Christ. Community. Culture. - "Jesus of First Importance"
We are in a three week series, "Christ. Community. Culture.," defining who we are as a church and the subsequent vision that we believe God has entrusted to us. Christ is the first and most important distinctive from which all of the others flow.
At Second City Church, everything begins and ends with Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He is to be the centerpiece for all of our lives, around which everything revolves. Christ-centered living is a challenge in our day as faith has become for most an additive rather than a focus. As we seek to define the vision of Second City Church, we will look through the gospels to see why the greatest man and the greatest command speak of Jesus as of first importance.
The greatest man is Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.
As I was preparing for the message, I thought of the names I most associated with Jesus and realized that the majority of them were represented in the Gospel of John. John was one of Jesus' twelve apostles and the "one whom Jesus loved" or had a special affinity for (John 13:23; 19:26; 21:7; 21:20). This list is a summary of declarations that Jesus made about Himself in that memoir, or assertions that were made about Him that revealed His identity.
He is God. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end to all of history. He is the Word (the Greek word: Logos), our reason for living. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 NIV)
This means He is the Creator. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:9-14 NIV)
Jesus is the Lamb of God foreshadowed in the Jewish Passover. He is the only one who can make atonement (reparation, making amends through payment for a wrong or injury) for your sins. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 NIV)
He is the chosen one who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit who empowers us for God-centered living. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” (John 1:33, 34 NIV)
Jesus is our good teacher and rabbi. He is to be your leader. The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. (John 1:35-39 NIV)
He is the anointed one of God coming to break chains, burdens, and yokes. He is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah who came to be our deliverer. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). (John 1:40, 41 NIV)
He is the one who gives us identity, purpose, and mission in the midst of life's mundanity. And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter ). (John 1:42 NIV)
He is the one whom all of the Jewish prophets, the world's stories, and the whole Bible ultimately points. He is our prophet who knows and details our future. The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:43-45 NIV)
Jesus is the bringer of grace and truth. He gives you kindness that you don't deserve, while turning you to the truth that will set you free in your work, life, family life, and relationships. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17 NIV)
Jesus is the one who makes God known. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:18 NIV)
Jesus is zealous for His Father's house. He is the builder of His church. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:16, 17 NIV)
His favorite self-designation was as the Son of Man to be worshiped by the nations. No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:13-15 NIV)
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13, 14 NIV)
Thus, He is our focus of worship. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15 NIV)
Jesus is the Son of God sent as God's expression of love to the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18 NIV)
He is our commanding officer who makes all our places of meeting with Him holy. Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord ’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15 NIV)
He is the one who sees us, knows us and calls us anyway despite our doubts and failings. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” (John 1:46-48 NIV)
He is the only mediator between humanity and God. Jesus is the ransom paying the price for our rebellion that we might go free. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:5, 6 NIV)
He is Jacob's ladder connecting heaven to earth. Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” (John 1:50, 51 NIV)
The one sent to finish His heavenly Father's work “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (John 4:34 NIV)
He is the savior of the world who rescues us from the destructive force our sins. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42 NIV)
He is our healer. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, (John 5:5-9 NIV)
He is our righteous judge, the final judge, the one whose opinion actually counts in the midst of a fickle world. Because of this, we call him our everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. (John 5:21-23 NIV)
Jesus is the one about whom all of the Scripture is about. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39, 40 NIV)
Jesus is the bread of life and the true water for your soul. Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35 NIV)
He is the light of the world. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV)
Who then tells us to be the same? “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 NIV)
He is our sinless example of a perfect life. He is our wisdom. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? (John 8:46 NIV)
Jesus boldly declared himself the "I am," the one who has always existed. “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (John 8:57-59 NIV)
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “ I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘ I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:13-15 NIV)
We call him the Good Shepherd. He is our chief shepherd and senior pastor. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11 NIV)
Jesus is the gate through which people pass from death to life. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:7-9 NIV)
He is the giver of the full life for which everyone is looking. He is our animating presence and power for life. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25, 26 NIV)
He resurrects broken hearts, marriages, families and dreams. Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:38-44 NIV)
He is our evangelist proclaiming good news to the world. He is the one who, through the cross, draws all people to Himself. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32 NIV)
He is our humble, benevolent master. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:13-17 NIV)
He is our model for love. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34 NIV)
He is our comforter. He is the one who prepares an eternal home for us. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4 NIV)
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only way to God. Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:5-7 NIV)
He is the one who answers prayers. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14 NIV)
He is Immanuel, God with us. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:18, 19 NIV)
He is the giver of commands to be obeyed. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” (John 14:21 NIV)
He is the giver of peace. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27 NIV)
Your example of one who perfectly submits to the Father He is the giver of joy. He is our big brother as we come to the Father through Him. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:9-11 NIV)
Jesus is your friend as you do what He commands. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15 NIV)
He is the one who chooses you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. (John 15:16 NIV)
He is our protector and great unifier of His church. He is the one who came to destroy the works of the devil. He is our high priest and great intercessor. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. (John 17:11, 12 NIV)
He is our great apostle. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:18 NIV)
Jesus is the promised King of the Jews. He is God's suffering servant. He is our perfect sacrifice. He is the substitute for the death that you deserve. He is the propitiation (appeasement) for the wrath of God that you should have taken. He is your source of forgiveness. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. (John 19:19 NIV)
He is the virgin born Son of Mary, crucified, who with His last breath said, "It is finished," so you never have to work your way to God. He is the one buried in a guarded tomb and three days later rose from death because of His innocence.
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:39-42 NIV)
He is your resurrected king. He is the author and perfecter of your faith. He is the one at whose name every tongue will confess and every knee will bow proclaiming that He is Lord. A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:26, 27 NIV)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNa6tLWrqk
The greatest command is to love Him. 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ 45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Matthew 22:34-46, NIV) He is the only true God. One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34 NIV)
Heart (Greek word: Kardia) - The seat of the desires, feelings, affections and passions. The goal of this is to relate to Jesus. It directs your worship.
Mind (Greek word: Dianoia) - Understanding, intellect, intellectual capacity. Especially the thought process, the operation of reason, manner of thought. The product of reason, a thought, something imagined. The goal of this is to know Christ and interpret all of the world through the lens of Jesus. It shapes your theology.
Soul (Greek word: Psyche) - life, person. The breath and animating seat of the senses. The will and the seat of the appetites. A person's spiritual and immortal nature with its rational and natural faculties. The goal of this is to be transformed by Jesus. It is the process of your sanctification.
Strength (Greek word: Ischys) - Physical and mental power as an endowment. The goal of this is to serve Jesus. It results in your ministry to the church and world.
The greatest command is to love God. The second places a priority on loving others and is played out in community. It is central to the gospel, and without it, there is no following Christ. We will elaborate on this more next week.
Second City Church- Christ. Community. Culture. Sermon Series 2014