The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity : Nicodemus

The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity

Nicodemus - from Curious to Convert

NOTES PREPARED BY PAUL BARKER

Focus Statement:

He came at night because he was curious, but it was the revelation of the cross that converted him.

John 3:1–15 (ESV)

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 19:39–42 (ESV)

39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Introduction

Have you ever watched a child, just learning to crawl, scoot his way to the other side of the room to pick up an object that caught his attention? 

Or what about a toddler, who hasn’t quite mastered opening doors yet, determinedly twisting and turning a door knob out of curiosity because of what was on the other side?

While parents can get exhausted by this endless curiosity, they still delight in watching their children overcome obstacles as they explore and learn about the world around them. 

Curiosity is beautiful because it often leads to seeking answers to questions, finding solutions to problems, and receiving the satisfaction of a longing. 

But, more often than not, it can end in frustration and tears. 

While curiosity is wonderful, it has limitations.

John 3 recounts an intimate dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews.

What’s interesting is that while the gospel writers almost always portrayed Pharisees as the opponents of Jesus, Nicodemus does not come in an adversarial posture. 

He isn’t trying to confront or catch Jesus with cleverly worded questions. 

Instead, like so many others, Nicodemus sees the signs and wonders Jesus is doing and is curious. 

And so, he comes at night, away from the prying eyes of witnesses, to seek Jesus out.

Nicodemus is curious. 

However, as we examine this dialogue more closely, we discover that Niocdemus’ curiosity has limitations to his following Jesus.

The Limitations of Nicodemus’ Curiosity

He was limited by his reservations.

3:1,2: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night . . .

What is the significance of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night? 

Why did John think this detail was essential? 

In one sense, this demonstrates the genuineness of his curiosity. 

If Nicodemus hoped to challenge or trap Jesus, he would have come in the light of day when there would have been as many witnesses as possible. 

But the fact that he comes at night demonstrates that he genuinely and earnestly seeks answers to his curiosity. 

He wants to know, “Who is this man who performs such awesome signs?”

However, while coming at night demonstrates the genuineness of his curiosity, it also shows its limitations.

He comes away from prying eyes at night, most likely because he doesn’t want to be seen. 

Nicodemus isn’t just a Pharisee; he is a ruler of the Jews, meaning he is part of the Sanhedrin, an elite group that advises the high priest. 

Nicodemus is part of the Jewish inner circle. 

He’s an important man with a significant reputation. 

What would people think if they discovered this powerful and learned man seeking out Jesus?

Would they think less of him? 

Would he lose his position of power and influence? 

Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the cover of night, avoiding the onlookers and the crowds. 

He is curious about Jesus, but not to the point that he is willing to risk his reputation or standing among the Jewish people as a teacher and leader.

Nicodemus’ curiosity causes him to seek Jesus, but his reservations limit his seeking.

He was limited by his preconceptions.

3:2: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Nicodemus, a learned man at the center of Jewish life, addresses Jesus, a traveling healer with no formal training, as Rabbi, “teacher.” 

Here, we see that Nicodemus has genuine respect for Jesus. 

The signs Jesus performed piqued his curiosity and led him to seek Jesus out and accept him as a “teacher from God.”

However, Nicodemus’ acceptance of Jesus reveals a respectful but partial belief in him. 

As the dialogue continues, we will see that his preconceptions limit his acceptance (and understanding) of Jesus.

The Challenge to Nicodemus’ Curiosity

3:3: Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

At first glance, Jesus’ reply might seem unusual in response to Nicodemus’ statement. 

Why would he answer in this way? 

The answer can be found at the end of John 2, where we are told that many believed in Jesus because of the signs he performed. 

Yet, Jesus did not entrust himself to them, “because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”

Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus, too. 

He saw Nicodemus’ curiosity but also understood its limits.

Rather than “entrusting himself to him,” Jesus challenged him with a statement that confronted Nicodemus’ reservations and preconceptions.

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have believed that being born a Jew ensured entrance into God’s kingdom. 

But Jesus was telling him that to see the kingdom of God, he must be born again. 

There’s a wordplay in the original language. 

The word “again” can also be translated as “from above.” 

When Jesus uses this word, he implies both ideas:

• You need to be born again: Being born a Jew is not enough; a second birth is necessary.

• You need to be born from above: This second birth is not something you can achieve through effort, status, or lineage—it comes from God.

Nicodemus misunderstands Jesus’ double meaning, focusing only on the physical idea of birth. 

He scoffs at the notion of entering his mother’s womb a second time, asking, “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 then clarifies his point by stating, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” 

Here again, he challenges Nicodemus’ assumptions, indicating that entering God’s kingdom is not about physical birth or status but about something only God can do.

In Nicodemus’ worldview, he believed he already had everything he needed to enter the kingdom of God — his birth, status, and religious life were all in order. 

But Jesus was saying that something deeper was required. 

Confused and unable to reconcile this with his understanding, Nicodemus asks, “How can these things be?”

Jesus concludes their conversation with a striking statement: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

Nicodemus would have been familiar with the story Jesus referenced from Numbers 21:4–9. 

In this account, God’s people were near the end of their forty-year journey in the wilderness when they began complaining once again. 

Unlike previous occasions, when God responded graciously, this time, he sent poisonous serpents among them. 

In desperation, the people cried out for deliverance. 

Instead of simply removing the snakes, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent. 

Anyone bitten by the snakes would be saved by looking at this image of the serpent, trusting in God’s provision for their healing.

Jesus uses this story to foreshadow his own crucifixion. 

Just as the Israelites were saved by looking at the bronze serpent in faith, so too will people be saved by looking to Jesus in faith, who will be “lifted up” on the cross.

Cross Encounter

The next time we see Nicodemus is in John 7:50. 

The Pharisees and chief priests want to arrest Jesus, but Nicodemus defends him, saying, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 

Maybe he is still curious and seeking answers, or perhaps he is a secret convert. 

But we see that he’s still limited by his reservations—he’s willing to defend Jesus but not publicly accept him.

But when we see him in John 19, the story is different.

19:38,39: After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.

Nicodemus is no longer hiding. 

Apparently, he’s no longer limited in his seeking by his reservations or limited in his understanding by his preconceptions. 

Rather, he is willing to risk everything by participating in the burial of the one who has just been crucified. 

So, what happened? 

What has changed for Nicodemus?

The Bible doesn’t provide us with the details of Nicodemus’ journey from curious to convert, but something must have happened when he saw Jesus hanging on the cross. 

Maybe he remembered Jesus’ words: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

Perhaps the words, so shrouded in mystery since that night when he came to Jesus, now became clear to him.

Just as the Israelites had the venom of poisonous snakes coursing through their veins, Jesus is revealing that Nicodemus—and everyone else—have something far more deadly running through them: the poison of sin. 

It wasn’t enough for Nicodemus to be born a Jew. 

It wasn’t enough for him to be a Pharisee, a teacher of Israel, or a member of the Jewish elite. 

None of these things could save him. 

None of these things could open his eyes to the kingdom. 

None of these things could grant him eternal life. 

The poison of sin could not be cured by anything Nicodemus possessed or achieved; only God’s provision could do that. 

All that was left for him to do was to look to the despised image of the cross and be healed.

Application

The cross reveals the true extent of the problem of sin. 

When we look at the cross and see the extreme measures God did to save us, we can no longer downplay the seriousness of sin. 

Yet, at the same time, the cross also reveals the greatness of God’s provision. 

It shows us that God “did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.” 

Through the cross, we see both the gravity of our sin and the magnitude of God’s love and sacrifice to redeem us.

Questions to Consider in Your Application:

• In what ways are you limited in your seeking by your reservations? 

• What do you seek to lose if you follow Jesus?

• In what ways are you limited in your acceptance of Jesus by your understanding? 

• What preconceptions are keeping you from following Jesus?

•  How does a revelation of the cross answer these reservations and preconceptions?

Close

Nicodemus thought he had what he needed to enter the kingdom because he didn’t realize the seriousness of the problem—only a revelation of the cross could show him that.

Curiosity can cause you to seek, but your seeking will be limited by your reservations.

Curiosity can cause you to accept, but your acceptance will be limited by your understanding.

But a revelation of the cross reveals to us the seriousness of the problem of sin and the greatness of God’s provision to deal with this problem.

It is a revelation of the cross that turns the curious into a convert.

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

In this text, Jesus tells Nicodemus that the way into the kingdom of God is to be born from above. 

We can’t gain entrance into the kingdom through our status or effort. 

But our gracious and generous God has provided a way for us to know him through Jesus; for that, he deserves our praise and worship.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

As we look at the provision of God, our hearts respond in praise and worship. 

We may be drawn to Jesus because of our curiosity, but it’s a revelation of the cross that transforms our hearts.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

It is a revelation of the cross that turns the curious into a convert. 

As we share the gospel with others, we should pray for them to have a revelation of the cross that will transform their hearts.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

The cross reveals to us the seriousness of sin and the greatness of God’s provision to deal with it. 

We are reminded that new birth doesn’t come through our status or effort but through trusting God’s provision to save us.

• Second City Church 

The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity : Mary Magdalene

The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity

Mary Magdalene - from Sinner to Evangelist

NOTES PREPARED BY PAUL BARKER 

Focus Statement:

Mary Magdalene was the first to testify to Christ’s resurrection.

Luke 8:1–3 (ESV)

1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

Mark 15:40–41 (ESV)

40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

John 20:1–3, 11–18 (ESV)

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stopped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you seeking?”  Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. 

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Some of the key theological assumptions that come out of the Jewish shaping of the Gospels are assumptions that the God of Israel is now bringing restoration in Jesus. 

So this sense that the story of the Gospels is not just about Jesus but is about what the God of Israel has already been doing and is now doing to bring restoration, to inaugurate the kingdom through Jesus, is an important part of the Gospels. 

So we don’t hear the Gospels as the beginning of a story, but the continuation and the culmination of Israel’s story and the redemption that God has promised Israel.

The Gospels record the next phase of the narrative arc of God’s plan for the redemption of humanity. 

They reveal who Jesus is, detailing his birth, life, death, and resurrection. 

Yet, they do more than present facts about Jesus—they also share the stories of real people whose lives were transformed by encountering him.

The authors address the needs of their communities, especially the call to believe and find life in his name (John 20:31). 

Through these stories, we too can experience that life.

This sermon focuses on one such transformed life: Mary Magdalene. 

Her dramatic testimony showcases the redemption God accomplished through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Scene One: Luke 8:1–3

Most narrative writing consists of various scenes to advance the storyline. 

In this true and dramatic account, Luke 8:1–3 is the first scene. 

It introduces Mary Magdalene and explains her past.

Luke briefly highlights Mary Magdalene among Jesus’ followers in Luke 8:1–3. 

Unlike the others in the text, whom Luke describes by their roles or relationships, he introduces Mary as a woman from whom seven demons were cast out. 

This is a humbling and painful past.

At the start of Mary’s story, her past—marked by shame, regret, and darkness—could have easily defined her. 

Many of us can relate to living with a “backdrop” we wish we could erase.

Though Mary has a background scene that she may have wished was left out of the story, it is merely the backdrop. 

The real story is about Jesus and what happened to Mary as she followed him. 

Her background scene sets the stage for her life-changing deliverance, which is the start of her new story.

Scene Two: Mark 15:40–41

Why do all four Gospel authors write about Mary Magdalene? 

Perhaps her painful beginning helps us see Jesus’ glorious work as her story progresses.

In this text, Mark calls her Mary Magdalene, but there is no mention of the seven demons or her shameful past. 

That part of her story no longer defines Mary. 

But the spotlight isn’t on Mary; it’s on the cross where Jesus was being crucified. 

It’s now Jesus’ shame and pain that the story emphasizes, not hers.

Sometimes, the critical part of a story isn’t about the past but the present. 

Jesus’ pain and shame eclipses Mary’s. 

His dying the death of a criminal on a cross replaces her past. 

She is now simply a follower of Jesus and one who cares for him along with the other disciples.

When we think about our story, what background scene is the most prominent? 

Is it our pain and shame, or is it the cross of Jesus? 

Both scenes significantly impact our lives, but only the cross leads to the power of the resurrection.

Scene Three: John 20:1–3

In scene three, we find Mary at the tomb. 

Jesus has been crucified and buried. 

The other gospel writers provide more details on why Mary is there, but in John’s account, the spotlight is simply on her presence and the stark contrast of Jesus’ absence.

She is still faithfully following but also afraid and anxious because simply following is no longer working.

Jesus had told his disciples he would die and be raised to life, but none understood it (John 20:9). 

Though Jesus’ death on the cross is central to the story, the goal is resurrection life. 

Following Jesus to his death doesn’t finish the story.

Scene Four: John 20:11–18

Scene four is the most important and climactic. 

Mary stayed after the other disciples left the tomb scene, waiting and weeping. 

She has brief conversations with two angels and a man she thinks is the gardener.

When the gardener (Jesus) says her name, she recognizes him and exclaims, “Rabboni!” which means “teacher.” 

She is a follower of Jesus, and he is her teacher.

What Jesus says next in response to her revelation and declaration sets a new background for Mary. 

She is his disciple, and instead of merely clinging to him, she has new work to do. 

The cross and resurrection have transformed her life from clinging to commissioning. 

She is no longer simply a follower; the resurrection life of Jesus commissions her to live as the very first witness to that life. 

She isn’t just meant to follow but also to go and tell. Jesus told her, “Go tell my brothers.”

A background of pain and shame no longer defines Mary Magdalene; she is no longer simply a follower of Jesus; she is a disciple commissioned to tell others about Jesus and his resurrection life.

When you think about your life, what background is behind you? 

Is it a background without Jesus in the picture? 

That background can change.

Is it a background of his cross and your following and loving him? 

That is a great background, but it isn’t the end of the story.

The final background meant for every follower of Jesus is the empty tomb and the life of Jesus commissioning us to go and tell.

Mary Magdalene’s story illustrated how the cross and resurrection are the foundation of our faith and mission. 

Through the cross, we can be forgiven of our sins and healed of our past, walk with other disciples and grow in faith as we follow Jesus, and take that new story and be a messenger of the life and transformative power of Jesus so that others can hear and be delivered as you have been.

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

Mary Magdalene’s story glorifies God by demonstrating his power to redeem and transform lives.

Through her journey, we see God’s mercy, grace, and victory over evil on full display. 

The cross and resurrection highlight God’s faithfulness to fulfill his promises of redemption and restoration for humanity. 

The cross and resurrection narrative highlights Mary’s troubled past, which brings attention to God’s ability to transform ordinary, broken people and commission them to live for his purposes.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our hearts can be transformed when we respond to Jesus and the truth that, like Mary, our past does not define us. 

Christ’s work on the cross and his resurrection define us.

Mary’s journey reflects the hope that no matter the circumstances of our sin, shame, or personal brokenness, Jesus’ sacrifice covers it, and his resurrection empowers us for a new life. 

When we receive this truth, we are set free to live a new identity as redeemed followers of Jesus. 

This truth also brings healing and enables us to live with renewed purpose, moving us from bondage to freedom and despair to hope.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

Mary Magdalene’s transformation from a delivered follower to a faithful messenger accelerates the mission. 

Her commission to “go and tell” about the risen Christ marks the beginning of the spread of the gospel message and the furthering of God’s kingdom coming on earth.

In the commissioning moment, Jesus emphasizes the power of her testimony, which is still powerful today, just as ours is. 

The personal testimony of a disciple of Jesus accelerates the mission by giving others the opportunity to hear and believe in the risen Christ and find life in his name.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

The cross provides forgiveness of sins and deliverance from our past, and the resurrection gives us new life and power to live for Christ. 

Mary Magdalene’s story illustrates the complete work of salvation: Jesus redeems, restores, and commissions us for his mission.

Just as Jesus called Mary to proclaim the good news of the resurrection, we, too, are commissioned to testify to Christ’s victory over sin and death. 

This means embracing the call to follow Jesus and share his transformative work in our lives with others so they, too, can experience redemption and resurrection life.

- Second City Church

The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity : Joseph of Arimathea

The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity:

Joseph of Arimathea - from Passivity to Mission

NOTES PREPARED BY PAUL BARKER

 Focus Statement:

He was a secret disciple and member of the Council, but the cross motivated him to action.

Take faith-filled risks—even if it’s not your responsibility.

Take faith-filled risks—even if it’s costly.

Take faith-filled risks—even when it seems too late.

Text:

Mark 15:42–46 (ESV)

 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Luke 23:50–51 (ESV)

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.

John 19:38 (ESV)

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Though the story of Jesus’ burial by Joseph of Arimathea is short, all four gospel writers include it, underscoring its importance. 

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each record the details of Jesus’ burial because of its narrative, apologetic, prophetic, and instructional importance.

First, from a storytelling perspective, Jesus’ burial is a crucial step in the narrative, bridging the events of the crucifixion on Friday with the empty tomb on Sunday. 

This short account is essential to moving the story toward its climax.

Second, the details of Jesus’ burial provide important historical facts that early Christians used as an apologetic defense against claims that Jesus did not truly die on the cross and, therefore, could not have risen from the dead.

Third, this burial fulfills prophetic scripture, as early interpreters noted. 

Jesus’ burial in Joseph’s tomb fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9, which says, “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

Finally, the story holds instructional significance for all believers. 

Joseph of Arimathea, a relatively obscure disciple, exemplifies a journey of faith and discipleship, moving from passivity to bold action in serving Jesus’ mission.

What does Joseph’s story mean for us?

The short answer is this: If we want to move from passivity to mission, as Joseph did, we must be willing to take faith-filled risks. 

But before exploring this key idea, let’s first understand Joseph of Arimathea and why he initially acted with passivity and secrecy.

Background on Joseph of Arimathea

The gospels provide several insights into Joseph’s character and position.

1. He was a “respected member of the council” (Mark 15:43). 

The council is the Sanhedrin, the first-century Jewish equivalent of the Supreme Court. 

Though the Jews were under Roman rule, the Sanhedrin remained the most powerful and prestigious legal body in the Jewish world. 

This council tried and condemned Jesus (Matthew 26:57–68), though they needed Pilate’s approval to carry out the death sentence (Matthew 27:1-2, 11–26).

2. He was “a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action” (Luke 23:50–51). 

Though the details are unclear, Luke emphasizes that Joseph either protested the council’s decision to condemn Jesus or was absent during the trial. 

Despite his prominence in the Sanhedrin, Joseph did not share the guilt of condemning Jesus.

3. He was “looking for the kingdom of God” (Luke 23:51). 

He was one of those Jews who had not given up hope that the Messiah would come and deliver his people. 

At some point during Jesus’ ministry, Joseph encountered Jesus’ teaching and the claim that he was the Messiah. 

While we don’t know the specifics of Joseph’s encounters with Jesus, we know that the good news reached him.

4. He was a “disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). 

Although the other gospels imply Joseph’s secrecy, John makes it explicit. 

This is probably because John is interested that many more believed in Jesus than openly followed him (see John 12:42–43), like Nicodemus (John 3:1), another prominent Jewish leader who was a secret disciple of Jesus.

The Surprising Story of Jesus’ Burial

The story of Jesus’ burial by Joseph is simple but full of surprising elements. 

The first surprise is that Joseph, a secret disciple and prominent council member, was the one who asked for Jesus’ body—not a family member or well-known disciple. 

The second surprise is that this secret follower of Jesus suddenly took such a significant risk, choosing to associate himself with someone the Romans had just executed.

Third, Joseph made this bold move at a time when Jesus’ messianic mission appeared to have failed.

From Passivity to Mission

These surprises give us the key to understanding how Joseph went from passivity to mission, from fear to boldness. 

By asking Pilate for Jesus’ body and taking responsibility for burying him, Joseph took a mission-driven, faith-filled risk that changed everything for him.

Let’s examine what we can learn from this short but powerful story.

1. Take mission-driven, faith-filled risks—even if it’s not your responsibility.

The first thing we can learn from Joseph is to take faith-filled risks—even if it’s not your responsibility.

It should surprise readers from any generation that a completely unknown character in the story shows up after Jesus’ death and takes responsibility to bury Jesus. 

Why didn’t his family members or disciples bury Jesus? We don’t know the answer, but we have a few clues.

Jesus’ disciples probably didn’t volunteer to bury Jesus because they were afraid of being associated with him and being executed, too. 

However, more fundamentally, Jesus’ family and close followers probably didn’t volunteer to bury Jesus because people the Romans crucified were usually not granted the honor of a proper burial. Usually, birds and dogs ate their bodies. The only exception was for crucified people who had family members or friends with high status.

Enter, Joseph of Arimathea. As a secret disciple, he was not known as a close associate of Jesus; however, his status as a member of the Sanhedrin enabled him to gain an audience with Pilate and make such a request.

That said, it’s still remarkable that he did this because he was incurring the same risks that the other disciples were terrified of—being associated with someone whom the Romans had condemned of treason and executed.

Joseph could have easily assumed that Jesus’ family or twelve disciples would (or at least should) take responsibility for his burial. 

No one would have thought this was his responsibility, but Joseph took a faith-filled risk to identify with Jesus and provide a proper burial for him.

Application: 

• How often do we avoid taking mission-driven, faith-filled risks and remain passive because we assume someone else will take responsibility? 

We are usually experts at assigning work and responsibility to others and arguing why other people should be in line ahead of us.

2. Take mission-driven, faith-filled risks—even if it’s costly.

The second thing we can learn from Joseph is to take mission-driven, faith-filled risks—even if they’re costly.

None of the gospel writers record the consequences of Joseph’s decision. 

But we can easily imagine the costly risks that Joseph considered before he made the fateful decision to talk to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body.

First, Joseph knew that burying Jesus could cost him his respected position with the Sanhedrin. 

Less than 24 hours earlier, they had condemned Jesus to death, and now he was identifying with the man whom they condemned as a blasphemer. 

John notes that some of the religious leaders believed in Jesus, “but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue” (John 12:42).

Joseph knew his decision could cost him his status and respect with his people.

Second, Joseph knew that burying Jesus could cost him his civic freedoms under Roman occupation. 

To the Jewish leaders, Jesus was a blasphemer, but to the Romans, Jesus was an insurrectionist, as his death by crucifixion communicated. 

For Joseph to ask Pilate, the Roman governor, for Jesus’ body was to identify with a traitor to the Roman Empire. 

Minimally, this could mark him as a person of suspicion. 

At worst, he could end up with the same fate if Jesus’ movement continued to cause problems for the Romans.

Joseph could have weighed the cost of this risk and decided that it was too risky to bury Jesus. 

But he didn’t. 

He made a bold decision and took a risk to identify with Jesus.

Application: 

• How often do we avoid taking mission-driven, faith-filled risks and remain passive because we think the cost is too high?

3. Take mission-driven, faith-filled risks—even when it seems too late.

The final thing we can learn from Joseph is to take mission-driven, faith-filled risks—even when it seems too late.

Joseph’s stand for Jesus is oddly timed. 

If Joseph thought Jesus was the Messiah, he should have made his belief public sooner—perhaps even appealing to the council not to condemn Jesus to death. 

Making a public stand for Jesus after his death seems like a bold move made too late.

Did Joseph still think Jesus was the Messiah? 

Did he know about Jesus’ predictions of his resurrection? 

Or did Joseph feel like Jesus was simply a good man—a would-be Messiah—who was unjustly executed and therefore deserved a proper burial? 

We simply don’t know. 

However, the fact that Joseph took this radical risk when it seemed too late says something about his faith and his devotion to Jesus.

Furthermore, Joseph’s faith-filled risk was honored when his tomb became the site of the greatest miracle in human history—the resurrection of Jesus.

Application: 

• How often do we avoid taking faith-filled risks and remain passive because we think we’ve missed our chance? 

• How often do we assume the window for bold, mission-driven, faith-filled action has closed and stay passive because the timing seems inopportune?

Conclusion:

If we want to move from passivity to mission, we can follow in Joseph’s footsteps and take faith-filled risks:

—even when it’s not our responsibility.

—even when it’s costly.

—even when it seems too late.

These faith-filled risks will not make sense to most people, and sometimes they won’t even make sense to us, but we can take them in faith because we follow a crucified and resurrected Savior. 

When we consider the risk that Jesus took for us, no risk we make for Jesus is too costly or too late for him.

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

God is glorified in the text because acts of faith-filled risk glorify God. 

When disciples take Jesus at his word and do bold things for him, he is glorified in our lives, and we are satisfied, no matter the outcome.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our hearts are transformed when we know that God can take passive, insignificant disciples and make them integral players in his grand story of redemption. 

Knowing that God sees people who are afraid but have just a little faith and that he gives us opportunities to be bold and take risks for him even when it seems too late should fill us with hope and joy.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

The mission is accelerated in this text when we see how seemingly small human participation (burying Jesus) can have exponentially multiplied significance when God demonstrates his power and intervenes in everyday human affairs. 

Joseph wanted to do something to honor Jesus, but his actions set the stage for something much more significant than a simple (though risky) act of personal devotion.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

The gospel application is this—no matter how much it costs us to follow Jesus, we can be assured that it cost him more to redeem us. 

And no matter how big of a risk we think we are taking to obey Jesus, we can trust our lives and our decisions to him. 

Joseph probably believed that Jesus really “needed” him to give him a proper burial. 

Still, Joseph had no idea that God was giving him the honor of participating in a greater story that changed not only Joseph’s life but all of human history.

Hope and Healing: Life at the Pace of Jesus

‭Hope and Healing: Life at the Pace of Jesus

Pastor Rollan Fisher

 Focus: The life that we are all looking for is found when we begin to look to and live at the pace of Jesus. 

• Signs

• What You’re Looking For Is…

• Found in Christ

 Signs

We need to be able to discern the natural and spiritual signs that God is giving us to be able to keep in step with God’s plans for us in Jesus.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”

Life can seem like it is out of control when we are trying to do things on our own. 

One sign that we might be inadvertently outpacing God is the breakdown of our health - whether physically, emotionally or mentally. 

As we prepare to celebrate the epiphany by remembering Christ’s visit from the wise men, we need to prayerfully reevaluate the pace at which we’ve been running in life.   

God is always working on multiple levels, in multiple ways to save lives.  

The Magi were thought to be astrologers from the East who were influenced by the Jews speaking about the words of the prophets during their exile in Babylon.  

The wise men had a sense of that which (or he who) should rule their lives, but needed the Scripture to illuminate and help bring clarity to the signs that they saw.  

The wise men were looking for the one to be born king of the Jews. 

The wise men were looking for Jesus. 

The fact that God provided a star, a supernatural sign to lead the wise men to the answer of their life searchings demonstrated God’s desire to redeem not only the Jews, but the Gentiles (the rest of the known world) through the Messiah that God would send to be savior of all mankind. 

God had spoken about this through the prophet Isaiah, who ministered approximately 700 years before the arrival of Jesus, before the Babylonian exile:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭49‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

 “he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."”

In providing the star for the wise men to follow, God would literally move the heavens and earth to get a hold of the souls that he came to save.  

“Consider how precious a soul must be, when both God and the devil are after it.”

-Charles Spurgeon

 What You’re Looking For Is…

We need to discern what it actually is that we’re looking for in life to see whether it’s worth the journey we’re on to obtain it.   

Looking within is not the key.  

“By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. I have termed this constitutive characteristic "the self-transcendence of human existence." It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself--be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself--by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love--the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”

-Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

When looking into the word of God, the chief priests and scribes were able to determine not only that God had spoken about the king for whom the wise men were looking, but where this king was to be born - in Bethlehem of Judea according to the word of the prophet Micah. 

What we saw is that the supernatural signs that God provided the wise men and the word of God spoken by the prophets all led to what the wise men, king Herod and the religious leaders were looking for - the Son of God who came to save the world. 

What the Magi were able to discover is that true life is found outside of their own learning, in the person of Jesus.  

Yet there is a catch. 

Like King Herod and the people of Jerusalem, once we realize that what we are actually looking for requires a new king in our lives, it can be initially troubling to us.  

“Idols control us since we feel like we must have them or life is meaningless.”

-Timothy Keller in Counterfeit Gods

Herod had the history of…

However, once we acknowledge that the things that were previously ruling us were unmerciful taskmasters (like Herod and our idols), then we are glad to let these other rulers go.  

We are saved from both literal and metaphorical hell by turning from our sins to the worship of Jesus. 

How did the wise men respond?

The wise men, once they realized who it was that they were looking for, came with their gold, frankincense and myrrh.  

*Ironically, these are the things to which people often look for the meaning of life ( financial security, the power of self-help and the avoidance of death), trying to find their value, worth and security.  

The wise men understood what Jesus would later speak to, that Christ’s kingdom and the worship of him was worth their all.  

What did the Magi sacrifice to come worship Jesus?:

Time - if starting in Babylon, the wise men, after weeks of preparation getting an envoy and possible royal permission, would travel nearly 1700 miles to make their way to Bethlehem.  

Traveling by camel, who can cover about 25 miles in a day, that would have taken them over two months to get to Jesus.  

The question is:

How are we willing to give of our time to meet with, worship and offer our gifts to Jesus today?

Gold - brought as tribute to a king who would use the gold to advance his Kingdom purposes 

Frankincense and myrrh were consecration and healing agents. 

Frankincense - as well as being a key ingredient in perfumes and essential oils, frankincense was used for worship in the temple, burned as a part of the fragrant offerings that went up to God. 

This is now what God associates with our prayers that God uses to shake Heaven and earth (Revelation 5:8). 

The bringing of frankincense represented a form of worship pointing to Jesus’ divinity and identity as healer. 

While frankincense could be used to treat gastritis and stomach ulcers, myrrh was used to treat wounds, skin conditions, digestive and respiratory issues.  

Myrrh - used to prepare the holy anointing oil for priests, the tabernacle and kings, setting them apart by the power of the Holy Spirit for God’s service. 

Myrrh was also used to prepare dead bodies for burial and foreshadowed Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. 

Myrrh would foreshadow not only Christ’s identity as the Anointed One, but his role as God’s suffering servant bringing salvation to the world through his death. 

Again, the wise men would come to understand that about which Jesus would later speak:

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬-‭46‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Here’s the good news when we turn to the worship of Jesus to move at God’s pace:

Time - you can be everything that GOD has designed you to be and achieve all that GOD has called you to do as you live at the pace of his commands 

Gold - you will have all that you need for  necessary provision and contentment when you submit your view of finances to his word and do what he says with it. 

Frankincense - through a committed life of prayer and worship, you can be healed of the wounds received from a fallen world ruled by other kings. 

Myrrh - by living set apart to God for his purposes and joining Christ in his death, you will also live with the joy and freedom of his resurrection life.  

Found in Christ 

Hope and healing can come when you begin to look to and live at the pace of Jesus. 

If you go at God’s pace, you will find full life found only in Christ.  

Hope and healing are found in Jesus alone because eternal life is found in Christ alone. 

Matthew 2:10-12

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”

Once the star stopped, it revealed Jesus to the wise men.  

The wise men came from far away to find Jesus with his mother, Mary. 

You can always count on two things if you are trying to find Jesus.  

If you are looking for Jesus, he can always be found seeking the lost and amongst his family, his people - the church.  

When the wise men found Jesus they were able to rejoice exceedingly with great joy because they had finally found what and who they were looking for. 

Make sure that like Herod, once you find out about Jesus, you are not trying to locate him for your own ends.  

Once you find Jesus, repentance from sin and change are an expectation.  

Once they met Jesus, the wise men were led by God’s word, this time in a dream.  

The wise men, after meeting Jesus, went home a different way and avoided the traps that were set for them in life.  

Like the wise men our ultimate goal in life should be to find Jesus, worship him, offer our gifts and live life at his pace. 

What does it mean to walk at the pace of Jesus?

It means, like the wise men, I am taking my time to find King Jesus.  

I know that the sum total of my success in life is being found in relationship with Jesus, serving him as king and loving him by obeying his commands.  

Therefore I will slow down enough to keep in step with him, giving myself to the most meaningful things in life that he prescribes because I have found in his kingdom the pearl of great price and am now giving all that I have to obtain it.  

“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”

-C.S. Lewis

Because of Christ’s sinless life, sacrificial death on the cross for our wrongs and resurrection from the dead, we have the ability to be forgiven of our past deeds, turn and find what we’re truly looking for - life lived at the pace of Jesus.  

• Second City Church

Hope and Healing: Clearing Things Up

‭Hope and Healing: Clearing Things Up

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: What I misunderstood, God can make clear, so that I can be redeemed and healed in Jesus Christ. 

• What I Misunderstood

• What God Made Clear Can Be 

• Redeemed and Healed in Christ

 What I Misunderstood 

Though just, Joseph did not perceive everything that God was doing clearly.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 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). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”

Joseph was a just man, but sometimes our perception of justice can get in the way of what God is actually doing.  

We can misunderstand God’s plan which is found in the gospel of God’s grace that would be revealed in Jesus. 

*You can have the right intentions but be on the wrong path.  

What are some modern applications of this?

THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN A FEW FAMILY DIVISIONS CAUSED BY POLITICAL STRIFE AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS IN OUR CULTURE. 

COULD HAVE BEEN THE CASE WITH JOSEPH AND MARY

WHAT HAS CAUSED FAMILIAL STRIFE AND DIVISION BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE MISUNDERSTANDINGS FOR YOU THIS HOLIDAY SEASON?

Jesus came to bring the pathway to forgiveness and healing, salvation and redemption, even in families. 

What can I do like Joseph to help diffuse and heal situations/relationships like Joseph?

It was not because of actual sin, but Mary’s perceived sin that caused Joseph to almost miss what God was doing.  

In what way have you allowed misunderstandings and hurt to create distance in your marriage, with your family or in God-ordained relationships?  

*Healing comes when you allow for God’s intervention in regard to what you previously believed to be true. 

What God Made Clear Can Be

God can make clear what we previously misunderstood if we have open hearts and minds when looking to Jesus.  

The good news is that when we look to go astray, God steps in and speaks whether by the Holy Spirit or through his messengers. 

God is more committed to his purposes in Christ and us than we are. 

For Joseph, God sent an angel to speak to him in a dream. 

God’s communication may not be as pronounced for you and me - God may speak through a trusted friend, a Bible verse or a donkey 😆, but we need to make sure that we are not being wise in our own eyes when relating to others, so that we can be open to listening to what God has to say.  

You may have closed your ears to hearing God if you are presently exhibiting any one of the following qualities which God abhors:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.”

Don’t go dark like Megatron!

You can find your heart and ears open to God again if you take this posture:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”

Joseph needed to change his mind, his heart posture and his plans - Joseph needed to come to repentance.  

*It was the word of God that allowed Joseph to see clearly - to have a proper interpretation of his circumstances allowing him to rise above his feelings and make a decision based on faith. 

Redeemed and Healed in Christ

Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, we all have a second chance for forgiveness and healing. 

*Hope can be restored when you realize that God was in the misunderstanding all along.  

Re-engaging God’s plan would bring healing to both Joseph and Mary’s hearts.

B shared with me a great quote for the Advent season: 

Jesus Christ is our perfect example. 

Though seeing clearly and being completely just, Jesus was the better Joseph that humbled himself to reconcile a world that had been set against him in sin. 

He called us to repentance and faith that we could once again have a hope to be brought back into friendship with God. 

“You can't forgive somebody without absorbing the cost. Either that person pays for it or you do. On the cross, God didn't just forgive us, he paid the cost himself.”

-Timothy Keller

Because Jesus would live sinlessly, die sacrificially at the cross to take the punishment for our mistakes and rise three days later, we have permanent access to this reconciliation with God.  

This advent season, may we find our way back to not only God, but one another, as we allow God to restore hope that our relationships might be redeemed and healed in Christ. 

• Second City Church

Hope and Healing: A New Set of Values

‭Hope and Healing - A New Set of Values

Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Focus: Hope and healing come when we detach from the value system of the world and finally find our joy in the eternal realities of Jesus Christ. 

• Values 

• Our Present Hope 

• Our Future Hope 

Values 

Hope and healing begin its work when we look to what God says will actually provide it.  

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬-‭32‬ ‭ESV

“And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."

God the Father’s timetable is not our timetable and his goals are not always congruent with our picture of how our stories should go.  

Remember that in the advent that Elizabeth and Mary were on two ends of the spectrum of life and were able to see this (Luke 1). 

It’s a matter of values.  

A life submitted to God means that I am his servant submitted to the plans that bring glory to Jesus within his redemptive plan. 

My hope and full healing, joy and reward will be found in the eternal life to come. 

This is God’s focus, though it is not always ours.  

And in the meantime, our joys and sorrows are shaped by both our societal and personal values.  

*Just because something is part of your present value system doesn’t mean that it is right or good.  

Why?

Because we know that historical values can and have been shaped by sin to the detriment of individuals, families, societies and nations.  

Think about what the following value systems have produced in the nations:

• Self-actualization and the disintegration of the family unit 

• Greed and materialism 

• Sexual objectification and misogyny 

• Racism and slavery 

• The idea of the uber man and the Holocaust 

Victor Frankl, a respected psychiatrist in Austria before being sent to Auschwitz during the Holocaust expresses things this way:

“But today’s society is characterized by achievement orientation, and consequently it adores people who are successful and happy and, in particular, it adores the young. It virtually ignores the value of all those who are otherwise, and in so doing blurs the decisive difference between being valuable in the sense of dignity and being valuable in the sense of usefulness. If one is not cognizant of this difference and holds that an individual’s value stems only from his present usefulness, then, believe me, one owes it only to personal inconsistency not to plead for euthanasia along the lines of Hitler’s program, that is to say, ‘mercy’ killing of all those who have lost their social usefulness, be it because of old age, incurable illness, mental deterioration, or whatever handicap they may suffer. Confounding the dignity of man with mere usefulness arises from conceptual confusion that in turn may be traced back to the contemporary nihilism transmitted on many an academic campus and many an analytical couch.”

-Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

We need a renewed hope that leads to healing by reorienting ourselves around God’s values and eternal purposes in Christ. 

When we talk about hope and healing, it’s not just societal, it’s personal.  

The questions we have to ask are:

1. Is it possible to have joy and not have everything else that everyone else has?

2. Is it possible to be whole and not have everything that you thought that you wanted or needed?  

The answer is yes when you have Jesus Christ.  

Consider things understood by the apostle James:

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?”

The world offers temporary and imperfect substitutes for what can only be and is only meant to be found in Jesus.  

Simeon and Anna exemplified great joy because in their latter years they were able to receive their reward.  

Some might have thought their lives as having been lacking, full of misery while they waited for the consolation of Israel or bore with the loss of human companionship.  

*Yet their joy was made complete because they learned through loss that these temporary comforts were not the true prize.  

You can only be freed to know true value through the cross. 

If you’ve always had things done for you, you never know true strength.  

The idea that it is a failure to not obtain your Hallmark story can come from the underlying values driven by the idols of our society.  

For example:

“One sign that you’ve made success and idol is the false sense of security it brings.  The poor and marginalized expect suffering.  They know that life on this earth is nasty, brutish, and short. Successful people are more shocked and overwhelmed by troubles.”

-Timothy Keller in Counterfeit Gods 

“I’ve often heard people from the upper echelon say, “Life isn’t supposed to be this way” when they face tragedy.  I have never heard this language among the working class and poor. This false sense of security comes from deifying our achievement and expecting it to keep us safe from the troubles of life when only God can.”

-Timothy Keller in Counterfeit Gods 

It is not bad to desire certain things that bring enjoyment in life.  

Yet we need to identify what value systems are shaping us and what has truly become Lord of our hearts and lives. 

“Whatever controls us is our Lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves, we are controlled by the lord of our lives.”  

-Timothy Keller

When Christ has truly become Lord of our values, we have a pathway to hope and healing when like the Psalmist we can say,

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭73‬:‭25‬,26 ‭ESV‬‬

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Our Present Hope

There is healing when we begin to identify what is the true lord or our present hopes and dreams. 

‭‭

Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

Christ’s arrival would cause the rising and falling of many in Israel as Jesus came to challenge their value systems, while offering true hope and healing. 

When the Holy Spirit is working in our lives, he brings his word to be a sword to pierce our souls (our minds, wills and emotions) to reveal what is truly driving us. 

God’s leadership in our lives forces us to ask the questions, if God is authoring my path:

1. What is a good life?

2. For what should we hope?

“If you ask for something that you don’t get…you may become sad and disappointed, then you go on.  Those are not your functional masters.  But when you pray and hope for something and you don’t get it and you respond with explosive anger or deep despair, then you may have found your real god.”

-Timothy Keller in Counterfeit Gods 

There is power and healing when we find that God gives our life meaning when we focus on his eternal hopes and values.  

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Even in loss, Anna’s life found great meaning.  

Her devotion to worship at the temple forged a committed life of fasting and prayer that God would use to shape history. 

At the time of Christ’s arrival, she would be attuned and prepared to speak of Jesus to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

In this, Anna was able to experience a present hope and healing. 

Yet what could have pulled her off the path would have been idols which Keller described as: 

 “…anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give. Anything that is so central and essential to your life, that should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.” 

-Timothy Keller

Mid-life (or adulting) crises can be eye-opening allowing us to reorient our thinking to resign to what God says is good. 

Aging is good (Romans 8)

Doing without can be good (James 1 - the rich and poor in this world)

Suffering can be good (Romans 5)

When we have these Biblical, God-ordained perspectives, it changes the ability that we have to enter to a present hope and healing.  

Full of faith, we can once again pray like the Psalmist..

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

In what ways has God been faithful to you and healed your heart as you’ve waited upon him?

Rather than making a list of worst-case scenarios or things that you lack, make a list of things for which you can, like Anna, give thanks to God because he has filled you with hope by fulfilling his good promises to you.  

Our Future Hope

Our eternal hope is that in Jesus, there will be healing for the nations.  

There’s a theme of at least three significant trees throughout the Scripture.  

The first tree was the tree of life (Genesis 2:9) that brought sustenance and vitality to the world in Eden.  

But when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3) - they assumed moral autonomy while resigning to their own wisdom and fell.  

All of the damage that we see in the world whether rape, murder, familial dysfunction, ethnic strife and relational degradation are a result of this sin entering into the world.  

How do we still in our own wisdom, still eat from the first tree and allow damage to enter our lives, relationships, churches and world?  

The second tree was one of redemption where Jesus Christ not only took the punishment and shame for our sin through his sacrificial death on the cross, but reconciled us to God and one another offering us the hope of healing in all things through his resurrection from the dead.  

The final tree is one that those who repent of their sin, choose to put their faith in Jesus and love the Lord will one day eat from. 

It is the tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.  

Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

Once again, in this place, we will see clearly, the Lord’s values will be our own, and Jesus will be forever exalted as the fulfillment of our hope - the author of our eternal healing. 

Practically Applying the Realities of the Nativity

Guest Speaker: Benjamin Foote

Section 1: Christmas time is here!

1. It’s the Christmas season so today as part of our Christmas series I want to talk to you about the birth of Jesus Christ and share a perspective that will hopefully enable you to celebrate this season in spirit and in truth.

2. The Christmas season is full of celebration. Namely, we celebrate the nativity – Jesus Christ, God Himself, being born into this earth by the virgin Mary. There is much to celebrate and ponder about this season and my hope is that our celebration of this incredible event spurs us to love and worship God, because that is what Christmas is all about.

Section 2: Teaser – I don’t really like Nativity scenes.

1. So, today I want to focus specifically on the Nativity scene. I think you know the one I’m talking about.Now, I don’t like this. In fact, I don’t really like most any version of this scene that has appeared in our culture.

2. In today’s message I’m going to attempt to explain why, and somehow I’m hoping you are encouraged by it.

   Now, to be clear, I am in no way trying to shame anyone who has a nativity scene set up in their home nor convince you to stop displaying or even enjoying them! Really, they’re fine. I just don’t like them. Rather, my desire is for you to see past what we typically think of and view when we hear the term “nativity scene” and instead begin to comprehend the humbling and extraordinary circumstances that the biblical, historical birth of the God of the Universe, Jesus Christ, took place in

   3. So let’s back up. This is what we typically see as the nativity. There are a few things wrong with this picture. First, the wise men were not there – most scholars agree that the wise men visited Jesus in his 2nd or 3rd year of life. But, that’s not what I want to focus on. Instead, I want to consider the inaccuracies of this scene as it is displaying a quiet, clean, comfortable, warm, peaceful, glorious night. I would submit to you that in reality, it was none of those things save the word “glorious.” It was certainly glorious, just not in the way we usually view that word.

Section 3: Luke 2:1-21

1. So let’s see what the bible says about the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. In Luke 2:1-21 we read Linus’ favorite account of the nativity. It says this:

2. Luke 2:1-21

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

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.

1. There is so much that I love about this passage, but what I love the most is that in a quiet, very dark pasture – where the shepherds were – an angel explodes into the scene. This was undoubtedly the most remarkable thing these shepherds had ever seen, yet the angel declares that they will see a sign that night.

2. Think about that. These blue-collar workers are just minding their own business when an angel appears to them, this brilliant heavenly sight, the most incredible amazing thing they’ve ever seen in their entire existence, and essentially says, “tonight you’re going to see something really cool. You’re going to see a sign.

1. The shepherds must have been thinking, “something better than this? What other sign could top this?”

3. But the angel explains. And what this angel describes was certainly something more extraordinary, more glorious than even this angel – exploding out of thin air into the pitch-black sky – was, than even the multitude of angels that appeared shortly afterwards was…

4. What the angel says they will see is this: the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord, the promised messiah, the God of the Universe (!!!), wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.

5. I also want to note that shepherds were among the lowest class of working people during this time. They were not in a place of honor, nor did they likely ever think they would receive any kind of great honor. In modern terms this would be like your janitors, your meter maids, your garbage men – hard-working jobs that receive little praise or admiration. But the angel appears to them. The first ones to hear about this awesome occurrence, the pinnacle of human experience up to this point, were shepherds. So, hold that thought…

Section 4: Back to the nativity scene

1. And let’s go back to our perceived image of the nativity. I would argue that if the shepherds were to go and see this image that perhaps it wouldn’t have been so miraculous. This is a beautiful scene, well lit, clean, warm, comfortable, glorious, etcetera. It’s a nice setting for the Savior of the world. Humble, yes, but nice!
   

2. But I don’t think that this is what they were expecting to see nor this is what they saw. The scriptures say that Jesus was laid in a manger. A manger was a feeding trough for animals, a feeding trough that was in a time where hygiene wasn’t really on the top of peoples’ list. Very likely it was not made out of wood as wood was an expensive and precious material during this time, it was probably a porous, stone basin a filthy piece of equipment surrounded by barn animals and soaked in barn animals’ saliva, droppings, etc. I’m sure Mary found some clean hay to place in the manger, but I’m not convinced that there was a high quality selection. Also, Mary had just given birth, and thus the aftermath of that birth could have been present among the floors of the barn, which by the way was probably a limestone cave of some sort – according to Third Hour or– like this . Our three main characters were likely wearing soiled clothes, or at the very least their soiled clothes were tucked away in a corner but ever present. The smell of the scene would have been thick and unpleasant, Mary and Joseph themselves would have been exhausted and not ready for visitors.

3. Yet this pitiful, humble environment was how God incarnate, that is the human form of God Himself – Jesus, decided to enter the world. This is why such a scene would have been a sign to the shepherds, who likely knew a King was coming because of the scriptures and were probably expecting to see Him in a place fit for a king – a palace surrounded by wealth and VIPs, or at the very least an indoor venue – like an inn – but instead they witnessed Him in a dirty, dark barn, with two very poor parents, lying in a vessel marked by animal saliva.

4. In modern terms, this would be like an angel appearing to garbage men and telling them that they would see the God of the Universe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a dumpster. That would be quite a sign, wouldn’t it? Equivalently, this is what the shepherds experienced and witnessed.

5. I actually tried to input what I believe the nativity scene would have looked like into an AI generator to give you a better picture but this is what I got [Image 4] 

1. The likelihood of the nativity scene is so different than what we commonly reference that even AI won’t imagine it for you.

Section 5: The Least of These

1. Why is this important? Why is it important to have a more accurate view of this scene? Ben, why couldn’t you just leave me alone to enjoy the image of cute baby cows gently nuzzling the porcelain white baby Jesus in the sparkly clean yellow hay that lays upon the conveniently propped-up, wooden manger?

2. To answer that we should consider another passage that strikes at the heart of both the Gospel and the work that God has charged every believer in this room and beyond to do. It is a prophecy told 30-some years after this nativity scene be Jesus Himself. His disciples had just asked him about the end of the world and what it would look like, what would happen. Among other things, Jesus tells them this prophecy:

3. Matthew 25:31-46

4. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

5. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

6. So what does this have to do with the Nativity… Jesus was not being entirely figurative when he said that serving the least of these is serving him. He is not an easier-said-than-done Savior, he literally relates to the lowest of all people, more than meeting is where we are at, he has gone through much worse, marked ultimately by the very beginning and end of his life.

7. When we have a more accurate view of the Christmas story, this ever-important scene that we call the Nativity, we realize that God Himself, Jesus, came and was born into the lowest of all circumstances: to parents so poor they had to bring turtledoves to the temple, into a cold, dark, dirty, and smelly cave surrounded not by royalty or religious leaders, but by barn animals and shepherds. When we consider this, we realize that Jesus became the least of these, the least of all of us, on our behalf. Jesus is the least of these.

8. Christmas is a time where we often realign our focus on giving. From December 1 to December 25 there are countless food drives, fundraisers, toy donations, you name it to help those in need. But I would submit to you that we as Christians are called to celebrate Christmas all year round! And how do we do that?

9. For those of you who start playing Christmas music in October, boy do I have good news for you! You all, we all can celebrate early by serving the most disenfranchised in our community, the least of these, every day of the year. When we do that, we serve Jesus, we serve this baby: No, not that baby, this baby, The one I’m not allowed to show you. 

10. When your life is marked by your love of the least of these, your life is marked by your love for Jesus. A life saturated by love for the least of these is a life saturated by love for Jesus. That is the calling that each and every one of us has on our life,

Section 6: The Cross

1. We should all consider this calling, claim this calling, for three reasons.

2. The first is the nativity – we’ve covered that.

3. The second is Imago Dei – the fact that all of humankind was and is made in the image of God. When people are forgotten or cast aside, when they are deemed “less than” it flies directly in the face of God’s creation. Serving these communities is the clear response of the Christian, to see the image of God in everyone, and to treat all with love and respect.

4. The third reason is the cross.

1. It should come as no surprise to you that I am not a fan of crucifixes either.

2. The image that we typically think of when we think of Christ on the cross is hauntingly inaccurate. It is usually of a chiseled dude with a six pack, delicately hanging from a cross with single beads of blood dripping from his forehead, hands, feet, and side with a decency cloth wrapped around his waist.

3. I want you to hear me clearly: that is not what the crucifixion looked like. The scriptures say that Jesus was beaten beyond recognition, that his back was shredded into a bloody pulp by a whip. And I have to tell you, there was no decency cloth. 

4. I didn’t even try to input this into an AI image generator. It was grotesque, humiliating, and explicit.

5. This is the God we serve and celebrate on Christmas. A God who saw it fit to be born into a dirty, smelly, cold barn and a God who saw it fit to die a truly horrific, violent, and dehumanizing death.

6. Why? Because He cared for the least of these. He cared for you. He cared enough that when He saw that we were dead in our trespasses and sin he went on a rescue mission for our sake. In lowly circumstances he lived a sinless life yet died a sinners death, a death that you and I deserve for our rebellion against God, and then rose again three days later thereby defeating death and sin so that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, anyone repents from their wicked ways, believes on his saving power on the cross and victory over death, can be saved from eternal death.  That is who we celebrate on Christmas. And don’t you want to serve and worship that God?

Section 7: How?

1. So practically, how do we do this? How do we serve the least of these and thereby serve Jesus?

2. The passage I read in Matthew has Jesus acknowledging true believers by their lifestyle of serving the least of these. It follows that every follower of Jesus should be able to look at their life and clearly define how they are serving the least of these. 

3. So, I want to ask you a straightforward question. It’s rhetorical, don’t worry, but I want you to truly think about this: can you look at your life as it stands right now and clearly identify how your lifestyle serves the least of these?

4. If you are having trouble identifying how you are living this calling out, but your heart yearns for such a lifestyle, I want to encourage you that you are halfway there! I have some suggestions.

5. I’m going to list some programs that help what I think should be considered “the least of these”. These programs I am about to list are by no means a complete or thorough list, but they are a good place to start. I also want to clarify that some of these programs are ones that Second City Church is partnered with, others are not, some aren’t even strictly Christian, but they all serve communities and individuals that are loved by God.

1. Safe Families [Image 5]

1. Safe Families for Children seeks to bring the church and community together to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children is rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation. Their goal is to support and strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and reduce the number of children unnecessarily entering the child welfare system.

2. Safe Families PLUS [Image 6]

1. Safe Families PLUS, in conjunction with the
   Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), provides
   caring mentors to youth ages 14 to 21 as they
   transition to adulthood. Mentors come alongside the
   youth to provide them with support that endures.
   Through consistent, one-on-one contact, mentors help
   youth explore their self-identity, talents, strengths,
   and career interests. These relationships open their
   eyes to new experiences.

3. By the Hand [Image 7]

1. Helping children who live in under-resourced neighborhoods have abundant life. By The Hand is a Christ-centered, after-school program that takes kids by the hand and walks with them from kindergarten through college, loving and nurturing them—mind, body and soul.

4. Exodus World Services [Image 8]

1. Exodus World Service mobilizes the Christian community to welcome and befriend refugees. We do this by educating churches and individuals about the plight of refugees, connecting volunteers with refugees through practical service projects, and empowering people to be champions for refugees.

5. Off the Street Club [Image 9]

1. Off The Street Club, Chicago’s oldest boys and girls club, is a non-profit youth center offering children in Garfield Park a safe place to laugh, dream, and reach their full potential.

6. Big Brother Big Sister [Image 10]

6. It is important to note that when we accurately consider the Nativity and the Cross – we realize that it is ugly. It is uncomfortable. It is painful. It is often without immediate or earthly reward. When we serve the Jesus in that manger and the Jesus on that cross, when we serve the least of these, it may be all of those things – ugly, uncomfortable, painful, thankless. But rest assured that serving Jesus in this way is not overlooked by our Savior, the God of the Universe, the Messiah who we will all meet on judgment day. Who will say, “did you serve me?” I, for one, want to answer, “yes, Lord.”

Section 8: Wrap up

1. So the next time you look at you or your neighbor’s nativity set, the next time you read the Christmas story, think and consider how wonderful a Savior we have to call our own. Think and consider how our God chose to live and die on our behalf. And think and consider how you can serve and worship Him by caring for the least of these.

Hope and Healing: Considerations

Hope and Healing: Considerations

Pastor Rollan

Focus: It does not matter what you have experienced or what you have done, there is the hope of redemption and healing to be found in Jesus. 

• Consider Our Common Need

• Consider the Historic Christ

• Consider Biblical Faith

Consider Our Common Need

We all, to varying degrees, are in need of the hope of redemption and healing. 

For what do we need hope?

Whether now or later, we need the hope that our lives can get better than they are now. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

*There was a long period of disappointment and likely discouragement that Zechariah and Elizabeth experienced - the good news is that they would find hope and healing in their latter years.  

Zechariah and Elizabeth had been waiting for decades to bear a child - living under the weight of the emotional questions and with the cultural scorn that accompanied Elizabeth’s barrenness.  

We can miss God and suffer when we interpret our lives simply through chronos rather than kairos moments.  

*There was a kairos moment necessary for all components of God’s plan to arise to bring about the redemption of humanity. 

In Greek, the word kairos meant an appointed time for a special purpose.   

Think about it:

In the New Testament, the word kairos is used 86 times, as opposed to chronos (which refers to a specific amount of time) which was used 56 times.  

The Roman Empire which would facilitate the propagation of the gospel. 

At exactly the right time, God came to deliver a miracle.  

There is hope and healing released to our lives when we understand that in his story of redemption, God is the Lord of our kairos moments.  

God had both the old and the young in mind when he would bring about his redemption. 

Hope and healing would come to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s aged hearts.  

Hope and healing would lay ahead of youthful Mary as she bore Christ in her teenage years. 

It would be the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ that would heal their hearts and fulfill God’s word in which his people had long hoped.  

It does matter where you have been or what you have done, there is the hope of redemption and healing to be found in Jesus. 

This includes redemption for a lifetime of committed sins.  

There is the hope of restoration for wrongs done as you both receive and offer forgiveness. 

From what do we need healing?

Problems arise when throughout our lives, we look for our sense of value, accomplishment, peace and satisfaction outside of God.  

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

-St. Augustine in the first paragraph of his autobiography Confessions 

Hope and healing are available in every stage of life, even later in life.  

Is there a historic justification for this?

Consider the Historic Christ

The historic Jesus of Nazareth lives today, as he did 2000 years ago, to provide that very real hope of redemption and healing to the world.  

How does Jesus provide these things?

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭67‬-‭80‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, "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.”

Your latter years can be your best years if you choose the hope and healing found in Jesus.  

We recommend Emotionally Healthy Discipleship as a tool in personal growth and development.  

What I’ve been learning about fear, always readying myself for the challenges to come tomorrow so that it steals my being in the present, enjoying and celebrating today. 

*My posture towards my post-embolism existence (many survivors of medical conditions and their families have to deal with anxiety and distress after injury) is an example of having to learn to live with the hope of serving the Lord without fear. 

Aged professional athletes often wish they had enjoyed the evolving moments of their success rather than always being about “the next thing.”

This is why Jesus exhorts us in his word:

Matthew 6:34 ESV

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

What is it that you’ve experienced that has caused you to look at the future with fear - even in Christ?

Fear of being betrayed?  Being alone? Health challenges?  Not finding your purpose?  Never having enough?

It would be because of the historic Jesus going to the cross to suffer in our place, that he was giving us the confidence that what he was determined to bring his people into was hope and healing.  

Prophesying 700 years before the arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus, Isaiah the prophet would proclaim by the Holy Spirit:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭3‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." A voice says, “Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

In kairos moments, God both lifts us and allows us to be brought low so that we might find our identity and salvation solely in Jesus.  

God raises us up in every valley to lift our eyes to the hope of forgiveness, but makes every mountain and hill low to turn us from our sins to the cross where Jesus paid the price for our rebellion against God that was killing us. 

Could this be your kairos hour to meet Jesus the Christ today?

Consider Biblical Faith

True Biblical faith and hope in the risen Jesus can revolutionize your life by providing the healing that you truly need.  

I changed Prince’s latter two Scriptural references to ESV for clarity and  understanding:

“In Hebrews 11, we find the definition of faith - the only word explicitly defined in the Bible.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).  Here, we see a relationship between faith and hope. Faith is here and now; hope is for the future. Faith is a material thing - something so real that it is called a substance.  It is in our hearts.  On the basis of faith, we can have a legitimate hope for the future.  But hope that is not based on legitimate faith is just wishful thinking.  

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

In the New Testament, believe is a word of motion. It is not a static thing or an intellectual position.  It is something in your heart that leads you to something new. Faith is a verb of motion: by faith we believe unto righteousness and salvation.  You can have intellectual faith and never be changed.  You can embrace all the doctrines of the Bible with your intellect but remain completely the same. But when you have faith in your heart, it leads to salvation.  

Faith is in the present; hope is in the future.  Biblical faith is in the heart; hope is in the mind.  Paul spoke about both with an interesting picture: ““But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation”

(‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬).  Two items of armor are mentioned in this verse.  Faith is a breastplate, which protects the heart, and hope is the helmet, which protects the head.  Faith is in the heart; hope is in the mind.”

-Derek Prince from his sermon Laying the Foundation, Vol. 1 Through Repentance to Faith

Hope and Healing

Hope and Healing

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: There is hope and healing in Jesus that is found nowhere else in the world.  

• The World in Turmoil

• The God who Allows It 

• Eternal Hope and Healing 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭30‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

The World in Turmoil

People daily feel the strain of a world that has chosen to be separated from God. 

God did not walk out on us - humanity walked out on God through a lack of trust and obedience, which is the foundation of sin.  

I think that taking life seriously means something such as this: that whatever man does on this planet has to be done in the lived truth of the terror of creation, of the grotesque, of the rumble of panic underneath everything. Otherwise it is false. Whatever is achieved must be achieved with the full exercise of passion, of vision, of pain, of fear, and of sorrow. How do we know, that our part of the meaning of the universe might not be a rhythm in sorrow?

-Ernest Becker 

To deal with the world successfully is to acknowledge our brokenness. 

To learn how to navigate it is to understand why.  

The God who Allows It 

In the midst of the separation, God allows frustration that we might yearn for the solutions that are only found in him. 

There is purpose in the pain. 

In allowing suffering we are driven to a search for justification, sanctification and glorification that can only be found in Christ. 

According to Ernest Becker, the main task of human life is to become heroic:

“Since the main task of human life is to become heroic and transcend death, every culture must provide its members with an intricate symbolic system that is covertly religious…. Making a killing in business or on the battlefield frequently has less to do with economic need or political reality than with the need for assuring ourselves that we have achieved something of lasting worth…. Our heroic projects that are aimed at destroying evil have the paradoxical effect of bringing more evil into the world. Human conflicts are life and death struggles – my gods against your gods, my immortality project against your immortality project. The root of humanly caused evil is not man’s animal nature, not territorial aggression, or innate selfishness, but our need to gain self-esteem, deny our mortality, and achieve a heroic self-image.”

-Ernest Becker in The Denial of Death

In this quest for perfect heroism, we all ultimately fail.  

We find disillusionment a familiar friend and that the most terrible state is as the apostle Paul wrote is to be without God and without hope in the world.  

We find that we are all in need of a savior, a healer who redeems our broken lives full of disappointment and regret. 

The pain of life is to ultimately lead us to Christ’s suffering at the cross and the hope of healing that comes from his resurrection life. 

Eternal Hope and Healing 

Through Jesus Christ, God offers the eternal hope and healing that the world so desperately needs. 

The complete heroism that we need is found in Jesus alone. 

Hurt can lead to hope if we turn from putting confidence in our idols and look to Jesus Christ. 

Hate can turn into healing if we come to the end of ourselves, turning from our sins to find Jesus at the cross where enemies are reconciled through repentance and Christ’s cleansing blood. 

“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world....No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. it removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Through Christ’s sinless life, Jesus provided the hope of being justified before a holy God who will hold us accountable for our sins. 

Through Christ’s cross, Jesus offered the hope of sanctification that these sins could be forgiven through repentance and faith in his atoning work.  

Through Christ’s resurrection, we have the hope of glorification, bringing the eternal healing that we need for our minds, emotions and ultimately bodies. 

This is the reason for the Advent season, why we have so much to be thankful for and why we celebrate the coming of our king.  

• Second City Church

Guest Speaker: Pastor Kore Benedix

Guest Speaker: Pastor Kore Benedix

When life is hard and your soul is heavy, his yoke is easy and his burden is light 

“Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples  and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Matthew 11:2-3

His Yoke. Your Rest.

How to live in two kingdoms simultaneously 

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

“Doubt is natural within faith. It comes because of our human weakness and frailty…Unbelief is the decision to live life as if there is no God. It is a deliberate decision to reject Jesus Christ and all that he stands for. But doubt is something quite different. Doubt arises within the context of faith. It is wistful longing to be sure of the things in which we trust. But it is not and need not to be a problem. “

Alistar McGrath

“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.”

Matthew 7:13-14

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Matthew 10:37-38

“It wasn't burnout - we still had energy. It wasn’t depression - we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing. Languishing is a sense of indignation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield. And it might be the dominant emotion” 

Adam Grant - NY Times

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves….” 

Matthew 10:16

“Coming to Jesus for rest doesn’t shield us from affiliations. It transform affiliations from fear-dominating, anxiety-producing, and hopeless to light and momentary” 

John Piper

Prophet, Priest, King, God: Jesus is God

Prophet, Priest, King, God 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

We worship Jesus because he is our great prophet, priest, king and God.  

Last week:

Jesus the King 

How do we know that God anointed Jesus to be the eternal king of the nations?

We know it by Christ’s sinless life, miracles and resurrection from the dead.  

But the importance and uniqueness of Jesus continues.  

Focus: Jesus is God in the flesh who is to be worshiped and adored to the glory of God the Father.  

Jesus is God

"WHATEVER GOD IS, CHRIST IS. THE VERY LIKENESS OF GOD, THE VERY GODHEAD OF GODHEAD, THE VERY DEITY OF DEITY, IS IN CHRIST JESUS."

- Charles H. Spurgeon

What did the prophets say about the Messiah to come?

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

What did Jesus understand about himself and proclaim?

Jesus said things like:

Before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:56-59)

Jesus said that he and the Father are one, for which the Jews considered Jesus to be blaspheming, calling himself God

(John 10:25-33). 

Jesus said that he was the one who had the ability to forgive sins against Almighty God (Mark 2:1-12). 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭16‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."”

What did those closest to Jesus understand about him and proclaim?

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

It is important here to note several things that were said about Jesus that only pertain to God. 

What did the early church understand about Jesus and proclaim?

‭‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Colossians 1:15-20

Colossians 2:9-10

What did God the Father validate about Jesus?

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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.”

God the Father exalted Jesus through not only his miracles, but through Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  

"Depend upon it, my hearer, you never will go to heaven unless you are prepared to worship Jesus Christ as God." 

~ Charles H. Spurgeon

• Second City Church

Prophet, Priest, King, God: Jesus the King

Prophet, Priest, King, God 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

We worship Jesus because he is our great prophet, priest, king and God.  

Last week:

Jesus the Priest 

Why is there salvation in no one else and why is Jesus the only name by which we must be saved?

Jesus is not just a priest - he is our perfect, merciful and faithful high priest before God. 

But the importance and uniqueness of Jesus continues.  

Focus: God the Father has us submit to Jesus because he is King of Kings and Lord of lords.  

Jesus the King

We serve Jesus because he is our benevolent king. 

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭11 ‭ESV‬‬

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." 

Jesus is called the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  

Jesus is our king which means he is to be the Lord and ruler of every area of our lives.  

Just as our lives were saved by Christ’s perfect obedience to and fulfillment of the law of God, so we are now to express our gratitude and love for God by obedience to his commands.  

There is no area of your life that his rulership leaves untouched, whether it be your time, your relationships, your sexuality, your leisure, your resources or your pursuits. 

How do we know that God anointed Jesus to be the eternal king of the nations?

We know it by Christ’s sinless life, miracles and resurrection from the dead.  

Christ’s sinless life demonstrated that he was a king who could be trusted and should be adored.  

Christ’s miracles demonstrated God’s supernatural backing for he who would be our benevolent ruler. 

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.”

Christ’s resurrection from the dead and ascension to the right hand of the Father validated his identity as the one who would approach the Ancient of Days and would rule the nations with justice.   

As the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty, it is said that Jesus is given glory and dominion forever and ever.  

This reflects the words of the prophet Daniel, who ministered in exile in Babylon approximately 530 to 600 years before Christ.  

‭‭Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.”

‭‭Daniel‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

*The point for us is that beyond our personal devotion, God has always shown himself sovereign through ever-changing social and political, domestic and world affairs. 

God’s people were to remain steady, focusing on God as their rock and serve Christ as their king.  

Rulers come and go, governments rise and fall, yet Christ’s kingdom is eternal and remains the same.  

Christ’s kingdom is not only lasting, but historically advances during tumultuous times.  

Why does it matter that we recognize Jesus as king when we see chaos around us?

(ROBINHOOD pictures)

Because we have a king who is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

How do we live in God’s peace and purposes?  

You live in God’s peace by understanding that Jesus is the sovereign ruler over the nations whose government will know no end. 

God has used godless men and women throughout history to fulfill his ultimate ends (think King Cyrus and his decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in Ezra 1:1-11 or those who discipline Israel in I Chronicles 5:26; II Chronicles 21:16).    

God remained seated on his throne and it will be no different now.  

We live in God’s purposes by finding our identity in Christ and our activity through Christ’s body, his church - which should be on mission to fulfill his gospel great commission long after the election is over.  

This purpose keeps us from the ditches of identity politics, single issue politics and the tribalism that flows from ideas of government totalitarianism.  

We are looking to the whole counsel of God. 

There is a primacy of identity where I am a child of God, a follower of king Jesus above all else, and a priority of conviction where I will not be boxed into any party or policy that does not submit to his rule. 

Jesus is to be the ruler of the kings on earth. 

Though important, your hope is never to be in a fallible political leader or government.  

All kings will eventually be subject to Christ’s rule as a benevolent creator. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me."”

We must be careful to not be driven by mere emotion, but endeavor to have the mind of Christ, parsing out and applying biblical truths at every point and turn. 

Our priority of purpose is to love Jesus and represent the king well in character (common decency towards others) and conviction (standing on Biblical truths). 

*The gospel is the answer to the ills of this fallen world because it changes hearts and not just policies.  

When Jesus is proclaimed as Lord and king, redemption, restoration and reconciliation are the result - between God and humanity as well as humanity and humanity.  

In our political season it is comforting to know that though we bear with temporary rulers, we serve an eternal king. 

“Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to

the Bible, to drive us to our knees.”

-JC Ryle

Because of Christ’s sinless life, though he would die on the cross as a sacrifice for humanity’s sins, Jesus would rise to live days without end ruling the nations with an eternal Kingdom.  

The government would forever be on Christ’s shoulders.  

We should come to understand Jesus as king through his church.  

Revelation 1:12-20 ESV

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

When we turn to hear Jesus, the first thing that we see is his church.  

John turned to hear the voice and saw the seven lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man.  

We need to see Jesus the king, clearly, not as we’ve supposed him to be, before we can be of benefit to the world.  

Jesus stood amongst the lampstands - the churches. 

Jesus held the seven stars in his hand - the messengers.  

From Christ’s mouth comes the double-edged sword - his word by which he deals with our sin to bring both truth and order. 

So we see that as Jesus is king, he rules in and through the lampstands, his church.  

Below is a picture of the work of God bringing his Kingdom on the earth:

Individual to Christ (work out issues in the heart) >

Christian to Church (work out real issues in safe community under Christ’s benevolent rule) > 

Church to the Culture (work out beneficial societal change as we bring Christ’s light to the world)

“God wants you to be planted…to be present and engaged in the Body of Christ.”

-Pastor Jon Owens

Why?

You can not see Christ’s rule fully worked out in your life without being a part of his local church.  

The church is God’s war room for real world redemption and change. 

The beauty of the church of Jesus Christ is that you get to work out real world issues with real people from every tribe, nation, language and tongue - all serving one king and all having equal concern for one another because we are family united by his blood.  

With this display of supernatural love, wisdom and reconciliation, we provide real solutions to a real world without hope and without God.  

Be godly in social posts. 

So our call today is to turn from our sins to the cross, make peace with Jesus the king and fear not, because he holds the keys of death and Hades, the present and the future in his hands!

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords.”

 - Second City Church 

Prophet, Priest, King, God: Jesus the Priest

Prophet, Priest, King, God 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Last week:

We worship Jesus because he is our great prophet, priest, king and God.  

Jesus the Prophet 

We follow Jesus because he is our great prophet. 

We are told to beware of false prophets and false teachers.  

Why did God glorify his servant Jesus?

Jesus is not just a prophet - he is God’s unique prophet pointing to reconciliation with God through his death on the cross, burial and resurrection from the dead. 

But the importance and uniqueness of Jesus continues.  

Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Focus: God the Father has us look to Jesus because he is our merciful and faithful high priest, forever able to sympathize and save.  

Jesus the Priest 

We trust Jesus because he is our merciful and faithful high priest.  

‭‭

Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

A priest was one who stood as an intermediary to minister to God on behalf of the people and to the people on behalf of God.  

The priests were to remind the people of God’s commands, accurately facilitating worship that was pleasing to God. 

The high priest was the intercessor between God and the people, acting as their representative before God.  

The high priest in particular was:

1. Appointed to offer the most important sacrifices of worship. He was the sole individual to enter the Holy of Holies in the temple, particularly on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) where he would offer sacrifices for the people to cleanse the people of their sins.

2. Appointed to direct the practical affairs of our worship - he had authority in temple operations, directing finances and priestly duties.

The problem was that all other high priests prior to Jesus and after him were both fallible and mortal.  

This meant that the high priest was neither a perfect example of the righteousness which he preached or was able to continue in office to make continual sacrifices for the people.  

Jesus was different in that he was a perfect example of God’s righteousness - so his authority was pure and complete. 

Jesus would also live forever to maintain the duties of his office. 

In these ways, Jesus would become our merciful and faithful high priest. 

Because Jesus was made like us in every way, he too suffered when tempted and is merciful towards us, understanding our fight to do what is right.  

His mercy means not only that he cares, but that he is compelled to move and do something about the suffering in which he finds us.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭30‬-‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" And stopping, Jesus called them and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.”

Because Jesus understands, he is faithful to show up in our battles as we come to him. 

Jesus offers us the help that we need to overcome.  

Ultimately, Jesus would end our slavery to the fear of death by defeating the devil who tries to not only steal, kill and destroy our lives, but held the power of death.  

John 1:29-32

*It matters that Jesus not only offered sacrifices for our sins as our priest, but as our faithful High Priest offered himself, once for all, as the Passover Lamb to make atonement and take away the sins of the world"

The power of death is now gone and we need to walk out of our slavery into the freedom that Jesus provided!

My days, weeks, months and years are different because I am walking into the abundant life that God planned for me from the beginning.  

“We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order. The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease, hunger, and death in it. Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that he has power but also wonderful foretastes of what he is going to do with that power. Jesus' miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming.”

-Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Why is there salvation in no one else and why is Jesus the only name by which we must be saved?

Jesus is not just a priest - he is our perfect merciful high priest before God. 

*It matters that Jesus was and is perfect when I am not. 

We look to Jesus as our high priest because he was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Jesus is our sympathetic high priest. 

Because Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, he sympathizes with our struggles. 

Because he was without sin, he knows the way out and is ready to give mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.  

Always remember, the grace of God doesn’t just remove the consequences of sin - it empowers us to say no to sin (Titus 2:11,12)!

This means you can win your fight!!!

“Our Lord has many weak children in his family, many dull pupils in his school, many raw soldiers in his army, many lame sheep in his flock. Yet he bears with them all, and casts none away. Happy is that Christian who has learned to do likewise with his brethren.”

-J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)

We’ve all had seasons when we are these people.  

Let us remember this as we love one another and treat one another as our great high priest would. 

We trust in Jesus because he is our high priest forever who is able to save completely those who come to the Father through him since he always lives to intercede for us. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭17‬-‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For it is witnessed of him, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever.'" This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.”

Jesus is our perfect high priest who forever lives to save. 

Two things needed to be done for our salvation and reconciliation with God that we could not fulfill.  

The first is perfect obedience to the law of God to receive God’s approval by satisfying his justice.  

The second is paying the price for our sins, as the wages of sin is death. 

Either I will pay the price for my sins in the judgment, or Jesus in his mercy and grace already paid it for me.  

I enter into this grace through repentance from my sin and faith in Christ’s finished work at the cross - his death, burial and resurrection from the dead. 

Since in both of these cases we are left wanting, we need a perfect mediator to satisfy the demands of a relationship with a holy God. 

That perfect, merciful high priest is Jesus who not only perfectly fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law our behalf (Romans 8:4), not only died on the cross to take the penalty for our sins, but now lives forever to intercede for us as we are daily seeking God to be set apart for his pleasure and purposes.  

Why is there salvation in no one else and why is Jesus the only name by which we must be saved?

Jesus is not just a priest - he is our perfect merciful high priest before God. 

‭‭

Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

Jesus was not only the unblemished sacrifice for our sins, but the perfect, merciful priest who lives forever to mediate the benefits of that sacrifice before almighty God.

“Jesus is the “High Priest of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1). Our confession enlists Jesus as our High Priest, but the opposite, unfortunately, is also true.  If we make no confession, we have no High Priest.  It’s not that Jesus has ceased to be our High Priest, but that we give Him no opportunity to minister as our High Priest.  

He is the High Priest of our confession.  if we say the right things with our mouths in faith, according to Scripture, then Jesus has eternally obligated Himself to see that we will never be put to shame - that we will always experience what we confess   But if we do not say the right things, then, alas, we silence the lips of our High Priest. He has nothing to say in heaven on our behalf.  

Jesus is also called our “Advocate” (I John 2:1).  The word advocate is similar to the modern word attorney.  Jesus is the legal expert who is there to plead our case in heaven.  He has never lost a case.  But if we do not make a confession, he has no case to plead, so the case goes against us by default.  

We can see how important confession is; therefore, it is very important that we give heed to this third “Let us” passage in Hebrews: “Let us hold fast our confession” (Hebrews 4:14).  This principle of right confession has a central place in the gospel, as well as in our experience of salvation. In fact, there is no salvation without right confession.“

-Derek Prince, Declaring God’s Word

Benediction:

“Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal high priest himself, the Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness and in all freedom from anger and forbearance and steadfastness and patient endurance and purity.”

-Polycarp

Prophet, Priest, King, God

Prophet, Priest, King, God 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: We worship Jesus because he is our great prophet, priest, king and God.  

We want to be careful in our time not to proclaim and worship:

“A God without wrath who brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”

-H. R. Niebuhr

Jesus the Prophet 

We follow Jesus because he is our great prophet. 

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Acts‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.”

Jesus the Priest 

We trust Jesus because he is our great high priest.  

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Jesus the King 

We serve Jesus because he is our benevolent king. 

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords.”

Jesus is God

We worship Jesus because he is our great God and Savior.  

‭‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Second City Church 

But the Greatest of These is Love

But the Greatest of These is Love

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: When attempting to walk with God, if we are not walking in love, we are not reflecting Jesus or his gospel.  

• Mission 

• Motivation

• Maker 

Mission

The mission of God is to be compelled by the love of God.  

Whether in the home, amongst friends, in the community, in the church or at work, loving over a long period of time can be difficult if we miss the focus of God’s word.  

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.”

Love and truth go hand in hand.

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 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.”

Through the cross we have reconciliation with God, but that reconciliation was produced by the love of God.  

“Because God made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in him.”

-Saint Augustine 

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Those who have come to Christ are now ambassadors for Christ to take that love that has transformed them to the world that others might be reconciled to God through that same good news.  

However, if that mission is not done in love, we are missing it.  

Love and truth are not synonymous - they are designed by God to work hand in hand.  

The apostle Paul spoke repeatedly about not only the gifts of the Holy Spirit that should be operating in and through Christ’s church, but also their motivation. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 

Motivation

I need to do a daily heart check to test my motivations to make sure that I am walking in love.   

What does love actually look like? 

“To love is to will the good of the other.”

-Saint Thomas Aquinas 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Love is the glue that keeps marriages, families, churches, God-given relationships and nations together and growing, even during challenging times.  

Whereas the devil tries to isolate and separate (Psalm 2; Matthew 12:25), God’s love binds together as we congregate.  

Love is only played out in my relationships with others - real people with real differences, challenges, struggles and needs. 

It is in real relationships, with real joys and pains, that I get to experience and reflect the love of God.  

It is in the joys that I get to clearly see the benefits of God’s love. 

It’s in the pains that God’s love keeps me.  

Only after the fact, as he’s helped me to endure in love, do I see what God has done in me. 

Relating with Jesus must be my foundation - sitting at his feet as at a well, drinking of the living waters that flow from the Holy Spirit.  

“He who is filled with love is filled with God himself.“

-Saint Augustine

 Maker 

Because God is love, everything that we do to honor Jesus should reflect his love.  

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

Because of the evil in the world and the disappointments of our own experience with others, it is easy for the love of God to grow cold in our hearts. 

In this state, we can begin to gravitate towards self-righteousness as our confidence, forgetting our own sins while wanting to point out the failings of others.  

We drift from the cross and forget the gospel that has saved us and others.  

We forget to love. 

Jesus said this very clearly about the last days:

Matthew 24:12-13 ESV

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

You were drawn by God’s love and will be kept by his love for you.  

What if I find that I am lacking in the love that the Bible describes?

“It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you.  Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.”

--Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

May we all repent of our lack of love and once again look to Jesus and his cross to be found in God’s righteousness alone. 

As you look to Jesus and his word day by day, let love be your target as 

the Holy Spirit of God will both heal you and transform you by his great love.  

Second City Church 

Guest Speaker: Pastor Reggie Roberson

Guest Speaker: Pastor Reggie Roberson

Great things God is doing in this church.

God spoke this to me for this church. Divine Acceleration

Our Bible passage today speaks to Divine Acceleration.

John 6:16-21

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.  But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Context:

Jesus has just fed 5000 and sent his disciple to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida. The disciples find themselves trying to make progress in their journey but they are making very little and they are stuck in the middle of the lake because of a storm. Jesus walks on water out to them and then gets in the boat. I want to read again what happens when Jesus gets into the boat: and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” We should all take note of when John says immediately; that is a big deal because he doesn't use that word very often. The gospel of Mark on the other hand, says it all the time so this is very significant. They find themselves immediately on the other side. They went another 3 or 4 miles without an engine or any mechanism to propel them that fast and quick to the other side. This is a miracle. This is Divine acceleration. This is a picture of how it looks when Jesus gets in our boat and we get through the storm, waves, and winds of life arriving at a greater place of deeper relationship with God, victory and biblical prosperity. He is going to divinely accelerate various aspects of our lives:

• Freedom in your soul

• Significance and purpose clarity

• Ministry Impact

• Leadership

God will divinely accelerate various aspects of our lives but we must not miss God's work in our lives that we see in this story.

There are three crucial questions we must consider when it comes to divine acceleration in various aspects of our lives:

Will You Be About God’s Mission?

Divine acceleration happens when we’re engaged in God’s mission. Marks version says:

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.”

Mark 6:45

The disciples were following Jesus’ instructions to cross the lake; they were on a journey doing what Jesus had asked, not pursuing their own goals and asking Jesus to bless them after the fact. That’s the critical starting point—being about God’s mission, not our own.

Too often, we set our own agendas and then expect Jesus to align with them, rather than aligning ourselves with His mission. When we follow our own plans, we risk heading in the wrong direction. If we don’t get this, we might arrive at a destination but miss our God-given destiny. You can be moving, but that doesn’t mean you’re growing in the way God intends.

Take my own story, for example: I excelled in academics, basketball, and had favor with people, but I wasn’t aligned with God’s mission. I was busy, but I wasn’t aiming at what truly mattered. It was not until I received Jesus (Gospel) and understood his purpose for me that I began to experience growth and acceleration in my life.

God accelerates and blesses only what He has endorsed. And he endorses his mission. You see, when we are aligned with God’s mission, we come to realize that we each have something to contribute to this world by His grace and for His purposes. We must be about His mission.

Will You Allow God to Address Your Misconceptions?

The disciples had misconceptions that Jesus needed to address, particularly about facing storms while following Him. They had just witnessed the miracle of feeding the 5,000 and were probably on a spiritual high, only to encounter a storm soon after. Jesus wanted to show them that being on His mission doesn’t exempt us from challenges. In fact, divine acceleration often comes through trials and resistance or winds, waves, and storms. Many people become disillusioned because they believe that following God should mean smooth sailing. But the truth is, storms come to everyone, whether we follow God or not. The difference is that when we follow God, He is with us in the storm, making us “storm-proof.” (Western part of North Carolina -Hurricane Helene - God’s people filled with hope). And one day, we’ll be free from all storms in the new heaven and earth.

If we misunderstand this, we might miss the divine acceleration God has for us because we’re looking for an easy journey. Take, for example, the story of a man praying for rescue during a flood. He expected God to save him in a specific way and missed the help that God sent through a canoe, a boat, and a helicopter. This story highlights ho we often miss God’s provision because it doesn’t look the way we expect because of our misconceptions. We must overcome misconceptions.

Will You Make Room for Jesus in Your Life?

In Mark's version of this story in chapter 6:48, we read that the disciples were still rowing in the fourth watch of the night—between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. They had been rowing for nine hours and had only made it three or four miles. I imagine they were frustrated, exhausted, and confused. Jesus was showing them that, without Him, their efforts were in vain. When Jesus fed the 5,000, the people and His disciples saw Him as a new Moses, but when He walked on water, He was showing them He was greater than Moses. Moses needed the sea parted to walk on dry ground; Jesus simply walked on the waves. As Job 9:8 (ESV) says: “who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea.” When Jesus, the God over the storm, winds, and waves was received by the disciples into the boat, the storm ceased, and they were immediately accelerated to their destination.

We often rely on our own intellect, looks, or abilities to progress in life, and we are stuck not making progress but we must make room for Jesus in our lives if we want true acceleration. A powerful story that illustrates this is the life of George Müller, a 19th-century Christian evangelist known for caring for orphans. Early in his ministry, Müller tried to raise funds through traditional means—appealing to people and relying on his own efforts. But after experiencing little success, he decided to trust entirely in prayer, relying on Jesus to provide for all the needs of his ministry. From that moment on, Müller never asked anyone for donations, but prayed for every need. And every time, without fail, God provided, often in miraculous ways. Over his lifetime, Müller cared for over 10,000 orphans, all because he made room for Jesus in his mission and relied fully on Him.(Pic) Müller’s story shows us that when we leave Jesus out of our plans, we experience frustration. But when we bring Jesus into every aspect of our lives, we see miraculous provision and acceleration.

Divine acceleration happens when we depend on God—when we lean on Him in prayer, ask Him to guide our steps, and invite Him into every part of our journey. We must be passionate in our testimony, filled with worship, declare God’s word out of our mouths, and believe that Jesus can do the impossible. We must make room for Jesus. So, remember:

• Be about His mission.

• Overcome misconceptions.

• Make room for Jesus.

These are vital aspects of the atmosphere where divine acceleration takes place in our.

Built Different: Love Different

Built Different: Love Different

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: When we experience the grace of God, we have freedom to look out for other’s interests, and not just our own. 

• Convictions

• Considerations 

• Standing Before Christ

Convictions 

Our convictions should be shaped by the word of God and love for him. 

Romans 14:1-9 ESV

“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

Paul begins the letter by emphasizing the gospel of Jesus Christ - that in the cross God is both judging sin and at the same time manifesting his saving mercy.  

Paul was writing to the Roman congregation which was one that had a diverse population.  

At the time, Rome had just reintroduced the Jewish population, who had been previously expelled from the city under Emperor Claudius (Acts 18:2). 

As the gospel of Jesus Christ spread in Rome, there were Gentile converts who now needed to learn how to interact with Jewish Christians.  

To this end, Paul addressed issues such as 1) can one be counted innocent before God by obeying the law?, 2) the faith of Abraham and his relationship to both Jewish and Gentile Christians, 3) how the law relates to sin, 4) how Gentile salvation relates to the future of Israel as God’s people and 5) whether or not Christians should observe OT food laws, including how to relate to fellow believers properly based on those convictions. 

In addition to a roadmap to salvation in Jesus Christ, how to navigate the cultural tensions that existed between Jewish and Gentile Christians was a central theme of Paul’s letter to the Romans that would serve us well today.  

By the Holy Spirit, Paul communicated how to keep Jesus and his gospel central as the church worked to live as a unified people.  

Unity amidst diversity is God’s desire and is where he commands his blessing (Psalm 133).  

Yet the question is:

How do we build such unity in the body of Christ while maintaining distinct convictions?  

Individually, we each live by faith in Jesus, obeying God with the convictions that he gives us through his word and by his Spirit.  

Collectively, we make a distinction between direct commands and disputable matters. 

Disputable matters is another way to describe what Paul references here as opinions. 

Proverbs 18:2

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”

Your convictions may not be mine when it comes to what Paul called “disputable matters.”

We are to be unified in the direct commands that are plain as we adhere to what is written in God’s word.  

This means that we strive to have Scriptural chapter and verse for what we think, what we believe and therefore, how we live. 

Yet we are not to go beyond what’s written when attempting to discern how people are to live out the application of godliness on things that are not written (I Corinthians 4:6).  

*This is where relationship with God through the Holy Spirit comes in to give application to people in their personal walks with God. 

There will be diversity in how we apply our convictions before God, many times in relation to our histories, our strengths and weaknesses, or even the particular call of God on our lives.  

Think about the Nazarite vow.  

What we can not do is live by projecting our personal convictions on others allowing ourselves to judge them in regards to disputable matters.  

Always remember, Jesus said if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off - he did not say for you to cut off your neighbors‘ 😆. 

In summary, God’s rule is that we do all things by his word and in love with consideration towards others. 

Mark Ross of Ligonier Ministries wrote an article entitled “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity”

In this article, Ross wrote:

“Philip Schaff, the distinguished nineteenth-century church historian, calls the saying in our title “the watchword of Christian peacemakers.” Often attributed to great theologians such as Augustine, it comes from an otherwise undistinguished German Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century, Rupertus Meldenius. The phrase occurs in a tract on Christian unity written (circa 1627) during the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), a bloody time in European history in which religious tensions played a significant role. The saying has found great favor among subsequent writers such as Richard Baxter, and has since been adopted as a motto by the Moravian Church of North America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.”

Considerations

When Christ is our king, we are built differently to, in love, consider not only our own interests, but also the interests of others. 

Romans 14:10-23 ESV

"Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

We can love differently when we are not looking to maintain our own rights, but are looking to build others up in Christ. 

We can love differently when we’re not trying to judge others, but are attempting to remove stumbling blocks for others so that they can see Christ clearly.  

We can love differently when we are not trying to be proven right but are fighting for everyone to be found righteous in Christ. 

Life on life interactions matter in your Christian development.  

Yet you can not live in a fish bowl, walking on eggshells, perpetually subjecting yourself to the judgments of others, because sometimes their judgments are ungodly and wrong.  

As Paul instructed, we are to:

1. Be fully convinced in our minds that what we are doing is pleasing to God. 

2. Do all things to honor the Lord and give thanks to him in doing so. 

3. Do what you are doing in love and faith - because anything not done in faith is sin.  

Never forget, people had issues with both John the Baptist and the sinless Son of God.  

Matthew 11:16-19 ESV

“"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."”

A shared life is important vs. simply listening to podcasts or reading articles because the people on the other side of the podcast don’t usually know you or your situation.  

You can be deceived, convincing yourself that your assessments of the world are flawless when they are not vetted by anything but your own wisdom or are without the whole picture in mind in each scenario.  

Proverbs 18:17 ESV 

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”

People who only tell part of their story to different parties often get conflicting and imperfect advice because those counseling them are getting doctored, revised and colored perspectives. 

“Our self-abnegation is thus not for our own sake but for the sake of others. And thus it is not to mere self-denial that Christ calls us but specifically to self-sacrifice, not to unselfing ourselves but to unselfishing ourselves. Self-denial for its own sake is in its very nature ascetic, monkish. It concentrates our whole attention on self—self-knowledge, self-control – and can therefore eventuate in nothing other than the very apotheosis of selfishness. At best it succeeds only in subjecting the outer self to the inner self or the lower self to the higher self, and only the more surely falls into the slough of self-seeking, that it partially conceals the selfishness of its goal by refining its ideal of self and excluding its grosser and more outward elements. Self-denial, then, drives to the cloister, narrows and contracts the soul, murders within us all innocent desires, dries up all the springs of sympathy, and nurses and coddles our self-importance until we grow so great in our own esteem as to be careless of the trials and sufferings, the joys and aspirations, the strivings and failures and successes of our fellow-men. Self-denial, thus understood, will make us cold, hard, unsympathetic—proud, arrogant, self-esteeming—fanatical, overbearing, cruel. It may make monks and Stoics, it cannot make Christians.”

-BB Warfield 

John 13:34,35 ESV

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."”

Standing Before Christ

Each person will stand before the Lord in judgment, and will only stand because of Christ.  

“After the fall into sin, people remained image-bearers, but Adam’s disobedience brought fundamental changes to our ability to reflect God’s image. The direction of the human heart became oriented not toward God but toward self. In the garden, man began repeating a mantra that will persist until Jesus returns. Adam said, “I want.” “I want glory for myself rather than giving all glory to God.” “I love my own desire rather than loving God.” This came to be known as covetousness, lust, or idolatry.”

-Edward Welch 

Before we stand, we must bow before Christ. 

The goal of all of our convictions and considerations is to love Jesus, love others and bring glory to God amongst all people.    

Romans 15:1-13 ESV

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him." And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

At the judgment, we will all give an account of our lives to God, with every tongue confessing and every knee bowing, acknowledging Jesus as Lord.

Yet how you respond to Jesus before reaching the judgment seat of God will determine whether you meet God as a friend or foe.   

Attempting to stand on our own merits, we would all suffer a terrible fate.  

We’ve all lacked Biblical convictions, have all loved imperfectly and we all deserve death and hell because of our sin. 

Yet because of God’s great love for us, he sent his son Jesus to live perfectly the life that we should have lived, die sacrificially on the cross to take the penalty for our sins and rise three days later to provide not only forgiveness of sins, but eternal life in him. 

Only bowing before Christ today and choosing to be found in his righteousness, not our own, can we truly stand reconciled to a holy God.  

Now, as we cry out to God, repent of our sins and turn wholly to Jesus, he allows us to be built different to think, live and love in image of Christ - which is better by far!

Second City Church 

Built Different: Live Different

Built Different: Live Different 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

 Focus: Because God is sovereign, we can live with a quiet trust, committed to displaying Christ to the world.  

• Whose Authority?

• Live Differently

• By Putting on Christ

Whose Authority?

We are to trust God that he is sovereign no matter what we feel like we see unfolding around us.  

Romans 13:1-14 ESV

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 

Acts 5:27-32 ESV 

“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."”

Live Differently 

Because God is sovereign, we know that obeying his commands will ultimately lead to what is best, even while the world reels around us. 

Romans 13:8-10 ESV

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. "

“To urge men and women to believe in a divided Christ is bad teaching, for no one can receive half of Christ, or a third of Christ, or a quarter of the Person of Christ! We are not saved by believing in an office nor in a work. He is Lord, and those who refuse Him as Lord cannot use Him as Savior. Everyone who receives Him must surrender to His authority, for to say we receive Christ when in fact we reject His right to reign over us is utter absurdity. It is a futile attempt to hold onto sin with one hand and take Jesus with the other. What kind of salvation is it if we are left in bondage to sin?”

-AW Tozer

By Putting on Christ

Because God is sovereign we display that we are built different by clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Romans 13:11-14 ESV

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

“Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship: we worship our desires over God. We desire the things of earth more than the One who rules it. This being so, worship is the true deepest need for addicts, as it is for all people. It is during worship that we are most fully human. As we worship, the Spirit changes us. Sometimes this change is the more ordinary, imperceptible, and gradual change that is similar to the growth of a child. At other times, worship changes us more dramatically. Either way, when our hearts are pointed toward the risen Christ, we can’t help but be changed in some way. This change, too, teaches us to remember. When we hear the stories of how God transforms people, it reminds us that God is making us to be “like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24).”

-Edward T. Welch, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave

Second City Church 

Built Different: Think Different

Built Different: Think Different 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

 Focus: When reconciled to God in Jesus Christ, you have a new ability to think differently to transform both your life and your part of the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

• A New Mind 

• A New Heart

• A New Lord

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation”

-Oscar Wilde

A New Mind 

We need to actively seek God to be transformed by the renewing our minds. 

Romans 12:1-21

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

If we are not actively being transformed by the renewing of our minds into Christ’s image, we are passively being conformed to the pattern of this world.  

“To return to Romans 12:1: Paul has hereby created the context for the key command which sets all his ethics apart from any suggestion of “spontaneity,” as though once you were in Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, all you had to do was let the new life “come naturally.” No: the mind must be transformed, so that you can think out for yourself, weigh up and consider, what God’s will actually is. Unless the mind is fully involved, not only are you not growing up as a fully (and fully integrated) human being; you are not engaging in virtue at all.

When Paul talks about the “mind,” he is not ranking Christians in terms of what we would call their intellectual or “academic” ability. Some Christians have that sort of mind. Plenty of others don’t. But Paul wants all Christians to have their mind renewed, so that they can think in a different way. We all face many challenges, not only in the sphere of morality as such, but in a thousand different contexts. It won’t do simply to go into autopilot and hope to get through somehow. That will work, as with our initial examples of virtue, only when we have already trained ourselves in the necessary habits. But to do that requires careful and disciplined thought in this new mode, probably over some time. We have to be able to think about what to do – what to do with our whole lives, and what to do in the sudden crisis that faces us in this very minute. Being trained to think “Christianly” is the necessary antidote to what will otherwise happen: being, as Paul says, “squeezed into the shape dictated by the present age.”

-N.T. Wright, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters, 150-151.

A New Heart

As our minds are renewed in the Lord, our hearts will follow, and vice versa.  

Romans 12:3-8

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

God is making it clear that the place where mind and heart transformation are worked out is not in the midst of isolation, but engaged with his body, the church.  

It is in the life on life ministry to one another where Christ is formed in us and revealed through us.  

Your role and contributions in the body are indispensable in every season of life.  

Both our community groups and upcoming ministry team fair allow you opportunities for a shared life as you are transformed by the grace of God along with others. 

As your mind and heart are transformed, you take bite-sized steps to serve and transform the world around you with the love and good news of Jesus.   

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

-Mother Theresa 

A New Lord 

As our hearts are renewed, Christ’s Lordship transforms every area of our lives for the good.  

Romans 12:9-21 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

God calls us into a countercultural Kingdom through Christ. 

*Here is the point that can not be missed - as opposed to the world, service in the Kingdom of God is not divorced from love but is made perfect in practical relational love for one another.  

Galatians 5:6 ESV

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

Galatians 5:6 NIV

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Our eyes are opened when we are born-again - when we acknowledge that God has saved us by grace, through faith alone, in Jesus’ sinless life lived for us, death died sacrificially for our sins at the cross and resurrection with power from the dead, proving historically that Jesus is the unique Son of God (Ephesians 2:8-10).  

Yet to enter into that new life takes repentance from our sin and faith.  

It is not a one time repentance and faith, but an ongoing lifestyle where we die daily to self in Jesus to also live daily in his resurrection life.  

Just as there is no salvation without the cross of Christ, there is no sanctification without a commitment to walking out that salvation as we bear our crosses with one another in love. 

Just as love can not be walked out in isolation, true faith can not be walked out without Jesus as Lord.  

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Second City Church 

The Runaway Part 4

The Runaway Part 4

Anthony Connington

Focus: Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement

• Jonah’s Anger

• Justice and Compassion

• Word of Love

Part 1: Jonah’s Anger

Jonah 4:1-4

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Why was Jonah so angry?

To answer this question we need to examine the Hebrew word for “evil” (raah). This word is used 9x throughout the book and it connects the beginning and end like links in a chain. 

Chain Link of Hebrew word for evil (raah) 

Jonah 1:2–People of Nineveh have done evil (raah).

Jonah 1:7&8–Fishermen accuse Jonah of bringing evil (raah) to them.

Jonah 3:8–King commands everyone to turn from their evil (raah) ways.

Jonah 3:10a—God saw what Nineveh did and how the people turned from their evil (raah) way. 

Jonah 3:10b—God then relented of the evil (raah) that He had planned to bring upon them.

Jonah 4:1–Jonah felt a terrible evil (raah).

Jonah 4:2–God relenting from doing evil (raah) to the people.

Why did Jonah run away?

Jonah was angry with God because he knew that God would forgive the Nineveites when they repented. Jonah felt that was not just and that Nineveh deserved to be punished. 

There is another connection here. What does Jonah say back to God?

This is a quote from the Old Testament found in Exodus 34:6

Exodus 34:4-8 ESV

So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 

What about this passage is different from what Jonah said back to God?

Jonah changes the Exodus passage and takes out the word “faithfulness” or “truth” and replaces it with God “renouncing evil”.

Do you see what Jonah did? He intentionally changed God’s own self-disclosure and then used his own version of who he thought God should be as ammunition to be shot back as an accusation towards God. 

Jonah had shortened his understanding of what God had spoken and in turn could not see how compassion and justice really meet in the person of God. 

A compassionate and gracious God, slow to answer and abounding in kindness

These words in the mind of Jonah have become a great source of terrible evil. But why??

Justice of God: tell the story of police pulling people over and how that justice makes us feel. 

To answer that question we have to first look at the very first verse, who is Jonah? 

• Jonah is the son of Amittai (Emmitt) hebrew for the “son of truth”

• Jonah just “happens” to leave that one word out of God's own self disclosure of himself to us, he intentionally replaced the word truth with judgment.

• Jonah expected God to bring Justice in the form of Judgement not in the form of Compassion.

How can you say you are the God of truth and faithfulness when you change your mind about doing evil (raah)? How can you change the natural consequences of their choices and let them get off scot free? Where is the Justice in that?

Jonah’s complaint toward God was that God changes His mind about doing evil, or bringing judgment to those who deserve it. 

So Jonah waits and watches to see what God would do?

Part 2: Justice and Compassion

Jonah 4:5-9

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 

Let me ask you a question: What was the purpose of this plant?

The final link in the chain of evil (raah).

Jonah 4:6–The plant is there to save Jonah from his (raah) evil.

The plant wasn't just there to be a source of shade. The plant was an experience designed by God to provide a spiritual deliverance.

Jonah’s problem is not just his hatred towards Nineveh. It goes much deeper than that. His real problem was his hatred towards God.

See what Jonah was feeling…How can a God of Justice let these people just get away with all their evil. How dare you God sweep their offenses under the rug. Jonah can not live in a world where the judge of the universe lets the guilty go free. It is better that I just die. Jonah doesn't want to live in a world without justice. 

But what God was teaching Jonah is that he can not live in a world without compassion. 

Why was Jonah so happy about this plant?

The plant is a pure expression of love and compassion. It was there just because God loved Jonah.

The worm is an expression of justice and the consequences of the natural world playing out. 

The worm kills the plant because the plant does not have a seed. There are no roots. The plant does not belong so justice says it must be destroyed. 

Justice says when something doesn't have the right to be here it must go away.

What was so upsetting about the plant when it died?

Here Jonah was angry because God killed the plant that didn't deserve to be there. 

At first Jonah wanted to die because he didn't want to live in a world without Justice. Now he wants to die because he can not live in a world without compassion. 

The great question of justice is what have you done?

The great question of compassion is what can you become?

One speaks of judgment for what you have done. We get what we deserve. The other speaks mercy and looks toward who we could become.

The argument of compassion is that you may not deserve to be here but it would be such a shame to destroy you. 

When Jonah wants to die after the worm kills the plant he is really saying that he doesn't want to live in a world where beautiful things, expressions of love are destroyed just because they don't deserve to be here.

Part 3: Word of Love

Jonah 4:10-11

And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

True compassion comes from the one who invests and has long suffering towards those which He created and continues to love. 

I think Jonah is party right. In a world of Justice, simply saying sorry and repenting does not change the fact that.

This is a Word of Love.

The power of repentance is not that it changes the past, but rather it changes the future. 

Repentance is more about who you will become and less about what you have done. 

Did you make the connections yet to the New Testament?

The one place where true Love, Justice, Mercy, and Judgment collide is the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross the wrath and justice of God was satisfied and the mercy and compassion of God was given. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher