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

A Life Well Lived

Before I Leave... A Life Well Lived

[powerpress]

Before He left, Jesus wanted to make sure that we understood that the expectation of Jesus' coming should determine how we live today.

The question is: How do I live ready in light of having to meet Jesus?

The answer is: I do business for the kingdom until He comes.

Doing Business Until Jesus Comes

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:14-30 NIV)

The expectation of the day of Jesus' coming changes the way that you live today.

What was clear was that Jesus was communicating that He would be a long time in coming, and that while He was gone, He was entrusting His wealth to us to do business for His kingdom. He said that He is going to make a return, expecting to receive an increase on the investment that He has made in your life.

In today's economy, the amount that the wealthy man doled out would have been worth about $247,200 per talent, meaning that:

5 bags: $1,236,000 turned into $6,180,000 2 bags: $494,400 turned into $988,800 1 bag: $247,200 was buried and remained $247,200

As an investor in the stock market, you expect a return on your investment. Jesus is an investor and thinks the same way in regard to individuals and churches.

At the very foundational level, Jesus has made an investment in your life through the knowledge of God given to you through the Scripture, the Holy Spirit to regenerate and empower you as a Christian, and the church community through which you can grow and be on mission with others. He has also given you time, talent, and treasure that you are to put to work as a steward of His wealth. This includes your intelligence, your opportunities, your family, your relationships, your connections, your skills, your aptitudes, and your career. Jesus wants a return on all of them with each day being one wise, obedient effort built on top of another.

There were different amounts of gold distributed. Jesus is highlighting here that it is about being faithful with what you, not someone else, is given.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48 NIV)

To those who have more, more is required, because it is a stewardship. It is about reaching your God-ordained potential for service and leadership in and through the church to serve Jesus.

"With great power comes great responsibility." -Uncle Ben, Spider-Man

Does it matter what I do with my life today?

You are saved because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross, but you are rewarded by what you do for Him. Simple knowledge of God is not enough.

You should desire to have your life make great impact for the Lord Jesus Christ, through your family, through your ministry, through your giving, through your profession. With deep humility and a heart of service, God wants your life to leave an eternal mark on the world for the kingdom of Heaven.

What will eternity be like?

People who have been faithful to Jesus will be ruling over cities in His restored creation (Luke 19).

Is it works or faith?

It is your faith in Jesus, your high priest, who has made atonement for your sin, which leads to obedience to Jesus, the prophet, who points you to His word and expects, as a king, a return on His investment in your life by the works that you do as a son or daughter for your Father's kingdom. This is where your time, talent, and treasure come into play. How will you invest it to see people reconciled to Jesus and see His kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven?

The stone masons give us a clear picture of the mentality of stewardship when we see even work as worship: http://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLAD34E4565D1C69A5&v=a0PEkkGh2u8&feature=plpp

Downton Abbey is a a fantastic example of attention to detail in only eight episodes per season. It has become an international phenomenon, and should we not put the same effort into helping to make ready the wedding banquet of the lamb?

When you are introduced to the love of God and the truth of Jesus' return, it should provoke you to ask questions. Have you been hoarding that which Jesus wants returned to Him with interest? What have you done with your gifts, talents, and the knowledge of Jesus? Have you invested them in the church and others so that Jesus might see more people come to know Him? What have you been doing with the finances (gold) that God has entrusted to you? Have you been investing it for kingdom advance, or have you been wasting it? How have you utilized your time? Has it been invested or wasted?

Oscar and Kartika are a great example of this with their restaurant. (Pastor Rollan shared about an upcoming Easter fundraiser and soup kitchen outreach.)

You always start with faithfulness in small things to be given much.

Today marks the one year public anniversary of Second City Church! This establishment of this church and where Jesus wants it to go - it is no mystery about how it has or will continue to happen. It has been the story of God building a family through people who are faithful in church attendance, faithful in giving, faithful in inviting friends, faithful in meeting new friends, and sharing the gospel with both old and new, faithful in discipling and being discipled in places like community groups. (Several photos of the church's first potlucks, outreaches, baptisms, services and more were shown by Pastor Rollan.)

We praise God as the story continues with several more baptisms taking place today!

Verse 24 of Matthew 25 is a classic case of God's sovereignty message misconstrued and the understanding of God's work gone wrong.

How do I hide my talent in the ground? I live as a taker not a giver. My walk with Jesus is all about me and not what I can do to serve the church, the world, or the people in it. I am inconsistent with the things that I do, and Jesus ultimately will call me a wicked, lazy servant.

The unfortunate thing is that because these people have squandered the gifts, talents, time, finances, and resources that were entrusted to them, they get the same fate as the rebellious, thrown into Hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The waste of what God has entrusted to you is sin. There are sins of commission, what we do, and omission, what we do not do, though God says that we should. Both are judged, and God calls us to repentance in both.

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (James 4:17 NIV)

Your fear of failure, not knowing enough, or simply believing God will do everything Himself will not be an excuse. He meets those who step out in faith, provides resources to those who need it, and has told you to do business with what He's entrusted to you.

The question is: What has He entrusted to you?

Where have you been committing sins of commission? Where have you been content and deceived to think that you can commit sins of omission? Both can be rectified by going to the cross of Jesus in repentance today, but Jesus is saying it must be done.

Jesus does not dole out His property blindly. If you are faithful with what He has given you, He will give you more. If you are wasteful or bury it, He will take it from you and give it to others who are faithful. Which one will you be?

You should always be looking to advance, always looking to give Jesus a greater return on His investment in you. You have to know what matters to Him to make that happen.

The truth is that when you read this, it can become a tremendous weight if you don't first understand the sacrificial love of God revealed in Jesus. This is the theme of all of the Bible. God is passionate about you, pursues you, and has demonstrated His most ardent desire to be a good Father to you. He invites you into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus, through which all of this becomes a delight. Because of the love of our Heavenly Father, it is a pleasure to bring Him glory as we bask in His kindnesses expressed through the cross, His constant provision for our lives, and His intimate care of our souls. It is through our daily time of being ministered to by Jesus that we see that He is gentle and humble of heart, drawing us into an easy and light yoke by His grace. We are through this able to flip the two-sided coin of devotion to God through adoration of Jesus on the one side, and the healthy fear of the Lord on the other.

It has been said that, "It's not a matter of the years in the life but the life in the years." This is a very true statement of my dear friend, Jordan Lewis, who recently went to be with Jesus. He knew the love of Jesus and was delighted to spend His life on Him.

I was always impressed with Jordan. He was one of the godliest young men I've ever known. The way he lived his life is the goal of every parent, minister, teacher, spouse, and friend.

Jordan began as shy kid. As he grew, there arose a mixture of boldness, kindness, and wisdom. Like Jesus, he grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). (Pastor Rollan shared pictures of Jordan throughout the years ministering and with his newlywed.)

Some highlights I remember from his life include him: - saying, "We're going to reach my school." He began a McDonald's Broughton High School outreach. - serving as Youth Band Leader. - acting as conscience and "Jiminy Cricket" of the group.

Everyone loved him - that infectious smile. He would always be so gracious to make you think you were the funniest thing alive.

I remember taking note about how clearly everyone saw what a special young man Jordan was, especially at his manhood ceremony. It seemed only appropriate that on his mission trips that followed, he was part of a swat team called the "Man Team," plus helped share the gospel with unreached people groups in Tanzania. (Pastor Rollan showed a picture of him leading the first villager from that tribe to Jesus.)

Jordan was always dropping a line, even as he graduated from college and began his career at a bank in Oklahoma. Because of his life and witness, many co-workers came to know Jesus there.

As he began his battle with cancer, he was the consummate host in his home, showing continual hospitality to those who only wished to care for him.

Jordan will undoubtedly be a part of the welcoming committee for all of us who proclaim Christ as Lord! Jordan lived in a way that he was ready to meet Jesus and set an example for us all.

May we all aspire to do as much to glorify Jesus in our lives as Jordan did in the time that he was with us. May we all live in such a way that we, too, will hear from King Jesus, "Well done good and faithful servant. Come and share in your master's happiness."

Second City Church- Before I Leave Sermon Series 2014

How the Story Ends

Before I Leave... How the Story Ends

[powerpress] Running simultaneously to the season of Lent is the NCAA's March Madness, which seems to go hand in hand with Armageddon for some people! Year after year we await a new crowned champion and suffer heartache as our team is eliminated from the brackets. Jesus will ultimately be that crowned King that will make all other matters pale in comparison. Before Jesus left, He wanted to make it clear that He is also making a return. Based on this fact, He wanted to let us know what that return would look like and how to prepare for it. To do so, He unveiled for us an introduction to eschatological events, gave a warning of how most will fall away in these times, and showed us a preview of what to expect while we are waiting and a picture of what it looks like to live ready for His return.

Eschatological Events

Eschatology is the study of the final events in the history of the world, including the final destiny of humankind. It involves the end of the world as we know it, the Second Coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment. Jesus gave us a clear picture of what is to come.

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:1-8 NIV)

The Jewish temple represented the place of religious worship at the time of Jesus and was destroyed according to Jesus' prediction in 70 AD. Jesus was saying that the end of human history as we know it will come and that you are to be aware of the signs of the times (i.e. - North Korea, Iran, Ukraine and what is brewing there), but not be led astray by them. Many people have followed rabbit trails trying to predict the end of the world and have fallen into ditches because of it. Either they live as if they have all the time in the world to live as they want to without thought of repercussion, or they throw off the responsibilities of today because they anticipate an imminent end. Since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the apostles' spoke of the times in which we live as the last days (Acts 2:14-24; Hebrews 1:2; James 5:3; II Peter 3).

This matters because what is to come puts everything that you think, participate in, plan for, and do today, in context. Like an NCAA athlete preparing for March Madness, it affects their diet (spiritual food), exercise routine (service), sleep habits, practice schedule (church), and the company that they keep to sharpen their skills (community groups and fellowship). How are you living in the light of His return?

How Most Will Fall in These Times

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:9-14 NIV)

Jesus is letting you know clearly that the love, for Him and others, of not some, but most, will grow cold because of the increase of wickedness in our times. This is clearly seen even today as people find themselves increasingly biblically illiterate not knowing what Jesus has said or what God expects. It is easy to get caught up in cultural mores, standards, and causes when you are not anchored in the truth and life of Jesus. Your values become those of that which surrounds you rather than the truth found in God's Word. We need to remain in God's grace through ongoing relationship with Jesus and His people to escape falling into this category.

“Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.” ― John Piper, The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God

What to Expect While You're Expecting

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time. “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:15-35 NIV)

Be aware, be ready, but in Jesus you do not have to be afraid. It is good news for you and those who have loved the Lord.

Many people have an aversion to God because they don't like the fact that He describes Himself as a judge. Yet, we would not want to serve a god who allowed behaviors, largely self-serving and harmful toward others when inacted by sinful humanity, to go unchecked. That would mean anyone could do anything to you that they wanted and escape without penalty or restitution. Yet God, in His justice, requires both. He desires for the penalty to be satisfied in Jesus and the restitution to be enacted by us as proof of our repentance. There is no context for the grandeur of God's love without understanding the penalty that He took upon Himself to give us life.

Why this matters is, because over 600 times, with the use of more than 20 words, the Bible speaks about God's wrath which is described as burning against sinners.

"My thesis is that the practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance…My thesis will be unpopular with man in the West…But imagine speaking to people (as I have) whose cities and villages have been first plundered, then burned, and leveled to the ground, whose daughters and sisters have been raped, whose fathers and brothers have had their throats slit…Your point to them–we should not retaliate? Why not? I say–the only means of prohibiting violence by us is to insist that violence is only legitimate when it comes from God…Violence thrives today, secretly nourished by the belief that God refuses to take the sword…It takes the quiet of a suburb for the birth of the thesis that human nonviolence is a result of a God who refuses to judge. In a scorched land–soaked in the blood of the innocent, the idea will invariably die, like other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind…if God were NOT angry at injustice and deception and did NOT make a final end of violence, that God would not be worthy of our worship." - Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace

Jesus Christ showed Himself as the benevolent judge when on the cross, though innocent, He took the judgment on Himself that we all deserve so that we might go free. This is grace, and this is how we find rest for our souls as we turn from sin and turn to Him.

God is by nature a father who longs for the good of His people and His creation. Wrath is a natural result when you see those that you love harming themselves and others that you love. It is our great encouragement that He says He does not overlook the evil in the world, but instead reveals His care in saying:

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. (Isaiah 63:7-10 NIV)

God's judgments are the other side of the coin that contextualize the magnitude of His love. When you live wholeheartedly for Jesus, you must have the following true perspective:

“Son,'he said,' ye cannot in your present state understand eternity...That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it," not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say "Let me have but this and I'll take the consequences": little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why...the Blessed will say "We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven, : and the Lost, "We were always in Hell." And both will speak truly. ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

Live Ready

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:36-51 NIV)

People often ask, "Why doesn't God just end all of the suffering now? Why not just take me now?"

The answer is that He would have to destroy the unsaved. God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but He wants everyone to come to repentance. In many cases, He would have had to destroy you before you repented of your things like your sexual immorality, drunkenness, idolatry, lust, pride, self-righteousness, gossip, or slander before you came to Jesus, or would have to now because some of you have not yet come.

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? (Ezekiel 18:23 NIV)

Because no one knows the day or the hour of His coming, we need to live ready. If you had to meet Him today, would you be the unfaithful servant who was thrown out because of your selfish and maybe even wild living, or have you repented of your sin to have the Master reward you with His coming?

What does it look like to live ready?

We'll speak about this more next week, but in summary, the time in which you are awaiting Christ's return, you are to move forward in a divine tension. You are to live as if this were your last day and you are about to meet Jesus face to face. You are to balance this with preparing for the future in such a manner that Jesus may take 1000 years to return. It means being in right relationship through your devotion today and tomorrow. It means living with reckless abandon for Jesus today while allowing Him to heal and break off the weight of hurts, old wounds, and generational curses. In doing so, you will be able to make it for the long haul, bringing glory to His name through your life. It means having an urgency about winning souls, while preparing for your child's education. This means building a career that will be useful for impacting the world with the kingdom of God through your platform, giving, and influence, while seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Jesus' life was a fulfillment of hundreds of years of hundreds of prophecies given by the Spirit of God through His people. Jesus predicted His own death on the cross to make atonement for the sin of the world, offering forgiveness to those who would repent of their sin and believe the good news. He rose from death and left instruction as to how we are to live until His return. Let's repent of sin and purpose to join Him on mission now.

 Second City Church- Before I Leave Sermon Series 2014

Set Free from the Pharisee in Me

Before I Leave... Set Free from the Pharisee in Me

[powerpress]

The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for the commemoration of the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus through repentance, restitution, almsgiving, and self-denial. (How ironic that Chicago just had its own Mardi Gras with the celebration of St. Patrick's Day?) In honor of the season of Lent, we are taking the next several weeks to finish the Gospel of Matthew as it records some of Jesus' final instruction before going to the cross to conquer Satan, sin, and death.  We are highlighting themes that Jesus said must be of utmost importance to His church and the world.  This week, we see that before He left, Jesus wanted to make it clear that being merely outwardly religious is not enough.  He would utilize the Pharisees and religious leaders as examples to show us the mixed bag of myopia that can be in our hearts and the importance of inside-out questioning to have sincere devotion to Christ.

Mixed Bag of Myopia

“Nothing is more common than the wish to be remarkable” ― Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

This is seen in some of the opening verses from Aloe Blacc's The Man lyrics (currently #5 on the iTunes chart):

Somewhere I heard that life is a test I been through the worst but I still give my best God made my mold different from the rest Then he broke that mold so I know I'm blessed (this is my world)

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12 NIV)

Heavy loads can be theological concepts or disciplines not necessary in someone's childlike pursuit of the Father (Matthew 19:13-15; Acts 15).  In the case of the Pharisees, it was the oral tradition that they utilized as an interpretation of the law of God to make the commandments practical.  It ended up adding expectations to the Scripture that God Himself did not require.  What have you added to the Word of God in an attempt to be pious?

Regarding the Scripture above: -"Phylacteries" were small boxes tied to the arm and forehead containing Scripture. -"Tassels on their garments" were a reminder to obey the commandments. The Pharisees made theirs extra long for the people to admire. How do you try to draw attention to your piety?  What does it do to your heart before God?

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees had the right content and material, but somehow made their service to God all about them.  This is myopia. One of the great sins of our generation is the myopia with which we live.  It is irritating when we see it in others and is very easily overlooked in our own hearts.  How much of the good that you do is for other people to see, for their commendation?  We are selfish by nature and live like the world revolves around us.  It is unpleasant when you see it in the world at large, but even more confusing when you see it in those professing to have lost their lives for Christ.

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.” ―  Dale Carnegie,  How to Win Friends & Influence People

You must be free of self-obsession if you are to genuinely serve Jesus.  Your love for God will never be sincere, nor your service to Him faithful, if they are merely a means to make you feel good about yourself.  Once you are self-satisfied, your devotion will end.  How often is your service more about you rather than Jesus or those whom you're serving?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2esfW4gBNao

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJK1YqSqxE

You can tell that you are myopic by the following reflections: Think of the conversations that you have. How much of your conversation focuses on you and your concerns?  How often do you even venture to ask a question about the other person's life showing concern for their affairs?  What are the topics of most of your blogging?  Are you more centered in your thoughts on the good that you can do for others or the fun that you want to make sure you experience yourself, thinking that this is the ultimate goal and value in life?  Jesus is saying very clearly that your world is to be Christ-centric: The Kingdom is all about Him, and your life should revolve around His affairs, His passionate desire to reconcile a world to Himself through the cross.

More from Aloe Blacc's The Man lyrics:

I got all the answers to your questions I'll be the teacher you could be the lesson I'll be the preacher you be the confession I'll be the quick relief to all your stressin' (this is my world) It's a thin line between love and hate Is you really real or is you really fake I'm a soldier standing on my feet No surrender and I won't retreat (this is my world)

[Bridge:] Stand up now and face the sun Won't hide my tail or turn and run It's time to do what must be done Be a king when kingdom comes

[Hook:] Well you can tell everybody Yeah you can tell everybody Go ahead and tell everybody I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man

These seem more like words that should have been spoken about Jesus than the aspiration of any individual.

Your attitude should be that of a servant to those to whom you are ministering and even leading.  Even in the workplace, that means that you don't think yourself better, or try to prove yourself superior, but instead look for what will benefit them (Acts 20:19-30).  In addition, it means that you are willing to inconvenience yourself with diligence to serve them, and do not wait for them to come to you on your terms.  It means that you have a tireless work ethic to make sure that their needs are met.  This is the love that Jesus exemplified and that we are to imitate.

“Those that hate goodness are sometimes nearer than those that know nothing at all about it and think they have it.”  ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matthew 23:13, 15-24 NIV)

In cities like Chicago, people try to appease their consciences in many ways.  They give money to the church and charities, observe holy days, participate in community service, or are faithful in church attendance as an attempt to make peace with God.  Reconciliation with God is forever and only made possible through what Jesus Christ has done for you on the cross, which does not compete with these efforts, but is the motivation for them.  With pure devotion to Jesus, we practice the latter without leaving the former as our foundation.  This leads to inside-out living.

Inside Out Living

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” -Abraham Lincoln

God always works from the inside out.  What you think, do, and say in the secret place will eventually come out.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! (Matthew 23:25-32 NIV)

Having a critical spirit is one of the greatest pitfalls of having "done the religious thing for a while." It becomes easy to think that you're standing for a righteous cause, and actually find yourself fighting against God (v. 29-32).  In the name of the "love of God," people often find themselves championing what God hates and disdaining what He loves.  The Bible is the only thing that makes this clear distinction.  The cross of Jesus is a classic example of this.  It is the place of religious zeal gone wrong, but is also the place where reconciliation with God takes place and where God begins to work from the inside out.

Religious pride can be some of the most dangerous of all, because it masks itself with good intentions, a right subject (being Jesus), and a lack of love, all exercised in His name.

We think that we know more than we do, and are often unwilling to be taught.  We build theologies to justify our lack of fruitfulness in God and in ministry, not realizing that it is that pride that is blinding us from learning how to be effective like Jesus.  The question is, "Has your increase in knowledge made you more critical or humble in your service to Jesus and others?"

"I have found out ludicrous and terrible things about my own character. Sitting by, watching the rising thoughts to break their necks as they pop up, one learns to know the sort of thoughts that do come. And, will you believe it, one out of every three is a thought of self-admiration: when everything else fails, having had its neck broken, up comes the thought "What an admirable fellow I am to have broken their necks!" I catch myself posturing before the mirror, so to speak, all day long. I pretend I am carefully thinking out what to say to the next pupil (for his good, of course) and then suddenly realize I am really thinking how frightfully clever I'm going to be and how he will admire me. When you force yourself to stop it, you admire yourself for doing that. It's like fighting the hydra.There seems to be no end to it. Depth under depth of self-love and self-admiration. Pride is the mother of all sins, and the original sin of Lucifer."  -C.S. Lewis in C.S. Lewis: A Biography, Green and Hooper, p. 105

Take these things to the cross of Jesus, and you will be a man and woman of integrity who you really hope to be in Christ.  God has real freedom for you when you come into the light in community.

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” (Matthew 23:33-39 NIV)

We live in the Information Age, which means that knowledge can be cheap. You can go on any podcast or website and find the greatest teacher, pastor, etc. (I Corinthians 8:1-3). Real discipleship is worked out in the relationships found in church community where love has to be demonstrated and commitment expressed. Otherwise, you can easily become a religious pundit, a Pharisee merely commenting on the affairs of the world rather than doing anything to help it.

Do not kill, berate, run off, or avoid those who are sent to serve you and help you become like Jesus, in your escape from hell.  You should run to this counsel, not from it, realizing that we all need it.  Don't just pursue relationships by which you'll remain merely religious.  Pursue relationships through which you'll grow in your relationship with Jesus and His purposes for your life through the church.  The final question is, "How will I now seek out godly counsel in my growing devotion to Jesus, being freed of the Pharisee in me?"

Second City Church- Before I Leave Sermon Series 2014

The Wedding Banquet of the Son

Before I Leave... The Wedding Banquet of the Son

[powerpress]

Lent began this past week with Ash Wednesday. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for the commemoration of the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus through repentance, restitution, almsgiving, and self-denial.

Before He made His exit from His earthly ministry, there were certain big ideas that Jesus wanted to emphasize that were to be of utmost importance to His followers and to the world. Over the next several weeks, we will finish the Gospel of Matthew by looking at a number of these things. To begin, we will study why eternal, lasting success is about embracing two concepts: that everything is really all about Jesus, and, because of that, we must always look to first give God what is God's in our lives.

It's All About the Son

Throughout the Bible, God's relationship with His people is described utilizing the metaphor of a marriage. In betrothal language, one of the strongest promises that Jesus ever made was that He is going to prepare an eternal home for those that would love Him (John 14). The entry into this home would begin with the wedding banquet of the Son of God, who will be united forever with His church.

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14 NIV)

The philosophy of humanism tells us that the world and what we are to do with what we know about it is to be centered around us. It is up to us to decide what is right, what is best for us, what things are valuable, and, thus, what we should give ourselves to.

“Life has no meaning a priori… It is up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre

However, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son." (Matthew 22:2 NIV)

In that day, two invitations were sent out to parties - one with an RSVP for the host to make preparations, and one letting you know that it is time to come because everything is ready. The people in your life who have been making invitations to you (whether family members, co-workers, neighbors, or friends) to grow in your relationship with Jesus are the servants of the King represented in this story.

There are two responses to the King's invitation that exist in the world:

1) Those who vehemently reject the King's authority and invitation in vitriolic rebellion

“…I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn't just that I don't believe in God and, naturally, hope that I'm right in my belief. It's that I hope there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to be like that.

"My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything about the human mind. Darwin enabled modern secular culture to heave a great collective sigh of relief, by apparently providing a way to eliminate purpose, meaning and design as fundamental features of the world. -Thomas Nagel, 1997, The Last Word, Oxford University Press, October 2001

2) Those who are preoccupied with other legitimate things, but have their priorities out of order

The term "paid no attention" - (Greek word amalea) meant to ignore or neglect.

The king still says that they do not deserve to come because, in their excuses, they did not put him first. This is the challenge in the city when you are trying to achieve. Please do not find yourself there.

Many of us have gotten stuck in the realm of the first invitation, merely making a decision to attend the banquet by saying a prayer, or having some moment of intellectually accepting Jesus. It's one thing to an accept an invitation, it's another to do what it takes and put forth the effort to make your way to the occasion. Paul exhorted the Philippian church to "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12), speaking of the sanctification that followed a profession of faith. In biblical times, the term "faith" and "belief" were not reduced to a mental assent, but a trust through which you committed your whole life trajectory to following and obeying your instructor - in this case, Jesus. This is the essence of being a disciple, which is the only thing that Jesus is looking for. You don't want to spend the rest of your life making excuses as to why you are not making your way to the party through a life of devotion to God.

“This is the most dangerous trial of all, when there is no trial and every thing goes well; for then a man is tempted to forget God, to become too bold and to misuse times of prosperity.” ― Martin Luther, A Treatise on Good Works

Are you saying I have to choose between my responsibilities and my pursuit of God?

No. As we'll see in a moment, Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. What God requires is the first and best of all of your time, talent, and resources in worship of Him as a continued acknowledgement of His provision for you. This leads you into a contextualized pursuit of His purposes (Prov. 3:5-10; Matthew 6:25-34; Romans 11:16). With this type of heart, you strive to become the best worker, student, spouse, parent, and citizen that you can be. The difference when giving Jesus your first and your best is that you are fueled by God, not merely your own efforts, and you are able to walk in His grace.

The good news is that everyone is a candidate for this banquet - "the bad as well as the good" (v. 10); those who seem to have it all together and those whose lives are falling apart. The key to entry to the banquet is the right clothing.

It will not be by your own good works or efforts through which you come through the door, but only through Jesus and what He has done on the cross for you (Romans 13:11-14). The one who tries to earn their way in will have the same fate as the rebellious, as both have a root of self-sufficiency and pride. At the same time, once you realize this, then you live out a real faith, understanding that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

You make your way to an important banquet through:

1) A study of the etiquette and decorum

This is done through a study of the Word of God.

2) A readiness in your heart to interact with the other guests. This is also helpful to get an objective spot check on how you are dressed from others.

This is done through a participation in the community of God.

3) A prepared gift for the wedding couple

This is done through our giving.

4) Ongoing communication with the bride and groom to ensure that you've RSVP'd and there is a seat saved for you.

This is done through a life of prayer to God.

5) As you find yourself part of the family and close friends of the groom, providing service throwing showers, helping with the invitations, and the like.

This is done as service in and through the church. Find your place today.

Giving God What Is God's

If life is all about the Son, then you prioritize your life in such a way that reflects this realization. God does not expect to get your leftovers in any part of your life whether it be your finances, your time, your emotions, or your thoughts (as is spoken of in Malachi). He expects your first and your best. This is worship. Anything less is an offense to the cosmic King.

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:15-22 NIV)

Taxes are clear in our land, and you know exactly how much you owe. A tithe is what you owe God. The tithe is used to extend Jesus' Kingdom through the local church.

The Old Testament concept of giving God what is God's was a precept with which Jesus was intimately acquainted. In the New Testament, Jesus repeated this theme, reinforcing it as a generosity principle that the church is to live by rather than a dispensational law that has become obsolete. You do this, within each pay period, by giving a tenth of the gross of all that you receive from God through your work, industry, and gifts as a part of your worship of Jesus. This is how you acknowledge His provision in your life. The leaders of the church, including the pastor's family, follow the same pattern.

In the New Covenant, the tithe is a baseline standard for giving in the church. It is to be the floor, not the ceiling to our generosity. An offering and almsgiving go above your tithe and is a matter of being generous. In addition to the needs of the local church, it can also be about extending Jesus' Kingdom borders beyond the local house. With offerings, you can designate gifts to special projects, etc.

If you have ever been host to a party, and not just the participant who comes and eats all of the chips, drinks all of the soda, eats all of the cake, and leaves a big mess for everyone else to clean up, you know that it comes with an expense to make it great. Birthday parties when you have kids will show you this.

Once you've accepted the invitation, you mature into being one of those who are making the invitation, helping to host.

Once again, I can say, "thank you so much for your giving, Second City!" You are those who not only show up at the party, but help to put it on. More and more, I believe that we are learning to put Jesus first, and are seeing the type of heart reflected in The Auction.

The Auction

Years ago, there was a very wealthy man who, with his devoted young son, shared a passion for collecting art. Together they traveled around the world, buying only the finest art treasures. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others adorned the walls of the family estate. The widowed elder man looked on with satisfaction as his only child became an experienced art collector. The son's trained eye and sharp business mind caused his father to beam with pride as they dealt with art collectors around the world. As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His beloved son was missing in action. The art collector anxiously awaited more news, fearing he would never see his son again. Within days, his fears were confirmed, the young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a medic. Distraught and lonely, the old man viewed the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season, that he and his son had so looked forward to, would visit his house no longer.

On Christmas morning a knock on the door awakened the depressed, old man. As he walked to the door, the expensive masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands. He introduced himself to the man by saying, "I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you." As the old man began unwrapping the package, the paper gave way to reveal a portrait of his deceased son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man's face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, he thanked the soldier, promising to hang the picture above the fireplace. A few hours later, after the soldier had departed, the old man set about his task. True to his word, the painting went above the fireplace, pushing aside thousands of dollars worth of art. His task completed, the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given.

During the days and weeks that followed, the man realized that even though his son was no longer with him, the boy's life would live on because of those he had touched. He would soon learn that his son had rescued dozens of wounded soldiers before a bullet stilled his caring heart. As the stories of his son's gallantry continued to reach him, and fatherly pride and satisfaction began to ease his grief, the painting of his son became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the expensive pieces for which museums around the world clamored. He told his neighbors his son's painting was the greatest gift he had ever received.

The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away. The art world was in anticipation that with the collector's passing, and his only son dead, those paintings would be sold at auction. According to the will of the old man, all of the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, because on this day he had received his greatest gift.

The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world's most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled this day - greatness would be achieved as many would be able to claim, "I have the greatest collection." The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum's list. It was the painting of the man's son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. "Who will open the bidding with $100?" he asked.

Minutes passed and no one spoke. Finally, from the back of the room came a voice, "Who cares about that painting? It's just a picture of his son. Let's forget about it and move on to the good stuff." Many voices echoed in agreement.

"No, we have to sell this one first," replied the auctioneer. "Now who will take the son?" Finally, a neighbor of the old man spoke. "Will you take $10 for the painting? That's really all I have - and since I knew the boy, I'd like to have the painting."

After more silence, the auctioneer said, "I have ten dollars, will anyone go higher?" Then the auctioneer said, "Going once, Going twice, Gone." The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, "Now we can get on with it and we can bid on the real treasures!" The auctioneer looked at the audience and announced that the auction was over.

Stunned disbelief quieted the room. Then someone spoke up and asked, "What do you mean, it's over? We didn't come here to bid on a picture of some old guy's son. What about all of these other paintings? There are millions of dollars worth of art here! I demand that you explain what is going on!" Other voices raised in agreement.

The auctioneer raised his hand and the room quieted. He then replied, "It's very simple. The attorney for this estate has indicated that according to the father's will, whoever takes the son, gets everything."

Life is an auction. We are the buyers. There are material things to acquire and spiritual things to acquire. How often do we, as these art dealers, quest after great material things which appear to have great value, while spurning those spiritual things which seem inconsequential but will later govern our eternal life? It doesn't seem like much of a price to pay when we accept the love of Jesus Christ into our hearts. It is free, and our expression of loyalty and obedience in return, almost seems negligible. Perhaps we too need to discover once again, as these art dealers, that when you have the Son, you have everything!

-Author Unknown

Second City Church- Before I Leave...Sermon Series 2014

How It Changed Me

The Voice of Worship: How It Changed Me

[powerpress] The exciting thing about engaging God on an ongoing basis in worship is that He is kind enough to show Himself to you, shower you with His love, and change you for the better through it.  Because you become what you behold, engaging Jesus in worship is one of the primary mechanisms through which He transforms you into His image.   Today we will discuss how times of devotion transform the worshiper by describing what we find in the presence of God and, as a result, what happens in the heart of the worshiper.

In God's Presence

Prior to the Jewish temple being built, the tabernacle was the place of worship for the Israelites.  It was for this place that God, through Moses, gave instructions about how to build a sanctuary, a place of meeting with God, that was to be a copy and shadow of what is in Heaven (Hebrews 8:5).  Included in this tabernacle were articles used in worship that give us a picture of what God does in our hearts as we come into His presence.

Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. (Hebrews 9:1-5 NIV)

God shows His practical nature.  Though the temple would later be built using sturdy cedar wood, the tabernacle was made using acacia wood - the only wood available in the Sinai desert.  How appropriate that is for the beginning days of a church plant.  God allows us to begin where we are, but it is not where we are to remain as we are changed in worship.  There is an expectation of maturation and progress.

The Holy Place

The lampstand (Revelation 1:19, 20)

In the book of Revelation, Jesus gives the metaphor of seven lampstands representing seven different churches that He was instructing in a life of devotion to God.  The church is a constant light to the nations as to how to enter into relationship with God through Jesus.  It is the only institution in the world that will teach you to do this properly through the preaching of God's truth.  Once you come to Jesus, the first thing that you find in God's presence is a love for His people, His church, which He describes as His bride.  Devote yourself to her now.

The table with the consecrated bread

Meeting with Jesus in worship means that you are led to His Word and through it are consecrated, literally set apart to Him, as you meditate on His nature, work, commands, and ways.  Through study of the Scripture you are literally "dining" with Jesus, being prepared for transformation by acquiring the knowledge of God.

The Most Holy Place

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. (Matthew 27:45-53 NIV)

The powerful thing is that on the cross, Jesus became sin and took the wrath of God upon Himself that caused a separation between humanity and God.  Because of His propitiatory death, the curtain that once kept men and women out of the most holy place where God met with His people was torn in two, forever declaring a new access to all believers through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.  His cross where His substitutionary sacrifice was made has become our atonement cover.

It is in the Most Holy Place that we move from a place of information to transformation.

The golden altar of incense (Revelation 5:6-10)  (used to overpower the smell of flesh burning from the sacrifices) It was linked to the prayers of the saints in Revelation.  Prayer, the two-way communication with God, is where the transformation begins.  We encourage you to give God the quality time that you need to see the transformation take place.

The golden covered ark of the covenant This represented the literal presence, being before the face of God.

Inside were the:

Gold jar of manna (John 6:27-35) The manna that the Israelites ate during their wanderings in the desert was God's supernatural provision for their most fundamental needs.  As Jesus was walking the earth, He described Himself as the bread of life.  Through perpetual relationship with Jesus, He promised that you will never go hungry or thirsty.  God literally feeds and refreshes your soul through your encounters with Him so that you are not wasting your life pursuing things that will not satisfy the deepest needs of your psyche and emotions.  This means that your every relationship, whether platonic or romantic, career ambition, and sense of identity find themselves fulfilled as you contextualize your life through Jesus and His leadership.

Aaron’s staff that had budded As the Israelites were coming out of Egypt, they found themselves rebelling against the leadership that God had given them in Moses and Aaron.  Aaron's staff that had budded was God's supernatural sign of authority given to Aaron as priest. In the same way, you find grace in the presence of God to submit to Jesus' authority in your life as you come to Him in worship.  Fear and intimidation are broken in the presence of God.  You leave times with Jesus with an ability to walk in His authority (Mark 3:13-19), ministering by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of GOD. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth of centre of my soul as much as I can; and while I am so with Him I fear nothing; but the least turning from Him is insupportable.” ― Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

The stone tablets of the covenant In God's presence, His law is written on your heart as it was originally written on the tablets that He gave Moses for the people.  You encounter the grace of God so that you want to obey, rather than feeling merely outwardly compelled to do so.  Your heart is literally transformed with a love for Jesus.

Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover Through worship, you are able to see God in His splendor and marvel at the mercy of God reflected in the gift of Jesus Christ.  The atonement cover was a constant representation of the sin that brought the judgment of God that has now been satisfied in Jesus.

The difference between God's temple and the pagan temples of the day is that on the cherubim, you would expect to see an image of the deity.  However, in the Hebrew context, there was no image that could adequately reflect or represent the glory of God, thus no image was to be found.  In the same way, because He was not an idol, there was no representation of Him to be dressed, "fed," and entertained on a daily basis.  The placement of the expensive materials, such as the pure gold used as utensils and dyes nearest the ark in the Most Holy Place, reflected the reverence and awe with which you are to approach God.

In the Heart of the Worshiper

The result of continually being in God's presence is that a change continually takes place in your heart.  This is sanctification and is Jesus setting you apart for noble, rather than ignoble, holy, rather than common, purposes.  He does this by changing your appetites and perspectives.  You are allowed to see clearly for the first time with a bird's eye view over your circumstances and culture.

“How happy we would be if we could find the treasure of which the Gospel speaks; all else would be as nothing. As it is boundless, the more you search for it the greater the riches you will find; let us search unceasingly and let us not stop until we have found it.” ― Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. (Psalm 84:1-12 NIV)

A History of the Sons of Korah (Numbers 16)

Though the authors of a beautiful Psalm that reflected deep relationship with God, the sons of Korah had a sordid heritage.  Korah was the cousin of Moses and Aaron who was noted for leading a rebellion against their leadership following the Exodus from Egypt.  God dealt with this.

In the midst of God's judgment, He has redemptive purposes.  The Korahites were among the chief Levitical families (Numbers 26:58).  Under King David's rule, they were assigned as "gatekeepers" (I Chronicles 26:1) and participated in giving praise to the Lord (II Chronicles 20:19).  Because the temple represented the place of God's dwelling, the gatekeepers had the high honor of defending the meeting place of God from defilement since it was the center of worship of Yahweh, the one true God.  These people had the privilege of constantly dwelling in proximity to God's presence.

Though the heritage of the sons of Korah was that they were striving and rebellious, God took his descendants and made them those who found their place as worshipers before the Lord.  In the same way, no matter where you began today, you can come to a place of repentance and faith through Jesus.  You can become a true worshiper who turns the valley of Baca ("weeping") into a place of springs, because you know the secret of meeting with the living God.

Second City Church- The Voice of Worship Sermon Series 2014

Don't Sweat the Technique

The Voice of Worship: Don't Sweat the Technique

[powerpress] Last week we spoke about the priority of moving from a place of simply knowing about Jesus to engaging God on a consistent basis.  This week we will speak about the dynamics through which we glorify Jesus in the midst of life's battles and victories, developing a practice of worship with which God said He is pleased.

The Battle Rounds (II Chron. 20:1-30)

Life as we know it is a fight of faith.  It can be a battle to maintain your peace and your joy - to walk in right relationship with Jesus and others.  It is also a battle to be able to excel in the workplace, in school, or in your pursuits while maintaining God's kingdom priorities.  God has given us weapons with which we can win these battles, and the one with which we need to begin is worship.  Worship magnifies God in life's battles - over your circumstances, struggles, and fears.  It invites God to intervene in your situation.

Why do we begin each celebration service with music and song?

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:1-5 NIV)

The manner in which we approach God is important as it honors Him for who He is as much as what He's done.  It postures our hearts in humility, thankfulness, and faith when we remember not only his grandeur, but also His great love for us expressed in Jesus.

It is natural that we give God thank offerings when He has done something for us.  However, it can be difficult at times with the weight of life to come to Jesus with that type of attitude.  God knows this and has instructed us how to deal with moments like these.

This is a segment from a psalm of Asaph.  He and Heman were appointed by King David from the Levitical (priestly) tribe to be musicians who led the people in worship at the temple of the Lord (I Chronicles 6:31-53).

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son. When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you. “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you: Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.” (Psalm 50:14-23 NIV)

The victory begins in silent meditation as we reflect and stand on the truth of God's word.

“Many Spirit-filled authors have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God with the glory He deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can't contain Him. Isn't it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?” ― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Silent Meditation is put into effect as we give God a sacrifice of praise for: 1) the unchanging nature of who He is, and 2) as an act of faith, because we know that His trustworthiness in the past gives us every indication of His character in the future.  Jesus is not formulaic.  It may not be the same way that He brings about the necessary (not always desired) provision or miracle each time, but He will do it.  We have no right to think otherwise.

Religion is passive regarding the affairs of life; relationship is aggressive pursuing the promises of God (I Thess. 5:18) Religion can be cold and isolating; relationship is both personal and communal.

Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them— this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 149:1-9 NIV)

When you praise God individually, you are making moves to deepen your intimacy with Jesus.  When you worship corporately, you are obeying God's instructions and receiving the benefit of being encouraged by - literally feeding off the strength of - other people's faith.

Through the writers of Scripture, the Holy Spirit has also given instruction revealing the importance of how you worship.  We call these the live rounds.

The Live Rounds (Technique, How)

Worship is not just a frame of mind or a condition of the heart.  It is also something that is to be expressed.  The manner in which you worship can be both attractive to God and freeing to your soul.

Religion is merely academic; relationship is employing that knowledge. Worship involves an all-encompassing adoration of Jesus. There are several postures of worship which the Bible describes which are important in your relating to God.

How low can you go? Standing (Solomon dedicating the temple in I Kings 8:22)

Sitting (David in II Samuel 7:18)

Kneeling - stilling our souls and orienting ourselves in submission to Jesus For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. (Ephesians 3:14, 15 NIV)

Bowing (Matthew 2:11) - humbling ourselves in reverence and honor before Jesus

Laying Prostrate (Deuteronomy 9:25; I Kings 18:36-39; Matthew 5:3) - acknowledging the glory of God and our complete dependency on Him.  It is saying, "We are undone and desperate before you."

"At the very least, they can be persuaded to that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls." -CS Lewis, The Screwtape Letters - Letter 4

Though the worldview constructed by Darwinian evolution absent of the acknowledgment of God would suggest that we are merely animals and beasts of instinct, the Bible reveals that we are so much more.  Out of all of God's creation, humanity is the unique image-bearer of God, full of intellect, reasoning ability, an eternal soul, and, through the Holy Spirit, self-control.  God has also designed us to have our hearts and minds intimately connected with the movements and expressions that proceed from our bodies.  Worship brings this into clear view, being an outward expression of the inward condition of the heart.  It is the visible demonstration of the Holy Spirit's secret work within the soul of a man, woman, or child.

Just as surely as postures position our hearts properly before God, actions communicate the same reverence, rejoicing and delight, with liberating effects for the worshiper.  People often make judgments about how someone else is worshiping before the Lord.  You need not do this.  We need to play to an audience of one.  It is about the heart. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)

Psalm 95 has traditionally been called the veniti (which in Latin means "O Come!" because of the Psalm's opening call to worship) and explains outward expressions that coincide with biblical worship.  Throughout the history of the Christian Church, it has been utilized as a standard to tell us what worship is:

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” (Psalm 95:1-11 NIV)

Singing - practical adoration

Shouting - can be cathartic and magnifying

Playing Instruments - for the delight of God's heart

"I wish to see all arts, principally music, in the service of Him who gave and created them.  Music is a fair and glorious gift of God.  I would not for the world forego my humble share of music.  Singers are never sorrowful, but are merry, and smile through their troubles in song.  Music makes people kinder, gentler, more staid and reasonable.  I am strongly persuaded that after theology there is no art than can be placed on a level with music; for besides theology, music is the only gift capable of affording peace and joy of the heart…the devil flees before the sound of music almost as much as before the Word of God." -Martin Luther

Several people express concern over people falling into emotionalism in worship experiences.  A question would be, "Does not the God who made your emotions not want you to emote to Him?"  Another concern that people have is the idea of worship turning into a performance.  People seem to have no trouble at a sporting event, concert, or other party where they are expressing their joy or sorrow over the subject or object of focus.  This is to be our celebration service, where we are rejoicing in who Jesus is and all that He has done for us.  Your adoration should begin privately and continue with friends, as in a wedding or other celebration.  We will continue this discussion in a couple of weeks.

Clapping - gives a means of celebration You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12 NIV)

God has designed things in such a way as to receive glory from all of His creation.  Sin is simply the momentary marring and muffling of that exaltation.  All of creation is meant to give God praise.  If the trees, etc., are clapping and bursting forth in song, how much more should we be!

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Psalm 96:11-13 NIV)

This is why nature so enraptured romantics like Thoreau, Emerson, John Keats, and Walt Whitman.  Though described as an agnostic pragmatist committed to metaphysical naturalism, even Harvard educated professor George Santayana, known for his quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," also said:

“The earth has music for those who listen.” ― George Santayana

All of creation is meant to give honor to God, and it is why Jesus said: When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40 NIV)

It is also why contemporary songwriters have penned songs with lyrics such as "Ain't gonna let no rock out praise me!" These are things that God encourages privately, but also when we are together.

Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 150:1-6 NIV)

Dancing - liberates your soul

Leaping - allows you to emote with joy to God (II Samuel 6:16 discussed last week)

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced. (Psalm 63:1-11 NIV)

Prophesying - coming into a place of faith and agreement with God's Word.  It is here that we are often empowered and commissioned for the work of God (I Samuel 10:1-9; Acts 13:1-3).

Lifting Hands - a sign of surrender and an appeal for aid (like a child crying out for its parent - Exodus 178-16; I Timothy 2:8)

The fruit of true biblical worship is an increasing submission to the Lordship, the leadership, of Jesus in your life.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Matthew 22:41-46 NIV)

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say: Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15 NIV)

All true biblical worship must begin and end with the worship of the Father through the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is what it means to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” (John 4:21-26 NIV)

It is only true worship when through it, your mind, body, heart, and soul are being transformed to lift Jesus to the foremost pursuit of your life.   Worship is only fully realized in a community where the many varied attributes of God are manifest and shared through a corporate, ideally multicultural experience.   The cross of Jesus makes a way for us to leave our sin, preferences, and presuppositions behind, allowing the rightful King to be exalted on His throne.  Let's enter into fully devoted worship to see Jesus glorified and our lives and those in this city transformed.

Second City Church- The Voice of Worship Sermon Series 2014

The Heart of Worship

The Voice of Worship: The Heart of Worship

[powerpress] It is one thing to talk about Jesus.  It is another thing to relate to and interact with the living God.  It is important in our walks with God that we make the transition from knowing about Jesus to actually relating with Jesus.  We will learn how to do the latter as we look at the priority of approaching Jesus in worship and study biblical coaches who exemplified pleasing worship to God.

Turning the Chair

We were made for relationship with God.  All of the pursuits of life that have become idols are an effort to fill that ontological void.

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV)

Jesus unapologetically says, before you do anything else, make it a priority to relate to Him that He might contextualize and be a barometer for the rest of your life's affairs.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)

If you have to choose between first working for God or sitting at His feet, always choose sitting at His feet.  Jesus will fight to protect His time with you.  It will propel any of the work that He has called you to do in school, in the workplace, with your family, amongst your friends, in the community or the church.  Choose time with Jesus over sleep, a movie, other entertainment, a hangout with friends, or work, knowing that when you've given Him your first and best, He will multiply your time, efforts, and quality of interaction in all of these other things.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV)

As opposed to the conditions on the competition The Voice, there is nothing that you need to do to turn God's chair.  You do not need to perform for Him.  You already have His attention.  He is the one waiting for you to come and meet with Him.  Because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross, you can approach God with confidence.

The good news is that when we think of worship, it is about real relationship with Jesus. Religion keeps you at a distance, but relationship draws you in. Empty religion is an obligation, but relationship becomes a delight.

This truth is ironically reflected in Steve Martin's comic piece, Atheists Don't Have No Songs: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QJS5UOyHyQE

Steve Martin's parody actually shows the deep resources from which the Christian pulls their thankfulness bursting over in song because of God's goodness.

“I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.” ― A.W. Tozer

The Coaches

God has given us pictures in the Scripture of examples of worship that are pleasing to Him.  They act as our coaches in relationship to Jesus.

We shall never want to serve God in our real and secret hearts if He looms in our subconscious mind as an arbitrary Dictator or a Spoil-sport, or as one who takes advantage of His position to make us poor mortals feel guilty and afraid. We have not only to be impressed by the "size" and unlimited power of God, we have to be moved to genuine admiration, respect, and affection, if we are ever to worship Him. - J. B. Phillips, Your God Is Too Small

Religion can condemn; relationship can liberate (Romans 8). Religion makes everything about the rules; relationship makes everything about the love for God that has you obey His commands out of deep seated affection and gratitude. You want to please Him.

Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord ’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. (2 Samuel 6:12-23 NIV)

The ark of the Lord represented the presence of God that the Israelites would carry with them on their journey to the promised land, in their battles, and rest finally at their place of worship.  It was the physical sign of God being with them, as He is with the Christian today.  When we engage God in worship, it is the difference between being in the same house as your parent, and sitting down with them face to face in quality interaction.  God wants and calls us to the latter type of relationship, and King David celebrated that reality with exuberant praise.

There can be obstacles as to why you don't come before God:

David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord ’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because the Lord ’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household. (2 Samuel 6:1-11 NIV)

Before that moment of exuberant praise, King David had an encounter where he mishandled and misunderstood the presence of God.  You may have experienced the same thing, but there is hope for a safe, fresh, and real encounter with God.

There are other reasons that people exclude relating to God as a part of their lives:

1) Because He is invisible, and we can feel like we are talking to the wall.  We feel like we are wasting our time, or that it won't produce much that we desire.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)

The good news is that as we approach God with trust and expectation, He promises to draw near to meet with us.

Moses, who spoke to God face to face as a man speaks with a friend, encouraged us: Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:6-8 NIV)

James, Jesus' natural born little brother, exhorted in the same manner: But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:6-8 NIV)

2) Like the contestants on The Voice, we don't have the confidence.  We can feel unworthy, ill-equipped, dirty, or simply scared.  Many times our perception of God can be shaped by our relationship with our own father.  We can have misconceptions about who God is.

This is where we find the cross of Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, you begin there and end there.  Every day, you are living by the grace given you because of Jesus' sacrifice and blood spilled upon it.

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:14-17 NIV)

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. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:10-12 NIV)

The good news is that to the Christian and the one who has not yet begun to follow Jesus, God says come.  At the cross, Jesus took the punishment for the sins that separate you from God, and He rose from the dead to act as a bridge to your living relationship with the living God.  Now we only need to repent (turn away from our rebellion), believe the good news, and come.

Second City Church- The Voice of Worship Sermon Series 2014

Christ's Community Shaping Culture

Christ. Community. Culture. - "Christ's Community Shaping Culture"

[powerpress]

Transforming Truth: Jesus' church is meant to shape culture as it acts to reflect God's heavenly rule on earth.

We have been going through a three week series defining the vision of Second City Church. We began with the preeminence of Jesus, the Messiah, and last week spoke about how He cares for and develops His people within His community, the church. This week we will see how Jesus has shaped civilization, and how Jesus' community now has a mandate to shape culture (Matthew 5:13-15).

How Jesus Has Shaped Civilization

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo”

- Karl Marx, from Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right

Jesus revealed God to be a righteous, fully engaged, benevolent King who is wholly participatory with His creation. We would wholeheartedly disagree with Marx's assessment of Christ-centered religion, because Jesus has said and history has recorded the veracity of the following:

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32 NIV)

Those who have done some of the most to alleviate the suffering of the world and put systems and values that are awry into the right order have been those who have known and loved Jesus. It was because of His transforming work in their lives and His revealed design for creation that these followers of Jesus worked so tirelessly, at much cost to themselves, to serve societies with the love and truth of God, thereby actively shaping culture.

How Christianity Changed the World is an excellent tome chronicling this.

The book categorizes where Jesus used the Church to change culture and gives examples of those who put into practice His principles in each of these following areas:

1) The Sanctification of Human Life Infanticide, child abandonment, human sacrifices and suicide were diminished through Christian influence.

2) The Elevation of Sexual Morality

3) Women's Rights - Freedom and Dignity

4) The Origin of Much of Western Charity and Compassion was derived from Christian ethics and teachings.

5) The Development of Hospitals and Modern Health Care

6) Education for the Masses - (i.e. Martin Luther and the catechism schools)

7) The Dignity of Labor, Economic Freedom and the Judeo-Christian work ethic (i.e. Tom's founder motivated by Christian convictions)

God will give you ideas that will be both profitable to your bank account and the community and nations.

8) The Development of Scientific Inquiry was based on the idea of God being an orderly Creator with discoverable laws that govern the physical universe.

9) The Equanimity of Liberty and Justice - Democracy and Civil Liberties had their inspiration from the throne of God whose foundation is justice and righteousness (Psalm 89:14).

10) The Abolition of Slavery, as well as the Civil Rights movements, had their catalyst within the Church.

As opposed to Karl Marx's opinion, we remember that William Wilberforce, whose mentor was John Newton, a former slave trader and author of the hymn Amazing Grace, was one who fought tirelessly against the injustice of his time.

11) Christianity's influence on Art and Architecture

12) Music - (i.e. Bono and the RED campaign)

13) Literature and Western themes

14) Holidays, Words, Symbols and Expressions

We are not saying that these people are Jesus or even fully represent the convictions by which Jesus will ultimately judge. However, they are examples of undeniable manners in which Jesus, His gospel, life, and teachings are causing people to work for the betterment of society.

These cultural transformations are concepts and categories which people in Western cultures take for granted today. However, before we assume that these values were always our own, it would be good to remember their roots and history. This is where the gospel and the cross of Jesus Christ come in, because man has not proven to be inherently good, but bent towards evil when given the opportunity. There are at least two reasons for any of the good that has been done:

1) People are made in the image of God and have a remnant of His law in their hearts, despite suppressing the truth (Romans 1 and 2). 2) The prevailing influence of the gospel in society has transformed cultures.

Humanity's disconnection from God has led to the massive greed, tyranny, poverty, selfish living, destruction of the family, and death that mark our world. On the cross, Jesus paid for our rebellion against God and His ways. Jesus died as your substitute, was buried, and restored to life as a picture of the restoration that God wants to bring to the earth through our repentance. He became a curse to break the curse handed down to us (Galatians 3:10-14) and will one day bring the rejuvenation of all things (Isaiah 65).

Jesus wants to transform culture for the better by first transforming your heart and mind (Romans 12:1-3) by reconnecting you to God today.

Today's Cultural Mandate

Why we must reach our culture for Jesus:

The Muppets spoof commentary: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wXfLrt90CHM. This is what society is focused on today.

What drove men and women like Wilberforce was prevailing prayer.

Jesus said: “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’ (Matthew 6:9-13 NIV)

When Jesus spoke about prayer, it began with the worship of God who is above all and greater than all. As Creator, our Father in Heaven, he has the master plan for the world as we know it. The term "hallowed be your name" had the meaning of making His name and treating His name as holy. It was to understand God as the reference point for all things. Because of His holiness, you are to be holy (I Peter 1:15,16), striving for your life to be separate from ordinary or common usage, turned instead to devotion to divine service. It is having your life centered around God and lived for His glory. Worship begets Christ-centered ambition, motivating faithful action which results in transformed cultures.

What was Matthew's, a Jewish writer's, understanding of the kingdom of Heaven for which Jesus' followers were to pray?

They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. (Isaiah 61:4-11 NIV)

This speaks of the cultural mandate that we have as the church to serve the world for the flourishing of all people in all cities in all nations.

The question is: "What was God's intended design for each aspect of culture, industry, and influence?" The mission then becomes: "To bring God's kingdom on earth in each of these areas as it is in Heaven." This must be the governing thought for your work day and where the majority of your life is spent. We are able to do this as we remain faithful to God's Word and prayer. As we do so, we are able to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52 NIV) We pray this continually for you.

Different than the lightweight character that defines our culture (Pastor Rollan referenced the Russian police choir singing Get Lucky at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics), by following Jesus as a part of His community, we hope to be bring the gravitas of such reproducible, concentrated involvement in the nations:

Orphanages and Recovery Centers for victims of human trafficking

James 1 model of widows caring for orphans

Marketplace ministry training center

Transform culture with things like urban farming

Entrepreneur Center linked to the gospel for church planting in this nation and for closed nation entry

Job Training and creation all with biblical principles

This can all begin now, like the mustard seed. We encourage college students to stay for the summer months and participate in the first freshman outreach, first Second City Church sports camp, the hosting of a youth mission trip to the city, the work with the Jessie White Tumblers, etc. If you have a God-given vision to shape an arena of culture with the kingdom of God, begin to prayerfully make plans, baby-step action points, with those in our community of faith. Never forget that these love revolutions began as a seed (John 12:24).

“Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about.” ― N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

This is another reason why Christ's community is important. As we come together as the church, the greater the number of committed disciples are on mission with Jesus, the greater our service to the city, its people and its issues, and the greater the ability to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven, here and in the nation and in the nations.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests. (Proverbs 14:4 NIV)

When the oxen don't gather in the manger, their efforts are scattered, diminished, and there is no tangible direction. We must remain in the community of Jesus, the church, if we are together to achieve Jesus' cultural initiatives.

In the following quote, you have this designation of characters:

The speaker: Screwtape, a devil The recipient: Wormwood, another devil "He": God The man: a Christian

"I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention not ours. He made pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures with which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. ...

You have only to keep him (the Christian) out of the way of experienced Christians (an easy task now-adays), to direct his attention to the appropriate passages in scripture, and then to set him to work on the desperate design of recovering his old feelings by sheer will-power, and the game is ours. If he is of the more hopeful type your job is to make him acquiece in the present low temperature of his spirit and gradually become content with it, persuading himself that it is not so low after all. In a week or two you will be making him doubt whether the first days of his Christianity were not, perhaps, a little excessive. Talk to him about 'moderation in all things'. If you can once get him to the point of thinking that 'religion is all very well up to a point', you can feel quite happy about his soul. A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all - and more amusing." -C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters - Letter 9

This is what drives us at Second City and is what paints the picture for the vision God has given us for the church: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

This is how the biography of Jesus Christ, the gospel written by the apostle Matthew, ended. You can tell a lot about what is important to a person based on the final words that they speak. These words are what summarize the heart, motivation, and drive behind Second City Church. In a nutshell: "We exist to love Jesus and fulfill His Great Commission."

The question is, "how do we practically plan to do it, and what will it look like when we do?" God willing, it will include the things that follow and so much more.

At Second City Church:

We envision being a house of prayer for all the nations to the glory of God.

We envision sharing the Good News of Christ's death and resurrection with thousands of unchurched friends and people in the greater Chicagoland area, many of whom will accept Him as Lord and Savior.

We envision developing people - new believers as well as established believers - into fully functioning followers of Christ through Bible study, worship services, community groups, special events, and leadership training.

We envision being a church that lives and models biblical community: a safe place where we are accepted, loved, shepherded, encouraged, forgiven, and are built into disciples of Jesus Christ.

We envision helping all our people - youth as well as adults - to discover their divine designs so that they are equipped to serve Christ effectively in some ministry within and outside our church.

We envision welcoming numerous members into our body who are excited about Christ, experience healing in their family, relationships, and marriages, and grow together in love.

We envision being a people who care for the orphan, the widow, the victim, and the poor through practical means that help to rebuild lives.

We envision training and sending out missionaries, church planters, and church workers all over the world. We also see a number of our people pursuing short-term missions service domestically and abroad. We see our people ministering to unreached people groups and serving the least Christianized cities of the world.

We envision training marketplace Christians to be fully devoted followers of Christ who help transform culture by bringing the kingdom of God to every sphere of industry and influence.

We envision being a generous people. We see the people of God giving radically to the advance of the gospel in the city and the nations because of the love of God in their hearts.

We envision being a beacon of God's truth and hope to the people of Chicago and to the nations of the earth.

To say all of this in three memorable words, we are about Christ. Community. and Culture. Come be a part of God's unveiling story!

Second City Church- Christ. Community. Culture. Sermon Series 2014