Uncommon Faith

Uncommon Faith

Anthony Connington

Focus: A faith observed leads to a faith lived that becomes a legacy of faith

1. A Faith Observed

2. A Faith Lived

3. A Legacy of Faith
   

The Life of Isaac

The Family Background 

Genesis 12–God calls Abram from the land of Ur to move and settle into the land of Cannan. He traveled across the world with his wife Sari and in faith believed the promise that God would bless him with many descendants. For years, the deepest longing of their heart, the desire to have children, was yet an unfulfilled promise from God. 

How many of you know your own birth story, or maybe know someone else’s? 

Genesis 21: Isaac is born into this family of faith

Isaac means “he laughs” or “laughter”

Isaac is the direct result of the promise, the fulfillment of the word given to Abraham and Sarah. 

A Faith Observed

Isaac grew up knowing his birth story and that he was the promised son. In the eyes of his parents he was the golden boy, the prized child in his house. All the focus, attention, and love was given to him alone. So much so that his older step brother Ishmael was kicked out of the house. Isaac was then an only child. 

Imagine growing up like this with wealthy parents, God’s blessing present everywhere, and looking up to a mom and dad who have a very strong faith. Isaac grew up watching his mother and father interact with God and he enjoyed all the family blessings and prospered as a result of his parents faith.

Then comes chapter 22

Genesis 22:1-19

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.” And he replied, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide[a] the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac[b] and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.” 12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram[c] caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide,[d] so today it is said, “It will be provided[e] on the Lord’s mountain.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn,” this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their[f] enemies. 18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed[g] by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.” 19 Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.”

A few details to take note of

1. This was a test designed and orchestrated by God. It was at God’s command that this sacrifice was to take place

2. Abraham immediately obeyed without question and left early the next morning

3. In verse 7 notice that Isaac was very familiar with Abrahams’s sacrificial worship. Isaac was taught the proper way to relate with and ultimately worship God. This event was very different then all the other times he had seen before.

4. Notice Abrham’s faith, he tells his 2 servants that he and his son will come back to them after they worship. He knew God would raise Isaac from the dead.

5. Notice God’s provision, the ram in the thicket. When tested, God always has a provision for us, but it may come in ways we did not see or expect. 

6. The test re-shaped and re-defined both Abraham and Isaac’s faith in God. The promise was reaffirmed and God used this test to build strength and fortitude within the family. 

Hebrews 11:17-19

“17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, 18 the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring[a] will be traced through Isaac.[b] 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.”

This event showed that Abraham loved God more than the blessings and promises God had given Him. He was willing to trust God and sacrifice the most precious gift God had given to him, his son of promise Isaac.

Abraham was willing to give it all up to please the LORD.

The question for us today is the same. Are we following God just for his blessings and promises, or are we following God because we desire to be with Him above anything else?

To be clear, the promises of God are very good and essential in our daily walk and relationship with Him. Cling to those promises and with uncommon faith hold fast to them. However, the question still needs to be asked, do we love the blessings and promises of God more than the person of God? 

Are we following God because we think we can get what we want? What if God’s plan is for us to be transformed and become more like Him? What if that plan includes pain, suffering, rejection, and persecution? Are you willing to sacrifice your prized promise and blessing in order to gain Christ the ultimate blessing? 

A Faith Lived

Isaac could not live on his fathers faith, he needed to make his faith his own. He needed to learn how to walk with God on his own.

Isaac experienced a series of tests.

The first test happened when Isaac was 37 years old. His mother died and during this dark period, the family had many choices that needed to be made. Abraham bought a field from the Hittites. This would ultimately be the only land he actually possessed during his lifetime.

During this period of mourning and major life transition, God was faithful and showed his love again to this family. 

At this time, in his old age, Abraham sought a wife for Isaac. In faith Isaac agreed to marry and stay in the land. Genesis 24 recounts this beautiful love story, it is my personal favorite.

Isaac chose to obey and not marry a foreign woman and also chose to obey even when he was struggling with this major loss, he did not give up faith in God, but persevered–uncommon faith. 

Later in In Genesis 25 we see that Abraham dies. Isaac is now charged with leading his family and everyone looked to him to lead. 

Isaac’s next test happened when his wife was unable to conceive. He knew his own story and that God is able and would come through to fulfill the promise. He chose to pray.

Genesis 25:21

“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.”

Uncommon faith was not just for Isaac. Take note in the next verse what Rebekah did when complications arose during the pregnancy. 

Genesis 25:22-26

“But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” [a] So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb;
two peoples will come from you and be separated.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.

24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25 The first one came out red-looking,[b] covered with hair[c] like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob.[d] Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.” Ed

In faith Rebekah inquired of the LORD. In response, God gave her a word of prophecy that would then define the lives of her two sons. In this story it was Rebekah who took this prophecy to heart and was comforted knowing God would follow through on His promises. 

Isaacs next major test was the famine that came upon the land. What would he do?

Genesis 26:1-5

“There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about; 3 stay in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed[a] by your offspring, 5 because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandate, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.”

We see that God reaffirms the promise to Isaac and in faith Isaac obeyed God and built his life in the land. Unlike his father, Isaac did not go to Egypt and instead chose to plant crops and do business where God commanded him to live. As a result he was blessed a hundredfold and became very wealthy. 

Genesis 26:12-14

“Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped[a] a hundred times what was sown. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy. 14 He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him.”

“When the whole world is running toward a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.” – C.S. Lewis 

Watch the journey. Isaac observes his parents faith and grows up with this great legacy. But he needed to build his own life in God. Isaac needs to go through his own test, trials, rejections, and persecutions. He needed to take that faith he had seen and then put it into practice himself. 

Whether it be choosing a spouse, enduring a loved one's death, experiencing barrenness of the womb or living through a famine, Isaac displayed uncommon faith time and time again.

*Personal Story*

Uncommon faith is not the same as perfection. Isaac struggled over and over again, he wrestled with God, prayed, worked, planted, and chose to live and worship God no matter the sacrifice, pain or disorienting circumstance. Uncommon faith is choosing to believe, choosing to look to God when you are helpless. Choosing to bless His name even when you feel utter despair. 

God is our anchor. He alone is our rock, our firm foundation. He can be trusted. 

I

A Legacy of Faith

Leaving a legacy of faith is great because it endures beyond our life time and impacts more people than you can count.

In Isaac’s story God was not just concerned with his own family but in the background orchestrating events that would last for generations to come. 

Is your faith walk marked by multi-generational thinking? Do you have faith to believe God working not just today with you, but through your great-great-great-great-great grandchildren? Are we praying with that type of legacy in mind?

God is always thinking beyond just our lifetimes. Look at this example here.

2 Chronicles 3:1

“Then Solomon began to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord[a] had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan[b] the Jebusite.” 

Mount Moriah is the place where God met with David, and where Solomon built the temple of the LORD. This is a LEGACY of FAITH.

Do you see it! 1000 years before David, God ordained Abraham’s test as a reflection of things to come. Sometimes our tests and our trials are not so much about us in the moment but about something bigger we can not see. 

Moriah is the land of Jerusaleam. Years later Jesus would step on the scene and this is the same city in which he died on the cross. Same mountainous region that God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. 

Everything in this story is a complete typological reflection of what Jesus would do. Jesus carried his own wood up the same mountain. Instead of God sparing His only son of promise, God the Father let the knife fall and His son was killed. The fire is our punishment.. Jesus bore hell on our behalf. Do you see the connections?

When you face your mount Moriah, your famine, your test, know that Jesus walked that same path. He completely understands. You can choose to have uncommon faith. You can choose to trust even when you don't feel like it.

Even when you don't see it, God is faithful. He will fulfill all His promises in Christ. He will deliver and set us free. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Uncommon Healing

Uncommon: Healing

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: In all the stages and circumstances of life, there is an uncommon, redemptive purpose to your pain and supernatural healing available to those who submit to Jesus Christ.

• God’s International, Eternal Sovereignty

• But I Thought…

• Uncommon Healing in Christ 

God’s International, Eternal Sovereignty

We need to run to God for healing rather than stay in the holes to which we’ve become accustomed.  

We will look at this familiar passage today not just from the perspective of Naaman, but the young woman who was taken captive into his service.  

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "Would that my Lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." So Naaman went in and told his Lord, "Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel." And the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy." And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me." But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, "My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

It is clear that you can have great success in life but still be in desperate need of healing.  

This was true of Naaman.  

How many people do you know who are professionally successful but have bodies, families, mental or emotional states that are literally falling apart?

The good news is that Jesus is no respecter of persons and comes for both the high and the low, those who seem to have it all together and those who are fully aware that their lives are unraveling.  
It is amazing that in Naaman we see God working outside of the walls of his people Israel, showing his concern for all of the people of the earth. 

The Scripture says clearly that Naaman, though neither knowing or serving the one true God of Israel, had won a great victory for his Syrian people by the hand of the Lord.  

This is a poignant communication that God is sovereign even in the international affairs of nations.  

In the midst of God’s sovereignty, the young girl mentioned had been carried off from Israel to serve Naaman’s wife.  

How much pain, heartache and loss would her family have experienced, not to mention the young girl herself?

However, God allowed this Syrian raid and her abduction for greater missiological purposes.  

*In all of our lives, when we are thrown circumstantial curveballs, we will either get bitter or be buffeted to become even more useful in the hand and eternal purposes of God. 

The young girl had a choice in those circumstances - to allow her pain to divorce her from her allegiance to Yahweh, the one true God of Israel because of her pain and foreign captors, or allow her pain to be a bridge to God’s supernatural plan and glory in the nations.  

The young girl chose the latter.  

Have you ever wondered why pain was allowed in your life?  

Did you see this pain as a prison or a platform?

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

-Timothy Keller

The young woman was positioned through her pain to be a witness to Naaman of God’s supernatural grace and healing.  

But I Thought…

We all have ideas in our minds of how our healing will come, but need to learn to trust God’s word and his plan.  
God’s word and his ways are always higher and better, though it may take more time than we prefer and his healing comes in a manner different than we would have engineered it. 

God has purpose in the process. 

God used the humility that it would take for the great military general to listen to this servant girl’s testimony of Yahweh to bring him to a place of healing. 

*You may be captain of your world in business, work and industry, but you need to be open to hearing the voice of God in the way that he chooses to deliver it. 

*Part of God’s ordained process of healing is worked out as you intentionally develop Christ-centered relationships in the church.  

“The glory of God is available to you in the church in a way it’s not available to you anywhere else. . . . There is no more important means of discipleship than deep involvement in the life of the church.”

-Timothy Keller

Have you begun building life transforming relationships in your church community?

II Kings 5:10-12 ESV

And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. 

We must submit to God’s process until it is complete for the healing to take place. 

This is why Elisha told Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan, the Biblical number often associated with completion. 

In each of our lives, the real issue is sin that has introduced physical, emotional and spiritual death into our worlds.  

Bitterness is an example of the results of that sin. 

Bitterness is a poisonous trap that we feel justified in nursing.  

Usually, we have some valid reason in our minds that allows bitterness to be an option - an offense, some disappointment or a way against which you’ve been legitimately sinned. 

However, God does not allow us to remain in bitterness, since in the end, not only do you suffer, but you poison the well from which others drink.  

Here’s how bitterness affects you:

Matthew 5:21-26 ESV

“"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

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Here’s how bitterness affects others:

Hebrews 12:12-17 ESV

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”

Again, why would God have chosen the methodology (not to be replicated) of dipping in the Jordan for Naaman’s healing?

1. To humble Naaman

2. To associate Naaman with the Jordan River - the place of Yahweh’s miracles for Israel and not just any cultic or spiritual power source. 

3. To release Naaman, a man of stature, rank and success from his bondage to control.  (He needed to learn, as we all do, that the only way to serve Jesus is as Lord)

In the places in which God has wanted to heal you, how has:

1. Pride kept you from following God’s prescriptions for cleansing?

2. Syncretistic philosophies kept you from crying out to Jesus as your ultimate source (even as you embrace his natural means of treatment)? 

3. Control kept you from submitting to and persevering in God’s process with his designated people?

Uncommon Healing in Christ 

It is only through repentance (a change of mind to go in a different direction) and faith in the foolishness of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection that we can be forever healed from our deepest needs. 

What could have been the devil’s plan for the young woman who testified to Naaman?

To shut her down in bitterness so that in her pain, she no longer engaged with her captors and inevitably cut off her service and witness to the foreshadowed Christ.  

“Contemporary people tend to examine the Bible, looking for things they can’t accept; but Christians should reverse that, allowing the Bible to examine us, looking for things God can’t accept.”

-Timothy Keller

We also look for things we can’t accept in others and distance ourselves from the very people who would aid in our healing. 

There is a complete, supernatural healing, either now or at the resurrection, for those who come to Christ - for those who’ve submitted to Jesus at the cross.  

There is supernatural healing through prayer. 

If you are stuck in your soul, first do all that God has prescribed in his word (including medical attention as needed) and then cry out for God to heal your body, soul and spirit through prayer.  

I Corinthians 1:18-25 ESV

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Romans 10:8-13 ESV

“But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 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. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."”

Whether now or at the resurrection, there will be complete, supernatural healing for those who call on the name of Jesus - mind, body and soul.  

No one who calls on the name of the Lord will be put to shame. 

That is God’s promise and he never fails.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Uncommon Freedom

Uncommon: Freedom

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: We are called to live in an uncommon freedom through the power of and eternal perspective of Jesus Christ. 

• Feelings vs. Flesh

• Spirit vs. Flesh

• Uncommon Freedom in Christ

Feelings vs. Flesh

Our feelings are valuable and God-given, but must not be our masters in this world.  

“You are tempted without ceasing, so pray without ceasing.”

-Charles Spurgeon

We have constant enemies of:

• Bitterness (we’ll speak about this next week)

• Jealousy

• Envy

that war against our souls (our mind, will and emotions). 

Jesus comes to be the Lord and liberator of our souls as we repent of our sins and look to his healing and forgiveness at the cross. 

Galatians 5:16-26 ESV 

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Though your feelings are very real to you, it does not mean that they are reality.  

We were introduced to Anxiety, Ennui (boredom), Embarrassment and Envy. 

Our feelings can become our reality if we focus on them more than we focus on God’s truth in his Word and what the Spirit of God speaks to us.  

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

― A.W. Tozer

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

For as he thinks in his heart, so  is  he. “Eat and drink!”  he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

Spirit vs. Flesh

The Word and Spirit of God lead you to power over corruptible flesh and common anxieties of this world.  

A recent study found that as an older generation, we have fallen short in creating environments allowing people to fail and pick themselves up again - we haven’t taught them how. 

Many young adults feel paralyzed thinking, “I don’t want to commit to anything because if I’m labeled, then I have a pressure to succeed at it.”

A 2021 Gen Z Barna report identified them as having these driving characteristics:

• “A pressure to be successful”

• “A need to be perfect”

• “Judged by older generations”

• “Pressured by parents expectations”

Yet these pressures affect not only Gen Z, but have filtered into societal consciousness as a whole. 

Choice overload, otherwise known as choice paralysis or the paradox of choice is a very real challenge in today’s modern environment.  

Whereas rising income promised to give freedom, technology opportunity and social media connection a window to the world, what people have instead been met with are paralyzing anxiety, doubts, envy and jealousy regarding the lives that they do not have rather than joy in the ones that they are actually living.  

Even in the church, we see it reflected. 

One of the young women interviewed for the Fuller Youth Institute described it this way:

So what is the solution?

Proverbs 22:4

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”

Even in business, the exhortation given by Rick Warren in the Purpose Driven Life is appropriate:

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don’t think of themselves.”

What do we do when we’ve failed to meet such lofty and pious goals?

We learn a new confidence and freedom through the gospel and Spirit of God.  

Romans 8:1-11 ESV

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

In the gospel, we learn how to fail and allow God to pick us up again. 
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. 

The righteous requirements of the law have been fully met in us because of Jesus’ sinless life - his record imputed to us by faith. 

We are freed from the paralysis of indecision because we are walking with God, and are not afraid to give ourselves to the trying because our identity is not wrapped up in others’ perception of success, but in Christ.  

The key to uncommon freedom is setting your mind on Jesus and what the Holy Spirit desires as revealed in God’s word.  

When we are not myopic, but choose to die to ourselves in order to glorify God, we access the power of resurrection life and actually live.  

“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.

If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.”

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 

Uncommon Freedom in Christ 

There is an uncommon freedom released to us when we learn to live for Jesus alone.  

Romans 8:12-17 ESV

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

There is an uncommon freedom available to us as we put our faith in and submit to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Acts 16:7; Philemon 1:19). 

When we turn to Jesus, God distributes an unmerited favor, a grace that paid for our sins by the death of Christ at the cross and a forgiveness released by Christ’s resurrection from the dead as we repent of our self-absorbed rebellion.  

In this gospel, he calls us to live no longer for ourselves, but him who died and gave himself for us - for our freedom. 

There is a freedom in learning to die to yourself that you might live solely for Christ. 

“People imagine that dying to self makes one miserable. But it is just the opposite. It is the refusal to die to self that makes one miserable. The more we know of death with Him, the more we shall know of His life in us, and so the more of real peace and joy. 

His life, too, will overflow through us to lost souls in a real concern for their salvation, and to our fellow Christians in a deep desire for their blessing.”

The Calvary Road by Roy Hession

In the workplace, in our relationships, in the recesses of our own minds and hearts, we can all find this uncommon freedom and an eternal joy when we truly allow Christ to be our anchor and his good news our all in all.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Uncommon Value

Uncommon: Uncommon Value

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: When you belong to Jesus, you have uncommon value because you were not only created in God’s image but have been purchased by Christ’s blood.  

• Looking for the Special

• Finding Someone of Value

• No Greater Worth 

Looking for the Special

We are all looking for a place where we can feel special and belong.  

Proverbs 19:22 ESV

“What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar.”

This is the theme of so many of our popular movies and works of literature.  

A recent study by the Fuller Youth Institute resulted in the book:

3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager book by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin

• Identity - Who am I? 

• Belonging - Where do I fit?

• Purpose - What difference can I make?

A recent seminar with Andy Jung of the Fuller Youth Institute noted that:

Harry Potter was filled with these three driving questions.  

So were movies such as Shang-Chi

and Encanto…

*We find that the same questions are in the transition of empty-nesters. 

“There is something so valuable about human beings that not only may they not be murdered, but they can’t even be cursed without failing to give them their due, based on the worth bestowed upon them by God. The image of God carries with it the right to not be mistreated or harmed.”

-Timothy Keller

Yet even further than the value placed on every human being because they were created in the image of God, what does God say about people that he’s called his own - who have been adopted into his family through their repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ?

God foreshadowed his answer regarding his people through the prophet Isaiah who ministered about 700 years before Jesus:

Isaiah 43:1-7 ESV

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true. "You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”

There is no other savior for your emotions, mental state, sense of security, value and your very life, but Christ alone. 

Through him alone were you made (John 1).  

We have all sinned and become broken vessels.  

Through Christ alone can we truly be redeemed, made whole and saved (Colossians 1:16-20).  

The truth is that if you have put your faith in the perfect life of Christ, his sacrificial death at the cross for your sins and his triumphant resurrection from the dead for your eternal life, it is evidence that you are called by God and special to him.  

As Jesus said, 

John 6:44 ESV

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

If you feel that drawing to Christ today, it is the very same tugging to which Jesus was referring - God drawing you to repentance (a change of mind, and thus, direction) and life in Christ.  

Finding Someone of Value

When you find Jesus, you find life and the value that he places on yours.  

From what do you attempt to derive your value? 

Is it Christ-centered or others-centered?

If you try to derive your value from anyone or anything other than from the immutable, benevolent Creator to whom you belong when you turn to Jesus, you will forever be a ship without an anchor.  

About eighty years after Isaiah, God continued his ministry calling people through the prophet Jeremiah who hailed from a priestly family.  

This meant that he was around the things and people of God, but still saw the ways that they were looking to other saviors to make them whole.  

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. "Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey? The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant. Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head. Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God, when he led you in the way? And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates? Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts.”

The value of anything comes from who made it, the quality of the design and how much you are willing to pay for it.

You were fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalm 139:14).  

Yet sin marred God’s beautiful design. 

God settled the question of value by giving the life of his perfect Son, Jesus, to pay the price to make atonement for your sins and mine at the cross. 

The power of Christ’s resurrection calls us not only into the forgiveness of our sins, but an eternal, restored life of infinite worth in Jesus. 

When the three aforementioned issues (questions) are settled in your heart by God’s grace and not your merit, you are free to love and serve others with the same grace of God.  

You are no longer a leech trying to suck life from others, but become a life giving source (Proverbs 10:11).  

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

-Timothy Keller

No Greater Worth 

There is no greater worth than relationship with Jesus and living for his eternal Kingdom.  

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.”

God’s Kingdom is the only thing that answers the three questions with benefits that last forever.  

When we come to Christ, the three questions are answered in this way:

Who am I?

I am a child of the Most High King of all Creation - God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth (I John 3). 

Where do I fit?

I am a part of the body of Christ, and therefore have an indispensable role in his family, the church (I Corinthians 12). 

What difference can I make?

I am an ambassador for Christ and am effectively a minister of reconciliation between loved ones and God, calling people out of God’s wrath and the cracked cistern existence in which they’ve lived into the forgiveness of sins and the abundant life of Christ.  

"Christians will not, interestingly, benefit society if they’re just like everybody else in society. We’re not going to benefit a society filled with self-actualisers unless we really are different, unless we do believe Jesus died for us, unless we do believe that we live through the self-sacrifice of the great Jesus Christ, and therefore we’re going to live by self-sacrifice. You see, unless we are shaped deeply by that, then we’re really not going to be of any kind of benefit."

-Timothy Keller

Let’s cling to the mercy of God found at the cross of Jesus Christ, and through his grace, live a life empowered by the uncommon value that he placed upon us when he gave his life for us.  

May we forever praise him in response and point people to the only one who can truly mend and make their souls whole.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Uncommon Love

Uncommon: Love

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: The uncommon love of the Heavenly Father gives us a new name and a new identity to redeem our pain in Christ.  

• Defined by Pain

• Your Old Name 

• Your New Name in Christ

Defined by Pain

So many of us struggle being defined by our painful experiences in life.    

Genesis 35:16-39

“Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”

As Rachel experienced the pain of childbirth, she spoke out of that pain and named her son Ben-Oni. 

Ben Oni is translated as “son of my sorrow.”

Jacob stepped in and renamed him Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand.” 

 “The only love that won’t disappoint you is one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live. It is something that not even death can take away from you. God’s love is the only thing like that.”

-Timothy Keller 

What experiences, traumas and pains have marked you most significantly in life?

These experiences can include sin, violations or sustained circumstances that were out of your control.  

“But resurrection is not just consolation — it is restoration. We get it all back — the love, the loved ones, the goods, the beauties of this life — but in new, unimaginable degrees of glory and joy and strength.”

-Timothy Keller 

Your Old Name 

With an uncommon love, the Heavenly Father comes to meet us in our pain and redefine our identity in Christ.  

The pain and heartache that previously defined us living in this fallen world will not forever define us in Christ.  

Jacob knew a thing or two about having a past, having a reputation and even the power of names.  

Whereas Jacob can be translated as “supplanter” meaning one who seizes, circumvents or usurps, after his encounter with God, Jacob would be renamed Israel with a new reputation and identity.  

This is the essence of the gospel. 

Genesis 32:22-30 ESV

“The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."”

How have you chosen to be identified by the pain or loss in life that you’ve experienced?

What hard things is God calling you to wrestle with that you might fully realize your new name and identity in Christ? 

“There are the good things of this world, the hard things of this world, and the best things of this world—God’s love, glory, holiness, beauty. The Bible’s teaching is that the road to the best things is not through the good things but usually through the hard things. . . . There is no message more contrary to the way the world understands life or more subversive to its values.”

-Timothy Keller

Do you believe that God has a new name and identity for you?

Your New Name in Christ

In Jesus, you are given a new name and a new identity by a Heavenly Father who made the ultimate sacrifice for you.   

I Peter 2:1-12 ESV

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

As we repent of our sins and turn to Christ’s perfect sacrifice at the cross for us, not only can we be forgiven, but we can be separated from the shame that used to be attached to our name and experience.  

This is why we are to be ready to declare the excellencies of him (Jesus) who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.  

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

- Penn Jillette, self-proclaimed atheist

It also means that rather than being a victim, we get to walk in the new authority of our new name, being dual citizens of our country of origin and the Kingdom of God.  

This is given to us by our Heavenly Father to whom we belong in Christ. 

“All Christians have dual citizenship. By natural birth, they are citizens of earthly nations, and they are subject to all the ordinances and requirements of their nations’ lawful governments. But by spiritual rebirth, through faith in Christ, they are also citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. This is the basis of Paul’s statement, already referred to in the previous chapter, ‘we…are citizens of heaven.’ (Phil 3:20 NEB) As citizens of heaven, Christians are subject to the laws of the heavenly kingdom, but they are also entitled to share in its authority.” 

-Derek Prince in Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Uncommon Grace

Uncommon: Uncommon Grace 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: God gives us uncommon grace to thrive when we are grounded in the eternal life of Christ.   

• General Revelation 

• Special Revelation 

• Common Grace

• Special Grace 

General Revelation 

God has given revelation of his existence, power and love to and through all creation. 

Psalm 145:1-21 ESV 

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”

“All the beauty we have looked for in art or faces or places—and all the love we have looked for in the arms of other people—is only fully present in God himself.”

-Timothy Keller

Special Revelation 

God gives special revelation of his love and care to the world through Jesus Christ.  

2 Corinthians 4:4-6 ESV

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

“The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

-Timothy Keller 

Common Grace

God cares for everyone and desires to show them his grace in Christ. 

I Timothy 2:3-6 ESV 

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

This does not mean that people, though cared for, will not be judged.  

Ezekial 33:10-11 ESV 

“"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?' Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”

God’s patience means that God is giving people time and opportunity to come to faith and repentance in Christ.  

2 Peter 3:8-10 ESV 

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

This is why our witness to the gospel is so important as we daily, intentionally, share our faith with our family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers. 

We testify to Christ’s historic incarnation, his sinless life, his sacrificial death on the cross for our wrongdoings and the forgiveness of those wrongs by his resurrection from the dead as people repent and believe the good news.   

We testify that people can be reconciled, brought back into friendship with God through Jesus and actually one God intimately - this is eternal life (John 17:3). 

 “While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy.”

-Timothy Keller 

We also testify that Jesus has come to give abundant life - life to the full (John 10:10) - and to destroy the work of the devil in our lives (I John 3:8). 

Yet what does it look like that God gives us grace to live day by day? 

Special Grace 

There is special grace to bear up under any circumstance when you are in the will of God through Christ.  

How do I know that this special grace exists?

We see and hear it in the testimony of those who’ve walked through difficulties with supernatural grace while being rooted in Jesus Christ.

The power of God is demonstrated not only when our circumstances change, but the grace that he gives us while we wait for our eternal hope and still thrive in the face of suffering.  

 "It’s possible to practice this in the smaller deaths that we all experience, such as the loss of a career, friend, or loved one. In those painful situations, you have to do essentially the same thing that you have to do when you're told you’re going die: You have to take something abstract that you believe about God and make it real to your heart so He becomes your consolation. You're no longer looking to the things of this world to be your salvation.”

-Timothy Keller

Proof that there is an eternal life is Christ’s resurrection from the dead and the uncommon grace that people who know him demonstrate intimating that there is a reality beyond the grave. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher