanding of how we will relate with those with whom we interact on a daily basis.

“We value virtue but do not discuss it. The honest bookkeeper, the faithful wife, the earnest scholar get little of our attention compared to the embezzler, the tramp, the cheat.” ― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

*** Matthew 5:33-37 ***

To understand the value that God places on our words, we will talk about God's character, the detriment of empty words and the results of being trustworthy.

God's Character

*** Our entire relationship with God is predicated on the fact that He is faithful to His Word.  It is the foundation of His holiness

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19 NIV84)

Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. (Isaiah 46:9-11 NIV84)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17 NIV84)

The Zondervan commentary makes note that in the Old Testament, God guaranteed his promises with an oath.  The Old Testament also permitted people to swear by the name of God to substantiate important affirmations or promises.  The Pharisees developed a complicated series of rules regarding oaths.  Some interpreters began to say that only oaths made by invoking the name of the Lord would be binding, while they could swear "by heaven" when they weren't taking their oath as seriously.  This search for loopholes in oaths had them include less potent associations with their oaths including things like swearing by "the earth" or "Jerusalem" and led to the devaluation of people's words.

The Detriment of Empty Words

“Emma has been meaning to read more ever since she was twelve years old. I have seen a great many lists of her drawing up at various times of books that she meant to read regularly through—and very good lists they were—very well chosen, and very neatly arranged—sometimes alphabetically, and sometimes by some other rule. The list she drew up when only fourteen—I remember thinking it did her judgment so much credit, that I preserved it some time; and I dare say she may have made out a very good list now. But I have done with expecting any course of steady reading from Emma. She will never submit to any thing requiring industry and patience, and a subjection of the fancy to the understanding.” ― Jane Austen, Emma

How many of us have this type of reputation - a lack of commitment and follow through with our family members, our peers and our co-workers?  My mom and my soccer.  It is time to break that pattern!

Here are some of the common mentalities that show us that we've become too comfortable with breaking our word:

1) I meant to do it, so it shouldn't matter that I didn't come through.

Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give. (Proverbs 25:14 NIV84)

It is not enough to live in good intentions.  The weakness of a man or woman's character lies in the fact that they are comfortable talking about what they would have, could have or should have done, rather than acting in even a small measure to make something happen.

2) I'm not up for it anymore/right now.  Can't we just do it later? There are certain circumstances that are out of our control.  Many times, however, dropping the ball has more to do with what we do or do not want to do than we'll admit.  At the end of the day, we find a way to do what we want.  It is pride that allows us to think that people having to reshape their lives and schedules around our offhand change of plans, is of no consequence.  It is a lack of consideration for someone else, valuing your time above theirs.  How many times has this happened to you and cost you at work or with a friend?

*** Our generation's fear of commitment has its root in insecurity and selfishness.  We live in such a way as not to inconvenience ourselves.  We are in a perpetual high school mentality always looking for the cooler party or better opportunity while all the while missing the ability to have any significant impact on the world because we give ourselves to nothing.  Humble and consistent contributions are the measure of a man or woman's greatness. Half of the battle is won by just faithfully showing up in the right places.  The other half is won in the attitude with which you show up (i.e. - parenting).

Why would Jesus speak with such strong language that anything else comes from the evil one?

The erosion of confidence in people's word often begins with parents and their children. Whether it be parents' abdicating their pledge to come to a game, or their marriage vows to one another, broken promises remove a sense of relationships being reliable, safe or secure.  We become damaged and hardened by it, then perpetuate the cycle outside of the home.

An obvious example of this morally unbridled politics.  Another is poor business practices.  Christians should be those with the most excellence in the work force, full of the most integrity and the be the most dependable in their field of industry.  However, the misnomer of grace is thrust upon clients and co-workers to many times give Christian businesses the reputation of being slack or irresponsible.

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

When a word is broken, someone always suffers. That is why it is called evil, Biblically defined as what is harmful or detrimental.  This is why no liar will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whether we like it or not, breaking our word is lying.  When we lie enough, we get used to it and develop an immunity to it.  It becomes our common vernacular.  When our words become empty, we are untrustworthy to our families, our co-workers, our clients, our constituents, our friends and even ourselves.  What develops is a culture of skepticism where people are suspicious about everyone and everything.  The first assault that the devil made was on the trustworthiness of God's Word, with devastating results. We are emulating the devil, not God, when we promote a pattern of weightless words and cavalier assertions.

How does this directly relate to our walk with God?

“Christians don't tell lies they just go to church and sing them.” ― A.W. Tozer

When we become followers of Jesus, we are making a pledge to love Him and obey His Word.  This is what our baptism symbolizes.  Whether we acknowledge it or not, the measure of our adherence to God's Word in its fullness is a measure of our love for Him.  When we pick and choose that to which we will be faithful, we are showing the holes in our understanding and devotion.

Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 12:28 NIV84)

How often have we said "God, forgive me"  with the implication that we're turning away from our sin, only to go right back to it the next day.  We remain in our sin because we don't take our vows seriously.  When we lack follow through, we not only break fellowship with others, but with God.  We don't believe that we can change because we've broken so many promises to ourselves.   The good news is that through the gospel, we can, and protect the strength of our words!

The Results of Being Trustworthy:

We begin to look at God and life differently.  Because we acknowledge God's reliable character, we depend on His word to shape our days and his promises to give us perseverance as we chase his unchanging plan.  As we emulate God's consistency with our words, steadfast relationships can form because you have given yourself to the ingredients that make them work.

The church is to be a community of faithfulness, trust and commitment.  As we look to see God do something great in this city as a church, it takes everyone finding and repeatedly playing their role in word and in deed.  As we are all in, we can build a culture of consistency and dedication to the unchanging plan of God though which we grow individually and as a church.

2nd City Church – Man On A Mission Sermon Series 2013

Cant Take My Eyes Off of You

Man on a Mission: Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (God's Purity)

*** Matthew 5:27-32 ***

We are beginning the year by reorganizing our priorities.  There is no better way to do this than unpacking what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount stressing how we engage our relationships, our service and our money.   There is no unpacking relationships without thinking through how we approach human sexuality.

We must understand the Scripture as Jesus calls us to examine God's love of beauty, the dangers of cultural sexuality and the blessings of purity.

Understanding the Scripture:

Lust is not just thinking that someone is handsome or acknowledging that they are pretty. Those are facts and should be encouraging to those to whom the compliment is given.

Looking at someone lustfully is Biblically defined as Looks at: (Blepo) - to look, see, take care, watch, be on the lookout. Lustfully: (Pros) - to, toward, for (Epithymeo): to desire, long for.  The word refers to the inclining of one's affections toward or setting of one's heart upon something.

What follows the lust are usually fantasies, whether physical or emotional, which can not be righteously fulfilled or acted upon without damaging another relationship.  Lust is not the natural desire that you would have for a husband, wife or soon to be spouse.  It is essentially self-gratification without the responsibility of commitment.

You are not responsible for the way that someone else is dressed, though you are responsible for how you dress.  Your innocence or guilt comes from your response.

There is a common misconception that the Old Testament presented a wrathful God of vengeance, and that the New Testament introduced a different god, Jesus, who was full of mercy and love.  The thought is that Jesus overturned all of the misrepresentations of the one true God.  What we see in the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus did nothing of the sort.  He is still full of love and grace, but if anything, presented a truth where he raised the bar in God's expectations for us, taking the issue of sin from external behaviors to the heart, from whence all activity flows.

Why does Jesus give us such a high standard?  Hasn't everyone had moments where we've fallen prey to such thoughts? It is because whether we are talking about murder or adultery, these are the things that we would do when driven to an emotional peak with ease of opportunity and without the immediate threat of consequence.  Essentially, if we thought that we wouldn't get caught or that God would not judge, we would persist in these destructive manners.  This has been the conclusion of nihilistic philosophers for ages.

“What we think about when we are free to think about what we will – that is what we are or will soon become.” ― A.W. Tozer

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV)

What does Jesus mean when he speaks about gouging out my eyes and cutting off my hands? It means to take the commands of God so seriously that we are willing to get rid of the things that cause us to stumble.  If you love someone, you are willing to go to extreme measures to show them.  You don't need to place your standards on other people.  You need to know yourself and make adjustments accordingly so that you can maintain your purity (i.e. - computer usage in public, refraining from certain types of movies or romance novels, ending unhealthy relationships)

God's Love of Beauty:

There is a paradigm that assumes Christianity's view towards sex is a puritan prudishness or a catholic containment unit.  You hear stories of Catholic girls going wild because of the taboo with which sexuality is treated in the home or Protestant men escaping into debauchery because of the eroticism saturating our culture.  The truth of the matter is that sex, as described by God, is a beautiful thing, a celebrated thing and is spoken of in Scripture in the most satisfying and liberating terms.

Beauty is also venerated in Scripture. However, it is not limited to outward beauty, but an internal beauty that makes the most plain person have a drawing power about them.  God is described in His beauty and both men and women in the Scripture were noted for their handsomeness or loveliness in form.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. (1 Peter 3:3-5a NIV84)

We beautify ourselves, work out or dress to impress because of our God ordained sexuality.

The Dangers of Cultural Sexuality:

“sex is the consolation you have when you can't have love” ― Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

The well being of society is not found in sexual repression, but in the proper valuation, rather than the objectification, of individuals whose beauty will eventually fade.

Rape and broken intimacy in marriages because of pornography are commonplace tragedies, examples of the results of ignoring this rule. New York Magazine male lebido article:  http://nymag.com/news/features/70976/

We have had black eyes in the church with recent sexual scandals involving priests and molestation.  There have been fanciful inquiries regarding the relationship of Jesus and Mary Magdalene supposing that were married.  People speculate as to whether Jesus, as a man, was able to continually interact with prostitutes without impropriety.  The question has been raised of whether or not it is even possible to live a chaste life.  The answer is a resounding YES and it is through the freedom and fulfillment that he provides through the gospel.  Jesus knew who he was, knew that he had a bride waiting for him and purified himself to be the one that she needed

Hooked book

The Blessings of Purity:

Why are each of the commands set forth in Matthew 5:27-32 part of the good news?:

God is not an impersonal force, but a loving Father who wants the best for those with whom he would relate and adopt as children through Jesus.

“I myself said, “ ‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. (Jeremiah 3:19 NIV84)

All of these commands are making an appeal to your commitment to the well being of another individual over the immediate satisfying of your own desires. The breaking of these laws is a selfish fulfillment of your own interests at someone else's expense. Jesus exemplified the exact opposite. (Give examples of each)

“I am convinced that the human heart hungers for constancy. In forfeiting the sanctity of sex by casual, nondiscriminatory "making out" and "sleeping around," we forfeit something we cannot well do without. There is dullness, monotony, sheer boredom in all of life when virginity and purity are no longer protected and prized.” ― Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity

There is a security that comes with a properly placed and God given identity.  B's blossoming and her confidence in my love

The Bible is filled with some of the most descriptive, celebratory and satisfying depictions of sex known to man:  Proverbs, Song of Solomon.  The key to living in God-ordained fulfillment is waiting for the proper time and the proper commitment.  The covenant of marriage is where God places his blessing.  He determines that we will be satisfied in the environment in which you will be most secure.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. (Hebrews 13:4 NIV84)

What do I do while I'm waiting for marriage?: Develop the skills that will keep a committed relationship alive after the thrill of the conquest of a sexual relationship has waned.  The idea of falling in and out of love vs. in and out of lust

Take care of yourself

A person's spouse is to be their standard of beauty - Mark Driscoll

Purity is given by God to be both liberating and fulfilling

For the Christian, the truth is that faithfulness to these commands becomes difficult if it simply culde sacs with us.  Because we take for granted that God will forgive us, we are willing to put up with momentary disciplines for our indiscretions.  However, IF we understand that every decision that we make is ultimately larger than ourselves, and has eternal weight in being on mission with Jesus to build an alternate city within a city, then the purpose of every act of obedience comes into clearer view.  We can see the results of our love for God in the lives that are healed, restored and literally saved from death as we honor Jesus on a daily basis with the goal of seeing others come into relationship with him.

2nd City Church – Man On A Mission Sermon Series 2013

Re-establishing Priorities

Man on a Mission: Re-establishing Priorities

Matthew 5:13-20 • As we begin the year, we are getting on the same page in a unified manner to officially launch our church in the next several months!

• As we will see in Jesus' teaching, any Christian ministry begins with our own dedication to modeling Jesus' life and commands.  Jesus is never more clear than when he speaks of grudges, sex, marriage, divorce, keeping promises, revenge, how we treat our enemies, generosity, sacrifice, money, prayer, faith, judgments, forgiveness, holiness and personal disciplines.  All of these are covered in the Sermon on the Mount, and in effect, give us the tools to both love and be on mission with Jesus.

The Nature of Salt: • Salt was used as a preservative, flavoring agent and fertilizer.  As such, we are called as the people of God to add to the flourishing of individuals, cities and nations.

• The salt that was used in Jerusalem mostly came from the Dead Sea and was full of impurities.  It therefore lost some of its flavor and was thereafter thrown out.  This is the net result of the church that does not maintain its adherence to the unadulterated, unchanging wisdom of God found in His Word.

• From the outset, discipleship, which means intentionally creating growing communities of those who love, fear and honor God, is on Jesus' mind.

The Dynamics of a City:

• (The habitual reference to cities in the Scripture imply God's love and purpose for the urban environment where ideas, values and cultures are formed, exchanged and exported)

• The very nature of Jesus' first analogies makes things much less ethereal and more tangible than one would expect.  It points to the outward influence that your life is to have on others as salt, the environmental effect you are to have as light and the impact that you are to have as a part of a city, an alternate city within your present city, known as the city of God.

“The Heavenly City outshines Rome beyond comparison. There, instead of victory, is truth; instead of high rank, holiness; instead of peace, felicity; instead of life, eternity,” 
― Augustine of Hippo, City of God

It immediately speaks of the community to which He's called you.  The you is plural as no man or woman is a city by themself.  Nor can a single grain of salt flavor or preserve an entire stock of meat on its own. To be a city set on a hill, it has to be about what we do outside of our Sunday morning gatherings.  Sunday, within the walls,  we rationally understand that we are in a place where God's Word is honored, his name is exalted and His people are built up even as they are built together.  This is imperative for our development and spiritual health as we live and work in environments that deny Jesus' identity, much less reject His commands.

Following Christ means that you always have two sets of people in mind - Jesus, whom you serve, and others, through whom you serve him and with whom you make up this alternate city on a hill.  The challenge is that you don't choose with whom you are living in the city and are therefore dependent - i.e. - bus drivers.

In the city that works, how do I build such relationships?

The Purpose of the Law: • In any city, there is a law that governs it as a representation of its ruling Kingdom.

• The challenge in our generation when everyone is able to share their opinion and deem themselves an authority on the Internet, is how to avoid the Word of God being lumped into the category of white noise.  The city gives a visual image of why things are better in His community and His Word explains how we get there.

“We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.” 
― John R.W. Stott

The fulfillment of the Law meant: 1) Jesus would fulfill the sacrificial system's requirements by becoming our Passover lamb 2) Jesus would fulfill Messianic prophecies begun in his first coming, to be completed in his return 3) The term pleroe (fulfilled) in Greek speaks to his completion of the interpratation and application of the prophets words, clarifying God's full intent and meaning behind them.  Therefore, when Mohammad  comes 500+ years later, acknowledging Jesus as a prophet, but claiming to be "the seal", that role had already been taken by the one who showed his authority by his life, miracles, death, burial and resurrection.

Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19, 20 NIV84)

The Pharisees were legendary in Israel for their external righteousness, supported by the oral law which they added to stay several paces away from the ledge.  However, Jesus is pointing to a righteousness that can only come from him.  It is because, as we we see in the six examples that follow, it is about the heart.  Jesus brought us to a point of complete helplessness in our own efforts, with the only option being the redemption that He would ultimately provide through His death, burial and resurrection.

2nd City Church - Man On A Mission Sermon Series 2013