A New Response

Man on a Mission: A New Response

Christmas is all about Jesus and His mission to save the world.

At the holidays, God's intention is that we would recalibrate, mending and going deeper in our relationships with Him and one another.

We will look at the response of two individuals to the coming of Jesus, and how we can reorient our lives based on their examples. God wants a fresh response from us.

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

18This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The Bible becomes a mirror to us. Holiday parties and our prep - like the wedding banquet of the Lamb for which we are preparing. The first and second coming of Christ.

Joseph's response

Our paradigm of worship has been shaped by our experiences. Whether it be dead religion or a dynamic walk of trust and obedience to God, the holidays are a good time to evaluate the camp in which we find ourselves.

Joseph could have missed the worship of God if he was only looking at his natural circumstances - a pregnant fiancée that he'd never been with, the shame of his commitment in a small community, the inconvenience of their trip to Egypt.

However, what he learned to do was see his circumstances, as the very things God was using to bring Joseph to Himself and to Joseph's life's purpose.

The chance meeting with the angel was no coincidence. What we call coincidence is better explained as God's providence. What encounters have you had that you can rightly acknowledge as God's providence to call you to a deeper place in your faith?

Matthew 2:1-16 (NIV)

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

Herod's response

King Herod was a paranoid man whose pride and stubbornness eventually destroyed his own family.

As Herod did, we try to get rid of anyone who may infringe on our sense of independence. Though Herod had front row seats to the coming of the King of Kings, He rejected Jesus along with the personal transformation that could have been his.

The fate of his family line.

Salvation is what God intended for Herod, but he would not even think of abdicating his throne, wrecking his own life and family in the process.

How is it that we can be like Herod - suspicious and resistant when anyone begins to speak of another KING that may threaten our place on our own throne?

Our response

Jesus comes to reorient our every day living. Life was never the same for Joseph when he said "yes" to the call of God.

Saying "yes" to Jesus implies new and renewed commitments.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 NIV)

He came to save us from our sins, meaning that we must both acknowledge and turn from them to live as the child of God that He has called us to be. Anything else is a farce and a mockery of this season He had made holy.

Religious faith vs. genuine faith

It goes beyond mere head knowledge. Herod had head knowledge but would not respond appropriately to the reality of Jesus. Joseph, on the other hand, sought out the directives of God and allowed the commands of God to change him, despite the personal cost. We can be like Joseph:

1) Begin to open the Bible again over the holidays and, through prayer, search out God's directives for your life. 2) As you read, find the places where you've been like Herod, and begin to abdicate your throne. Allow it to be a mirror to you, and, with His help, make the necessary adjustments.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV)

Second City Church - Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2012

Coming Soon - 12-9-2012

Coming Soon - Christmas Child

Our Tendencies:

St. Augustine called Isaiah the fifth gospel because in its pages there is such a clear picture of God, His heart, our estrangement and His clear path of salvation for us.

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” 
― Saint Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions of Saint Augustine

What does it take to allow God to be more than an afterthought?

• Who was Isaiah?
• Isaiah 7:1-17
• The Assyrian threat, the Israeli/Syrian alliance, and the secular trust of King Ahaz of Judah
  • The backdrop - II Chronicles 28

Who was Tiglath-Pileser and what does he represent for us?

• This is very common in our modern environment as well.  We are bred in the Petri dish of naturalism which tells us that
• It intentionally excludes the supernatural or the spiritual.  We think of ourselves as very modern or progressive in our society holding to this viewpoint, but we'd be surprised to understand that it is not so novel and evolved after all.  It is a very ancient heart condition that becomes destructive as it fails to answer the most challenging questions about the purpose of our existence or to satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.  We end up damaged and broken, whether or not we have material or professional success, and become the slaves of those structures from which we sought help.  We looked to our careers, intellect, relationships and financial statements for deliverance, but found that like Tiglath-Pileser, they were instead tyrants who would take from us more than we were willing to offer.

“I held my heart back from positively accepting anything, since I was afraid of another fall, and in this condition of suspense I was being all the more killed.” 
― Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

In each of our lives, there are two divergent paths that begin to emerge.  When we have decisions to make or circumstances to surmount, whether at work, in relationships or in the home, we feel it.  It's almost reminiscent of the scene with Neo and Morpheus in the Matrix with the red and blue pills.  We can either choose one path, which humbles us and has us cry out to God, or, like King Ahaz, we can harden our hearts and look to our own devices which have their limits.  The former leaves us liberated as we work.  It is here we see real supernatural intervention out of the mercy of God on our behalf.  We honor Him in response, and in that moment, we are on the road to our salvation.  The latter leaves us without hope and without God in the world while our insides become just a little bit more calloused like the world around us.  It becomes easier, the path of least resistance each subsequent time, to choose this path.

God's Response:

• You must understand that God is in pursuit of you.  He is merciful, witholding for long periods of time what we actually deserve.  He is kind, continually giving us not what we want, but what we need to inevitably find our rest and wholeness in Him.  Despite our disregard of His intervention, God sends both a sign and an inevitable Savior who will rescue us from our self-reliance and dependence on earthly structures that not only disappoint, but enslave.  He came to set people free by His own initiative and at His own personal cost.  God came to those who were not looking for Him and would do for us, because of our foolishness and pride, what we could not do for ourselves.

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ (Isaiah 65:1 NIV84)

• What is significant about God's response is the specific mention of particilar kings and kingdoms encamped in antiquity showing that God was dealing with real people, at precise times in the chronology of the world.  It is not a set of superstitious myths, it is history.  The gospel, the good news, is more than a set of do's and don'ts, it is the reporting of an event that changes the very fabric of our lives as we receive its subject, Jesus Christ.

Who we worship and why:

The double meaning of the prophets' words The Jewish writers of the NT understood the inexhaustible, Creator God to be far more complex and his messages far deeper than the immediate relevance of their prophet's predictions.  They understood that because all of creation was made by Him and for Him, all of history is a foreshadowing of what will ultimatley be fulfilled in the person of Christ.  This is why even modern day secular parables found in literature, music and movies resonate with us as they repeat the motif of ensnared people, and a coming Savior.  To be plain, all of the Bible is ultimately about Jesus, and all of the human experience  points to our need for Him as a better Savior.  There is both a present and future fulfillment of these predictions found in the promised Messianic deliver from the line of King David who would come.

Yet who is this Messiah who would be King?

• Isaiah 9:1-7
• We must see from the outset that community is engrained in God's revelation of Himself - to us a child is born.  The privitization of religion has led to incomplete and distorted pictures of this child's identity.

1. Wonderful Counselor - Our desires become our despots, those who provide them our taskmasters.  Like the Midianites, they raid our lives and take whatever is fruitful.  Rather than working to live, we live to work and yet the Counselor, the proper object of worship, gives liberty in these things by assigning balance to His Creation.  So many of us in Chicago go days without connecting with anyone who knows our name.  God is different.  When God loves us, He loves us by name and when He calls to us, He calls to us by name.  He knows our past - he knows our junk.  He knows our present - He is intimately acquainted with our successes and failures.  Yet in the midst of all of this, He calls us to Himself anyway.  This is what's called grace.  This grace is revealed through prayer, the Word of God and interaction with God's people, the church.

This is what the Sovereign Lord , the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15 NIV84)

2. Mighty God - To bring you to a place of rest, He has revealed the identity of the Messiah-Savior as the eternal, uncreated, Mighty God.  However, the ruler who can redeem your past, heal your present and give you a secure future will do none of this without submission to His will.  There is no place for Him off of His throne.  As we come to Him, it must be through trust and obedience.

3. Everlasting Father - The truth is that we do not like the idea of submission or anyone telling us what to do.  Most often it is because we have had bad examples of authority figures in our lives who have abused that power, whether it be a parent, a boss, a coach, a spouse or even at trusted friend.   Yet the idea that it is legitimate to have an historic, living God, while picking and choosing what we will and will not accept about Him is irrational.  Without His ability to cross your will, there is no real relationship.  Your god is simply a product of your preferences and imagination who will never really be an Everlasting Father.  There is no good father that completely resigns to the whims of the child, especially when he knows it is harmful or destructive.  Of all the imagery that He could use, we see God describe himself potently and invitingly as a father throughout the old and new testaments.  This is sometimes hard to conceptualize because for the first time in our nation's history, there are more children born to women under the age of thirty out of wedlock than within.  The children of these homes grow up without knowing their fathers or having one around.  The product of divorce, abuse or neglect in the home has many times produced similar feelings.  He wants to give us a clear picture of what a good father looks like whether or not we ever had one around, or we need a better image of what a good and benevolent Father should be.  Ultimately, through the work of Jesus, he wants to adopt us into His family.

Families gather together to grow together, and so we do in what is called church.  We meet together to further cultivate our relationships throughout the week in what we call our small groups or community groups.  We invite you to be a part

4. Prince of Peace - Through this submission, He becomes our Prince of Peace.  This Messiah would bring peace with God by satisfying the wrath that we justly deserve in the sacrifice of His own life.  He goes beyond that by providing peace with one another as he restores broken relationships.   We are supernaturally empowered to forgive horrendous atrocities and betrayals because we know that we have first been forgiven.  We emulate the humility that He has demonstrated.  We then have peace within ourselves because we are no longer striving to be accepted, but are forever given rest through what the Son has done for us.  Repentance from sin and trust in this prophesied Savior is the key.  As we continue to discover His goodness, the increase of his government and peace in our lives, and in the earth, knows no end.

Gospel Rest - the zeal of The Lord God Almighty will accomplish this

I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.” 
― Ravi Zacharias, Has Christianity Failed You?

Yet He is Immanuel - God with us!

• This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”(Matthew 1:18-23 NIV84)
• The point of this declaration is that Christ Jesus is an historical figure.  He emerged in our chronological timeline to show Himself not a myth, but the prophesied God clothing Himself in flesh through the Jewish line who would bring the true deliverance to the world.  He is a better king than Tiglath-Pileser, or those things that we substitute in the place of God to save us.  Jesus is the King who when we cry for help does not exploit us, but rescues us.  The Tiglath-Pilesers call us into further bondage, Jesus comes to liberate.  The Tiglath-Pilesers come under false pretenses.  Jesus makes his love plain, demonstrated on the cross.  Tiglath-Pilesers are selfish in their ambitions to get ahead at our expense.  Jesus is self-sacrificial and gives his life that we might have life.  Jesus humbled Himself, coming as a child, but is now exalted as the greatest King that this world has or ever will know, the eternal one - the benevolent King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords!  The joy of Christmas is that we can submit to HIS PURSUIT and become a Christmas child ourselves, this day.

2nd City Church - Coming Soon Sermon Series 2012

The Pursuit of Happiness

Man on a Mission: The Pursuit of Happiness

As we traverse this time between elections and the Christmas season, we are reminded about the things that people hold dear.  It is engrained in the foundation of our nation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
― Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

Without a doubt, God cares about us living fulfilled and significant lives. With obvious comparisons to Moses giving the Commandments on Mount Sinai, Jesus shows us how in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is a good reminder to us of the good things into which we will invite people as we prepare for our December 9 prelaunch.

Matthew 5:1-12

The Set-Up:

The story of human history is people's quest chasing things, attempting to be happy without God, and their disappointments that follow.  As a person ages, the temporary, fleeting pleasures of food and sex give way to deeper, more permanent desires that drive a person to the ultimate search for meaning in life.

In the Beatitudes Jesus goes through a survey of the categories and arenas in which people most often pursue happiness.  He addresses each one exhorting them to find rest in Him.

In typical pattern of Jewish teachers, Jesus sits down with his disciples to expound the Law.

• If scholars are correct the location of this mountain was actually a ridge of hills to the West of Capernaum called Eremos, a transliteration of the Greek word for "lonely" or "solitary."
• It is the first block of teaching that Matthew records following Jesus' exhortation to a repentant life.
• In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints a picture of what that repentant lifestyle looks like, what it means to follow Him as a disciple, and the blessedness that ensues.

*The meaning of blessed (Greek: Makarios) : blissful (extremely happy or full of joy).  Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his/her life.  It means to be fully satisfied.  It is far more than just being happy, which is often associated with a person's "luck" or circumstances.

The Pursuit (and why each substitute fails):

1.) Eternal realities, transcendent inheritance and reward He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV84)

We are on strike, we, the men of the mind.  We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. We are on strike against the dogma that the pursuit of one's happiness is evil. We are on strike against the doctrine that life is guilt.” 
― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

The truth is, if we could, most men would desire to find a way to be happy without the effort of God.  For those with this mentality, the unfortunate fact is, we are like a car that wishes that it did not have to run on fuel.  The reality is, however, that because we were made by Him and for Him, we are not designed to function that way.

2.) Comfort in the midst of the harsh realities of life Leads to escapism and addictions

Psalm 126 Ecclesiastes 7:1-6 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23 NIV84)

• There are both present and future realities to the Kingdom of God, as reflected in the tenses of the Beatitudes. Those that are future are also progressive, having their full expression in the culmination of Jesus' return with the New Heaven, the New Earth and the unchallenged Kingdom of God.  It is unchallenged because it is then that God exerts His full authority and strength.  He came first in His mercy as a sacrificial Lamb, He will return with justice as the conquering Lion.  We see the same reflected in the Beatitudes.

But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:6-9 NIV84)

• TV watching all day does not revitalize you. You still end up tired at the end of the day because there was no rest for your soul which is only found in Him.

Psalm 62

3.) Power to rule their surroundings Exertion of strength, extortion, cut throat business and politics, exploitation, etc

A man wants to earn money in order to be happy, and his whole effort and the best of a life are devoted to the earning of that money. Happiness is forgotten; the means are taken for the end.” 
― Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays

Many of the Jews of the time were waiting for the Kingdom promise that indicated that His people would be given delegated rule over all the earth, and thought that it would be brought about by Messianic political and military force.  Jesus once again turns this expectation on its head.  When He comes to judge, it is clear that it will be against those who persist in evil, or rebel against the loving design of His government.  If this internal work hadn't been the tone of His first advent, we all would have been lost because we would have been the recipients of that judgment.  We would have continued as slaves to sin and pride attempting to usurp His benevolent rulership in our lives.

What you see in the temptation of Jesus is where we live every day in our workplace, relationships. It's not just financial power, but the power to control our world through manipulating relationships with family, lovers and friends trying to extract from them the satisfaction and security that can only come from God.  Thus we bend our convictions or throw off what we know is right to obtain that which we can never really keep. The recent recession was a reminder of this and the broken marriages and relationships that we see daily reaffirm this fact as we forget the ways of God.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe. 
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
they imagine it an unscalable wall. (Proverbs 18:10, 11 NIV84)

4.) Sense of morality and decency Why pluralism, relativism and moralism are so popular.  Straight-edge people without religion.  Peace corps and other charities that spring from Judeo-Christian ethos

5.) Mercy in the midst of their shortcomings We want to be shown mercy, but are quick to judge others in the world to alleviate our own sense of bitterness and self-derision

6.) A relationship with the Creator, to know and be known People are open to this as long as they can make their own version of God which bends to their whims, preferences, desires and ideologies imposed by their experience or culture


7.) Belonging and value


8.) A sense of sacrificial fortitude Many find this one difficult because they have not truly identified themselves as followers of Jesus above all else in the world.  They've chosen to gravitate more to cultural norms and memberships in communities that seem more acceptable to them - like being African American, a republican, an artist or a young, independent businesswoman. It is when these measures of identity and our good standing within these subcultures are threatened that our devotion to Christ is tested.

9.) This was ultimately expressed and demonstrated in Christ Himself, the lawgiver Most People at the time did not think that prophets in the OT sense still existed.  It is often spoken of as the intertestamental period with 400 years of perceived silence from God.  As in the Exodus, Jesus shows up to lead the people to deliverance.  He makes the association to the prophets to speak of the importance of His disciples’ life and work.  Like the prophets, they would help turn others back to relationship with the one true God and His standards for living.

They represent paradoxes that contradict the manners in which people think that they are attained.  When you are appealing to people, it is a part of the good news.  Some are intuitive, yet when disconnected from God, incomplete

*When a Christian (this is a shaking question) or non-Christian finds themself without the extreme happiness and joy to which the Beatitudes refer, it is because a substitute has been made for one of the "if", "then" qualifiers.  

• For example, instead of being poor in spirit, trying to be self-reliant or self-righteous gives you no assurance of an eternal home.  Who can ever guarantee that they've been good enough to measure up to the perfection of God.  No one.  Enter the gospel.  Or, instead of taking the time to mourn, being sober about things pertinent to the Kingdom, people ride an emotional roller-coaster searching incessantly for momentary pleasures of temporary highs and devastating lows when the party is over.  There is no sense of stability, people or place that you can truly call home because it is all about finding the next source of entertainment to fight off the boredom and emptiness that lingers.  We can go on and on.

The Rest: The solution is to realign ourselves with the original recipe that Jesus prescribes.   Only then can we once again find our rest in He who holds the destinies of men, past, present and future in His hands.  He is the one who distributes the zoe life of God (John 10:10).
 All of this background in regards to the Jewish expectation of the Messiah and the contextual interaction with the Law and the Prophets is what we see Jesus expound in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.  Next week, during our first prelaunch, we'll take a look back to examine what one of those Prophets who has already been mentioned several times has said.  We'll begin our prelaunch series, "Coming Soon" working through the book of Isaiah

Practical Faith Challenge of the Week: Let as many people as you can know why the happiness they are looking for is found in Jesus alone and invite them to next week's prelaunch

2nd City Church - Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2012

Jesus at the Holidays

Man on a Mission: Jesus at the Holidays

Psalms like these read during the Jewish holidays highlighted God's goodness to His people and set the foundation for the gospel of grace:

Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. O house of Israel, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron, he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike. May the Lord make you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to silence; it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 115:1-18 NIV84)


The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” 
― George Orwell

* Jewish, and thus, Christian, holidays are celebrations of God's faithfulness.

• One that was sure to be celebrated during Jesus' time was Hanukkah (December 8-16 this year).  With recorded accounts in the apocryphal book of Maccabees, it commemorates the victory of the Jews over the Antiochus Epiphanes who attempted to eradicate Jewish worship and desecrate the temple in 168 BC.
• Even more than our use of holidays in American culture, the purpose of the holy days were a remembrance Yhwh's care and strength, leading to celebration, consecration and deeper worship of our loving Father.  At the holidays, time was set apart to travel, enjoy feasting with family, rest from our work and offer appreciative sacrifices to God.  All this was meant to recalibrate and realign our hearts before our benevolent King.

“If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree. ” 
― Michael Crichton

The inter-testamental period

• As we get into things like the Sermon on the Mount, this period sets up everything that we will understand about the NT context, Jesus' life, ministry and teachings within it.
• Following the fall of the Persian Empire, there is an understood "400 years of silence" similar to the 400 years of bondage of Israelites in Egypt.

Things that help to contextualize The times in which Jesus lived: The Second Temple period and Herod's temple Herod Herod's paranoia The Hasmonean Empire Pompey and the Roman Empire The Jewish Diaspora Synagogue Life Pharisees Sadducees Essenes Zealots The development of the use of crucifixion

The Take Away:

1. Even when it seems that God is silent in your circumstances or the ongoing affairs of the world, He is working sovereignty to bring about His salvation for humanity.  God is at work even when we don't recognize it.
2. The perceived absence of the movement of the Holy Spirit was followed by the greatest period of power that the world had ever seen.  The manifestations of the kingdom of heaven were amplified with Jesus and continue long after Pentecost (Joel 2)
3. It is incumbent that as the political climate and culture changes around us, that we cling to the standards of God's eternal Word to maintain a connection to what He is doing in His kingdom advance. Within what has already been written is a picture of where we want to be found in all that He is about to do. i.e. - Daniel's prophecies (especially Daniel 8 and 11), the unfolding of the trade of power between nations and Messianic expectation
4. Possibly most importantly, what we see in the Babylonian exile in 586 BC was the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem and the emergence of the intensified Jewish Diaspora.  Prior to that time, life in Israel centered around God through ceremony at the temple, and the observance of the ethical code in the Torah.  God, through the prophets, continually brought the exhortation that the outward ritual was empty if not accompanied by devotion to him through godly living.

Isaiah, who started his prophetic ministry around 739 BC wrote: “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:11-20 NIV84)

Almost 100 years later, Jeremiah gives similar exhortation: This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord's house and there proclaim this message: “ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. “ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord. “ ‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim.’ (Jeremiah 7:1-15 NIV84)

• This would be objectified when their place of worship and national identity was removed from the Jews for a time.  Through the synagogues, God arranged a scenario where the emphasis could become the attitude of the heart reflecting the holy days.  Holiness is more than simple morality, it is when we strive to be set apart to God for HIS purposes in all of our pursuits, decision making and activity.  It is that upon which Jesus, prior to the second temple's destruction in AD 70, came to put an exclamation point.  It is now the way we are called to live, and what the Sermon on the Mount will expound.

Practical Faith Challenge for the Week: Share an insight about the holidays with a friend using one observation from Biblical history that would point them to God.

Helpful resources: NIV Study Bible Archeological Study Bible ESV Study Bible IV Press Commentary Zondervan Commentary

2nd City Church - Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2012

Following and Fishing

Man on a Mission: "Following and Fishing"

Matthew 4:18-25

1. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. (Luke 4:14, 15 NIV84)
2. The environment of Capernaum Jesus makes his base of operations for His ministry Capernaum, a prosperous fishing district by the Sea of Galilee, where he would select His first disciples to turn the world upside down.  Because the trade route Via Maris, "way to the sea" ran through it, it was constantly filled with Gentiles, as well as Jews who would take his message of salvation throughout the Roman world.
3. It was called Galilee of the Gentiles because the tribes of Israel in this Northern region were surrounded on three sides by non-Jewish populations.  Ever since the disciplining of Israel through the Assyrian conquest that made it a province under an Assyrian governor in 732 BC, this region experienced continually forced infiltration of Gentile influence. The Sea of Galilee.  Parallels to Chicago are obvious.

*Why did Jesus have such a concern with fishing for people?  Why not just leave them where they are?

1. Understanding the references that Jesus was making within the culture gives us a better understanding of what he intends of the church's activity today.  He frequently uses three activities which describe how the church will be established, sustain itself and grow - fishing, farming and building.As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. (Matthew 4:18 NIV84) 
2. Because fish at the time was a staple food that was cooked, dried and pickled,  fisherman were prosperous businessmen in that area compared to the agrarian farmers who worked the land throughout the Roman Empire.“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19 NIV84)

• When Jesus said, "Come, follow me," he is establishing this as a message and relationship of grace.  In Israel, disciples would go looking for a rabbi who would instruct them, however Jesus turns this on its head.  We do not go looking for God, God comes looking for us.  Even those who look like they're seekers are those that God is drawing by His loving-kindness.  This is why joining Him in fishing for people is imperative.
• *Why would Jesus use the analogy of fishing?  It is because though by grace, any experience, encounter or benefit that we are going to receive in regards to the life of God is going to take effort. It, like anything of value in life, is a product of God multiplying the effort that you put into it.  Like relationships

This is the pattern of God that we see with Abraham, in pagan worship, Moses and the burning bush, etc.  God comes to initiate by interrupting the well worn flow and mundane affairs of people's live

• This is a living relationship, not a philosophy.  We cannot afford to ignore what Jesus is highlighting here - faith is not described as a mental assent, a mere agreement with a set of doctrinal tenets, though they are infinitely important and the foundation of our relationship with God.  For example, the acknowledgement of Jesus' identity as the only, unique Son of God, who came in the flesh, born of a Jewish virgin, was sinless, performed miracles, died and was resurrected from the dead in fulfillment of hundreds of years of prophecies gives us the premise through which we trust him and serve Him as Lord.  However His resurrection and eternal rulership is the catalyst for our daily pursuit of His will as He continues to direct the affairs of men today.  We look for Him to keep in step with Him, FOLLOWING him accordingly.
• When we speak of following Jesus, we are acknowledging the relinquishment of our rights.  It is the essence of Lordship.  We, like Abraham are not told where we will be heading, only the promise that God will be with us and has a better inheritance for us.  In relinquishing control, we are submitting to the idea that Jesus knows what is best, when it is best and how things should be done in our relationships, with our time and our finances and careers, all things that pertain to our security and future, though He has not given us a detailed map of what it looks like.  This is why we live on every word that proceeds from His mouth.  This is why His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  This is what we rejoice when the instability of the world around us is revealed.  Psalm 46.  This is the essence of Biblically defined faith - trust, or more specifically, entrusting yourself to someone.  He said repent for the Kingdom is near. We have to remember the benefits of the Kingdom (Psalm 103), righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, (Romans 14:17 NIV84)

At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:20 NIV84)

• There will always be a leaving of something that is familiar, to follow Jesus.  It is not necessarily a job that you're leaving, though on some paths, it may require such a crossroads.  More often, it is a leaving of comforts, well worn patterns of thinking, and our thoughts of what the future that we planned would look like.  it is putting our security fully in the hands of Christ who we acknowledge as sovereign in this fleeting world.   It is a casting off of the identity to which you've clung so dearly, and allowing the loving, living, omnipotent God to redefine you ("for they were fishermen").  Remember, for Peter, Andrew, James and John to leave their fathers, they were leaving the family business and their promise of a worldly inheritance.  If you did not have to leave anything, if it did not require a change, you would have already been following him, and your life would have reflected the liberties of Scripture.

Practically, we ask these questions:

1. What have you shown through your Word to be your general, overarching will?
2. How are you moving today to accomplish that will in my relationships, family and workplace?
3. What is my part today in serving you to help accomplish that will?
   • Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:21, 22 NIV84)
   • Immediacy is the key to obedience in The Lord.  Many a graveyard of calling has been filled with those who took the time to contemplate whether following Christ was feasible and expedient.  With whom are you trying to deliberate when the maker of the universe calls your name?   The term is called "playing the devil's advocate" for a reason.  The longer you wait to obey, the harder it becomes to move, because you begin to be loaded down with anxieties, fears and excuses as to why the middle road of nominal, rather than dynamic, faith is better, doesn't require as much and is acceptable to God.
   • Our faith walk was never intended to cul de sac with our own personal devotions, solely getting our own needs met.  Abraham, the father of our faith, was blessed to be a blessing.

*Jesus, in His call to discipleship, commences with a paradigm disallowing the idea of just showing up at church each Sunday solely thinking of yourself.  This is what the majority of American Christians do, but we are challenged to come looking to contribute in worship as much as we are expecting to receive from God in the community of faith.  Conversely, Jesus immediately establishes the foundation that we should continuously think about how to see others who don't know Him come onto His boat.  This is where we are blessed being a part of a church plant, because it naturally accentuates this goal and need.

• Without a doubt, fishing for men is not a gifting or a characteristic of a special class of Christian, but is the mark of any true disciple of Christ.  If we are following, we're going to be fishing.
• *Whether or not it is on our minds, the penultimate agenda on Jesus' heart is the reconciliation of the individuals of this world with His Father.  It is the very reason for the incarnation, the cross and the talk of the Kingdom of God.

“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

A young girl, in citing this passage once asked me, "If Jesus said that when we follow Him, He'll make us fishers of men, does that mean that if we are not fishing for people, we are not following Him?"  Most times, we try to define for ourselves what it means to follow Jesus, rather than allowing Jesus to define it for Himself.  In doing so, we are deceived.  At the very least, the girl's inquiry is a penetrating question exposing the incomplete paradigm in which we live.

A description of fishing in the ancient world :

1. the nets
2. by team - why it is good to bring friends, family and co-workers to an environment of faith where they can be touched by God. The general statistic is it takes 3-7 significant encounters with the gospel before someone comes to Christ and just as many relationships to stick in his church.
3. Repetition in casting the nets

Casting their nets vs. the trammel net

For what type of people should we be fishing?

1. The non-Christian
2. The unconnected Christian
3. The co-worker, friend or family member willing to check things out (John 1)

When should we fish for people?: Jesus comes to the first disciples more than likely after a long night of fishing when they are mending their nets

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. (Ecclesiastes 11:6 NIV84)

• As one of the disciples, John would witness the first miracle of Jesus at the wedding in Cana (John 1:35-2:11).  First, Jesus shows how powerful and practical he is by touching even their business endeavors. He is saying there is nothing too big for Him to transform in someone's life and nothing too small for him to care about.  He is indicating that when He enters an individual's life, there is no area or sphere that He will leave untouched by His covenant.
• It is no mistake that one of Jesus' first miracles in direct relationship to the disciples had to do with fishing. Luke 5:1-11

*In summary, when you are called by Jesus to be a Christian, you are commissioned by Him to also be a co-laborer of His to build His church and Kingdom.  It takes absolute diligence and focus to be a builder alongside of Jesus.  As we spoke about warfare last week, there is every discouragement and distraction that will attempt to throw you off of the faithful and consistent course of prayer and reaching out.  Though men and women born of the Holy Spirit, we far too often resign to our carnal judgments to determine if an activity is worthwhile.  We know that prayer is important, but we want to see the immediate results of our single request offered to God before we'll consider investing further time into it.  We live in the microwave generation of instant messaging, instant downloads and instant gratification.  However, what this does is make our souls weak.  We lose the value and practice and fruit of patience.  If we do not see an instantaneous finished product, then it is not exciting.  And boy, aren't we encouraged to live for pleasures and the next "new" thing.  We know that it takes love and consistency to make disciples, but if someone doesn't fall on their knees immediately, we assume that either God is not at work or that He is not interested in using us.  These mentalities completely contradict the nature of faith and undercut the analogy that Jesus intentionally made of successful fishing.  There is no parent who has been able to experience the overwhelming joy of parenthood, whether through adoption or natural birth, without the travail of the process.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, (Luke 5:4-9 NIV84)

• We often feel like we do not have the strength to help others, but here is part of the good news of the gospel, that Jesus heals us so that we might have the strength to love and serve Him. It is so often that we are waiting for healing before we move, but instead it is as we go, as we are looking to give, that we are actually healed (Luke - ten lepers).

What does fishing for people look like in our context?:

• Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demonpossessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.  (Matthew 4:23-25 NIV84)
• Just as people BROUGHT to Jesus people in these conditions, physically, psychologically, emotionally or circumstantially, so can we.  And they can be healed.  INVITATION is the key here.
• There is a crescendo leading to Matthew 10 where the disciples first see Jesus' ability, and then are sent to the people to heal themselves by the power of Jesus' authority and the Holy Spirit.

This is one of the unique purposes of our Purple Book groups that are beginning.  Please join not only to be exposed, but to learn to articulate what you have come to believe.  Strengths and weaknesses of invitational style

Different styles of evangelism found in Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek: Invitational Style

• Percentage of people who said they would come if someone invited them to church vs. percentage invited.  Bringing people to Jesus does not have to be limited to an invitation to church - there are a multiplicity of environments and scenarios to aid this.
• Christmas is an easy time to invite people. It will be fantastic practice for the city even as many of you go home for the holidays.
• This is a fantastic realization as we approach our first Pre-launch service December 9

Practical faith goal for every disciple:

1. Pray for at least three unconnected Christians or non Christians in your sphere daily for the next three weeks.
2. Invite them to join us with the hope of at least one of them coming and drawing closer to Jesus and his church December 9

2nd City Church - Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2012

Fighting For Our Lives

Man on a Mission: "Fighting For Our Lives"

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Special Edition

I almost feel like this message should be part of an introductory packet to the city of Chicago offered at the Welcome Center We begin this week with Jesus' baptism as the perfect Son of God Matthew 3:13-17

• It is Jesus' 30th year and the beginning of His three year ministry that would turn the planet upside down and literally save the world.  Baptisms in the culture were symbolic of purification and washing.  It was also indicative of priests being set apart for their divine and holy service.
• Once again, Christ set an example for us with his baptism.  He was perfect in his righteousness, but did all to fulfill the law and lead by example.  In effect, He has never asked or commanded us to do anything, as we remain in Him, that He has not done Himself.  This includes his victory over temptation and sin in the daily bouts of life.
• It is significant that at the beginning of His ministry, as in the beginning of this church, it commences with a fight.


Matthew 4:1-17

*The Spirit of God led Jesus into the desert, not to tempt Jesus, but into warfare, being tempted by Satan.  Without a doubt, we are in a fight of faith that will either refine us like gold as God intends, or destroy our lives as the enemy desires (ref. John 10:10).  There is no demilitarized zone.  (Rest comes solely in the presence of God.)

• There are many types of resistance from Satan's forces, but the names utilized for our enemy tells us a lot about one of the components of the battle in which we find ourselves:
  • Devil (Greek: Diabolos) means accuser, slanderer.  The word was used for that sinful activity in instructing the church.
  • Tempter (Greek: Peirazo) means to try, test by solicitation, entice, allure.  Different from another Greek word dokimazo which means to test in order to prove someone good.  Peirazo involves entanglement to discover someone's weakness or strength in attempts to show them unacceptable.

“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.” 
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

It was after Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the desert that the enemy brought the onslaught of temptation. The same is true for us in the wilderness periods of our lives when we feel like the things that normally satisfy (in relationships, work or pleasures) are withheld from us for a season. It is here when our love for God and His bride are tested.  If Jesus had faltered, we all would have been lost.

If you don't embrace the fact that there is going to be, without a doubt, warfare in your life, you will waste your emotional energy on two things rather than one.  You will not only be fighting the battle itself, but you will spend strength that should have otherwise been allocated to the fight condemning yourself for even being in a fight.  This is inappropriate since the Son of God Himself modeled the fight.  Focus and expend your spiritual vigor accordingly.

• I've never spoken to a veteran that enjoys the battle, with bullets flying and the threat of death surrounding them.  It is a healthy fear however, that preserves their life.
• God is showing us clearly that, like Jesus, as we step out to reach a city, there will be increased spiritual warfare for which we must be ready.

A traditional understanding of where these attacks lay are:

1. Jesus' appetites (fleshly desires for sex, sensory indulgence and physical food)
2. Jesus' sense of testing the boundaries It is here that we find Satan's manipulation of Scripture.  It is the trap that many fall into because they do not study the Scripture to understand context or God's intended meaning.  Rather they go on what they are taught by the diatribes of popular culture raging against God, or the church providing tradition which inadvertently misleads its followers and separates its adherents from the head (Matthew 15 - we'll discuss more later)
3. The allure of power for Jesus (fame, riches and prestige fall under these categories.  The things that you are willing to sacrifice to obtain these are tested here.  Many a man and woman have lost integrity, family and purity on these fronts - i.e. - the business community and entertainment industry)

Spiritual warfare = nonsensical conclusions based on the facts

These attacks against Jesus had nothing to do with reality.  He had already been confirmed audibly and publically as the unique Son of God by the Father.  However, Satan makes a direct attack on His identity (and thus His place of importance in the world and to others), His relationship with the Father and His abilities.

• The attacks against us come in the similar ways, many times directly assaulting what should be most obvious, or our areas of strength.  This can be in a relationship, a gifting, or your very security before and from God.  Where the greatest attacks lay often indicate the greatest places of promise from God.

Where is the battle?: In our emotions and in our thought life II Corinth 10

Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

It is when we don't acknowledge the reality of the enemy's unseen attacks in our relationships, when we are discouraged and when we have trials, that He is able to win the fight.

The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.” 
― Charles Baudelaire, or Keyser Soze from The Usual Suspects

The tactics of the enemy:

1. Accusation - Revelation 12
2. Discouragement and Isolation - Psalm 2; Hebrews 3

*Co-Dependent Mentalities are a trap of the enemy

Independent Responsibility, Interdependent Relationships is where God wants to take us for health and victory

• If you continually blame your shortcomings or sin on a lack of accountability or help given by others, you are living with a co-dependent mentality that will leave you crippled.
• Here in this culture, Sunday isn't a day for God, it's a day for me so that I can rest and revitalize myself, rewarding myself for a long work week. In doing so, I cut off the very mechanism, the gathering of the brethren, which God has given to strengthen us in our core, our spirit, from whence all life flows.

It is in this place that we learn to use these weapons found in God's Word:

1. Memorial stones of Gods faithfulness as a weapon.
2. Speak to our souls - the Psalms (i.e. - Psalm 57:8)
3. Every sigh turned into a prayer

* If we will allow Jesus to lead us through these trials, we, like him, become more than conquerors (Romans 8 - we're seeing how all Scripture works together).  Jesus' destination was not to live in the desert, it was a passing through. We don't need to camp there in our mentalities.

* Our sin is never just about us.  It affects families, churches and cities.  In the same way, our victories in Christ are never just about us.  God wants to release generational blessings through the obedience of individuals and communities of faith!

Jesus emerging as more than a conqueror had a message to preach to others to see them set free:  Repent (Change your mind and actions) for the Kingdom of Heaven is near! (Matthew 4:12-17)

If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.” 
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Practical Faith Challenge of the Week: This week, identify where the enemy's attacks have been in your life and apply the good news of God's word for your freedom and someone of like condition.

This week read Matthew 4:18-25 in preparation for "Man on a Mission" Part 5 - "Following and Fishing"

2nd City Church - Man on a Mission Sermon Series 2012

Preparing the way for the Lord

Man on a Mission:"Preparing the way for the Lord"

* In the future we will get into topical messages and series, but right now, to set the foundation of the church plant, we want to make sure to let Jesus and the Bible speak for themselves as to what is important to God, even things that we may have heard before, but upon which we have not spent much time dwelling to make them premiums in our lives.

We all want God to move in our lives and in the city.  However, what ALWAYS PRECEDES a move of God is the people's move towards confession and repentance.

*Matthew 3:1-12


Why would John call them a brood of vipers? There was poison on their lips (ref. Romans 3:13). Often, when we have become prideful in our Christianity, thinking ourselves the experts, or hurt in our community, thinking ourselves the victims, we lose sight of Christ Himself who looks to redeem imperfect scenarios.  The only result is a fault-finding attitude, rather than one of humility and service.  Here is where you begin to criticize the people and work of God rather than throwing in your lot to aid and join them.  The vipers often feed on the embryonic eggs of other creatures trying to come to life.  He is giving a warning to watch ourselves and exhorting us to throw in our lot with Jesus and his people.

When we think of repentance, we think of thoughts of God's anger, having visceral reactions in regards to His judgments.  It is because we don't understand the heart of our Father in the midst of these commands.

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:4 NIV84)

How would it be the case that He is expressing His kindness? There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12 NIV)

• says the exact same thing in Prov. 16:25


Here's an example in which many of us have found ourselves:

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword. 
Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. (Proverbs 5:3-6 NIV84)

In preaching there is proclamation, but there is also an element of counseling for every aspect of Christ's character or counsel that we are encouraging people to obey.  Everyone has a history explaining why they are the way that they are and an attachment to the reason they live and behave the way that they do.  God is sensitive to this, yet still calls us, as the Creator, to the liberating and higher place.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters; 
and you who have no money, 
come, buy and eat! 
Come, buy wine and milk 
without money and without cost. 
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy? 
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, 
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. 
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live. 
I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 
my faithful love promised to David. 
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
 call on him while he is near. 
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts. 
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” 
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways 
and my thoughts than your thoughts. 
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven, 
and do not return to it 
without watering the earth 
and making it bud and flourish, 
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, 
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace; 
the mountains and hills 
will burst into song before you, 
and all the trees of the field 
will clap their hands. 
Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. 
This will be for the Lord's renown,
for an everlasting sign, 
which will not be destroyed.” (Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-13 NIV84)

There is an emotional response to the behavioral patterns that have marked our lives and to which we have become identified.  We cling to them, feeling that if we lose this part of our activity, we lose our very selves.  Yet Jesus calls us to trust him in this change of mind so that He might bring us into the life that is truly life.  Never forget, He knows best and desires our best.

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

The Hebrew word for Torah in the Scripture encapsulated the Law and had a meaning that referred to a target.  Sin thus became a term for missing the mark.  It is far deeper than simple disobedience, but it is a general posture in life where we fail to even acknowledge God's good standard in our relationships, how we use our time or finances.  We fail to even aim for the mark and therefore live in sin.

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. (James 4:17 NIV84)

It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

When we have made any level of commitment to Christ, the sins that we commit are far more sins of omission rather than commission - a general laziness of spirit and heart.  It is more the sin of apathy and complacency, doing the bare minimum to get by, than the sin of licentious living.

The more often [a man] feels without acting, the less he will ever be able to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Repentance is defined as a change of mind.  Greek:

Repentance is not a onetime activity, but an ongoing affair, a lifestyle.  It is to aim for, and by the grace of God, rise to the mark.  It is then we hit the target of peace, fulfillment and satisfaction in life because we are doing that for which we were created. Repentance is the prerequisite preparing the way continually for the ongoing work of The Lord Jesus in your life.

How do we get to a place, like the Pharisees, where we are surrounded culturally by the law of God, but become a brood of vipers?  In a city like Chicago, it is easy as God becomes a side note and not the center of our lives, an additive and not the director.  The syncretistic spirit in this city tolerates spirituality, but resists building our world and contextualizing daily activity around JESUS and His Kindom purposes.  There is an acknowledgement of God, but not a pursuit of Him.  Yet John's very purpose, and ours, is to prepare a way for Jesus.

Your religion is what you do with your solitude.”   -Archbishop William Temple

The problem with American culture today is the plethora of options with which we are confronted today.  In sociological studies, they've reported that countries with far less economically and what we would deem as comfort are far happier because the number of options are limited.  Therefore people are not thinking about what they don't have, always thinking they are missing something; rather they are enjoying what they do have. In this manner, their lives can be more fulfilled.

This atmosphere which dulls convictions was accentuated in my mind when I saw that the happiest time of year thus far for people in Chicago came during a trick or treat Halloween celebration. It takes more effort to do anything in a big city like Chicago, so without a compass, you will passively slump into the malaise and the perpetual tide of the culture around you.

Confession means to come into agreement with what is right

Confession does not just have to be to a priest or religious leader in the church, but someone with whom you're are walking for growth in Jesus and His purposes in your life:

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me; 
he whose walk is blameless 
will minister to me. (Psalm 101:6 NIV84)

As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17 NIV84)

Confession in the church serves multiple purposes:

1. to build intimate relationship through which we
2. to take responsibility for our actions and own our junk
3. to identify and nail the appropriate things to the cross

A lack of humility will lead to a lonely, isolated existence.

God sets the lonely in families,
he leads forth the prisoners with singing; 
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. (Psalm 68:6 NIV84)

He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13 NIV84)

There are three categories of people who will be coming to repentance in our midst:

1. The believer through the ongoing sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
2. The non-Christian who is being reconciled to God
3. The church transfer who felt burnt or embittered at another church trying to find refuge here.  The challenging part in this scenario is people don't realize that things aren't always as one sided as they seem and may need to come to repentance themselves

If someone quickly finds fault with others, they will quickly do it with you. We don't encourage people to come from other churches without working out their grievances, otherwise when the rub comes, there will be the same response just in a different environment.

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy2:19-22 NIV84)

What good thing does God want from this repentance?

Christ set a different example for us with his baptism.  He was perfect in his righteousness, but did all to fulfill the law and lead by example.  In effect, He has never asked or commanded us to do anything that He has not done Himself. We can therefore trust Him in everything as He promises to lead us to life to the fullest.

Take time o pray, asking the Holy Spirit to search your hearts, confess and pray with another about things you need to repent and be healed about.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23, 24 NIV84)

Practical Faith Challenge of the Week: This week, share with someone why the message of confession and repentance is a part of the good news.

* This week read Matthew 4 in preparation for "Man on a Mission" Part 4 - "Fighting for our Lives"

2nd City Church 2012 Man on a Mission Sermon series