Worship In Songland - Part 3

Worship in Songland: Worship in Spirit and Truth

Pastor Cole Parleir

Main Scripture

John 4:1-42

“Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the town and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."”

‭‭John‬ ‭4:1-42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Point

Those who profess to worship God MUST do so in Spirit and in truth, coming into the light of Christ to do so. These are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.

1) God is spirit, so we must worship in spirit

a) What is not worshipping in spirit?

i) Lip service and ministry won't cut it

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

ii) Going to the right place at the right time won’t cut it

(1) “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”- ‭‭John‬ ‭4:20-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

iii) Circumcision, a Jesus tattoo, or a bumper sticker won’t cut it

(1) “Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”- ‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:27-29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

iv) Good deeds won’t cut it

(1) “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”- ‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

v) Money won’t cut it

(1) “"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”- ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

vi) Any ole Sacrifice/gift

(1) “"What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.”- ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1:11-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

b) What is worshipping in Spirit?

i) The interior life, the “secret life” away from man’s approval

(1) Clean hands and Pure heart

(a) “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah”- ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24:3-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

(2) Our bodies as a living sacrifice

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

2) God is truth, so we must worship in truth as revealed through creation, the prophets of the Old Testament, and perfectly in the incarnation of His one and only Son Jesus the Christ.

a) The Samaritan woman was wrong in her understanding of the OT scriptures, wrong about God’s choosing of the Jewish nation to bring forth His Word, His prophets, and all this would lead her to ultimately missing the Messiah (the savior).

i) Because God Loves this woman Jesus had to correct her saying that Salvation comes from the Jews or she would not have recognized him as the savior.

3) God is light, so we must worship in the light

a) 1 John 1:5-10 ESV

i) “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” - 1 John‬ ‭1:5-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

b) Darkness is not a thing, it’s the absence of a thing. It’s the absence of light. Death is not a thing, it’s the absence of life.

c) Jesus brought the Samaritan woman into the light so she could live and worship in Spirit and in truth

i) How did he do this?

(1) His presence just being with her. “The ministry of presence”.

(a) Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

(b) This in itself (Jesus being present) drove out shame because he was willing to associate with her until she was ready to surrender to the light of the truth of who He is and what that means for her as a sinner, as a Samaritan, and becoming a saint.

(2) His prophetic word of knowledge revealing her past and her present so that she can come into Jesus’ future of worship for her

(a) Jesus reveals the secrets of her heart disclosing her past and present so she will know that Father God sees her. She can ‘truthfully’ worship Him as the Son of God declaring that God is among them. This is Jesus ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit as described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 14:24-25 ESV

(i) “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭14:24-25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Quotes

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t” - John Piper

“Don’t forget in the dark what God has shown you in the light”- Dan Staldorf

Application

Are you worshipping the Father in Spirit and truth? Do you have His Spirit in you guiding you into all truth? If not, or you’re not sure, prayer this prayer that King David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Now, tell your Heavenly Father you’re tired of being in spiritual darkness stumbling through life and that you want to be with Him in the light. Lay your old sinful and deceitful heart open before Him confessing you’ve been in the dark and that you now believe He sent His one and only son Jesus into the world to be the light of the world. Tell him you accept Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross in exchange for your sinful life and that God the Father raised Him from the dead. Tell Him you accept Jesus as Lord of your life moving forward. If you do, He promises to give you a new clean heart and the gift of the Holy Spirit TODAY to live inside of you and help you lead a new life worshipping Him in Spirit and truth.

More scriptures to meditate on

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬
“If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

https://www.bible.com/59/psa.139.11-12.esv

‭John‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."”

https://www.bible.com/59/jhn.8.12.esv

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:3-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 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.”

https://www.bible.com/59/2co.4.3-6.esv

Second City Church - Worship In Songland - Pastor Cole Parleir 2019

A Good and Gracious Father

He wants you home

The Situation

Tax collectors and sinners are gathering around to hear Jesus.  The Pharisees and scribes of the law are grumbling that Jesus welcomes and eats with sinners.  Jesus tells them three parables back to back (showing God’s patience through the ministry of repetition and reminders) dealing with lost things being found: a sheep, then a coin, and lastly a son.  The third parable of the father and two sons is only found in Luke. This last parable depending on different translations is titled “The parable of the lost son” or “The prodigal son”.

The Word of God

Luke 15:11-31
“And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. "Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭15:11-32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Point

Our Heavenly Father ALWAYS has desired restored relationship with sinners since the first sin in the Garden of Eden where He then also sought and found the lost Adam and Eve hiding, naked and ashamed. Once He finds us and we submit to Him he then clothes us, feeds us, and empowers us.  He goes to great lengths to restore that relationship, even being misunderstood, humiliated, hated, despised, and blasphemed.

1. There is one Father, one home, and one way home

2. We are ALL prodigals: dead, lost, blind, and naked (God hands all over to disobedience...so that He may have mercy on them all)

   1. The question is whether we are aware of being dead and lost?

      1. 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

         1. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 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.”

      2. How loud do you have to scream to wake up a dead man? It’s a miracle!

      3. Has your current lifestyle become sickening to you yet?  Have you come to such a place of need that your eyes have been opened that you need to go back to your heavenly Father’s house?  Until you are desperate, repentance won’t be yours.

         1. 1 John 2:15-17 ESV

            1. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

            2. The world is passing away, in a famine, so come home now.  Today is the day of salvation.

   2. Father God desires us all to come home

      1. The parable is left open ended with no response from the bitter older son on purpose to display the Father’s desire for the self righteous son to repent and come back home to the celebration from the village.

   3. You are not too far away from home (he went to a far country)

      1. It doesn’t matter how far you think you’ve gone.  Home with your Heavenly Father is only as far away as repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

   4. Your sin, your reckless living, your abandonment of God and His ways  and His people is not unforgivable

      1. Unless you say it is.  The only unforgivable sin is to reject the savior!

3. The Father and all of heaven CELEBRATES when one sinner repents, trusts in Jesus, and comes home.

   1. Heaven is now among us and is still coming.

      1. Matthew 6:10 ESV

         1. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

      2. Matthew 4:17 ESV

         1. “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

      3. Luke 17:20-21 ESV

         1. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."”

The Father draws us by His Spirit to Jesus so we may find our way home.

Jesus is the Father in the flesh sent to us to reveal the Father’s will, the Father’s heart, and provide the way back to the Father.  Jesus is the Father’s ‘Good Shepherd’ sent to find and bring home is lost.

• John 6:44-45 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. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”

‭

Our Response

Come home by repenting of our sin, and believing the good news of the Father’s provision for us to come through the life, death, burial and resurrection of his one perfect son Jesus Christ.

More scriptures to meditate on

Matthew 6:1-8 (The Father sees us in secret and rewards us openly)

1 John 3:1
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God.

John 14:1-11 (Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father)

John 16:2-27 ESV (The Father loves me and listens to me because of Jesus)
"I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

John 3:16 ESV
For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Luke 19:1-10 ESV
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."”

Preparation

What does it say?

Jesus is telling the third parable in a row dealing with lost things being found and the ensuing celebration that follows. All three parables were being told to the Pharisees who were grumbling because Jesus was ‘receiving sinners and eating with them’.  The tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were also listening in.

The parable says one man, a wealthy landowner, had two sons.  The younger son told his father to give him his share third of his inheritance now instead of waiting until his father died.  The son was most likely a teenager as he was not married. The father did not insist on his own way but gave his son a free will and allowed him to go his own way.  The father divided the inheritance and gave it to his son. The inheritance most likely consisted of land, cattle, sheep, and other items that the son had to convert to cash to be able to travel.  The son hung around for not many days before he left on a journey to a far country. In this far country he squandered his inheritance on reckless living which included prostitutes. The son spent everything he had.  At the same time he went broke a severe famine struck the country and he was in dire need. He started looking for a job and found one feeding pigs for a Gentile citizen of that country. While working this job he was starving so much he wanted to eat the pigs food.  No one showed him any charity. The despair of the situation brought clarity and he realized that even the servants in his fathers house had plenty of food to eat. He decided to leave the far country and return back to his fathers house where it would be better to be a servant that’s well fed than a free man starving in that far country.  He rehearsed his speech to his Father how he realized he had sinned against heaven and his father and realized also that he was no longer worthy to be called a son, but would still like to be in the house as a servant. When he went back to his father’s house his father must have been waiting and looking for him because when the son was a long way off the father saw him.  Moved with compassion the father ran to him, embraced and kissed him. The son tried to recite his speech confessing sin and not being worthy to be called a son but the father cut him off and immediately had the servants bring the best robe, a ring, and shoes for him. He also had them bring the fattened calf to kill and start a celebration of the sons return. The father didn’t label the son as rebellious, but as dead and lost...now alive and found.

The older brother was working in the field when he heard the party raging.  He asked the servants what was happening who told him that his brother had returned and the father had killed the fattened calf and started a celeration.  The older son was angry and refused to go to the party. The father came out to the older son to entreat him to come in but the older son angrily in self righteousness rebuked his father for injustice, not every rewarding him for his hard work and dedication. The older son spoke poorly of his brother reminding his father of the younger son sins, all the while not even acknowledging him as a ‘brother’ but only as his father’s son. The father kindly reminded his older son that he has him (the father) and that all he owns is his, and that celebrating and being glad is the proper thing to do because his son was dead and lost, and now is alive and found.

What does it say about God?

God is wealthy.

God is a father who has more than one child.

God is kind and patient. (Did not ‘flip out’ at the sons ultimately disrespectful request)

God gives us free will and allows us to make our own choices and suffer our own consequences.  He did not chase after the son.

God is not easily angered or offended.

God has a pleasant and prosperous household andHe takes very good care of his servants as they had more than enough bread.

God is ALWAYS  watching over us, looking for us to return home.

God FEELS COMPASSION for his dead and lost children. (The embrace is closeness and the kiss signifies forgiveness)

God QUICKLY restores a child returning home with high quality gifts to meet their needs for body and soul (the best robe which was probably the father’s robe and shoes) and that display their restoration to sonship (the family signet ring which would allow the son to approve family transactions)

God SHOWS his compassion with displays of affection and love. (Embraces and kisses)

God has been PREPARING for my return (the intentionally fattened calf)

God raises the dead and finds the lost.

God and his heavenly hosts party when sinners repent. (The calf could feed a whole village, so this is a public affair)

God now goes after the rebellious and the religious.  Both sons

What does it say about me?

I am spoiled

I am rude.

I am disrespectful.

I am self absorbed.

I am reckless.

I am a victim of my bad decisions.

I am stupid.

I am prideful.

I am forgetful.

I have needs that drive me.

I am a refugee on earth, I am not home yet.

I have the capacity for repentance and returning.

I don’t have to stay in my situation.

I am loved by my father.

I am pitied by my father.

I am served by my father.

I am provided for by my father.

I am celebrated by my father.

I am defended by my father.

What does it say about the world around me?

The world is not my home.

The world is not trying to help me.

The world is using me.

The world is full of ways to be reckless.

The world can not control me.

The world doesn't take care of it’s servants (contrast the father’s servants)

The world is ruled by Satan who came to only kill, steal, and destroy.

What do I do?

Believe the good news that God WANTS to be my Father and desires me.

Change my mind about my life’s direction, stop serving myself and the world, accept Jesus sacrifice for my sin, and go home to my Father.

Receive the Father’s blessing of restored relationship, status as a son, and heavenly authority to serve him as an empowered servant son.

CELEBRATE praising our good, gracious, Heavenly Father!

Second City Church - A Good and Gracious Father - Pastor Cole Parleir 2019

The Inside Job - Part 3

Putting God: F.I.R.S.T. takes:

Focus

Identity

Reverence

S

T

Background

The Apostle Peter is writing from Rome (which he calls Babylon) in chapter 5.  Peter is writing to gentile and most likely Jewish believers scattered throughout the Roman provinces to the east in Asia Minor which is now modern day Turkey.  He is writing them to encourage them to endure unjust suffering because Christ was also and firstly rejected by humans and endured suffering from sinners. Upon suffering he inherited the blessing of life, setting us an example that by faith in Him we can also endure suffering and rejection (which social rejection is what most of us feel now) with an expectation of the blessing of life to come.  In the previous chapter, chapter 2, Peter reminds those suffering of the God given IDENTITY that Christ is an immovable cornerstone that God Himself has placed, and that we believers and followers of Christ have an IDENTITY of a holy priesthood. By faith in Christ as the one and only Lord and Savior, we are being built into a spiritual house of worship of which he is the cornerstone.  In this spiritual house (or temple) we are expected to bring spiritual sacrifices to walk out our new IDENTITY as a holy priesthood.  Peter then says that because of this new IDENTITY of being a chosen royal priesthood and having received mercy though they formally were objects of God’s wrath,

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 2:12

This is where Peter begins to tell the believers what it looks like to live such good lives (making spiritual sacrifices) that will one day glorify God when Jesus returns.  The Holy Spirit through Peter says we will live these lives, make spiritual sacrifices, out of REVERENCE for God, submit yourselves.  Peter addresses a few specific groups of people but starts with all people under the Roman government. Then picks up with the most vulnerable  of the society working his way up to the least vulnerable. The weakest to the most powerful. He starts with slaves, then wives, husbands, and finally all people.  He also knows that Christ likeness starts in the home at a family level where our inner motives and most played out.

Main Scripture

1 Peter 3

3 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and REVERENCE of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“Whoever would love life

   and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

   and their lips from deceitful speech.

11 They must turn from evil and do good;

   they must seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

   and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a]

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts REVERE Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[d] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Message Summary

When we have a genuine inner REVERENCE of Christ we will genuinely love, respect and honor those whom Christ died for as our spiritual sacrifices and worship in Spirit and Truth.  This inner REVERENCE will produce in us a gentle and quiet spirit because we have been delivered from fear of man.

What is REVERENCE?

Reverence is honor and respect that is deeply felt and outwardly demonstrated.  ‘Reverence’ and ‘revere’ are closely tied together with fear, awe, honor, and respect.  In the Bible when people encountered God their reverence drove them to the groundDo you fear God or simply respect God?  Respect alone will not drive you to sacrifice for God, but may influence you to make better decisions when convenient.   

Reverence toward our amazing God and Saviour starts in the heart as a work of the Holy Spirit but if it’s genuine it will not stay there.  We will begin to love ourselves the way Christ has loved us, by demonstrating the fruit of the spirit toward ourselves (Love your neighbor as YOURSELF).  It will work its way out through love, respect, submission and honor to our spouses and family second, and then our community.  

How do we know if we have genuine REVERENCE for Christ and aren’t just giving lip or hand service?

1. Wives - If your husband isn’t obeying the Word, are you loving them by having pure and respectful conduct, putting on the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which God sees and says is very precious in his sight?  Essentially, living with REVERENCE of God even when they aren’t?

2. Are you doing ‘good’ despite threats or is the fear of man quenching your spirit?

3. Husbands- are you living with your wives in an understanding way, showing her honor as God’s heir with her in the gift of life?  Do you feel like your prayers are being hindered?

4. Do you have unit of mind with other believers?

5. Do you have sympathy?

6. Do you have brotherly love?

7. Do you have a tender heart?

8. Do you have a humble mind?

9. Do you bless those who do evil to, revile, or despise you?

10. Do you keep your tongue from evil?

11. Do you lie?

12. Have you turned away from evil and are doing good?

13. Are you seeking and pursuing peace?

14. Are you honoring Christ the Lord as holy?

15. Are you always ready to give a defence for your faith...with gentleness and respect?

16. Are you willing to suffer for doing good knowing that Christ did this for you while you were still a sinner?

    1. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
       

Invitation to Water Baptism next week on April 7th

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

The only way to truly have REVERENCE for God in your heart is to accept His son Jesus Christ by repentance of sins and placing your faith in Christ alone for your righteousness.   Noah and the other 7 who were saved from the destroying floods showed their heart’s inner REVERENCE, repentance and trust in the LORD by obeying God’s good news and getting into the ark to be saved.  Today, we show our reverence of and trust in Christ by being clothed with Christ going down in the water of baptism as they went into the flood waters. They emerged into a new earth cleansed of sin and we emerge into a new life with Christ and cleansed conscience, being still in the world but not of the world any longer.

Supporting Scriptures

• Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ- Eph 5:21

• If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

    Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,

   so that we can, with reverence, serve you. - Psalm 130:4

Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God

and he endures forever;

his kingdom will not be destroyed,

his dominion will never end.

He rescues and he saves;

he performs signs and wonders

in the heavens and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” - Daniel 6:25-27

• “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. - Malachi 2:5

• 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” - Acts 10:24-26

• Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. - 2 Cor 7:1-3

• 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.” - Hebrews 12:28-29

Second City Church - The Inside Job - Pastor Cole Parleir 2019

Guest Speaker - Cole Parleir

The Story Of Us

(Come to Me, Come to us)

Matt 11:28-30 NIV
“Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Jesus

God wants us to come to Jesus for our rest.  When we come to Jesus we get Him and His family, in this order.  The last two letters of “Jesus” is “Us.” 
It’s no longer about “I,” but it is about “us.”  It’s no longer “me,” but “we.”  

Come to Me

“Come to me”
This an invitation to be with Jesus, the savior.  This is the call that all our hearts are longing for.  Just to hear the voice of Jesus is the beginning of restoration, the beginning of knowing that your maker desires you, wants to be with you, loves you, and is present.

This is a command to be with Jesus, the Lord of all, as there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved.

When Jesus invites us to come to Him, we go to where He is, and partake in what He is doing.  It may not be what you expect, but He is God and He is good, knowing what you need more than you do.

What if I don’t hear Jesus’ invitation?  
You seeing or hearing Jesus isn’t as important as whether He sees and hears you.  So start yelling!  Help!  What if I am not sure where Jesus is? Yell some more! Send out a homing beacon, a flare, raise your voice! You can do what Peter did and ask Jesus to call you, if you think you might see or hear Him.

Matthew 14:28-33
“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.””

Jesus’ call is also to those whom you may not think deserve it, such as little children.

Matthew 19:13-14 NIV
“Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.””

“All who are weary and burdened”
Who is the invitation for?
All people!  All places!  All times!  

Acts 17:26-28 NIV
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

All who are weary and heavy burdened! 

The context of this invitation to the weary and heavy burdened is those who are like the Pharisees and are trying to gain a right relationship with God through obeying the law.  This also applies to those of us who have done what the Bible says in Romans and have “become a law unto ourselves,” meaning we don’t believe in God but yet we have a system of morality we have constructed or adhered to.

Why “all” people?  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  We were made in God’s image, but we’ve blown it.  Only Jesus has perfectly been the image of God on the earth.  

“And I will give you rest (for your souls)”
Jesus is the rest giver for your soul.
Jesus addresses the greatest need that underlies and is the foundation of all other needs.  In the case of rest, He knows we need rest for our souls.  When we have rest for our souls, the foundation has been laid for your body and mind to rest.

What is rest for your soul?  It is righteousness, being back in relationship with your heavenly Father. 
Jesus is the only person, the only thing, that can give us rest for our souls.
Jesus’ way of living can give you rest for your body and mind, but without Jesus being the one you go to for “rest for your soul,” all these good things that help us rest just become a bandaid or distraction from real rest.  

2 Timothy 3:5 NIV
“having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me”
The great exchange: trading the yoke of the Law or a yoke we’ve made ourselves, for the yoke of Jesus. The context of the previous parts of Matthew 11 are rebuking people and cities that experienced many miracles of God but never repented.  They experienced partial temporary salvation for their bodies, not for their souls because they continued on in their sinful lifestyles.  All who sin are a slave to sin, or are yoked to Satan, but Jesus wants us to be free from sin, but the only way to be free from sin is to be a slave to righteousness. 

The call to discipleship is the taking on of Jesus' yoke and learning from Him.

“For I am gentle and humble in heart”
Because of God’s character we can come to Jesus, take on His yoke, all without fear of abuse, fear of rejection, or fear of failure because He is gentle and humble in heart.

The authority structures on earth that require you to make a commitment may have abused you: your boss, your spouse, your parent, the police, etc., but Jesus will never abuse you.  On the contrary, everything He does, allows, and commands is for our good.  He is humble, so we can humble ourselves and cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us.

1 Peter 5:6-11 NIV
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

“and you will find rest for your souls”
Rest for our souls is a promise.
Jesus has authority of all things and, unlike people, has the power to back up His words.

Matthew 11:27 NIV
““All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
It’s still a yoke, but it’s Jesus’ yoke.
Being attached to Jesus is not a pass from serving God, but the way to fulfill our destiny in God.

Come to us

The way that Jesus gives us what we need to walk with Him, to rest in Him, is usually through His Body (the Church).  He gave Himself for our salvation, His Spirit for our sanctification, and His body (our brothers and sisters in Christ) for our edification.

His Spirit and His Body
When the people of God come together this is what it looks like:

The Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-4 NIV
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

The Body of Christ
Acts 2:40-47 NIV
“With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

The Benefits of Christ’s Body

Companionship
“It is not good for man to be alone…even in the garden of Eden; paradise!”

Signs and wonders
“Where two or three are gathered together there in my name I am among them”

Healing
“Call the elders of the church to anoint them with oil if they’re sick”

Encouragement
“Build one another up in love”

Accountability
We “walk in the light” because as long as we live in these current bodies we will be buffeted by temptation. 

My favorite benefit:
We hasten the coming of Jesus and His kingdom through sharing the gospel.

Application
The next time you feel weariness or burdens come on, go to Jesus and His body (your family) for rest. Take His yoke upon you and surrender to His will. Rest will come. 

Second City Church: Guest Speaker - Cole Parleir 2017

Compassionate Hearts

Passion of the Christ: Compassionate Hearts - Guest Speaker Cole Parleir

Revelation: God is a compassionate and good shepherd who helps His people.

Application: Have you received this help and freely given it away? (Two types of people are here today: those who have a good shepherd and those who don’t.)

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Matthew 9:35-37, 10:1-8 (NIV)

35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

1Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

God is compassionate. Some Greek dictionaries say that the Greek word for compassion means “to have the bowels yearn,” to be moved with sympathy in your inmost being. This is God’s character. He doesn’t just feel compassion for people; God IS compassionate. This deep yearning characterizes the passion we so frequently hear and read about in reference to Jesus. We see God’s compassion in four ways:

The four P’s of Godly compassion:

1) Presence—He is with us. 2) Perception—He sees our plight. 3) Power—He heals us. 4) Pursuit—He empowers others to be His healing agents.

God’s Presence

The first aspect of God’s compassion is simply His being present. As we see in Genesis 3, Exodus 34, and Matthew 9-10 God is present with His people. He’s not impersonal and aloof. He is “in the mix” with us. He is in the Kool-aid, and He knows the flavor! He knows if its sugar free! He doesn’t just sympathize; He has empathy because of His presence.

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” –Psalm 16:11 (NIV)

Many times we accuse God of being distant, faceless, and out of touch, like a father who has abandoned his children and left them to fend for themselves. This just isn’t true. God has gone to great lengths to reveal Himself to us. Ultimately, in the man Jesus Christ, but even for those who haven’t heard the name Jesus Christ, the book of Romans tells us that it is evident in nature that God exists, but we have repressed His voice (and His presence) through our persistent sinful lifestyles. A divine intervention is needed.

If we go back to the account of creation in Genesis, He’s present.

In the time of Moses, God proves Himself to be a compassionate shepherd as well. In the account of God delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He gives a sermon about Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai after Moses cries out to him to see His glory. The account reads:

4So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:4-7 (NIV)

Have you recognized the ever present God described in Psalm 139:7-8:

7Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Today, God is inviting you into His presence like He did Moses and the disciples so that He can reveal himself to you and begin the process of redemption. As Moses brought blank stone tablets (this was round two because Moses broke the first ones in his anger) for God to write on, have you brought an accepting heart to Jesus for Him to write His self-revelation? If not, today is the day.

God’s Perception

The second aspect of God’s compassion is His perception, or understanding, of he dire situation of His creation.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 (NIV)

When Jesus is on the scene, He is keenly aware, like a good doctor. He sees behind the scenes of the apparent distress all the way to the root of our problems. He sees the spiritual warfare in our lives like no one else does. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. God is moved with compassion to help us, because He sees us.

One of my favorite Old Testament accounts is of Hagar, Sarah’s maid servant whom she gave to Abraham in her frustration of bareness. After Hagar gave birth to Abraham’s first born son, Sarah harassed Hagar out of jealousy causing Hagar to flee. When Hagar fled, she took her son to the desert, but God showed up and saw her dismal situation. He had compassion on her. He went to her, and He heard her and blessed her with dignity and prophesied of the future of her child Ishmael giving her hope. She then said, “You are the God who sees me,” knowing the she was seen and understood. This caused her to dig a well that future generations would drink from and remember the compassion of God.

Today, know that God is not only present with you in your affliction, but He perceives and understands your harassment. Do you know this? If you do know this, have you shared this compassion with others, like the many who were healed by Jesus? Have you dug a metaphorical well of remembrance that future generations can drink from?

God’s Power

God, in His compassion, is not impotent today; on the contrary, He is omnipotent. God is here, God perceives, and He wants to fix what is broken.

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” Matthew 9:35 (NIV)

God the Father sent Jesus Christ to seek and save the lost as well as destroy the works of the devil. What are the works of the devil? The devil has been sinning since the beginning, 1 John 3 says. His mission is to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus says, “I have come to bring life, abundant life. I have come to forgive sin. I have come to set the captives of Satan and sin free. I have come to protect the harassed, to help the helpless, to bind up broken hearts, to preach good news to the poor, to heal every sickness and disease, to cast out demons, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. I have not come to condemn the world, but to save the world. I make all things new. I am called the Christ, because I am His anointed one with power and authority to bring the Father's will to pass.”

God does not tease us. I will say it again, “GOD DOES NOT TEASE US”! When he says He came to do all these things, He means it.

Today, God is here in power to give you a second life. Have you received forgiveness of sins and began to live a new life lead by this Jesus? Have you received healing in your body? Have you received grace to forgive your abusers like God has forgiven you? Today is your day of freedom and healing.

God’s Pursuit

Compassion is not content with the ninety-nine in the flock if there is one who is lost. Jesus is God in the flesh, the Christ, the perfect image of the invisible God. One thing He is not, is omnipresent in His human nature. He traveled all throughout the towns and villages, but the world is so ravaged and distorted by sin and its consequences that His compassion drove him to ask those who love him to help him and delegate His authority.

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)

1Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Matthew 10:1-8 (NIV)

The disciples had been with Jesus and seen Him having compassion on people. Compassion is contagious. When we spend time with Jesus, not only in the secret place of our prayer closets, but also in His work place, the world, we begin to catch His heart. These disciples had been approached by Jesus and called to follow Him. God found them. Now Jesus, with the impetus of His asking for help being His compassion, asks the disciples to pray for God to send out workers to preach good news, find the lost, heal the sick, and free the demon oppressed. This is very funny to me because Jesus is essentially saying, “Ask me to send you out into my field”. The disciples left their fields, their careers, and became laborers in the Lord’s field.

We must not say to ourselves, “This authority that was delegated was only for the 12 apostles and not for me.” Luke 10:1-21 (NIV) says:

1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. 16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

God loves delegating power and authority. He will continue to do so until Jesus returns and completely realizes God’s Kingdom and all the elect are brought under the head shepherd Jesus.

Practical Application

1) Who’s your shepherd? (Because we’re all sheep.) 2) Have you freely received? (Do you need forgiveness, healing, or hope?) 3) Have you freely given? (What have you received that you can give?) 4) Who have you been sent two-by-two with? (It’s a team sport.)

Second City Church- Passion of the Christ Sermon Series 2013