Introducing Abraham and Sarah

Sojourners : Introducing Abraham and Sarah

[powerpress] As we move through life as sojourners, God gives us continued tokens of His grace by providing reminders about both the people we are to become in Christ and the mission that we are on. In the life of Abram, God confirmed His promises through the covenant of circumcision, which gives us a prophetic picture of God's continued work in our stories today. As we finish our Sojourners series, we will study the ongoing journey of Abram and Sarai, unpacking the meaning of circumcision, observing the benefits of the cutting and, finally, identifying who can be a candidate for the covenant.

The Meaning of Circumcision

Genesis 17:1-14 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

We begin with the gospel by understanding that Abram was told to live a blameless life. For you this perfect life was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. The life of obedience that follows is out of both a thankful heart and love for your savior.

After we understand the gospel, we see that God is faithful and reminds Abram of His promises repeatedly. This was now the third time that God repeats His covenant promises about the inheritance that He would give him of descendants and land. (After making the initial promise in Genesis 12, the first two reminders were in Genesis 13 and 15.)

What this tells us about God is that: 1) God is unwavering. It had been 25 years since God initially made the promise about Abram becoming a mighty nation and still he was waiting for it to materialize. He was doing all that he knew to do and was waiting for God to come through. Though your emotions may vary, your focus may wander and your drive may fail you at times, God is steadfast in His purposes for your life and does not change His mind. 2) God's call on your life is not individualized. The call on Abram's life was to become a great nation of people who would be the seed-bed of returning a fallen world to the worship of the Creator of all the known universe, the one true God inevitably revealed in Jesus Christ. His descendants would take possession of and shape the territory that God gave them as an inheritance with the kingdom of God. Your call is part of the larger context of what Jesus is doing in the earth through His church. When people think that the call of God is solely about them, they are, in essence, trying to reduce God to a life coach and have missed the point. It is all about Jesus' fame and His kingdom coming to earth as it is in Heaven.

God then gives the sign of His covenant, His purposeful relationship with Abram, by introducing circumcision. It was to be symbolic of a cutting away of that which had been corrupted by the world (Joshua 5:9).

Is there a correlation today?

Circumcision is one of those axes on which both covenants turn, having application in the Old Testament as a definitive foreshadowing of the New Testament life.

The covenant of circumcision in the Old Testament is synonymous with the sacrament of baptism in the New Testament.

Colossians 2:9-15 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Do you need to be baptized?

Once you are baptized, the Holy Spirit continues to circumcise your heart in an ongoing fashion to form you into the image of Jesus.

The Benefits of the Cutting

Your identity is shaped and your purpose defined as you avail yourself to Jesus' discipleship process.

Genesis 17:15-22 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

The places that you've felt barren in life can be the very place that God is bringing about your supernatural promise.

The covenant of circumcision sets us up for the the doctrine of sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Once you repent (turn away) from your sin and come to faith in Jesus Christ, you are justified (counted innocent in the site of God solely because of Jesus' substitutionary, atoning work on the cross for you). You are at that moment counted as clean in God's sight. Then, like Jesus, the rest of your existence is an ever increasing work of learning to live in the glory of your life as a holy creature - being set apart for God's pleasure and purposes.

This is what the apostle Paul spoke of when he said this:

Romans 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

It was when Abram embraced the covenant of circumcision that it resulted in the change of his name and identity. As a result, the trajectory and impact of both Abram and Sarai's lives were greatly increased.

Abram means "exalted father." Abraham means "father of many." People have lived in such a manner as to solely find honor for themselves. Through circumcision, God brings you into a ministry of greater responsibility where your impact in others' lives for the gospel is multiplied as you submit to the true King. Through your service, your life isn't so small anymore.

Sarai means "dominative" (dominating and controlling). Sarah means "princess." A princess helps to govern, but is not ultimately in charge. Through circumcision, God brings you into a ruling ministry as you allow Jesus to hold the reigns of your life.

In what area are you presently being circumcised? In what area do you need to be circumcised?

C.S. Lewis said this:

"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand your whole self - all your wishes and precautions - to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call 'ourselves', to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be 'good'. We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their way - centred on money or pleasure or ambition - and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastly and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you can not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field that contains nothing but grass seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and re-sown." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 4, ch 8)

Candidates for the covenant

Everyone who is willing to be circumcised/sanctified is a candidate for the covenant of Jesus.

Genesis 17:23-27 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

It is for both the young and old, for those who've just begun their walks with Jesus as well as those who have never really submitted to the cutting process allowing someone to speak into their lives. Community groups are a great place for this.

Though the cutting away of things in our lives may hurt, it is ultimately for Jesus' glorification, your sanctification and to each your joy.

How are you circumcised?

You are circumcised by the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart. He often utilizes your interaction with and submission to other believers as they encourage you with the truth of God's Word as a means to do so.

Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Spiritual family through a local church should be a foundation in your life, not just another social network. Dig your heels in somewhere and allow Jesus to shape you.

Who do you allow to speak the Word of God into your life? What do you do when someone wants to? Who do you regularly encourage with the truth of God's Word?

How do I find God's grace and help in the midst of this process? Remain in the vine.

John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

What Jesus is telling us here is that if you've been around the things of God for a period of time, it does not mean that you've graduated from the sanctification process. Those who think that they have, have just become used to their sin, and lost a passion for seeking Jesus.

Where have you become complacent? Where has your love grown cold? How do you treat your spouse? How do you relate to your children? How do you speak about those at work or in your church when they are not around?

The closer you are to Jesus, the more you see your need for sanctification. The more you seek Him, the greater the help of the Holy Spirit to do just that in your life.

What is it it that needs to be circumcised in your life?

“Grant, O Lord my God, that I may never fall away in success or in failure; that I may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let me rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May I strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except Yourself. May I see always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May I shun any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O Lord, may I delight in any work I do for You and tire of any rest that is apart from You. My God, let me direct my heart towards You, and in my failings, always repent with a purpose of amendment.” ― St. Thomas Aquinas

Because of His goodness, God reminds us continually of the covenant that He's made with us and the direction in which He's taking us. Jesus intends to enable us to fulfill His call through a continued process of sanctification, a cutting that graciously takes place by the hand of the Holy Spirit. He uses His community, the church, to aid in this process. Whether young or old, let's meet Jesus today at the cross to allow Him to continue to give us the identity and an inheritance that submission to His ways provides.

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

The House that God Built

Sojourners: The House that God Built

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As a sojourner, you will inevitably reach forks in the road where it becomes a challenge to embrace and patiently wait for the promises that God has made to be fulfilled. What will you do when it takes longer than anticipated to see something that you desire materialize? Will you jump ship and head in a different direction? Will you lose focus and turn distractions into destinations? Will you take your life into your own hands thinking that you can do it better? Abram and Sarai had to learn not to grab the steering wheel of life away from God. In doing so, they left us valuable lessons as we consider what to do when your life feels like it is in a holding pattern- the results of your life in your own hands and the results of a life in God's hands.

Is Your Life in a Holding Pattern?

Genesis 16:1-3 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.

It is true that when you are believing for the beginning of a new business endeavor, a spouse, a child, or the fruit of your studies and labor to change your financial state, what is a short period of character development in the economy of the eternal God can seem like forever for you.

At this point in the game, God had not specifically indicated to Abram that Sarai was going to be the one to bear him a child. Ten years had passed and their state had not changed. It is understandable that they would turn to natural reasoning rather than the wisdom of God to see their heart's desire fulfilled. The problem is is that this came with trouble. How do we find ourselves in the same situations?:

Examples: God sets the lonely in families through church community, but we are unwilling to make the persistent effort for godly relationships so we... God says don't be yoked together with an unbeliever, but for the sake of companionship we... God says that diligent hands will rule, but quick money-making schemes look more appealing so we... God says tithe your first and your best, but we think to meet our financial goals, we have a better plan so we... God says if you are faithful with little, you will be ruler over much, but we... God says touch no unclean thing and he will receive you, but for the sake of entertainment, we... God says that as we seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, the food, drink, clothing that we need will be added, but we...

In this place, you come up with solutions that deviate from God's game plan without even realizing it. How do you avoid making the same mistakes Abram and Sarai did?

3 ways to know that I've begun to take my life in my own hands

1) I begin, like Sarai, to make impulsive, purely emotionally based decisions.

Desire without knowledge is not good— how much more will hasty feet miss the way! (‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭2‬ NIV)

2) I isolate myself. I do not consult the Bible or those who diligently seek Him for counsel to find precedent for my decision in God's Word.

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. (‭Psalm‬ ‭101‬:‭6-7‬ NIV)

3) I do not take time to pray. I do not ask Jesus for His direction or wait for an answer.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

This is what Abram and Sarai did not do. How about you?

The doctrine of God's sovereignty means that He has all of the affairs of your life in mind and you can turn what would otherwise feel like desperation to productive patience.

What do I do while I wait for the desires of my heart to be fulfilled?

What was Abram doing as he was waiting for his child? He was building the Kingdom of God and making disciples.

You are not waiting for your life to begin when one of the aforementioned milestones is realized. Just as Abram was deepening his walk with God, building his empire and establishing the ways of God within his tribe, so you are to do the same as you wait for specific promises to be fulfilled that will be part of your story that Jesus is unfolding for His glory.

Your Life in Your Own Hands

The lesson that you learn from Abram and Sarai is you don't want to take matters into your own hands. This always ends with consequences that you will regret. Don't try to achieve the desires of your heart on your own terms, outside of the wisdom of God or merely by your own strength.

Genesis 16:4-12 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael,for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man;his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

The things that we thought were the solutions outside of God's plan are the things that begin to cause us pain. My pastor used to say that "sin will take you further than you want to go, make you pay more than you were willing to pay and keep you longer than you want to stay."

Like Sarai, we then begin to look for someone to blame and get reckless or desperate in our decision making.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

When your identity is in some achievement (your work, your significant other, your looks or your bank statement) rather than in Christ, you are tempted to take matters into your own hands to realize success rather than waiting on God and doing things His way. In the end, like Ishmael, this inevitably produces a wild donkey of a man in your life, an uncontrollable burden.

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? ” ― John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself

Your heart will finally be at rest when you know Jesus and whatever life He unfolds for you as the all-sufficient prize.

Your Life in God's Hands

Because Jesus is the one who sees you, He has mercy to meet you even in the midst of your mistakes. He is kind and blesses your efforts when we come to repentance, even while you will wade through the consequences of your actions.

Genesis 16:13-16 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

This is the very essence of the gospel: Jesus meets us in our sin and insufficiencies. Where we fail, He lived life perfectly. Where we are weak, He is strong and makes us strong as we put our trust in His finished work for us on the cross. The gospel tells us that where there was death, Jesus comes to bring life.

Abram needed to learn patience and so do you. Patient endurance comes from the understanding of your life as a part of the larger narrative of God. Use the time that you are waiting for your heart's desire to go deeper in Jesus. During that time let your ultimate desire become Jesus. There you learn to resist taking your life in your own hands and the beauty of being found in His. Let's go to the cross and allow Jesus to become your all in all.

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

Covenant

Sojourners: Covenant

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As we make our way through life as sojourners, one of the greatest anchors to our souls is the fact that God has made a covenant with His people. To truly walk in the transforming power of our covenant with God, we must understand the importance of a covenant, the dynamics of a covenant and, ultimately, who fulfills the covenant for us.

Importance of a Covenant

One of the most beautiful pictures of the gospel begins in Genesis 15:1-6:

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

What is a covenant?

It is one of the most important themes in the Bible. It literally defines the relationship that you have with God and His people through Jesus His Son. A covenant is like a business deal, but not, because a business deal depends on both parties perfectly fulfilling each of their roles lest the contract be broken.

The picture of a covenant is more clearly seen in the devotion that a couple has toward one another in the bond of marriage. God was introducing the idea of covenant to Abram by telling him that He was Abram's very great reward. Everything else comes as a byproduct of that prioritization.

The doctrine of justification by faith is central to a walk with God. Counting God and His Word as true is the axis of any real relationship with Him. You can not both deny His word and also claim that you are following Him. This is what Abram embraced knowing His inherent inability to deserve the life that God was offering. Pride tries to measure up to God's standards while feeling that you also have a right to judge them. God will always resist a man or woman in this posture.

"But pride always means enmity - it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God. In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that - and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison - you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (p. 124)

Without a life of worship - this clarity of sight is not realized.

Covenants can be between God and people, people and people, businesses, cities and even nations. It is imperative that you understand the dynamics of your covenant with God.

Dynamics of a Covenant

A covenant is the basis and bedrock of all enduring relationships because it is established on mutually agreed upon principles and is the foundation of trust. Without trust, there are no enduring partnerships and nothing of significance can be built.

Genesis 15:7-11

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

If you are anything like Abram, when you are in a new place or on a new venture in obedience to God, you ask Him and yourself, "How can I know that this will succeed?", "How do I know that this will benefit my family and posterity, that this will create a legacy in the city and is not a waste of my time and life?", "How can I know that what I am doing today is more than just a flash in the pan?" God says it is by His covenant and the promises that He makes to you. That is why you want to be sure you are obeying His ways found in His Word, and are in step with His season by His Spirit. There will always be a divine tension between the two that keep you firmly in the safety and prosperity of His covenant. His ways are unchanging; they are static (i.e. - there will never be a time when you do not need to be firmly imbedded in Christ and Church Community through which you help to transform Culture). Your season is fluid; it's dynamic and you must stay in step with the Holy Spirit. We invite you to be a part of both here through our Next Steps.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God -Corrie ten Boom

Through the symbolism found in Scripture we see that we will all get to a point in our relationships where it requires that we defend the covenants that we've made. Whether it be with your spouse, your children, your church family or your commitment to the purposes of God, your vows will repeatedly be tested and must be fought for. This is what Abram had to do when the birds of the prey came to steal the preparations for the covenant ritual.

How have you been fighting for the covenants that you have made in your life? How do you need to?

Fulfilling the Covenant

The powerful thing is that when times seem darkest, God is at work to fulfill His covenant with you.

Genesis 15:12-21

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

Have you entered into covenant with God?

The gospel tells us that you can repent of (turn away from) your sin and entrust your life to Jesus. Through His sinless life and sacrifice on the cross, He has fulfilled the demands of the covenant completely for you providing for forgiveness of your wayward living.

“When people say, "I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself," they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God's.” ― Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

What is the basis of my relationship with God? Will I ever do enough to please Him? What makes me worthy to even be called a child of God? What ensures me that He intends to fulfill His purposes in my life?

Galatians 3:1-9

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

What this means is that what you have accomplished or will do for Jesus in your industry, the way that you will be a blessing to those around you and ultimately make disciples for Christ, depends upon the covenant that God Himself both initiates with you and fulfills for you. This is why you must remain in Jesus and His Word daily. Like Abram, it is your trust in His complete work that gives you both the confidence to press on and the motivation to believe for things that only He can do.

At the end of the day, it always was and forever will be all about Jesus.

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

Isaiah 61-Guest Speaker Peter Ahlin

Isaiah 61 - Second City Church- Guest Speaker Peter Ahlin

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Introduction

Isaiah lived in a city and region characterized by intensified moral darkness and corruption. Isaiah said that he was a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips. He lived during the reign of several Judean kings, including Ahaz, a king who bowed to foreign idols and had his own son sacrificed in fire, and Manasseh, who sacrificed his own son, practiced sorcery, and led the people to do more evil than the pagan nations that had lived in Judea before them.

Isaiah lived in a time of deep national division. God's people started out as one family, twelve tribes within one nation. Because of the sin of King Solomon, ten tribes out of twelve were torn away from David’s family and given to someone else to rule. The strength that should have come from the diverse skills, abilities, and propensities of these twelve tribes was greatly attenuated in the separate nations of Israel and Judah.

Isaiah had every reason to feel insignificant and powerless to bring about any real change. Just one man, dwelling among a people of unclean lips! He felt the magnitude of the task before him, and he clearly saw the extent of the depravity in the culture around him. Yet by the Spirit of God, Isaiah received a prophetic vision of how Jesus would come in spiritual power to transform everything, and by extension, how the Spirit could fill and empower all His people.

Exposition

Isaiah spoke prophetically about how Jesus would come in the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus cited this very passage in the course of launching His earthly ministry. He then told His followers that they would receive the same Spirit, to be poured out on all believers (see Acts 2:17-18 and Joel 2) to usher in the:

Power of the Lord (verses 1-2a) – The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God.

We don’t seek the power of the Lord to create a spectacular or dramatic show; we seek His empowerment to minister to others and build His kingdom. Specifically, as the Spirit was upon Jesus to anoint Him for this ministry, the same Spirit will be poured out afresh among this church to: (a) preach the good news of salvation (b) bind up brokenhearted people (c) see people brought into healing and deliverance (d) proclaim God’s favor.

Moody:

“Now I want this thing clearly understood. We believe firmly that [if] any man...has been cleansed by the blood, redeemed by the blood, and been sealed by the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost dwells in him. And a thought I want to call your attention to is this, that God has got a good many children who have just barely got life, but not power for service.” “Let us look and see what God says, and if you will look in the third chapter of Luke you will see that all these thirty years Christ had been in Nazareth He had been a son, but now the Holy Ghost comes upon Him for service, and He goes back to Nazareth and finds a place where it is written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive, to recover sight to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised.' And for three years we find Him preaching the kingdom of God, casting out devils, and raising the dead, while for thirty years that He was at Nazareth, we hear nothing of Him. He was a son all the while, but now He is anointed for service; and if the Son of God has got to be anointed, do not His disciples need it, and shall we not seek it, and shall we barely rest with conversion?”

Planting of the Lord (verses 2b-4) – To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.

Rather than shielding His church from any adversity/difficulty, God allows us to pass through many diverse trials in this season, for three very specific reasons: (a) that we would learn to receive His comfort (rather than the comfort of what does not satisfy) and share it with others; (b) that we would grow up as mighty trees of righteousness (rather than shallow weeds), planted by the Lord for His glory; (c) that we would have the faith and spiritual might (rather than doubt) needed to go raise up the old ruins, the desolations of many generations which is the great city of Chicago.

The Chicago Evangelization Society of the 1800s was created in the wake of the Chicago Fire, to minister to those who had lost nearly everything with material help and the eternal, life-giving gospel. They came to minister the comfort of Christ, standing as trees of righteousness, in the spiritual might and faith needed to raise up a burned-down city.

Priests of the Lord (verse 6) – You shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast.

God selected one tribe of twelve to be priests for the Jewish nation, but now the privilege of participating in the priesthood extends to all believers. 1 Peter 2 describes all believers as members of a holy and royal priesthood! God’s heart is that all of His people move in the priestly function of ministering to others (see Numbers 11:29) and He intends to raise us up to do so.

Moody:

"I tell you what I want, and what I have on my heart, I believe we have got to have gap-men: men to stand between the laity and the ministers; men who are trained to do city mission work. Take men that have the gifts and train them for the work of reaching the people." Not everyone enters full-time ministry, but everyone is to be trained to reach the city with the gospel!

Praise to the Lord (verse 11) – I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

We have been rescued from a death sentence and brought to salvation, to freedom, to joy. We are responding by wanting to see God’s righteousness and praise spring forth to the nations. We aren’t trying to expand in order to bring glory to our church; we are doing this so that His praise can spring forth before our great city and all nations.

Application

(1) The most effective minister who ever lived, Jesus, began with seeking the Lord in fasting and prayer, and when He returned to Galilee, He came back in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14 and ff.) and this is the passage He read to announce His ministry. It would all be done by the Spirit’s power. Jesus told His disciples after the resurrection that they had a big job to do, but they couldn’t get started yet – they needed to wait until they received power from on high (Luke 24:45-49). Scripture tells us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Would you like prayer for a fresh, mighty filling of His Holy Spirit?

(2) Are you experiencing discouragement, grief, or despair that seems beyond what you can bear? Would you like to pray that God Himself will give you beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness?

(3) It will take not just a pastor, but this entire church family, moving in faith as a kingdom of priests, to build what God is calling us to build. This is not so that people will praise the name of Second City Church, but that praise to Jesus Christ will spring forth! Will you embrace the calling of priestly minister? Where will you serve?

Second City Church- Guest Speakers Missions & More Series 2014

Defending Your Lot

Sojourners: Defending Your Lot

[powerpress]

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. - Charles Dickens

What you will learn quickly when you begin your life as a sojourner is that this is a fight of faith. You will have to fight not only for your own walk with God, but for others' as well. Today, as we continue to study the life of Abram, we will see why we should learn to choose the right battles, defend our Lots and ultimately bring honor to our true champion.

Picking Your Battles

At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela that is, Zoar. All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim that is, the Dead Sea Valley. For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat that is, Kadesh, and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela that is, Zoar marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. (Genesis 14:1-12)

In the long history of humanity, there have always been power struggles, a changing of power between kingdoms and ideologies. According to the Bible, this is a pattern slated to exist until Christ's return.

There are tar pits in these transitions - people get stuck in issues and miss Jesus altogether.

In this instance, Lot gets caught in the crosshairs of cultural transition and upheaval, much like we see in America today, where people want to throw off the shackles of the "old guard." Lot ended up in trouble because he was trying to enjoy as many of the comforts of Sodom as he could without paying the price for his association.

The first thing that you have to do if you are going to live a useful life for Jesus is make sure you have the right identification. Make sure that you find yourself firmly embedded in His camp, whose boundaries are found in His Word. This is what Lot failed to do.

Pitching your tent in Sodom essentially means you are living as close to the edge as possible while not falling over. It's the idea of "taking your Christian liberties to the limit" since you are supposedly under grace. When you live like this, it doesn't mean that God won't love you, but you'll have far more difficulties in life, struggles and, like Lot, even find yourself in bondage.

"The point is not that God will refuse you admission to His eternal world if you have not got certain qualities of character: the point is that if people have not got at least the beginnings of those qualities inside them, then no possible external conditions could make 'Heaven' for them - that is, could make them happy with the deep, strong, unshakable kind of happiness that God intends for us." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity  (p.81)

Pitching your tent in Sodom means that you are basing your confidence in and giving your best energies to things that are destined not to last. You are secular, not in a cultured sense, but in the sense that you only care about the temporal and have no foresight in the ordering of your life. Your life revolves around things that you ultimately cannot keep (i.e. - your beauty:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭30‬ NIV)

vs. health:

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8 NIV)

It can also be an obsession with career positioning vs. kingdom usefulness, the establishment of connections vs. character development and the accumulation of idle wealth vs. gospel investments.

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬ NIV)

Examples: "I don't need to go to church to be a Christian." "I don't have time for the things of God because of the demands of my academics or career."

The question is: "Who told you this?" It was not God. And, if this is where you are presently, "When does it end?".

Each day is a building block for the trajectory of your life. Are you turned towards Sodom (solely worldly success) or Canaan (the land of God's promises)?

"Again, Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live for ever, and this must be either true or false. Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live for ever. Perhaps my bad temper or my jealousy are gradually getting worse - so gradually that the increase in seventy years will not be very noticeable. But it might be absolute hell in a million years: in fact, if Christianity is true, Hell is the precisely correct technical term for what it would be." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (p.74)

The things that will last - your ever-deepening relationship with Christ, as well as relationships built around the knowledge, fear and love of God, are what you, like Abram, should be willing to fight for.

Defending Your Lot

God can move even when there are relational strains. Abram and Lot had parted company, but Abram was still willing to fight for him.

A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh that is, the King’s Valley. (Genesis 14:13-17)

This is a fight of faith and you will have to fight for your Lot. Just as the Israelites fought very tangible physical battles, there is also a very real spiritual battle that you will find yourself engaged in for yourself and your Lot.

How do I fight?

1) Prayer (and fasting when necessary) This includes worship, which magnifies God in your situation and invites His powerful intervention (Psalm 149).

2) By your example

It is not enough that you are able to preach or teach the Bible. It is not enough that you have a desire to espouse or wax eloquent regarding Scripture. It is much easier to desire a captive audience than it is to lay down your life as an example in your (I Timothy 4:12):

Speech Conduct Love Faith Purity

It is how you relate with your spouse, children, co-workers, authorities and peers. In essence, you must strive to be a role model. To really help people, your life must be exemplary.

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ NIV)

Elders and Deacons were required to have a life worthy of emulating in Christ. (I Timothy 3; Titus 1)

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ NIV)

Finally, Jesus' younger half-brother, the apostle James said:

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ NIV)

You do not save people, Jesus does. However, your example can either help them see Jesus more clearly or allow them to live in the confusion and deception of a compromised life. This is why the apostle Paul told both the Corinthian and Roman churches not to put any stumbling block in anyone else's path. If what you are going to do makes someone else, not to mention yourself, stumble, cut it off. Encourage righteous living and do not embolden someone else's sin (Romans 14,15; I Corinthians 8,10). This is love.

3) Persevering, persistent encouragement

My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! (‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭19-20‬ NIV)

We need to have the same patience and perseverance in seeing Christ formed in people as we do with the delivery of a child. In the meantime, bring those we hope to see delivered around the people and things of God.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ NIV)

Who are you acting as a relational anchor for here in the church? For whom in the community are you acting as a life preserver? You never need to be the sole life preserver or anchor in someone's life. Abram went to war with his tribe, not alone. Otherwise, not if, but when offense comes, your Lot can disappear if not anchored by other relationships.

Our Great Champion

Ultimately, Jesus is the savior; you are not. You need to build your Lot into community, and, most importantly, into Christ. The meeting of Abram and Melchizidek was essentially a juxtaposition between Sodom (the perishable world) and Salem (the home of the everlasting King).

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High,who delivered your enemies into your hand.”Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.” (Genesis 14:18-24)

As a sojourner, you need to give yourself to that which will last forever. This is what Melchizedek, who was a foreshadowing of Jesus, represented. He who was without beginning or end, is that into which Abram sowed - the eternal.

Though Abram was great, Melchizedek was greater and because of that we see Abram, prior to the law, honoring Melchizedek with a tithe of his plunder.

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! (Hebrews 7:1-4 NIV)

This is where we find the gospel when we are fighting for people in prayer, in the sharing of our testimony, in the call to faith and repentance. Jesus, offers a righteousness that is complete. His mercy is without begin or end, because by nature, He is merciful. The peace that He holds out is found at the cross, which we should return to daily. You should bring people to His feet again and again that they might be washed clean, be delivered from the evil one (Lord's prayer) and find peace with God in His city within the city. Melchizedek is a picture of Jesus. Salem, which he rules, is a picture of His church.

Why wouldn't Abram accept provisions from the king of Sodom?

Over and over again we see that your trust should be in God, not in man. Jesus uses human agencies to educate, help and deliver, but only to the extent that they are aligned with Him should you entrust yourself to them. It is the difference between Abram's response to Melchizedek and the king of Sodom.

Look to Jesus for your identity. Look to Jesus for your peace. Look to Jesus for your righteousness. Look to Jesus for your joy. Look to Jesus for your success in all that you put your hands to. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. You can be sure that He is faithful and will help you defend your Lot.

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

All That Glitters

Sojourners: All That Glitters

[powerpress] Abram and Lot

Last week, Daniel King spoke about a wealthy man named Zaccheus who came to know Jesus. Today, we will continue our Sojourners series and see what Abram learned from a similar station in life. Abram's first lesson was to obey God and go to the land to which God sent him even in the midst of famine. The second lesson that Abram would learn is that the things that look like blessings aren't always so.

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. (‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭1-12‬ NIV)

Abram and his family were nomadic in the sense that they were moving from place to place to find proper feeding grounds for their livestock. It is similar to you moving around from apartment to apartment or searching for the right job in the city to which God has called you.

Being spiritual does not mean that you are an ascetic, unconcerned about or negligent of the daily affairs of life. It means that you invite Jesus to rule over them.

If you are a sojourner, there will ultimately be a question about what it means to be successful. Will I ever have financial stability? How long before I pay off my student loans? What should my life consist of?

To begin, we can learn from Abram that it is important to make sure that you are building the right altars in your life (a place of sacrifice to and request for intervention from God). Make sure you are building altars to Jesus and not some other ruling force in your life (i.e. - social norms or family expectations).

Three Ways People Grow in Wealth

1) Inheritance and family wealth

2) Unjust gain

A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. (Proverbs 21:6 NIV)

3) Wholistic biblical stewardship

The right place to start:

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9, 10 NIV) 

The right heart:

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25 NIV) 

The right perspective:

Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. (Proverbs 13:11 NIV)

The right discipline:

The blessing of work/life can be lost through poor stewardship.

"According to Sports Illustrated, 78% of NFL players will file for bankruptcy or face financial hardships only two years after playing their last game. NBA players face a similar fate with, 60% of players going broke five years into retirement." -Foxbusiness.com article 2/1/13 "Why Athletes Go Broke" by Kathryn Buschman Vasel

Most people spend it as soon as they get it and it amounts to waste. As their income levels rise, so does their spending, not their generosity or investing, so they end up in debt despite their salary. They live above rather than below their means.

Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich. (Proverbs 21:17 NIV)

The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down. (Proverbs 21:20 NIV)

The right attitude:

You are blessed to be a blessing.

The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. (Proverbs 21:25, 26 NIV)

Whatever your lot, it is God's wise and sovereign choice for the beginnings of your sanctification and character formation. Whether beginning rich or poor, each have their challenges on the road to Christ-centered living and godliness. Each man and woman must daily submit their lot to God and decide how to progress as an act of worship. Lot lost this as a priority and suffered for it (Genesis 14, 18). Abram trusted God and ultimately received the promise.

"I would rather have it said, 'He lived usefully,' than, 'He died rich.'" -Benjamin Franklin

The question that Abram and Lot were asking was, "How do I prosper while following God wholeheartedly in obedience?"

Be careful what you wish for:

Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: (‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭10-11‬ NIV)

What is your gaze upon? You become what you behold. You must continually build altars in the private place to help fix your gaze on Jesus.

Lot lost fire for God the further away he was from the altar and gravitated toward what he saw in Sodom. Abram learned the secret of keeping the fire by continually building altars.

What do you do when you leave this place where the fire is kindled? See Luke 11:34-36 (Matthew 6:22,23 in regard to serving money).

You have to be close with someone to really trust them. Are you familiar enough with God's Word (the Bible) and intimate enough with the Holy Spirit to know what promises Jesus has made to you?

Because you know that your lot is secure, it allows you to bless and be excited for others when things are going well for them, not envious or jealous.

The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭28‬:‭25‬ NIV)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. (‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭14-16‬a NIV)

It's about where you fix your gaze.

Abram chose what seemed to be the lesser looking land, trusting God for his inheritance. It ended up being the better land.

Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord. (‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭13-18‬ NIV)

You can trust Jesus in the workplace.

When you put Jesus first in your life, you do not have to worry about getting passed over for a promotion if what the job will require of you takes you out of the priorities God has set in front of you through His Word. These priorities are growing in the knowledge and love of Jesus, being an active participant in His church community and actively finding ways to shape the culture in which you find yourself with the kingdom of God. Like Abram, God will bless you and take you where He wants you to go.

In my own life I have found that what may seem like an appealing option may actually be a big distraction from what God said to do.

Lot was pierced with many griefs when he chased what glittered rather than the gold found in the wisdom of God's Word.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10 NIV)

What can free my heart from this bondage to fear and trappings of my heart? The gospel and cross can free you.

When you prosper, it must be a by-product of your relationship with Jesus, godly decisions and a result of your calling. Anything else is a trap. The key is focus:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1-3‬ NIV) 

How was Jesus our example?

Jesus left his throne in Heaven and chose the lesser land (earth and a human form) to get us as an inheritance. Follow His example. It's about people and impacting the land in which you live with the gospel.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV)

We need to all get to the point where we can say, "I don't want what everyone else has. I want only what Jesus has for me in my story, nothing more, nothing less so that I might bring him glory with my life." If you desire more than what Jesus has for you and wisdom brings, you will, like Lot, pierce yourself with many griefs. If you settle for less, you are in sin because your life is to be a stewardship to bring Jesus maximum glory with the package that He's given you, including your talents, opportunities and resources. This is the safest and most fulfilling place to be. It is where you are blessed and the world is blessed through you.

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

Meeting Jesus

Meeting Jesus: Guest Speaker Evangelist Daniel King

[powerpress] When I was in Sunday school as a little kid, we used to sing a song. This is how it went:

“Zacchaeus was a wee little man
, And a wee little man was he
. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, For the Lord he wanted to see
. And as the Savior passed that way
 He looked up in that tree
 And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down! For I’m going to your house today For I’m going to your house to stay.”

Who was this wee little man? What can we learn from his life today? Let’s read Luke 19:1-10:

“Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Who was Zacchaeus? Today we might call him Zach for short. The first thing we notice about Zacchaeus is that he was short. He was “vertically challenged.” He had a handicap. His entire life people made fun of him because of his short stature. He is a small man who can teach us a big lesson. (Tyron Lanister)

When my father was born, his last name was Krahl (rhymes with crawl). When he was in school, his peers would make fun of him and shout, “Why don’t you crawl, Mr. Krahl?” This teasing embarrassed my father and he resented his last name.

I’m sure Zacchaeus felt the same as my father. He had been teased about his height his entire life. The schoolboys shouted, “Hey shorty!” He was picked last for all the sports teams.

The second thing that we notice is that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. Nobody likes a tax collector. Not only is Zacchaeus a tax collector, he is a chief tax collector. Zacchaeus had a very important position.

Here in America, people hate April 15 because it is “tax day.” Imagine how you would feel if a short little man knocked on your door on April 15th and demanded 20-30% of your income.

The third thing we notice is that Zacchaeus is rich. The NIV says he was “very wealthy.” “Jericho was a well-known toll place in Palestine, especially for goods passing east and west between Judea and Perea.”¹ Jericho was a rich city; the Jewish historian Josephus called it “a divine region.” All the caravans passed through his town. He used his position to skim money off the top by swindling people. “Ill-gotten riches some of it certainly was.”²

Zacchaeus was a sinner. He cheated people for a living. He overcharged them on their taxes and pocketed the difference. There was a certain amount he was required to collect but he collected extra and put it in his own pocket. He misused and abused his authority. Because of this, he was rich in money but had no friends.

To show you how bad tax collectors are I want to point out that eight times in the New Testament, “tax collectors and sinners” are mentioned together and two times, “tax collectors and harlots” are mentioned in the same breath.

Even worse in the eyes of his neighbors, Zacchaeus was a Jew. His name is an abbreviation of the Hebrew name, ‘Zachariah,’ meaning ‘the righteous one.’³

His name means “righteous” but he was far from righteous and everyone knew it. He was living in sin and focused only on growing his wealth. The land of Israel was occupied by the Roman army. Zacchaeus was not collecting taxes for his own people, he was sending their money off to Rome. His neighbors considered him a collaborator with the enemy. He was excommunicated from the synagogue. He was unclean from fellowshipping with Gentiles.

But one day, Zacchaeus heard about Jesus. He heard how Jesus healed the sick and loved the sinners. He heard how Jesus was even friends with tax collectors. He was curious about this man named Jesus and so decided to go see Him. Little did he know that his life was going to change forever. When you hear about Jesus, your life is sure to change.

When Zacchaeus got near to Jesus there was a problem. Surrounding Him was a huge crowd of people. He tried to push his way through the crowd to get close to Jesus but no one would let him through. He tried to stand on his tippy toes but that did not work.

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus so much that he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a sycamore tree. He was so anxious to see Jesus that he shed his dignity and climbed that tree like a little boy. He was probably wearing expensive clothing but he did not care. It did not matter if he ripped in his robe, he wanted to see Jesus.

Zacchaeus went out on a limb to see Jesus.⁴ He was a sinner in a sycamore. He wanted to see Jesus. He refused to allow anything to prevent him from seeing Jesus. Not people. Not his height. Not his social status. Not his sinful life. Today I encourage you, don’t let anything get in the way of you seeing Jesus.

When Jesus arrived at the tree, He looked up at Zacchaeus and met his eyes. The people breathlessly waited to hear what Jesus would say. Would Jesus call down fire on the sinner? Would Jesus rebuke the chief tax collector, the Roman snitch, the cheating thief? Would Jesus call upon him to repent?

Jesus said none of these things. What He did say shocked the crowd. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

First, how did Jesus know his name? Was he so famous that Jesus had heard of the short tax collector? Or was Jesus operating in the word of knowledge? We don’t know for sure, but it is significant that Jesus knew his name.

Did you know that Jesus knows your name too? Jesus knows your name. He’s got your number. Jesus knows who you are and where you live and He wants to come visit you today.

Zacchaeus was no dummy. He immediately slid down the trunk of the sycamore and led Jesus to his home.

All the people began to murmur and complain. They wanted Jesus to rebuke the man and instead Jesus went to visit him at his house. They began to criticize Jesus and said, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” They simply could not believe that Jesus would associate with such a horrible person. The people felt that Zacchaeus was a dirty tax collector and to eat with him was to risk becoming unclean. The people felt the way that people in the Tea Party would feel if Jesus went over to the house of Lois Learner to eat.

Do you know how significant it was that Jesus ate with Zacchaeus? I travel to foreign countries often and I found that meals in the Middle East are extremely important. Sometimes they can take hours. People sit and talk and fellowship and eat course after course. Jesus was not asking to eat and run; He was asking to spend four or five hours with Zacchaeus. For a man with no friends, this was priceless.

Zacchaeus fed Jesus a delicious meal. The entire time, Zacchaeus was amazed that the good teacher would visit his house. At the end of the meal, Zacchaeus stands up to make an announcement. He says to Jesus, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

This is an amazing event. First, it is amazing because he called Jesus “Lord.” Zacchaeus was a servant of Rome and all the citizens of Rome were required to call Caesar “Lord” but now Zacchaeus uses the title for Jesus. He is switching alliances from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. That is what happens in our lives too when we call Jesus “Lord.”

Second, he pledges to give away his wealth. For years, his entire focus was on accumulating wealth. He had lied, cheated, and stolen to make his money. Now he is going to give it away. “Leviticus 5:16 and Numbers 5:7 demanded restitution plus twenty percent. Exodus 22:1 called for rustlers to repay four sheep for one (see 2 Sam. 12:6). The Dead Sea Scrolls and Roman law also contain incidents of fourfold restitution. Zacchaeus seems to have accepted the harshest penalty of the law and applied it to himself.”⁵ Jewish law said 20% but he decided to give 400%.

The math behind his statement is amazing. If he had restored fourfold what he had stolen and then given half away of what was left, it would have been less. But that is not what he does. First he gives away half, then he restores fourfold.

(Do the math on a blackboard.) Let’s pretend that he had $100 and that he had stolen $10 of it. To restore fourfold he would give away $40. Then imagine that he gave away half of what was left. Of the $60 left he would give away half $30 and still have $30 left. But that is not what he does. First, he gives away half ($50), and then he restores fourfold what he has stolen $40. Simply by changing the order of what he said he could have kept $20 extra. Instead, he only kept $10 out of his original $100. He was a sharp businessman who did math in his head every single day. He knew what he was giving away and he chose to give away the majority of his wealth (like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet).

In response to this spontaneous act of repentance and generosity, Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham…” This could be translated as “salvation has been given to this house” or “this house has received salvation.” The word “house” can mean “household,” “the whole family,” or “all who are in the house.”⁶ In other words, Zacchaeus and his whole family was saved that day.

Jesus’ disciples were still wondering why Jesus was eating with a sinner, so Jesus explained, “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” In Luke chapter 15, Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In each story, the lost item is found. In this story about Zacchaeus, Jesus is once again finding a man who was lost.

How are we like Zacchaeus? He never really measured up to people’s expectations because he was short in stature. In the same way, we fall short of God’s commands. Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God.” Zacchaeus was short. We all fall short of God’s standards.

But even though we are sinners just like Zacchaeus, Jesus is calling us by name. Jesus is looking for you. He came to seek and save the lost. Jesus knows who you are. Isaiah 43:1 says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; 
I have called you by your name;
 You are Mine.”

Jesus did not condemn Zacchaeus, instead Jesus visited with him in his house. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus could have given him a sermon about how bad it is to steal money or to lie to people. But, Jesus knew this type of sermon would have driven Zacchaeus away from God. Instead, Jesus loved him and the same Jesus loves you. Jesus approached him from a position of grace, not from a position of law.

Jesus is not looking at your past; He is looking at your future. Jesus did not see Zacchaeus as an evil tax collector; He saw him as a man who had a wonderful destiny. Did you remember that Zacchaeus’ name means “righteous?” Jesus did not see him as a sinner; Jesus saw him as righteous. Jesus wanted to be friends with him.

Altar Call for the Lost

Salvation changed Zacchaeus from a taker to a giver. Salvation will change you. Do you remember the story I told you at the beginning of the sermon about my father? He was born with the last name of “Krahl” and lots of people made fun of him. When my father became a Christian, God spoke to him and said, “I have not called you to crawl; I have called you to be a king.” Because of this word from God, my entire family changed our last name from Krahl to King. I was ten years old when it happened. I still remember standing in front of a judge and hearing our name being changed. You see, when God comes into your house, He changes everything.

Jeremiah 13:23 asks, “Can a leopard change his spots?” Can meeting Jesus completely change a person’s life? According to this story, the answer is “yes.” One tradition says that Zacchaeus became the bishop at Caesarea. This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Jesus does not just change people; He also forgives them. Notice how Zacchaeus decided to make restitution for his cheating and stealing. Because of his repentance and his restitution, he was filled with great joy. Repentance + Restitution = Rejoicing.

Will you repent of your sins? Will you make restitution to those whom you have hurt? When you meet Jesus, you are going to want to change you life. We don’t make restitution in order to be saved; we make restitution because we are saved.

The end of this story explains Jesus’ motivation, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” This was the reason Jesus came to earth, to seek and save those who are lost. Every person who has sinned is lost. We have all lied, cheated, stolen, and had hate in our heart toward a brother. These actions are sin. You might say, “But, I’m not a bad sinner like Zacchaeus who stole from his countrymen,” but the truth is that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The price for sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sin. But He did not stay dead on the cross. After three days, Jesus rose from the dead. Acts 2:21 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Jesus wants to save you the same way that He saved Zacchaeus. Jesus did not condemn Zacchaeus and He is not condemning you.

Nobody is too small for Jesus. Jesus knew his name. Jesus knew his sin. Jesus knows your name. He knows what you need. Jesus sees you, not as you are, but as you can become.

Zacchaeus was short but:

He was big enough to climb a tree.

He was big enough to invite Jesus into his house.

He was big enough to repent and make a new start in his life.⁷

Are you big enough? Are you big enough to come to Jesus? Are you big enough to repent? Are you big enough to come forward and meet Jesus here at the altar? Right now, if you want Jesus to save you from your sins, I invite you to come to the front.

Altar Call for Believers

For those of you who have already made Jesus your Lord, I have a challenge for you. There are two different roles you could play in this story. First, you could be like the crowd that was following Jesus. They were excited to be around Him, but they did not have the time or inclination to let Zacchaeus through the crowd. When Jesus announced that He was going to Zacchaeus’ house, the crowd complained that Jesus was spending time with sinners. Some people in church today act like this crowd. They don’t really care about the lost. They actually make it hard for the lost to come to Jesus and when a sinner comes into the church, they look down their noses at them and tell them not to get the nice church pews dirty.

The second role you could play is that of the sycamore tree.⁸ What did the tree do? It lifted Zacchaeus above the crowd so that he could see Jesus. Would you be like that sycamore tree today and lift people up so that they can see Jesus?

The people were surrounding Jesus. They were actually preventing Zacchaeus from reaching Jesus. Many churches act the same way; they are so inward focused that they keep people from getting to Jesus. As a believer, you have a choice. You can be like the crowd and keep people from reaching Jesus, or you can be like the sycamore tree and lift people up so that they can see Jesus. If you want to help lift people up to see Jesus raise your hand.

Sources 1. Stein, R. H. Luke, vol. 24, Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992. Logos Bible Software Version 5. 2014. Print ed.: R. H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992. 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. “Lk 19:1–10” n. p. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 1997. Logos Bible Software Version 5. 2014. Print ed.: R. Jamieson, Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. “Lk 19:1–10” Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 1997. 3. Marshall, I. H., The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text, n. p. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978. Logos Bible Software Version 5. 2014. Print ed.: I. H. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text, Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978. 4. Dykes, David. “Zacchaeus: Out on a Limb for Jesus.” 30 June 2014. http://www. sermoncentral.com/sermons/zacchaeus-out-on-a-limb-for-jesus-david-dykes-sermon-on-people-in-the-gospel-56584.asp (30 June 2014). 5. Butler, T. C., Luke, Vol. 3, n. p. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000. Logos Bible Software Version 5. 2014. Print ed.: T. C. Butler, Luke, Vol. 3, n. p. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000). 6. Reiling, J., & Swellengrebel, J. L., A handbook on the Gospel of Luke n. p. New York: United Bible Societies, 1993. Logos Bible Software Version 5. 2014. Print ed.: J. Reiling, & Swellengrebel, J. L., A handbook on the Gospel of Luke n. p. New York: United Bible Societies, 1993. 7. Rambo, Jay. “Nobody is too small for Jesus.” 30 June 2013. http://www. sermoncentral.com/sermons/nobody-is-to-small-for-jesus-jay-rambo-sermon-on-grace-39871.asp?Page=2 (30 June 2013). 8. Balmori, Capitan Gerardo. “Zacchaeus: Searching for Jesus.” 30 June 2014. http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/zacchaeus-searching-for-jesus-capitan-gerardo-balmori-sermon-on-jesus-ministry-155812.asp?Page=2 (30 June 2014).

Second City Church- Guest Speakers: Missions & More 2014

The Road of Transformation

Sojourners: Guest Speaker John Magpantay- The Road of Transformation

[powerpress] Real followers of Christ consistently construct a biblical worldview so that we increasingly and authentically reflect God's glory on earth.

Salvation permeates every aspect of our lives. Increasingly: glory to glory, strength to strength; we don’t stagnate, our road gets brighter, our roots go deeper. Authentically: like a new language: read, study, obey. This is an act of validation, and it is natural.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 ESV)

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (2 Corinthians 10:5)

“The only fence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it.” – John Locke

It is not a matter of personality or “intelligence,” but of values and Christian character. All of us are equally reliant on God’s grace. Christ’s truth and power supersedes “personalities.”

“…it is a call not to specific acts of behavior, but to a type of character. It is a call to see oneself as having a role to play within a story where there is one Supreme Character whose life is to be followed.” - N.T. Wright, After You Believe

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-8 ESV)

We are to become more like Christ and reflect God's glory.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-8 ESV)

Real followers of Christ don’t stop in “simply believing.” They work out their salvation through grace.

Discipleship: Peter's Road of Transformation

What is discipleship?

Today, I want to focus on the process through which we construct and live out this worldview. We’ll look at the life of Peter and understand how a man of humble beginnings became a strong disciple whose walk of faith is a testament to what discipleship looks like. In Peter’s life, we can learn how someone who was inconsistent (sometimes wise, sometimes tactless), fickle (pledged allegiance to Christ, but denied him three times) and brash (cut off someone’s ear, corrected Jesus) was transformed into one of the forefathers of our faith. In simple terms, it’s being given a whole new identity in Christ.

The call of following Christ always entails that we leave something or someone behind.

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-20 ESV)

See, most of us enter this walk of faith already knowing the ultimate destination. We recognize we need God in our life on Earth, and we know that we’ll meet him face-to-face one day, but we are always figuring out how to live today. In any case, our salvation doesn’t end in believing Christ. (John showed a bridge illustration.)

“Discipleship means adherence to Christ…Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.” – Dietrich Bonheoffer

The discipleship process is not an abstract doctrine that has limited real world applications; nor is it a blanket Christian term for “simply doing church stuff.” When you truly understand who Jesus is and what all His words, actions, and teachings meant – the entirety of His life, there is absolutely no way that you will not want to “leave your boat & family,” just like Peter did, and follow Christ. Discipleship is therefore the process of re-creating a whole new life that is rooted in Christ. You don’t insert Jesus into your life. You give Him free reign to obliterate everything that stands in His way of leading you through this process. This transformation doesn’t end with us.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

If God is transforming the world, then we are His royal priests. Our transformation doesn’t end with us, and it overtakes our entire being. If we are to be His “royal priests,” we need to allow the process of discipleship to shape us.

He will transform the world through believers, but first, believers must submit themselves to the transformative, life-long process of discipleship. We can’t “privatize” our faith and only be mindful of the moral rules we keep to make us feel good about ourselves. We have the larger responsibility to shape our world so that it starts to reflect God’s glory. Nor can we simply “romanticize” our faith and do whatever simply feels good.

(John showed an illustration from The Fault in Our Stars – Augustus Waters.) If you are in Christ, you are just a shadow of your future self. Christ will transform us as we walk with Him daily so that we become more of who He designed us to be – each of us a unique reflection of a particular facet of His glory.

God wants to redeem this world and restore it to His original design. As the master designer, He had a perfect plan for the Earth with humans taking the lead role in managing His creation. We all know that the current state of affairs is far from this ideal picture. We don’t need to look far to see brokenness, corruption, estrangement, and darkness.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)

God is responsible for transforming the world. Our responsibility as believers is to submit to the process of discipleship so we can be sent out and empower others to do the same.

Discipleship: The transformative process of constructing and living out a worldview as we follow Christ.

The Road of Discipleship

1. Toll Gate: Carrying Our Cross

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:38-39 ESV)

In the Bible, the very first step anyone takes after the decision to follow Christ radically affects their whole existence. In Jesus’ day, a cross was a symbol of suffering, and we all have trials and afflictions that may be very hard for us to bear—even with God’s help. But Jesus meant something far deeper than this when He told His disciples to carry their cross. The cross was mainly a symbol of death. What Jesus was telling them is that they needed to put to death their own devices for salvation and entrust their entire existence to Him.

Jesus doesn’t simply call us to believe that He existed, or even to believe that He can save us. He calls on us to commit our whole lives to Him—to trust Him alone for our salvation, and then to follow Him daily.

Real followers of Christ adhere to His death, and, therefore, surrender their right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The absolute cost of following Christ is not knowing where He’ll lead you, and, therefore, not knowing what you’ll have to leave behind. As you walk with Christ on a day-to-day basis, the Holy Spirit and wisdom from God’s Word will lead you to places where you will be standing on nothing but your faith in Christ. Just like when Peter stepped out into the boat, he waited for Christ’s call.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.  (1 Peter 4:4 ESV)

Examples: Two people with the same “components, but different journeys and one conclusion.”  The contents may be the same, but the conclusion differs. Following Christ is a daily lifestyle.

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.” - Martin Luther

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11, ESV)

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24 ESV)

It’s a daily process.

In him we live and move and have our being Acts 17:28 ESV

We need to find our whole existence in Him. We all know how it's like when two people walk together, live. They start to dress alike. (John showed pictures of famous stars dressed alike who were dating.)

2. Roadmap: Seeking the Truth

Peter's Moments of Truths

1. Walked on water (Matt 14:18) 2. Disowned Jesus (Matt 26:33,75) 3. Lacked understanding (Matt 15:15-16, Matt 16:22, Matt 18:21) 4. Challenged human authority (Acts 4, 5) 5. Declared Jesus as the Messiah (John 6:69)

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-8 ESV)

3. Mile Markers: Fruitfulness & Pruning together

Fruitfulness is the byproduct of remaining in Christ, while pruning is the evidence that God cares for your growth. To remain in Christ is to remain in the Word and in Christian community.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5 ESV)

See also: Galatians 5:22-23.

What Does He Prune?

1. Dead branches: sins, mindsets, bad habits and influences, harmful relationships 2. Long, straggly branches: overextending ourselves, rest/focus/boundaries, imbalances 3. Fruitful branches: for more growth

All believers will be pruned.

Discipleship: The Notebook style:

“So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday.”

The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

According to His promise, we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

…take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:14, 17-18)

Discipleship: The Notebook style:

“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, every day we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ”

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

The Rugged Road Between the Daily Grind and Destiny

Sojourners: The Rugged Road Between the Daily Grind and Destiny

[powerpress] Abram : A Man at the Crossroads

Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences. -J.K. Rowling

In each of the segments of Sojourners, we will study characters that will be discussed in further detail in subsequent months in other series. However, this will provide an overview on several fronts. First, it will introduce you to the Old Testament as a vehicle through which you further understand the God that Jesus called Father and the texts from which Jesus taught. Second, it will re-introduce you to individuals who exemplified in their interactions with God some of the important themes repeated throughout Scripture. Finally, it will enable you to learn the value of all of Scripture. As the gospels are the biography of Jesus and the epistles give us doctrine in regard to the identity and commands of Christ, the Old Testament is the foreshadowing of the work of Jesus through the lives of the patriarchs and matriarchs. It will literally teach you how to walk with Jesus in your every day experience as you traverse the plain between the daily grind and destiny.

The Story of My Life

Where do I find my destiny? The context for your story is found in a biblical worldview.

A biblical worldview paints the picture of the meta-narrative of all of human history. It is summarized in God's creation, humanity's fall, and God's redemption story in Jesus Christ through His people, the church. You have an important role to play in this.

The account of Abram- later known as Abraham, the Father of the faith- is a place where you begin to see that God is continually working at the crossroads of decisions in your life.

The backdrop

Recent studies estimate that America's urban centers have only 5% of their population engaged in regular church involvement. It is not a new scenario that in a city, the majority of people you may encounter have no real honor or esteem for God. This trend trickles down from the time of Adam and Eve when God created, but humanity wanted to be their own rulers. By the time Noah appeared on the scene, God saw that the inclination of men's hearts was evil all of the time, and decidedly said He would put an end to it. However, He also had in Noah's family, a plan of redemption.

When you pass through the generations, you get to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 where people were, like today, constructing cities, speaking the same language, and trying to make a name for themselves. God confuses their language and starts to make a new city within a city (Hebrews 11:8-10) out of the man Abram who would become the father of the faith and foreshadow the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's look at what we can learn from his story.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. (Genesis 11:31, 32 NIV)

Before his history shaping encounter with God, Abram and his family were already on the way to Canaan (modern day Israel). You and your family may have already been on the way to God's purposes (having a Christian home, church life, community involvement, etc.), but stopped short and settled (those who stopped being involved). When that happens, like Abram's family, you begin to assimilate into pagan culture.

God meets you where you are and says, "Let's begin here and find why in this place, you are on the cusp of destiny."

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:1-9 NIV)

How does the gospel meta-narrative play out in my every day life?

1) Abram left. Abram was called to leave his pagan surroundings, leaving the familiar culture, traditions, and environment that he had always known, to follow the one true God in a new life that God would create for him.

What do you need to leave behind to follow Jesus?

2) Abram would come into new community. God would develop a new community of faith through Abram's obedience. It would be the foundation of a people who were reconciled to God and created to be holy worshipers for His purposes.

Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:28-30 NIV)

3) Abram's life and seed, Jesus, would eventually be a blessing to all nations. There are two things that God would give to Abram as an inheritance - people and land. It is the same for you and I today. You must go to the place that God is showing you and fight for it. In whatever city you presently live, you must fight for it. You must also trust and believe that as you are doing your part to love those around you, live a godly life, and share the truth of Jesus with others, God is going to birth natural and/or spiritual sons and daughters who have come to Christ through your witness.

The Crossroads of Decision

Times of lack can test your resolve to fight for the land and people of your calling.

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. (Genesis 12:10-20 NIV)

Abram made a decision based on convenience rather than calling. Decisions based on convenience rather than calling can lead to compromise and corruption.

When people choose to make career or comfort decisions instead of calling decisions, they end up in trouble, because their priorities and gods are misplaced. They are looking to these idols for security and provision rather than Yahweh, who told them to go to the "place he will show you." They have portfolio advancement in mind rather than growth in Jesus, and suffer in the end for it. This is especially the case in times of famine. This is when Abram went astray, going down to Egypt when God told him to go to Canaan. Here he ended up giving Sarah up to another man and lying about their relationship. (Genesis 12:10-13:4; Genesis 26)

What happens when you are surrounded by friends who call themselves Christian and are telling you that it's ok to go down to Egypt (live in sin)?

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:1-10 NIV)

How should a biblical worldview affect my decisions, large and small?

1) Build altars at each step and in each season of your life to invite God's direction into your story. Have you built your altars? 2) If you've stepped off of the path, go back to the place where you last met Jesus, and call upon Him there for a fresh start. God's grace is still seen in His pursuit of Abram in the midst of his mistakes. Cling to the cross. 3) Learn to develop an owner's mentality in the land rather than just a renter's.

Renters vs. Owners

There is a difference between being a renter and an owner. How do you treat a rental? How do you treat something that you own?

Don't just use the city. Allow Jesus to use you along with His people to transform the city. This is the covenant of God.

People often do not stop to ask God the question, "God where is my land, and who are my people?" Have you?

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV)

You must settle down to have a long-term impact on a city. Be an owner, and have a long-term vision for your impact in the city.

A walk with God is not merely reduced to proper behavior, but must affect your decision making on a daily basis. The mark of a disciple is that they are governed by a biblical worldview in the prioritization of their time, resources, priorities and pursuits being submitted to the ways of the Lord. It is about assuming an inheritance initiated by the Lord as you live with the revelation that your what you do with your life, career, and free time is not for you to independently decide, because your life is not your own. Let's give it all to Jesus, and allow Him to author our stories today!

Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and an Advancing Church

Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead inaugurated a new era in the history of the world. By pouring out His Holy Spirit on the church at Pentecost, God officially initiated a global movement that would reach the ends of the earth with His gospel. The book of Acts tells the story of the church's advance. Today, we will learn lessons about our continuation of this ministry by studying a picture of an advancing church and by identifying some of the keys elements to that advance.

The Picture of an Advancing Church

What does it look like when the church is advancing as God desires?

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed. Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. (Acts 5:12-21 NIV)

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.

After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:27-42 NIV)

There are at least three lessons that we can learn from a church that is advancing:

1) Comparisons and jealousy will attempt to distract you from the real mission.

You are not in competition with other believers, churches, or ministries. We are all on the same team as we look to glorify God and preach Jesus to reach our cities with the gospel. If you are always worried about what is going on in someone else's camp, you, like the high priest and his associates, will miss the grace of God for your own.

2) When Jesus is preached publicly, resistance will come.

Choose to obey God anyway. As Gamaliel intimated, you cannot fail when God is authoring your story. Our generation loves the idea of private spirituality, as long as it doesn't polarize the beliefs of others. The problem with private spirituality is that it is not the life that Jesus modeled or the apostle's preached. It does not honor Jesus as the sovereign Creator and Lord of all (John 1, 3) whom all will one day face in judgment, and it does not help others who Jesus came to rescue from hell.

Count it an honor to be identified with Jesus. Warfare follows the preaching of the Word of God. Trouble does not indicate that things are being done improperly.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:22, 23, 26 NIV)

People will resist the preaching of the name of Jesus. Our generation likes the idea of spirituality, but hates the authority that is found in Jesus' name that is above every name. Let me be clear. The reason there is only one person and one name by which we must be saved is that there is no other perfect sacrifice for our rebellion against a holy, righteous God. Jesus was our flawless substitute, prophet, teacher, and Lord, the prophesied God incarnate in whom is no darkness and who came to reconcile a fallen world to the Father through His atoning work on the cross. There is no other means or way.

If the world with it's soiled standards cannot identify you as a Christian, you can bet that Jesus will not either.

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32, 33 NIV)

Do people know that you belong to Jesus? Do they know it by your proclamation? Do they know it by your life?

“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” ― Socrates, Essential Thinkers - Socrates (Barnes & Noble Collector's Library)

3) The church will meet both in larger public worship gatherings and from house to house.

It is not worship service or community group. Both provide different functions and are important for the advance of the gospel. The worship service is a unified celebration of the life and work of Jesus, where the Bible is preached, sacraments are enjoyed, and we are directed in our mission for Jesus. Community groups help foster encouraging friendships and intimate, accountable bonds as you build your life around the Word of God together.

Key Pieces to the Advance

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:1-7 NIV)

The Holy Spirit was working powerfully amongst the people producing a dynamic move of God. The leaders had the best of intentions. However, when the Hellenistic Jews began complaining against the Hebraic Jews, there needed to be an upgrade of structure so that no one fell through the cracks. As in the case with the early church, every Spirit-filled church is in process with Jesus and will need to make adjustments as it grows.

Two obstacles to Spirit-led progress

The consumer's mentality

There has been a leaning in our generation for church to become a part of the capitalist market. People never mature, because they shop for churches like a product rather than looking to be planted in relationship and grafted into service in the body of Christ. We expect this image as we walk through the church doors. (Pastor Rollan showed a picture of the Target dog with the Red card.)

The Target mentality also steals the joy out of service to God when we view church as a means of winning customers rather than making disciples. Have you been merely a consumer?

What about excellence in the church? An expectation of excellence should lead to a culture of honor and never become the god we are serving. Having a culture of honor means we do things with excellence to honor God and with humility to honor one another. We forget to keep the main thing the main thing when we find ourself:

The critic

The word for ministry literally means service. Everyone's skills and ministry are important in the advance of the gospel. Every follower of Jesus has a ministry in either word or deed. Many times, what you are skilled to do at work can be a reflection of what type of service you can add to the church.

However, many people would prefer to comment about the church than serve in and through it. (Pastor Rollan showed the Yelp logo.)

Could it be that the very thing that you see as a deficiency is the thing that Jesus is appointing you, like the seven, to bring in humility to the table? The question is, will you be one of those who complain about the distribution of food, or be one of the seven who were appointed to take responsibility in ministry so that the kingdom might advance?

The picture of old country churches were beautiful in that you had real fathers and mothers in the faith rise up to take ownership within the family. It was contrary to the big business church mentality that reduces people to seeing themselves as merely itinerant contractors. The Bible calls for the former attitude as people take responsibility for God's church:

Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:3, 4 NIV)

When we all find our proper lanes, the result is that the word of God is continually preached, God's hand moves powerfully in response to our prayers, and the number of disciples of Jesus is able to increase rapidly. This is God's goal.

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7 NIV)

As the church grows, leadership must be both diversified and specialized. When we begin any venture, everyone is a generalist, but there is a need for specialized service as we grow.

We all have ideas about what would benefit the church. When our hearts are right, the right things will be pulled together at the right time. It is our attitudes that count (I Corinthians 13).

You can always begin by asking what needs to be done in the family and find out how your skills can be useful in the service.

Elisabeth Elliot wrote about Amy Carmichael who was a missionary to China in her book, A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (p. 183). In it she describes the attitude that we should maintain in our service to the Lord in difficult and seemingly menial work so that His kingdom might advance in the city:

Amy was learning that if The Lord of Glory took a towel and knelt on the floor to wash the dusty feet of His disciples, then no work, even the relentless and often messy routine of caring for squalling babies, is demeaning. To offer it up to The Lord of Glory transforms it into a holy task. "Could it be right," Amy had asked, "to turn from so much that might be of profit [evangelizing] and become just nursemaids?" The answer was yes. It is not the business of the servant to decide which work is great, which is small, which is important or unimportant - he is not greater than his master. "If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider 'not spiritual work' I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary's love," Amy wrote after many years of caring for [children she rescued from child trafficking].

The kingdom of God will advance when Jesus is preached boldly and unapologetically, in public spheres and from house to house. As this happens, more and more men and women will come into a life transforming relationship with Jesus. To serve this growing number of redeemed individuals will take the specialized service of His faithful people. Let's continue to lift Jesus high and find our places on the wall that this life saving gospel might continue to advance!

Second City Church- Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Holy Church

The book of Acts is largely about the Holy Spirit, who is God Himself, the third person of the Trinity. It chronicles His activities to create a worldwide movement in cities as He works through the efforts of the church, who He is forming into a holy people. As we continue through the book of Acts, today we learn how Jesus intends to continue His work as we reflect on what it means to serve a holy God, pray holy prayers, steward holy possessions, and fight for holy private lives.

Holy God

The God that we are here to learn about, relate with, and worship is holy. This means that in His nature, He is all together higher and greater than us (Isaiah 55:8,9). He is perfect, being pure and untainted by evil. He is loving without fail, good without deviation, righteous beyond our comprehension, just beyond our liking, and kind beyond compare. He is the Hebrew God of the Jewish patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There has never been, nor will there ever be, anyone who is like Him who is omniscient, meaning all knowing; omnipresent, meaning always there; and omnipotent, meaning all powerful. He gave us an example of His flawless nature in Jesus, His unique and only begotten Son. The mind-blowing thing is that this is the God that cares for you and desires for you to call Him Father through Jesus' reconciliatory work on the cross. He then calls His people to be holy in all that they do so that we might love Him, represent Him well, and forward His purposes in the earth.

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16 NIV)

The Holy Spirit's primary responsibility is to make you holy like Jesus. This is your destiny.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29, 30 NIV)

The definition of holy (Greek word: Hagios): It is someone or something that has come into right relationship with God, something having a sacred purpose, or someone having special significance to Him. It is someone or something that belongs to Jesus, is of special interest to him, and one who is, therefore, devout. Articles such as those used in the temple to offer sacrifices for worship were consecrated as holy, and now we are called to be living sacrifices in service to Jesus.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

Ultimately holiness is important, because the writer of Hebrews says: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14 NIV)

Holy Prayers

The first thing that should be holy in your relationship with God should be your prayers. How do my prayers become holy?

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ’

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:23-31 NIV)

Because he is a loving Father, there will always be a place for personal relating, repentance, requests, and receiving from God. However, it does not end there. Prayer that is holy is directed by God's Word and purposes. Ultimately, since life is not about our fame, but honoring God, we manage everything with the goal of introducing people to Jesus so that His rulership might come on earth as it is in Heaven. This is how Jesus taught His disciples to pray (Matthew 6:5-13).

When our prayers have the right motivation, they are kingdom focused, and this structures how we perceive our time, relationships, careers, and possessions.

Holy Possessions

How are my possessions holy?

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.

For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-37 NIV)

The church understood the truth that all things that they owned, whether their money or their possessions, had all been entrusted to them by God. This is what it means to have holy possessions.

What do you consider your own? What do you consider the Lord's?

Laying it at the apostles' feet

When Jesus spoke about building His church, He spoke about it as a family. Family takes care of one another, and this is what we are to do as the church. As the church gave generously, the leadership was able to direct resources to those who were in need. The same is true today.

You need to understand that all of your resources are not merely things that you own, but are stewardships from Jesus that are to be used for His purposes.

The gospel of Jesus will be able to transform a city when the mentality of stewardship versus ownership with our time, talent, and resources becomes a reality.

The reason for our generosity is well summarized in the following video: Why I Love Religion: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE

Holy Private Lives

How is my private life made holy?

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. (Acts 5:1-11 NIV)

We may be able to fool and impress others, but it is clear that God will not be mocked. You really are who are when you think that no one else is watching. Ananias and Sapphira's sin was not merely that they did not fully share their possessions, but that they thought they could live in the sin of greed by hiding in plain sight. They lied to keep up their prideful appearances of being generous to maintain what we would call a cultural form of Christianity. They made it seem that they were really devoted to Jesus, His people, and his cause, when really they were merely a part of the community for themselves, possibly solely for the social comforts or rewards.

To have a holy private life means to love and honor Jesus no matter who you are with, what you are doing, or when you are doing it.

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” ― Henry Ford

People often look at success in the workplace or in the world around us and do not know the background story to what it took for someone to get there. You long for something, but don't know what people were willing to give up to achieve it.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. (Proverbs 25:26, 27 ESV)

God's value of integrity will keep you at the crossroads of decision. This should be a burning desire in a holy life.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9 NIV)

Like Ananias and Sapphira, if your secret life was displayed for all to see on the jumbotron at Soldier Field, what would God's verdict be for you - a life worthy of His reward or one that was hardly worth mentioning?

Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. (Proverbs 13:6 NIV)

What level of compromise in your priorities, godliness, or family life have you sacrificed in the secret place to reach a level of success? Never forget, it is your secret life that will be judged before the Lord, not your worldly success. What God has truly called you to, He will allow you to achieve through His righteous ways and means.

Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. (Proverbs 22:4 NIV)

How do I develop a holy private life?

By definition, holy means sacred and consecrated, separated from ordinary and common usage. It is not simply limited to behavior, but is an internal attitude, heart posture, and frame of mind that governs everything that you say, pursue, and do. It means that everything, literally all of your life, is set apart to God. The old question, "What would Jesus do?" is a good one.

Ask these questions in your daily affairs to steer holy living:

1) Would the Bible say that what I am doing, saying, or allowing myself to think is pleasing to Jesus?

2) Would Jesus use my talent, time, or resource in this manner?

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NIV)

3) How will what I am doing be useful to the advance of God's Kingdom?

4) What type of reward would I expect to receive from Jesus for the use of this time, relationship, or resource that He's entrusted to me?

Because God is holy, we worship Him. Because our prayers and possessions are powerful when holy, we can turn them toward Christ today. Because our private lives are the foundation of holiness, we can trust that as we are holy, God will move on our behalf to bring good to our lives and glory to His name (Romans 8:28-39). Contrary to the stereotype, true holiness leads to freedom. Let's live in the joy and freedom of holiness that He's provided for us today!

Second City Church: Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and an Unbreakable Church

As we continue through the book of Acts, we see that the early days of the church were met with both life transforming encounters with Jesus, and a curious resistance to that good news. In the midst of the unique obstacles that arose to the spread of the gospel, the church was built on a foundation that allowed its people to stand firm amidst the challenges of life. This section gives us a clear indication that God wants a people that will not crack under pressure, because they are rooted in the right place - in Jesus.

While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:11-26 NIV)

Three truths that Peter lived by that made him unbreakable after his initial failings:

1) It is not by our own power or godliness that people are healed, but only through the power of Jesus. When things are going well, give all praise to God.

Why you can't save the world (but Jesus can), is because we are prone to swing to two sides of the pendulum: You either have a hedonist mentality that disengages a charitable spirit while being absorbed with your own pleasures and experiences, or, you can develop a Messiah complex that leads to pressures that cannot be fulfilled by a mere human. You will eventually reach an emotional, mental, physical, or financial limit if you try to be someone's savior.

The godly attitude points all things toward Jesus, His Kingdom, and His cross that reconciles you to a Heavenly Father with a covenant. This is where the pressure belongs. The government will be on His shoulders; His are broad enough to bear them, and God's resources are inexhaustible.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. (Psalm 68:19, 20 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. (1 Peter 5:6-11 NIV)

2) The gospel message is central to every endeavor of the church. It must be retold repeatedly since we are so quick to lose our center. There will also always be new people who have never heard or responded who must have an invitation to follow Jesus. How does the gospel shape your daily life?

3) Times of refreshing from the Lord come through repentance. You and I are blessed when we turn from our wicked ways, that which breaks the commandments of God. Of what do you need to repent to come into right alignment with God?

Once we receive this refreshing, we are set up to be people of faith, which is a deep-seated trust in Jesus in the midst of our daily affairs. We will be a people, a church, that does not crack in three areas:

Unbreakable under..

Judgments

Learn to serve an audience of one. The testing ground of life is found in the praise that you receive, either the praise that is given you, or the lack thereof.

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise. (Proverbs 27:21 NIV)

God will always test the motives of your heart - why you do what you do. He does this through your circumstances. The testing can be found in friendships, family, or the workplace. It can come in the form of compliments, criticisms, oversights, or outright neglect. What do you turn to when your relationships are strained? Where is the first place that your money goes? Who is the first person that you turn to for approval?

What you do when things are tight reveals your trust. What you do with your abundance reveals your priorities. Both your trust and priorities must be grounded in Jesus. You do this by building on truth.

Do not think too highly of yourself during the good times. Do not have too low of an assessment of yourself during challenging times. Be sober minded.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3 NIV)

"If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts." -Timothy Keller

How do I know what is in my heart?

The term "God" in the Scripture meant ruler and the one that you serve. The things from which you attempt to draw your identity in life, outside of Jesus, whether it be your looks, your finances, your sexuality, or your relationships are really your functional gods. These other gods are tyrannical and unforgiving, many times acting as life-draining task masters. Jesus is the only one who is not.

Circumstantial Pressures

There are daily pressures that you feel mentally, emotionally, and relationally, with God or the important God-ordained relationships in your life, including family, friends inside and outside the church, co-workers, mentors, and mentees.

It is our challenge in the midst of them not to become anxious. The term "anxious" comes from the Latin root word for anxiety, which is angustia and means "narrowness." We begin to grumble when we have a narrowness of perspective about our relationships and life circumstances.

The things that can cause a believer to leave their trust in Jesus are (Matthew 13):

The Worries of this Life The Deceitfulness of Wealth The Desire for Pleasures or Other Things

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ― Corrie ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook

When the apostles were pressed about the source of their strength, they pointed to Jesus as the sole deliverer.

Persecution

This is the final place that you want to make sure that you do not crack.

The old adage, "only God can judge me," is right in a sense. You had better make sure, though, that you are on the right side of His judgment by knowing His Word and the Savior that all of it points to.

Faithful to God

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. (Acts 4:1-22 NIV)

Being persecuted for choosing to love what Jesus loves and turn away from that which He says to does not mean that you are doing something wrong. There is a bandwagoner's mentality that permeates our culture. The deception of the devil is that if the majority doesn't side with you, if everyone doesn't like you or agree with you, then you've done something wrong. However, it was the crowds who crucified Jesus.

It was Jesus who said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13, 14 NIV)

It was the 120 that stood with Him after His resurrection (Acts 1) to serve the world with the gospel in love and turn it upside down. If you have to choose sides, choose Jesus.

There was a very famous and funny scene that we agree with from the movie Coming to America where the preacher said, "I love the Lord. I love the Lord. And if loving the Lord is wrong, I don't want to be right."

“Freedom is what we do with what is done to us.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre

What decisions in your life are you having to make that are forcing you to choose between obeying God or people? If you have to choose, obey God rather than man. He alone holds the keys to an abundant and eternal life.

In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Second City Church- Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Healing Church

Conservative scholars estimate that the Book of Acts was written in the year AD 63 by the practicing physician Luke, who was a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul during his church planting missionary journeys throughout the Roman world. As we speak today about Jesus and a healing church, it will be interesting to begin with a doctor's perspective on healing.

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10 NIV)

What we can tell from this is:

1) God works naturally, as in the healing that comes through the skill He provided to the physician Luke; however, He also works supernaturally through the same power that was demonstrated in Jesus' earthly ministry.

2) Many times the thing that we want is not our biggest need. What is it that is on your heart of hearts that you desire most? What, if you were to look to God and His Word, do you think that He actually knows that you need?

God is kind and will give you wants (Psalm 37:4). However, because He is a good Father, He's going to get down to addressing what you actually need.

3) When someone reaches out, you need to reciprocate - like Peter with the cripple. It is the Christlike thing to do. You may not have other things to give, but you can give Christ-centered friendship!

Jesus heals people physically today, but He also empowers them to live relationally healthy lives. When your body is physically whole, you can forget that the thing that God wants to actually put His finger on is relational dysfunction or stunted growth. How have you been crippled in your relationship with Jesus or others? How does God want to heal you? How should you be strengthened?

This is not exhaustive, but it does highlight some of the specific challenges that we have in the city to developing and maintaining godly relationships. Make no doubt about it, Satan's plan is to separate close friends, destroy unity, and nullify the healing power of the church through offense.

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” (Psalm 2:1-3 NIV)

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalm 133:1-3 NIV)

How to be a good friend

Friendship that provides real healing in the church is a two-way street. There is both giving and receiving, attitudes to maintain, and obstacles to overcome. Remember that love believes the best about others and looks to give them the benefit of the doubt with their intentions, especially amongst others attempting to follow Jesus in the church. God gives us His word to provide wisdom in friendships so that we might learn the habits of healthy relationships and escape the trappings of poor relational skills.

Giving

Do not be prideful about those with whom you associate.

The city is full of a cross-section of people of different life stages and achievements. If you think yourself too mature, accomplished, or that others can't relate to you because you regularly work in a different sphere than those who surround you in the community of faith, you will end up in isolation. Jesus' church in the city is comprised of people from various professions, pedigrees, and levels of expertise, all coming together for the purposes of God. Remember, if the donkey can speak the word of the Lord to Balaam, then someone with a few less letters behind their name can speak the Word of God to you and benefit your life. Do not be prejudiced against those that you think have more than you, and do not distance yourself from those who you think have less to offer. Think of the motley crew that made up Jesus' original band of 12 apostles (Mark 3:13-19):

1) Matthew - the hated tax collector who would have worked for the IRS.

2-5) Peter, Andrew, James and John, sons of Zebedee - uneducated fishermen who would be Jesus' inner circle leading the early church. They weren't so full of themselves, so they had more room for Jesus to rule and lead (just a thought).

6) Simon - the zealot, revolutionary and modern-day activist.

7-11) Philip, Thomas, Barnabas, James (son of Alphaeus) and Thaddeus - those who had unnamed jobs that may have been simply working to provide a paycheck.

12) Judas Iscariot - found himself the company treasurer who ended up in embezzlement and the betrayer of Jesus.

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:33, 34 NIV)

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:15, 16 NIV)

Initiate until they reciprocate.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 NIV)

“It is not that we keep His commandments first and that then He loves but that He loves us and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace which is revealed to the humble but hidden from the proud.” ― Saint Augustine of Hippo

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Be gracious as you patiently await the reciprocation. "No relationship can survive bad manners."

Look to bless/give gifts.

Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts. (Proverbs 19:6 NIV)

Be neither overbearing nor a leech.

If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit. Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you. (Proverbs 25:16, 17 NIV)

Be reliable;  be present.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24 NIV)

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. (Proverbs 17:17 NIV)

Set up regular times for connection.

It was "at the time of prayer" (Acts 3:1) that Peter and John were able to relate to the cripple.

The thought of spontaneity can be a destructive idol if it keeps you from the value of the structured building of relationships with Jesus and others. This is true in marriage, parenting, and is no less valid in the relationships that God is developing.

Help take people to Jesus (this is what Peter did in Acts 3 and the friends did with their paralytic friend in Matthew 9).

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. (Exodus 3:7, 8 NIV)

Be a good listener.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:19-21 NIV)

Do your best to make sure that people understand your heart intentions.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV)

Receiving

Learn to go to Jesus first.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. (2 Chronicles 16:12 NIV)

Don't take everything as a rejection when your efforts seem unreciprocated.

This is also the way that we need to approach others in our relationship with them. A spirit of rejection is subconsciously repulsive to people and, unfortunately, invites further rejection.

God responds to faith, a quiet confidence in His benevolence and ability. People are similar in the fact that they don't respond positively to someone who is double-minded or needs to spend all of their time being reaffirmed in the other person's acceptance of them. Rather healthy individuals spend their time embracing, celebrating, and contributing to their relationships.

The attacks on same sex friendships can be palpable at times, but we must persist and endure to experience the full blessing that God has for us (David and Jonathan).

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. (Matthew 15:21-28 NIV)

Literally, our attitudes need to be like Jim Carrey's character from Dumb and Dumber. (Pastor Rollan showed a clip of the "So you're telling me there's a chance" video, starting at time signature 0:25 - http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gqdNe8u-Jsg).

It's not you, it's me.

Realize that people have limits to their time, energy, and emotional stamina. Be ok with planning something out for a later time if someone is not immediately available, and, in the meantime, continue building relationships with others that will act as multiple anchors with whom you can relate.

Don't expect people to read your mind: communicate.

“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. (Exodus 22:21-27 NIV)

Avoid offense; pray through it.

You cannot expect relationships to be perfect, without bumps in the road, misunderstandings, or challenges. We are not clones of one another, but different, and, in building trust, need to allow room for mistakes and growth.

Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. (Proverbs 12:16 NIV)

When people get offended, they rehearse the initial scenario over and over again in a vacuum until we no longer think rationally about a situation. We are merely driven by the compounded hurt that has grown in the speculations and assumptions of our own mind. It is easy to find people in this place who will cheer and exacerbate these feelings, as they are susceptible to the same patterns. We are no longer open to conversation, merely the intensity of our emotions which isolate us and, many times, seem driven by an unnatural force. We become bitter and find all means of nonsensical accusation against those who, like Christ, were only trying to love us.

“By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Forgive quickly.

If your first response is to vent about someone that you have had a rub with, then you are going to fall into gossip and slander. You can be sure that the person you are venting to is now going to have a hard time seeing the situation clearly and dealing with the person who offended you objectively. Call it what it is, your sharing is sin and can ruin any potential relationship that you or anyone else would have with the person or group about which you are speaking. This is true in your marriage, family, friendships, church, and workplace. Be careful with your words and contain the virus. Intercede in prayer for those who offend you, and God will give you His perspective as you do so.

Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9 NIV)

One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend. (Proverbs 22:11 NIV)

If you are in a romantic relationship, do not expect to get the totality of your healing from your spouse or significant other. You need other relationships, even of the same gender.

God gave us not only the ability to be healed in our physical bodies by the power of Jesus Christ, but to be healed from the dysfunction of unhealthy relationships. He provides family through the church that is meant to be interdependent rather than co-dependent.

From what do you need healing today? Cleansing streams is coming.

Second City Church- Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Devoted Church - Pt. 2

A Disciple's Devotion

To keep a car operating at peak performance, there are basic things that must be done as a part of its ongoing maintenance - a regular oil and filter change, balancing and rotation of the tires, and, finally, putting gas in the car.

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. (Acts 2:42-47 NIV)

In summary, the believer's life is to be marked by devotion. This is a discipleship moment.  As Jesus commissioned His followers to go into all the world and make disciples, these are the practical things that you are to live and teach so that others might learn how to effectively follow Jesus.

What does devotion to the apostles' teaching look like?  To fellowship (shared life through a devotion to His church)?  To the breaking of bread?  To prayer?

The fellowship (this is the rotation of the tires)

The biblical word for fellowship (Greek word: koinonia) literally meant a shared life.  It meant that the people were not just occasionally or sporadically hanging out with one another, but there was a unified story that was being built through their lives together as they each participated in and contributed to the plans of God within their local community.

This generation is terrible to a new level at relationships.  It is so easy to think that you have what you need by watching your favorite sitcom or talking to someone via cyberspace, but never have the transparency that comes through devoted relationship.

The Innovation of Loneliness: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Bkr_udado

Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. (Proverbs 27:10 NIV)

You must have ongoing, sincere, and devoted local church community if you are going to truly thrive and fulfill the purposes of God where He has you in each season of life.

“Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

1) Community Counts - Not just anyone will do.  You need to find your identity with Jesus and His family, not just those you happen to be associated with.

You need real Christian friends to have the true biblical fellowship that God is speaking about here.  They are those that love you, know you, provoke you to a greater love for, pursuit of, and obedience to Jesus.  Speaking by the Holy Spirit, Paul said it this way:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NIV) 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 Corinthians 7:1 NIV)

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 Timothy 2:22 NIV)

Have you been truly added to His church?  Are you sharing life with other Christians and playing a vital role in the local community of faith?

As a result of the entire church being on mission with Jesus, more and more men, women, and children were continually saved and added to the church.

What you need to develop in God will not rest in you alone.  He often deposits it in someone else, another part of the body, so that you might not be allowed to live in self-sufficiency and isolation.  What local believers have you connected with and ventured to share life with?  This is true biblical fellowship in every season of your life.

2) Consistency Creates Character

Consistency is the essence of devotion.  Much of the instability that people feel today in their relationships and souls comes from a lack of consistency that was demonstrated toward them in the most formative relationships in their lives.  The good news is that God in His character is faithful, and expects nothing less from us.  If you only do things when it seems convenient to you or easy for you, you will never become or achieve much.  The way of the cross is one of extreme sacrifice but exceeding joy.  It is the way of Jesus.  Don't show up only when it is easy.  Put God first, and He'll take care of what is best for and important to you.

The Breaking of Bread (this is the balancing of the tires)

The breaking of bread has been cited by many scholars to imply the sacrament of communion. Communion is a continual re-centering on the atoning work of Jesus on the cross to bring us reconciliation with Almighty God.  In addition to this, the believers ate with one another and enjoyed one another's company, encouraging and being encouraged in the purposes of Jesus.

Corporate Prayer (this is the gas for your car)

It is the reliance on an individualized faith that eventually sucks the life and zeal of God out of any follower of Jesus, because it was never meant to be a solo sport.  A devotion to corporate prayer allowed the disciples to move from a place of solely being concerned about their personal needs to having a lifted vision for the Kingdom of God in their city.  It does the same for you and I today.  Every Friday night, we have an opportunity to cry out to God together for His gospel-centered, renewing work in our lives, the city, and the nations.  We invite you to join us.

The result of the church expressing that type of devotion to Jesus is that they saw God add to their number daily those who are being saved.  This is what we believe to be a part of through the God-fearing, Bible preaching churches in the city.  Those who came to Jesus were discipled (taught how to obey the commands of Jesus and live as a Christian in their everyday world), baptized, and trained to be multiplying leaders (II Timothy 2:2).  This is the content of our "Next Steps."  We encourage you to find your place in the process to serve in the church and through it.  This week, we will finish our first round of the Roots class, followed by the Making Disciples Class starting next week for anyone interested in becoming a future community group leader.

“The church exists primarily for two closely correlated purposes: to worship God and to work for his kingdom in the world ... The church also exists for a third purpose, which serves the other two: to encourage one another, to build one another up in faith, to pray with and for one another, to learn from one another and teach one another, and to set one another examples to follow, challenges to take up, and urgent tasks to perform. This is all part of what is known loosely as fellowship.” ― N. T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense

Second City Church- Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Devoted Church- Pt. 1

(Pastor Rollan remembered Mothers' Day.)

If there's anything that characterizes mothers, it's devotion. We need mothers in the faith, both of your own children and of others. What is the greatest example of devotion that you have ever seen? What did it produce?

The four gospels were the recorded biographies of Jesus, giving us a glimpse of what God in the flesh chose to do and say during His ministry on the earth. They clarified for us not only who God is, but through the cross, why trust in Jesus is all important to our salvation. The book of Acts is the sequel to Luke's Gospel, largely answering the question for the followers of Jesus: "What's next after I believe?" Today, we will answer this question by examining the dynamics of Pentecost and the early disciples' devotion to Jesus so that we can discover what it looks like to be a vital part of Jesus' church.

The Dynamics of Pentecost

"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. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken."

"Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” (Acts 2:1-13 NIV)

Pentecost (the Greek term for the Hebrew Feast of Weeks - Leviticus 23:15-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-12) was an annual celebration of the harvest, fifty days after the Passover, where God was honored for His provision in the lives of His people. This day, the harvest was turned from mere agricultural fruitfulness to the harvest of souls that Jesus purchased by spilling His blood on Calvary. Men and women from every nation under Heaven were gathered together for Pentecost, and this is what birthed the church. What this means is that Jesus has a harvest amongst all people in all nations. His glory is seen not in homogenous crowds, but in the wealth of the nations.

What we learn from Pentecost is that:

1) You will have to make an effort to truly meet with Jesus. The Feast of Weeks was an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem commemorating a renewed commitment to God. Living as a disciple of Jesus does not just fall into your lap. It takes devotion. Those who attempt to be followers of Jesus without making an effort end up anemic and nominal in their faith, at best, and fall away from the faith, at worst. These participants traveled great distances and went to great expense to worship God during the festival. Your daily commitment to God's purposes will cost you nothing less (i.e. - reading the Word, being committed to prayer, coming to church, having fellowship in a community group, volunteering to serve the community in and outside of the church, etc.).

2) We want clones of ourselves (Peter ministering to the Jews), but those who are most necessary for your development in Jesus will often not be like you (ethnically, socially-economically, life experience)(i.e. - the Jewish Pharisee, Paul, ministering to the Gentiles, marriage).

3) You will have to get out of your comfort zone to truly follow Jesus.

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 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. (Acts 2:36-41 NIV)

The whole world is commanded to repent of its sin (Acts 17:29-31). Jesus' desire is always to offer forgiveness to the repentant. This is the heart of the gospel.

Your first response to Jesus' Lordship in your life should be engaging in the sacrament of baptism. Baptism is your literal pledge of a good conscience towards God, where, like a marriage vow, you are committing to live solely and devotedly for Jesus (I Peter 3:21).

As we finish our first round of the Roots class, we will have our next baptisms next week at Lake Michigan. After someone gets baptized, they must establish certain habits that will allow them to continually grow and become increasingly fruitful in Christ. These are the things that make a disciple's devotion.

A Disciple's Devotion

“We are our choices.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre

To keep a car operating at peak performance, there are basic things that must be done as a part of its ongoing maintenance - a regular oil and filter change, balancing and rotation of the tires, and, finally, putting gas in the car.

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. (Acts 2:42-47 NIV)

In summary, the believer's life is to be marked by devotion.

This is a discipleship moment. As Jesus commissioned His followers to go into all the world and make disciples, these are the practical things that you are to live and teach so that others might learn how to effectively follow Jesus.

What does devotion to the apostles' teaching look like? To fellowship (shared life through a devotion to His church)? To the breaking of bread? To prayer?

The apostles' teaching (this is the oil and filter change)

The apostles' teaching is the Word of God found in the Bible. Psalm 138:2 lets us know that God has made more important than anything else His name and His word. It was Jesus' example to use the Old Testament to live a holy life and resist temptation (Luke 4). It is your endless source of spiritual sustenance, as Job said that he desired it more than his daily bread (Job 23:12). It is the agent that the Holy Spirit uses to cleanse your heart. And as the Psalmist wrote, it is the primary way that God gives you direction (Psalm 119:105), the Word of God being a light to your feet and a lamp to your path. It enables you to hear and recognize the voice of God. It is what tells you how to operate as a Christ-centered spouse, parent, sibling, child, employer, employee, student, leader, and shaper of the world in which we live.

The four questions that you need to ask each day as you read your Bible:

1) What does the Bible say (directly, pointedly, and in its context)? This allows you to develop proper interpretation of Scripture.

2) What does it tell you about God? This allows you to develop proper theology (study and knowledge of God).

3) What does it tell you about yourself? This allows you to develop a proper identity.

4) What does it tell you about the world around you? This allows you to develop a proper Christ-centered worldview.

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Our relationship with the Word of God moves from a discipline to a desire to a delight (Psalm 119). Are you full of it?

If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. (Ecclesiastes 11:3 NIV)

We don't have the ability to speak on behalf of the kingdom, because we are not full. There is a vast difference in your daily worldview, experience, and pursuits when you have spent quality time with God and when you have not. Are you full of it?

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Second City Church- Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: How Great Is Our Salvation?

 By Guest Pastor David Houston with Every Nation Churches

For both believers and those exploring faith, this statement is true: The doctrine of eternal judgment is important, because it is the only way to know how much Jesus loved us and how much He did for us.

The fact that God is angry every day with the unrepentant sinner should make us appreciate, all the more, that every day God withholds judgment, is a day of unspeakable mercy and patience. Every day He allows the sinner to live is a day he does not deserve.

"The earth, O Lord is full of Your mercy." (Psalm 119:64)

The Bible clearly teaches that believers who repent of their sin and trust in Jesus for salvation will not be judged for their sin. We will only be judged for the good deeds we have done and what rewards we are to receive.

“...Why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment...Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:3b-5)

1. Paul is obviously driven by urgency. He declares that there is a window of opportunity for every person to change, but that window will close; and it will be too late.

2. Paul declares that God has been kind, tolerant, and patient, and that should lead you to repentance.

3. Stubbornness and refusal to turn from sin and receive God's forgiveness and mercy will result in terrifying, righteous justice.

4. God's judgment is being stored. God's righteous anger is not like ours; it is not an emotional outburst. It is precise, just, and fair.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

God will judge sinners, because He hates sin. It is offensive to His holy nature. It is abhorrent to a Holy God. He hates sin, because it is a cancer that destroys people He created in His image.

In Romans chapter one, Paul declares three times that “God gave them up,” or “God gave them over.” In other words, God will not strive with a person forever, but will eventually give them their desire, however self-destructive that may be.

“So we declare therefore, that sinners are determining their own fate. They have said ‘No’ to God’s love and forgiveness, and He has given them their own stubborn will.” -C.S. Lewis

Concerning the Doctrine of Hell:

"the worst and fairest punishment God can give a person is to allow their sinful heart's deepest desire. What is that? The desire of the sinful human heart is for independence. We want to choose and go our own way.” (Isaiah 53:6) -Tim Keller

"Scripture sees Hell as self-chosen. Hell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice." -J.I. Packer

This is why God warns:

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Romans 3:7)

“God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11) This should build a holy fear in unrepentant sinners. God sees every act and every motive.

God is patiently delaying justice and judgment, but do not mistake this patience for a lack of determination. “All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13)

“Think how we feel when we see someone we love ravaged by unwise actions or relationships. Do we respond with benign tolerance as we might toward strangers? Far from it...Anger isn’t the opposite of love...God’s [anger] is not a cranky explosion, but His settled opposition to the cancer....which is eating out the insides of the human race He loves with His whole being.” -Becky Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons

If God did not judge sin, He would not be just. If God is not just, He would not be worthy of worship. If God did not judge mankind, there would be no ultimate justice on our planet.

“God made us to love, honor, and obey him in thought, word, and deed. Every time we fail to do that perfectly, we accrue a debt to God.

Every person has sinned against God, and hell is the eternal prison for spiritual debtors who have stolen from God by living sinful lives.” -Mark Driscoll, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe

“For God made Him, who knew no sin, to be made sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God, in Christ Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Second City Church- Chicago Fire Sermon Series 2014

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Missional Church

 

As we crest over the hill of the celebration of Jesus' victory over Satan, sin, and death through the cross, we find ourselves in the book of Acts. Written in approximately 61 AD by the gospel writer, Luke, Acts is an account that introduces us to a pair of significant characters in the history of the world, the Holy Spirit and the church that Jesus is building. Though Jesus ascended into Heaven, He fully intended to continue His work through the church by creating Holy Spirit-led movements in the cities of the world. Having studied the life of Jesus, we will look today at two of the key foundations for Jesus creating a Holy Spirit-empowered movement in a city: a clear mission and committed leadership.

The Mission of the Church

"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

"Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:1-11 NIV)

After the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, God's redemption plan to restore creation was fully initiated, and He left the church to enact that plan. Jesus had said during His ministry that He would build His church.

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:18 NIV)

This was very clear in the minds of the writers of the New Testament as Paul instructed the Ephesians:

"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians 3:10, 11 NIV)

Don't be mistaken. The key purpose of the church is to facilitate the love, fear, and worship of God Almighty, through Jesus His Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since the time of Adam and Eve, we've lived in a world dominated by sin, selfishness, and the death of relationships with God and one another. Because of this, Jesus came to live perfectly, die as a substitute on the cross, and be raised from the dead to initiate a new world order through reconciliation with the Father. John Piper said it this way:

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more” (p. 15).

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate." —John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!

Congruent with the Holy Spirit's expanding influence in your heart, your witness of Jesus and God's Kingdom should be continually expanding. How are you being a witness for Jesus and His resurrection life?

God continued to show His love for cities and their people by starting His missional movement in the epicenter of Jewish religious life - Jerusalem. From this place, He would send His church to impact the region (Judea and Samaria) and the nations (ends of the earth) with the gospel. His pattern is clear and should not be overlooked. Jesus wants you to begin by being a witness where you live today. It is an encouragement to you to cultivate the same love for this city, having a long-term vision of your involvement in Chicago, that we might establish a base through which we will fulfill the Acts 1:8 mandate to reach this city, the region, the nation, and the ends of the earth with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What does it look like when people are willing to be witnesses of Jesus' love and resurrection life in a city? (Pastor Rollan shared Easter event recaps and pictures from the outreach at the shelter, the fundraiser, the service, and the Easter egg hunt and outreach. You can sign up on Facebook and Twitter to learn more.)

After a fantastic weekend like that, we can truly understand that there is no fulfilling the reformational mission that God intends for the church in a city without the development of Holy Spirit appointed and empowered leaders.

Leadership is Key in being a Missional Church

"The local church is the hope of the world, and its future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders." -Bill Hybels

What is the church? It is not a building or program, but it is the people who have put their hope in Jesus. It is you and anyone who belongs to Jesus, who is committed to following Him and fulfilling His Great Commission. In the church there must be leadership.

"Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

"(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: “ ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:12-26 NIV)

Do you know your God-appointed role in the church? Are you an artist, skilled with children, a writer, or a teacher? Do you have technological skill or administrative acumen; are you a servant at heart, or do you love showing hospitality to groups? Whatever way that God has gifted you, your contribution is vital to God's mission.

The Book of Acts was written by the physician and historian Luke, who happened to also be the only Gentile writer of the New Testament books. He was a traveling companion of the apostle Paul during His church-planting missionary journeys throughout the first century Roman Empire. For anyone who thinks that you have to be in occupational ministry to turn the world upside down with the gospel, here is your clear example as to why not. We need leaders in the marketplace as well as in occupational ministry who will be witnesses for Jesus and His resurrection.

Is my role ultimately important? In the Old Testament, only one of the eleven tribes were appointed by God to be occupational ministers (the Levites). The rest of the eleven tribes were meant to be a part of the army of the Lord to take ground as their inheritance as they worked in agriculture, government, law, homemaking, business, etc. The same will be true today as the majority of the church will be disciple-makers of people, communities, and nations as they work in the marketplace.

Paul made the importance of this mentality imperative when he said:

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV)

This means that your goal is to:

1) Know and grow in your love for Jesus.

2) Be committed to and grow within the family of God, the church.

3) Be equipped for service within and through the church.

4) Make disciples per Jesus' Great Commission.

What is your role in helping to build up the body of Christ? Following Jesus should be a continual process of development and faithfulness. You should never think that you have arrived or checked off all of the boxes on a list, but instead ask: What's next for me?

Be a part of our volunteer team and meeting next Sunday after church to find ways to deepen your involvement. (Pastor Rollan encouraged the believers to keep pressing ahead.)

“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom...It is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven...

The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.”― N.T. Wright

To fulfill the Great Commission and see a city transformed, you first need to understand Christ's mission for the church and a mechanism for developing leaders. Next week with David Houston, we will speak about the message that must be understood if Jesus is to be worshiped and a city transformed by His love.

Second City Church- Chicago Fire: The Spirit-Led Church in the City Sermon Series 2014

The Empty Tomb

CSI: Jerusalem: The Empty Tomb

[powerpress] (Pastor Rollan remembered the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 missing plane search.)

People are murdered every day. It is a great loss to family and friends, but very rarely does an individual's death impact the whole world. In Jesus, there is a different response, because it is the murder of the man who claimed to be God.

Did Jesus ever say or think that He was God? Last week we answered that question by looking at Jesus' response to His prosecution and the charges at the crucifixion that were placed above Him. These claims were supposedly all validated by His resurrection from the dead after His death on the cross. The apostle Paul, writer of approximately three-fourths of the New Testament letters, said it this way:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1-4 NIV)

Today, we will look at what happened at the crime scene after the murder of Jesus to answer two questions: "Based on Matthew's account, is there substantial evidence for the historic resurrection of Jesus?", and "What does that mean for us today?"

Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. (Matthew 27:62-66 NIV)

As a part of Jewish burial practices, after a family placed the body of a family member in a tomb, a stone was placed over the entrance and sealed with clay. Here, however, the seal that was described was one of increased security, more than likely having an apparatus of a chord attached to both the stone that blocks the entrance and the rock face of the tomb. Soldiers were appointed to guard the tomb. At the anchoring of both ends wax imprints would have been placed with a Roman seal to expose any tampering.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:1-10 NIV)

What actually happened that day, and is there any way to know?

How you answer determines not only whether you believe Jesus lives, but how you will live in response with your life.

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.” ―Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Early this year, as we studied the first letter to the Corinthian church written by the apostle Paul, we looked at reasons that we can have confidence in the biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These can be found on our website under the series entitled, Built to Last.

The apostle Matthew continued to provide solid reasoning for this conclusion because of the following variables:

Top 10 Reasons to believe in the Resurrection (David Letterman, who will be retiring in 2015, is being replaced by Stephen Colbert.)

1) The birthplace of the gospel - The gospel began in Jerusalem- the very place, which if their claims were false, the religious leaders could stamp it out. The apostles were continually making reference to the life and miracles of Jesus that they had seen with their own eyes (Acts 4:18-21; 5:27-32). The honesty of the eleven worshiping Jesus, but some doubting (Matthew 28:17) before the Great Commission, speaks of the historicity of the account.

2) The recuperation of the disciples - If it were not true, the apostles would not have had the strength to pull off the farce. The first leaders of the Christian movement were despondent after Jesus' crucifixion and would hardly be those you expected to lead a revolutionary movement based on the claim that they saw their executed hero raised to life (John 21). Jesus' closest disciples were the ones who were too scared to attend His trial, deserting Jesus at His arrest (Matthew 26:55, 56). Peter, the sole straggler, even denied Him when questioned about their affiliation (Matthew 26:69-75). These would not be the people you would expect to plot an abduction of Jesus' body from trained, armed Roman guard.

Who would die for a lie? Let us remember the martyrdom of the apostles.

“I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.” ― Bertrand Russell

3) The danger to the guards - The guards at the tomb would be risking their lives losing the body of Christ. It is unlikely that they all would have fallen asleep while on duty guarding the tomb since the penalty for such negligence under Roman rule could be execution.

4) You can check the tomb. - The empty tomb was in a well known and documented place, in the family tomb of the wealthy councilman, Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:42-47), but the body of Jesus is still missing. After enduring the beatings and torture that Jesus did prior to the crucifixion, without intense medical attention, He would not be alive (at the very least because of blood loss), nor have the strength to move the boulder and make an escape.

5) The women's report - The report of the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus are women. The honesty of this account written to a Jewish audience of the time would have testified to its veracity since the debated status of women in that culture was considered less valuable than men and their testimony was considered by some rabbis as inadmissable in court (Matthew 28:1-10). The truthfulness of this claim is even more clearly seen as it has the women as the ones who courageously go to the tomb to fulfill their responsibilities for Jesus' burial juxtaposed to the men cowering in hiding in Jerusalem. This painted picture would have been an offense and not fabricated for any advantage, knowing the Jewish audience to whom Matthew was writing.

6) The names of the witnesses - The specific names of the women and apostles who were involved in the post-resurrection appearances would have been easily verified or discounted since these figures were well known in the early Christian community.

“It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.” ― Voltaire

7) The report of the bodies being raised - It was not an apparition or a hallucination. (Jesus had the disciples touch His wrists and side, ate with them, and had the women grasping His heels.) It was a bodily resurrection.

Matthew records the bodies coming back from the grave. It is unlikely that such easily rejected details would be included if it were a myth. There was no need for such an inclusion.

8) Jesus was beat down. - Could Jesus Himself have escaped from the tomb? The type of torture that Jesus went through would have medically necessitated His death based solely on the amount of blood lost, punctured heart, and exposed organs through the scourging. He would not have had the strength to then get up, move the stone from the tomb, overcome the soldiers, and make His escape.

9) The monotheistic Jews worshiped Jesus. - Blasphemy was condemnable by death in that culture (John 8). Though the apostles and Paul the Pharisee knew that to ascribe worship to anyone but the one true God was punishable, they promoted the worship of Jesus, because they had evidentiary proof. You and I are to worship Him in kind today.

10) Jesus changes lives as He receives worship. - Jesus, upholding (Matthew 5:17-20) all of the law of the Jews as a rabbi, knew that in receiving worship (Matthew 28:17-19), He was, in fact, fulfilling the law because of His unique identity as the promised incarnate Messiah (Matthew 4:8-10; Daniel 7).

The way that the resurrected Jesus has continued to change lives, work miracles, and heal people throughout history all over the world is proof of this.

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.” ― Charles Colson

What does the resurrection mean for us today?

One-Minute Sermon: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WGnEuGwvXqU&feature=share

Make no mistake, as a church plant, we are here to build a community of true worshipers of God through winning people to Jesus and making disciples. Our message, like the resurrection of Jesus Christ, must be both intellectually credible and metaphysically satisfying to avoid the placebo effect (Timothy Keller in Who Is Jesus podcast).

Because Jesus was resurrected from the dead, according to the Bible, anyone who puts their trust in Him is, among other things:

1) Forgiven - Forgiven rebellion against a holy God (Romans 5:1-11)

Of what do you need to be forgiven?

2) Reconciled - Someone brought back into friendship with a loving Heavenly Father (II Corinthians 5:14-6:2)

How do you need to be reconciled to God?

3) Freed - Free from sin - its punishment and power (Colossians 1:21-23)

What destructive habits or attitudes do you need freedom from today?

4) An Heir - Is an heir with Jesus to a literal Kingdom God is bestowing upon His servants (Romans 8:17)

5) The forthcoming recipient of everlasting life - with an imperishable body that will never spoil (I Corinthians 15)

6) A person with hope - access to resurrected relationships, life purpose, and dreams (Luke 19:1-10)

What needs to be resurrected in your life today?

7) Restored - Someone who has the ability to see marriages, life trajectories, and emotions restored (Acts 3)

What needs to be restored?

8) Adopted - An adopted child with a loving family, called the church, to whom they can be intimately known, encouraged, and loved (Ephesians 1)

Do you know the love of the Father?

9) Called - A person who has a significant life call within and through the church (Ephesians 2)

How are you answering the call of God?

10) A witness - One who will be a witness to Jesus' resurrection life and power to the world (Matthew 28:18-20)

The answer to all of these things began at the cross of Jesus and are today made possible because of His empty tomb!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18 NIV)

What side of the Cross do you stand on today?

Second City Church: CSI: Jerusalem Sermon Series 2014

The Trial of the Centuries

CSI: Jerusalem: The Trial of the Centuries

[powerpress] Without a doubt, the execution of Jesus of Nazareth was one of the greatest crimes in human history. It was primarily so, not only because He was an innocent man, but because it is reported that He professed to be God incarnate who came to save the world. According to gospel accounts, this was the accusation against Jesus, the reason for which He was tried, crucified, and died, that He might bring life to the world.

In this message, we will dissect the court case to which Jesus found himself subject after His arrest, attempting to answer the questions, "Did Jesus really claim to be God?" and, if it is found that one has erroneously rejected Jesus, "Can a person change their mind?"

Did Jesus Really Claim to be God?

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ” Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” “He is worthy of death,” they answered. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?” (Matthew 26:57-68 NIV)

The Bible tells us that Jesus was the only sinless, faultless, guiltless, and perfect human being who ever existed. He is our flawless example of life as it is meant to be lived, full of relationship with the Heavenly Father, purpose, love, forgiveness, and graciousness. Yet He was more than just a man. He, simultaneously, without any subtraction to His humanity, was fully divine. Jesus did, in fact, claim to be God.

We must understand what Jesus was saying during His questioning within the historic context of His trial. The Sanhedrin jurors would have been intimately aquainted with and built their hope upon the prophetic writings of Daniel, the Jewish official in Babylon (modern-day Iraq) during the Diaspora's exile there.

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13, 14 NIV)

In the Gospel of Matthew, the name "Son of Man" was Jesus' most often utilized self-reference, placing an emphasis on Jesus' self-aware connection to this "one like a son of man" spoken of by Daniel. What the Sanhedrin heard was that Jesus was claiming that He would:

1) come on the clouds of heaven,

2) be given authority, glory and sovereign power,

3) be worshiped by all nations and peoples of every language, and

4) have an everlasting, unending rule that would neither pass away, nor be destroyed. It would be eternal.

All of these things are coming to pass in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Within the Jewish context, these were qualities only applicable to the divine - to God Himself. As a rabbi (teacher), Jesus knew what He was doing and was clearly saying to His hearers that He is the eternal God. This is why His responses were decried as blasphemy worthy of death.

Did the historic church believe that Jesus was God?

Yes. One of the well-known early hymns of the church was included in the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippian church, which stated, within a generation of Jesus' crucifixion, the doctrine of His divinity.

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11 NIV)

This teaching was ratified, not discovered or created, by the church fathers with the Nicene Creed in its original form in 325 AD with the first Council of Nicea:

I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the Only Begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Again, what was Jesus' crime?

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matthew 27:27-44 NIV)

When the people of that context spoke of the King of the Jews, this was a Messianic claim referring to the fulfillment of the prophecies regarding King David's line. God was Israel's original king, and the people rejected Him to have an earthly ruler like the other nations (I Samuel 8). What followed was a string of many generations of flawed and imperfect rulers attempting to lead God's people. The Messiah was the promise of the return of the perfect, divine King who would rule not only Israel, but all of humanity, perfectly in His love and justice (Isaiah 9:1-7).

Transforming Truth: Why this matters is because, if Jesus is the God who He said that He is, we are obligated to turn from what He calls sin, to obey His commands today.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Can a Man Change His Mind?

There will always be those who respond wisely and foolishly to God. Because of God's mercy, there are moments like these for a change of heart:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43 NIV)

After initially starting with skepticism, pride, and insults, the man on the cross changed His mind about Jesus. Because Jesus is good, He allowed the man to come to repentance, have a change of mind, and welcomed the sinner into His forgiveness and Kingdom. He extends the same to you, your family, co-workers, and friends today.

If we do not submit in humble recognition of who Jesus said He is, the other option is to have things shake up our lives, to break us of our pride.

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:45-56 NIV)

What present life-shaking circumstances, whether the birth of a child, being in a new city or school, the pain of a failed relationship, lost job, or traumatic experience, is Jesus using to bring you back to the cross today? You have to see it all as His mercy to bring you back to dependency upon Him.

Isn't it better for people to just believe in something?

“A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.” ― Alfred Tennyson

Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’ ?” But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. (John 8:21-25 NIV)

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:42-47 NIV)

There is no other place in this world where people think that they can define reality for themselves. Yet, people have the audacity to attempt this when it comes to metaphysics or the supernatural. You can do this in no other place in life, but one has to submit to the harsh realities of a fallen world. It is our last ditch effort to maintain some measure of control in our lives when it seems that everything else is spinning out of control. We've been violated, oppressed, abused, exploited, taken advantage of on the job and in our relationships. It is because of the wickedness of man; yet, we still want autonomy. The good news is, as we submit to the reality of Jesus' identity and resurrection, we also are privy to the benefits of the reality of His life.

The essence of other religions is advice; Christianity is essentially news. Other religions say, “This is what you have to do in order to connect to God forever; this is how you have to live in order to earn your way to God.” But the gospel says, “This is what has been done in history. This is how Jesus lived and died to earn the way to God for you.” Christianity is completely different. It’s joyful news. -Tim Keller in King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

Because it is good news, let's meet Jesus through repentance and faith at the cross today.

Second City Church- CSI Jerusalem Sermon Series 2014

Setting the Crime Scene

CSI : Jerusalem - Setting the Crime Scene

[powerpress] Crime scenes capture the world's attention every day. Our media and even entertainment are filled with the reports of men and women who have suffered at the hands of injustices. There has never been such a tragedy more egregious than the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. For the next several weeks continuing through Easter, we will look at what actually happened at this particular crime scene, what precipitated the events, whether there was justification in Jesus' sentencing, and make an attempt to discover what really happened after the murder in question. We will be giving an apologetic (whose root means a defense of the faith) as to why Jesus' life, death, and resurrection are events substantial enough to give the world pause. It will be an excellent time to invite friends, family members, and skeptics to discover the real Jesus in His historic context. Today, we will look at the story of Jesus' journey to the cross, and how it sets up the crime scene. We will attempt to answer the questions, "Why would anyone kill a good man?", and "Why should you trust Jesus?"

Why Would You Kill a Good Man?

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” (Matthew 26:1-5 NIV)

Transforming Truth: People were willing to kill Jesus when His presence in their lives threatened what they loved more than God (the way of life to which they had become accustomed).

Passover is Monday, April 14th, to Tuesday, April 22nd, and this begins the first month of the religious calendar year for the Jewish community, of which Jesus was a part. It is an annual celebration of the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, by the power of God, under the leadership of Moses. The Passover Lamb was slaughtered for the atonement of the people's sins against God and one another. Jesus was proclaimed the fulfillment of that sacrifice (John 1:29-31), but also the greater Moses to lead the people out of their sin (Matthew 17:1-5).

(Pastor Rollan showed Leonardo Da Vinci's, The Last Supper.)

Why would the religious leaders have resisted this? The chief priests and elders of the people were what comprised the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Jerusalem.

Since the Hasmonean period, the office of the high priest had become more of a political office than one of spiritual leadership. The high priest was chosen by the Roman governor and worked closely with the government to direct affairs of the Jewish state. Caiphas, who was the high priest at the time of Jesus, was particularly savvy in this regard, as he was able to maintain his office for around 18 years, as opposed to the fast turnover of other high priest appointees during his era.

Why were the chief priests and elders of the people, the religious leaders, willing to arrest and kill Jesus? They loved their places of control and power more than they loved God. This was clearly seen based on the report after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and many more became believers:

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” (John 11:47, 48 NIV)

What element of control in your life do you enjoy for which you'd be willing to drop Jesus to maintain? What defines your identity more than Him? Whatever this is, whether it be your ethnicity, economic status, reputation, your sexuality, your ambition, your family, or some other relationship, it is idolatry if you are putting it above, before, or alongside your devotion to Jesus (Exodus 20:3-6).

What motivated the murder of the world's greatest man, teacher, prophet and leader? What would motivate you? You can become a murderer when something that you love is threatened. What do you love more than Jesus? For what would you be willing to sacrifice Jesus?

“The things that we love tell us what we are.” ― St. Thomas Aquinas

Why this matters is because God is calling for complete devotion in your life, and you will have to decide whether you will submit to or kill His ruling influence in your daily existence.

Why was Judas, one of Jesus' most trusted confidantes, willing to betray Jesus? He loved money and personal advancement more than Jesus.

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. (Matthew 26:6-16 NIV)

For what are you willing to sell out your allegiance to Jesus?

When his selfish and romanticized picture of the Messiah was thwarted, the driving motives of Judas' heart were revealed. He did not have the eternal matters of God in mind, merely socialistic initiatives that could simultaneously benefit his own pocket.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “'Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.'” He did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:4-6)

The things that you complain about not having are often the things that you love. You need to be sure that the things that you are spending your life pursuing are precipitated by the voice of God and not the prompting of Satan.

“Complaining proves nothing but that you can hear the voice of the devil.” ― Bill Johnson

How can we be like the woman with the alabaster jar? We can turn away from a bare minimum mentality to one of extravagant giving and living.

The reason that we do what we do as a church is in the hope of revival, when large quantities of people are strengthened in their love for God, and masses of people come into relationship with Jesus resulting in the transformation of families and societies for the good. Whenever there was a hope of God's visitation and intervention in the Old Testament, the people built altars and offered sacrifices. What we do through pure-hearted prayer, fasting, and giving is the altar that God is building within our lives to bring His reformational fire upon our communities.

As Jesus has been crucified and raised, we now have our own alabaster jars through which we can bring Him honor and demonstrate love for Him. (Pastor Rollan denoted the Rickshaw Republic Fundraiser coming up before Easter.) Is this gospel and the Jesus that preaches it worthy of spreading?

Why Should I Trust Jesus?

“Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.” ― David Hume, A Treatise Of Human Nature

Crusades or Crucifixion? When you look at why some people distrust Christianity, they site things like the Crusades to say that the enforcement of a particular worldview can be harmful and detrimental. What we see with Jesus, however, is that in preaching His gospel truth unapologetically, His trustworthiness was seen in the way that He voluntarily laid down His life that you and I might go free.

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Matthew 26:47-56 NIV)

Jesus shows you why His self-sacrifice gives you all of the reason that you need to trust Him when He tells you to obey His commands. The cross is the proof of His love and that He truly does have your best interest in mind in everything.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kO6qu5fQLHo

“Remember!--It is Christianity to do good always--even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbours as ourself, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to show that we love Him by humbly trying to do right in everything. If we do this, and remember the life and lessons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and try to act up to them, we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes, and enable us to live and die in peace.” ― Charles Dickens

If you walk with God, there will inevitably be a point where He crosses your will and calls you to trust His goodness when it looks like everything that you expected as a reward of your devotion to Him is out of present reach. This is what the disciples were confronted with during Jesus' arrest, when they were anticipating a triumphant savior. In the meantime, as we spoke about last week, do business until He comes through on His promises. As in the case of the cross, God always has a grander picture in mind.

God loves you and has good plans for you. He demonstrated that by sending His only Son, Jesus, to the cross to reconcile us to Himself and set us on a new trajectory in life. If He did not spare His own life, you can trust that He has your relationships, provision, future, and calling all in mind.

What do you need to begin to trust Jesus with today? Is it your relationships? Is it your identity? Is it your finances or your time? What is happening in the dark of which you need to repent? Is it your attitudes? Is it gossip and slander? Is it something more? Jesus sees it all, yet still voluntarily laid down His life for you and me at the cross. Let's meet Him there now.

 Second City Church- CSI: Jerusalem Sermon Series 2014