Body Talk

Christ's Goal

Matthew 4:12-22
Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

"You're not born to make a living.  You are born to make a difference." 
- Dr. Allan Santiago

Christ's Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-13
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 

1 Corinthians 12:14-31
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 

Christ's Good News 

Matthew 8:14-17
And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Second City Church: Body Talk Sermon Series 2016

Back to Church Sunday - Back to What?

Christ

God's church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. It helps you see God and His plan for the world clearly through the preaching of His eternal word.

1 Timothy 3:14-16
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 

Community

God's church is a family. We share life together during the ups and the downs, during the trials and successes as we pursue Christ and His Kingdom.

Matthew 12:46, 48-50
While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” 

"Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate." 
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (1939) 

Comfort

God's church is a refuge. It is a place to find healing and wholeness in God in the midst of life's struggles.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Change

God's church is your vehicle for change. It's people help you and society get there.

2 Timothy 2:19
But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 

Renaming the city:  The church should be on the front lines of addressing issues such as:

Systemic Poverty
Racism

Matthew 16:21-28
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

"If God gives you a few more years, remember, it is not yours.  Your time must honor God, your home must honor God, your activity must honor God, and everything you do must honor God." 
- A.W. Tozer

Second City Church: Back To Church Sunday Sermon 2016

Faith of Our Fathers: Part 4

Hebrews 11:30-40
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. 

Lessons Learned:

Go with God's Plan (even if it seems absurd to you and others) 

Jericho

Choose the Right Team  

Rahab 

(Sensitive issues in our culture today can invite reproach when it has to do with moral absolutes and the commands of God.) 

Rahab's life was redeemed, she was grafted into the family of God and she became a physical descendant of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

Advance the Cause of Christ  

They conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Reach for the Resurrection

Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 

Live for the reward of tomorrow, not today. 

The resurrection cannot be tamed or tethered by any utilitarian test. It is a vast watershed in history, or it is nothing. It cannot be tested for truth; it is the test of lesser truths. No light can be thrown on it; its own light blinds the investigator. It does not compel belief; it resists it. But once accepted as fact, it tells more about the universe, about history, and about man's state and fate than all the mountains of other facts in the human accumulation.
- Editorial in Life © 1956, Time, Inc.

See from the whole to the part. 

Your life is part of a larger story in Christ.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. 

Easter means—hope prevails over despair. Jesus reigns as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. … Easter says to us that despite everything to the contrary, his will for us will prevail, love will prevail over hate, justice over injustice and oppression, peace over exploitation and bitterness.
- Desmond Tutu in Crying in the Wilderness

Second City Church: Faith of Our Fathers Sermon Series 2016

Faith of Our Fathers: Part 3

Seeing is Believing

Hebrews 11:23-28
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 

An Inkling

Faith begins by acknowledging the Holy Spirit's stirrings in your heart where you begin to perceive something different that He wants to do.  What do you see in your life, family or environment that needs to change to reflect God's kingdom?

Moses' parents hid him because they saw he was beautiful.  You need to develop a hiding place in God where He can turn those inklings into a path formation. 

An Identity Shift

Faith is built with an identity shift where you begin to see yourself, your world and your purpose through Christ's cross, gospel and eternal purposes.

Moses refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter. 

Who do you identify with?  Who's your family?

Moses chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He would leave the fleeting pleasures of sin but use the relationships that he had developed for the glory of God. You are called to do the same.

This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.
- Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

By faith, Moses considered the reproach of Christ of greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.

Have you come to that place in your heart?

How do you give yourself to what is eternal, enduring, can not spoil, wrinkle or fade (Matthew 6:19-21 ; I Peter 1:22-25)?

1 Peter 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Moses was looking forward to the reward.  It takes faith to look forward to your reward that comes from the hand of God. 

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Jim Elliot, missionary to Auca indians in Ecuador”
- Elisabeth Elliot, The Journals of Jim Elliot

An Initiative

Faith results in obedience expressed in some form of action.  

Moses left Egypt, not fearing Pharoah's wrath, enduring as seeing him who is invisible.  

Do you have the Lord always set before you?  Do you see Jesus, the author and perfect of our faith?

Psalm 16:7-8
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

By faith, Moses led the Israelites to keep the Passover and the sprinkling the blood, which represents our cleansing by the blood of Christ spilled on the cross for our sins, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 

What has God commanded you to do to protect your family, friends and those you lead?

It may seem foolish, arbitrary and unimportant in the sight of the world, but it is actually wisdom and leads to the salvation of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Hebrews 11:29
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 

As we obey God in faith, He works miracles.  By faith, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians who did know or love God were drowned.  The favor of God will allow you to experience such miracles when you see what He sees, and, therefore, what others can not.

Repentance and faith in Jesus Christ leading to His atoning work on the cross is the beginning and the end to walking out all of this.  It is by grace and grace alone, by grace, through faith.

Second City Church: Faith of Our Fathers Sermon Series 2016

Faith of Our Fathers: Part 2

God clearly says in His word that the righteous will live by faith (Habbakuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).  Well today, we hope to study and show how, in fact, we live by faith in the person and promises of God.

Before (A Place)

Hebrews 11:8-16
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 

God has a new city, a heavenly Jerusalem prepared for those who love Him.

John 14:1-3
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 

By His sovereignty, God calls you to both a place and a people to accomplish His will.  There, by faith, we are able to see God birth posterity, which is to be the inheritance of every believer - be a disciple and make disciples.

“The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

During (A People)

Hebrews 11:17-20
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 

There will always be a series of tests in the middle of the faith walk to see what you love more than Jesus or are willing to give up for Him.

Luke 14:25-27
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 

What do you love more than Jesus today?
Is it your comfort?  Your career?  A relationship in which you find yourself?  Is it your idea of success, maintaining your own identity or creating your own happiness?

God will require even the thing that He's promised you to be placed on the altar if it gets in the way of your unadulterated love for, worship of and service to Him.

Is there a promise that you are clinging to more than you are clinging to the person of Jesus?

God tests the object of His promises in our hearts not because He doesn't want to give you the fulfillment of the promise, but so that you won't lose the promise maker in the midst of the pursuit of the promise.  Our tendency as humans is to gravitate towards loving our stuff and our ideas of happiness more than the giver of life Himself.  We like what we can control, not what we can't.  However, we will never control God.  We are called to give Him control.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
- C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

After (A Purpose/Promise)

Hebrews 11:21-22
By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. 

Your life of faith is meant to bring both blessing and structure to future generations who will also look to and honor Christ.

Repent and give Christ control at the cross today.  Because of His death, burial and resurrection, He can make you new giving you a place, a people and a purpose/promise in His Kingdom.

Second City Church: Faith of Our Father Sermon Series 2016

Faith of Our Fathers: Part 1

Hebrews 11:1-7
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

100 Meter
Cain and Abel
Give God what He already asked for

200 Meters
Enoch
Walk with God

4x100 Relay or 10,000 Meter
Noah
Build in faithfulness because the flood will surely come

Pastor Rollan shared this quote:

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."

Second City Church: Faith of Our Father Sermon Series 2016

What's Love Got To Do With It?: Love Life in the Son

1 John 5:1-21 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Know Your Limits

God's commands are not burdensome because the alternative is even more so - death.

God helps those He heals.

“when we are powerless to do a thing, it is a great joy that we can come and step inside the ability of Jesus” ― Corrie ten Boom

Know God's Expectation For You

“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” ― John Calvin

Romans 14:17-19 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Know Your Team

"To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” ― Mark Twain

2 Corinthians 2:12-16 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Second City Church- What's Love Got To Do With It? Sermon Series 2016

What's Love Got to Do With It? : Love the Truth

What's Love Got to Do With It? : Love the Truth

1 John 4:1-21 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Love the Holy Spirit

1 John 4:1-3 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

At the time of the Apostle John's writing, the early church was combating the early heresy of Gnosticism in its seed form.  (Gnosticism notes in Archeological Study Bible)

Just as much as you've chosen to love Jesus and follow Him, you must understand that much of the world and its systems are being driven along by an antichrist spirit - that which rejects Jesus, His divinity, His authority and, thus, His commands.  This is nothing new, but started in the Garden of Eden with Satan's assault on God's Word and continued through the post-resurrection period in which the apostles wrote.

“It is no more narrow to claim that one religion is right than to claim that one way to think about all religions (namely that all are equal) is right. We are all exclusive in our beliefs about religion, but in different ways. ― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

As follower of Jesus, you must learn to distinguish between the truth and a lie, between that which is inspired of the Holy Spirit of God and that which is not.  It will determine whether you become a product/casualty of our culture or a shaper of it in regards to such things as:

Morality Acts of justice, benevolence, charity and generosity Speaking on behalf of the victim, disadvantaged and the poor

“When we look at the whole scope of this story line, we see clearly that Christianity is not only about getting one’s individual sins forgiven so we can go to heaven. That is an important means of God’s salvation, but not the final end or purpose of it. The purpose of Jesus’s coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not to escape it. It is not just to bring personal forgiveness and peace, but also justice and shalom to the world. God created both the body and soul, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both body and soul. The work of the Spirit of God is not only to save souls but also to care and cultivate the face of the earth, the material world.” ― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Not every piece of advice is good advice.  Not everything presenting itself as spiritual teaching is sound teaching or of God.  The messages that you receive shape you more than you realize.  How have you been subtly been swept into the tide of the culture, the pattern of this world, through the messages that you passively receive through your Facebook newsfeed, advice from friends who do not love or know the Lord, about issues that you deem archaic when really they are simply politically incorrect.

Jesus has a kingdom that is not of this world and those who are following Him are not trying to conform to this one.  They come into alignment with His thoughts regarding the issues of life including such things as:

Family Finances Human Sexuality The Sanctity of Marriage and Human Life in all of its stages of development

“Think of people you consider fanatical. They're overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It's not because they are too Christian, it's because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, emphatic, forgiving, or understanding- as Christ was... What strikes us as overly fanatical is actually a failure to be fully committed to Christ and his gospel.” ― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Do not be surprised when an antichrist philosophy becomes the norm in a culture.

1 John 4:4-6 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

“What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” ― John Wesley

How do you love your brother, and minister to family,  friends and co- workers in the midst of such an environment?

As we know the truths we must maintain, we will better love our neighbor: i.e. - Nicene Creed Apostle's Creed Purple Book Bible Study

Love Your Neighbor

Calling your neighbor to repent of their sin and put their trust in Jesus that they might receive forgiveness of sins, healing and eternal life is an act of love.

Matthew 22:37-40 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

1 John 4:7-18 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Love will perpetually have you make invitations to Jesus, His gospel and gospel environments because that love also drives out your fear of punishment from others (rejection, etc.).  You will care more about their rescue and salvation than your own good standing in their sight because you love them more than yourself or your comforts.

Romans 9:3-4 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

At the heart of the Christian’s view of spiritual reality is a man who gave his life in sacrifice for people who did not believe in him, a man who died asking for forgiveness for the people who were killing him. Therefore, Christianity is an exclusive claim, but it is the most inclusive exclusive claim because it wants you to exclusively believe in this man who died for his enemies, and asks you to love and care for yours.

So, does the message that Jesus is the only way to God necessarily lead to intolerance? Christians can only become intolerant to the degree thatthey misunderstand the heart of the gospel – namely, the good news that Almighty God himself came to serve us and die for us, so we could be saved not because of our right beliefs and behavior, but by the gift of his unmerited grace. That message, rightly grasped, cannot lead to coercion or intolerance. The gospel has within it deep resources for humility and respect. It is up to Christians to prove this assertion with their lives. -Timothy Keller, The Reason For God

Love Your Brothers and Sisters

1 John 4:19-21  We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

How Do We Love Our Brothers and Sisters?

Jude 1:20-23 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 

Refuse to Maintain Offense and Entertain Conjectured Accusation Against Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Matthew 5:21-26  “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. 

Give both neighbors, sisters and brothers the same truth, the truth of the gospel.

It is the clear picture of Christ's propitiation (turning away the wrath of God by making amends for the offense of sin - this was done at and through the cross of Jesus) and a picture of God's heart for reconciliation.  It is the hope that once reconciled, He will be with you always, through life's ups and downs and on into eternity.

“It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.”  ― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Second City Church- What's Love Got To Do With It? Sermon Series 2016

What's Love Got To Do With It: Love Jesus

1 John 3

Intro and Recap

1. Part 1
   1. Love the light
2. Part 2
   1. Love the will of God
3. Peter Ahlin
   1. Patience and trust in God’s plan
4. Reggie Roberson’s Prophetic Word
   1. New wave of 100 people coming into the church this fall
   2. Get prepared
   3. Don’t be intimidated by their status, both influential and the poor are coming
5. A word from the Lord to preface today’s message
   1. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:12-13‬ ‭NIV
      1. “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.”
   2. Revelation 2:1-7
      1. “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds,your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
   3. Part 3: Love Jesus
   4. PRAY

Message: Love Jesus (and everything else follows)

Read 1 John 3

Overview

The theme from chapter one and two carries on into chapter 3. I love the Gospel of John and the letters from John because he makes the Gospel, the message of Christ, so clear and cut and dry. John uses easy language of comparing two opposite things to make the right choice obvious.  When reading John’s writings it’s hard to come to a conclusion that isn’t expressly given.

John is rightly called the disciple whom Jesus loved.  The interesting thing is that John labeled himself this!  John was SO CONFIDENT not in his love for Christ, but in Jesus’s love for him that he could boldly call the himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.’  John talked about love ALL THE TIME!  This radical sacrificial love that God had lavished on him changed him.  It became his primary message to the world and what he used as the test of a child of God.

1. 1. Love Jesus by recognizing (believing in) His love for you.
      1. God the Father has lavished His love on us, and the result is we are children of God.
         1. 1 Jn. 4:19
            1. We love because he first loved us!
         2. John 1:11-13
            1. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
         3. John 3:16
            1. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
         4. John 15:13
            1. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
               1. This is lavish love.
         5. We are children of God now but what will we become?
            1. 1st John 3:2
               1. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
            2. Expand:
               1. Children look like their parents, and increasingly so as they grow.  Think about a baby: small, certain color, maybe a little hair. They all have pretty much the same features and same build, so maybe they’re a little hard to distinguish from each other with the few exceptions of birthmarks or skin color.  Probably none of us would be able to walk into the baby ward with their Dad and point out which one is his without a little help (praise the Lord for for name tags!).  But the Dad and Mom could probably tell.
               2. Now fast forward to when the kid is 5, then 15, then 30.  As the child grows it begins to look, act, and think more and more like their parent even if the parent didn’t raise them.  Now imagine the child that was raised by their parent:  they wouldn’t only look like them due to DNA, but they would most likely have the same or very similar thought patterns, beliefs, character traits, and ethics.  I never thought I looked much like my Dad (Mike Parleir) or acted like him, but now that I am 33 years old I find myself looking and sounding and thinking more and more like him.
               3. As John points out, the world may not recognize who God’s children are because it does not recognize God, so in turn, they of course would not know what His children look like.
                  1. Saying: It takes one to know one.  It takes a child of God (or God)  to recognize a child of God.
               4. In this same trajectory, the child of God who remains in the vine of Jesus will be like Him when He returns.  
                  1. John 15:9-13
                     1. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
         6. Reiterate Point:
            1. Love Christ by recognizing (believing in) His love for you.

• Love Jesus by purifying yourself (live holy).

• 1st John 3:3

• “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. The hope is Jesus’ return.
         2. When we have tasted God’s pure sacrificial love we can not and will not stay the same or remain in the sin we used to tolerate. This is not us saving ourselves. This is us yielding our hearts to our lover, our lord, our saviour and asking Him to have His way in us, otherwise known as sanctification.
         3. Integrity: confessing your sin before the devil does.
         4. Phillipians 2:11-13
            1. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
         5. Example:
            1. It’s like an engagement period. We are the bride to be and Christ is the groom to be. Christ has declared His love by bearing the cross of our shame, bought the ring of the Holy Spirit and given it to His soon to be bride so the onlooking world will know by this token (deposit of the Holy Spirit) she’s about to get married.  She in turn prepares to become one with her husband by aligning her body, soul, and mind to be all that she was designed to be because she herself is the gift to her husband.  All of this is fueled by the already declared unfailing love of Christ.  She knows she won’t be rejected. Rather, she knows who she is and will be loved as she is.
      2. 1st John 3:4-5
         1. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.  7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
         2. Point:
            1. Don’t be deceived, or as John says, “led astray,” by thinking that your actions don’t matter.  John makes it very plain that because Jesus had to physically take on a body, be physically crucified, and raised from the dead with a physical yet spiritual resurrected body, our actions in this life, in this body, are of eternal importance.
            2. There are only two sides to choose from: child of God or child of the devil.  Those who do what are righteous are children of God, and those who do what is sinful is of the devil.
            3. They key to focus on here is “keeps on sinning.”  Remember in chapter 2 when John wrote to “children whose sins had been forgiven” as well as “young men who have overcome the evil one”? Babies poop in their pants quite often because they are being trained and growing to use a toilet.  This is fine, because God is a loving father and every time we mess up we have an advocate in Jesus who washes us clean. But when your 13-year old is still wearing diapers, then there’s a problem.  At this point they should be helping change the diapers of their younger siblings.
      3. 1st John 9-10
         1. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
            1. The Self Test:
               1. Do I do what is right consistently?
               2. Do I  love my brother and sister consistently?  

• Love Jesus by loving your brothers and sisters.

1. 1. 1. 1st John 3:16-18
         1. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
            1. Jesus set the standard for us by giving His very life, and commands we do the same.  This takes faith and grace.
               1. Galatians 2:19-21
                  1. 19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 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. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

• Love Jesus by obeying Him with action.

1. 1. 1. 1st John 3:18-22
         1. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
      2. Obedient action leads to
         1. Knowing we belong to God
         2. Sets our hearts at peace when anxiety tries to rule
         3. Answered prayers

• Summary and Action Points

1. 1. 1st John 3:23-24
      1. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
   2. Receive God the Father’s lavish love by receiving Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour, letting His blood cleanse you of your sin and guilt.  Be born again today.
   3. If you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior but have been stuck in habitual sin or your heart has been condemned, receive freedom today by confessing your sin and receiving God’s grace by praying with someone.

Further Notes on Loving Well

1. 1. Loving people well is understanding that they will do what they see you doing more than what they hear you saying.
      1. This is why we need Christian community. We need to live in a life sharing community.
   2. Husbands: God won't answer your prayers if you're not living right (1 Peter 3:7).
      1. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers
   3. Elders and deacons (those who serve and love the church) must prove themselves by living (not just being) holy - (1 Tim 3).
   4. The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective.
      1. James 5:16
         1. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
   5. When you pray you do not get what you ask for because of selfish reasons for asking.
   6. Some vessels are for common use and some are for special use. Living holy sets you apart for special use.
      1. 2 Timothy 2:20-21
         1. 20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” ‭‭John‬ ‭13:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭14:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love: the willingness accompanied by the action of self-sacrifice for the benefit of another.

What's purity got to do with loving well?

• We can only give what we have, so if we’re tainted, so is our love which is not as beneficial to the recipient.

The most important command of God:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
   1. Who's my neighbor? Everyone!
   2. The golden rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

It's all about love baby!

1st John 1

God is light (truth). Walking with God is living in truth (the light). The truth is all are sinners, so walking with God is admitting sin. This admittance leads to Jesus’s blood purifying us from all sin if we confess and believe. Truth brings fellowship.

1st John 2

Because the truth is we’re all sinners, we need Jesus as an advocate with the Father. Since not only the Jews are sinners, but the Gentiles (whole world), Jesus’s atoning (at-one-ment) sacrifice is sufficient for the whole world, anyone who believes.

Walking in the light, knowing God, is proven by our obedience to His commands. Love for God equates to obedience to God, and perfect obedience is perfect love. Jesus’s love is perfect because His life was sinless (perfect obedience). “Whoever claims to live in him must love as Jesus did.”

1st John 3

John tells us that we are children of God, so we should act like it and not just talk about it.  Children grow up.  When God’s children grow up we are not quite sure what we will be like, but we know it will happen when Jesus returns, and when we see him as he is we will then become like him.  This hope purifies us as He promised it would in 1 John 1:9 because this hope leads to the actions of confession and repentance which leads to forgiveness and purification.

Hate is darkness. Love is light.

Hate leads to stumbling. Love leads to a perfect walk.

Hate blinds people from the destination. Love enlightens people and reveals the destination.

God’s kingdom is light, truth, and love through obedience. Satan’s kingdom is darkness, falsehood, and hate through lawlessness.

Love for the world and love for the Father cannot coexist in the same heart, because you can only have one master, since love is obedience.

Love for the world looks like:

1. Lust of the flesh
2. Lust of the eyes
3. Pride of life

Love for the world is darkness because it deceives us saying “these temporal creations will give you eternal life,” when in reality they do not fulfill (the heart desires eternal life) and lead to death.

Contrary to the love for the world is love for God which results in doing God’s will which lasts forever and leads to eternal life.

Hope leads to faith that leads to love.

Perfect faith leads to perfect love. Perfect love casts out fear of punishment because perfect love is perfect obedience which does not warrant punishment. Our righteousness is in Christ because no one has done this, and we all have wrath stored up outside of faith in Christ.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:22-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Above all…

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Labor prompted by love. -Paul

Love is the fuel for all lasting labor.

Loving deliverance does not always bring obedience  but loving obedience to God always brings deliverance. Loving God and obeying God re-wires are heart in the moment to wear our desire for deliverance is overshadowed with our pleasure of being intimate with God.

In matters of love time becomes secondary to intimacy and this is why for those who love Jesus and eternity is what we will have as our reward. Do you remember when you were in love with another person and there was no amount of time that could pacify the desire to be with them? And this is why we get married so that we can wake up together work together eat together clean together sleep together and do it all over again for all the days of our lives because of love. This is salvation, being born again into the family and household of God not primarily as a servant the primarily as a child and family member who serves because of a love that plops labor.

Love labors.

Love leads to reward.

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love dies.

Application:

1. Social Media Conversations
2. Honor one another.

Second City Church - What's Love Got To Do With It Sermon Series 2016

What's Love Got to Do With It?: Love the Will of God

 

The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Luke 13:22-30 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Our Advocate

1 John 2:1-11 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Our Application

1 John 2:12-17 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

This explains the cycle of our development in Christ. God's goal for His people is maturation, where they know Him intimately and become fathers and mothers in the faith to others.

Maturation in Christ means beginning to take responsibility for others beyond merely worrying about your own sin. This is the defining role of a parent. The word of God beginning to abide in a young man/woman is the bridge from being born-again/an infant/child in Christ to a parent. Children can confidently know the Lord as fathers/mothers in the faith do. The difference is time and the experience of God's faithfulness.

Our Advantage

1 John 2:18-27 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Second City Church - What's Love Got to Do With It Sermon Series 2016

What's Love Got to Do With It?: Love the Light

Walking in the light

Walking in the darkness

According to the church fathers Ireneaus (AD 140-203), Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215), Tertullian (155-222) and Origen (185-253), the book of 1 John was written by the the apostle John, son of Zebedee (Mark 1:19-20), one Jesus' original twelve disciples. He, along with the apostle Peter and his brother James, were fishermen who were part of Jesus' inner circle during his earthly ministry and John is specifically cited as the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23). The epistles following the gospels and the book of Acts were letters written to various churches in the decades that followed Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, giving instruction to the new congregations about how to follow Christ in the midst of a world that did not know God. In this letter John is specifically combating the heresy that arose during his time, of Gnosticism, which purported that the spirit is completely good while matter is entirely evil. We will discuss the implications of this in the coming weeks, but today we will focus on the love of the light in which God has called us to walk. This Independence Day, we will focus on the benefits, which include fellowship with one another, fellowship with God, freedom from sin and freedom from deception.

1 John 1:1-10 We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen and our hands handled, about the word of life. The life was revealed, and we have seen, and we testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. What we have seen and heard, we also announce it to you so that you can have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy can be complete. This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong. If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

4 Benefits of the Light:

1. Fellowship with one another

2. Fellowship with God

3. Freedom from sin

4. Freed from deception

Second City Church - What's Love Got to Do With It Sermon Series 2016

Redemption: I'm Not the Man I Used To Be

Encounter and Humility

Genesis 32:1-12 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God's camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’” And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.” And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” – C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: HarperCollins, 1940/1996), 91.

Generosity

Genesis 32:13-21 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Proverbs 17:8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.

Proverbs 18:16 A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.

Proverbs 19:6 Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

Transformation

Genesis 32:22-32 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption: A Tale of Two Fathers

Genesis 31:1-16 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.” And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’” Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”

Luke 15:11-32 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

One father was scheming and selfish. The other was benevolent and generous.

One father was fault-finding and accusation. The other was full of grace and looked to cover his son's sin.

Because Jesus comes with grace and truth (John 1), we are able to come to repentance.

Because of the blood of Jesus spilled for us, a covenant has been made where the wrath of the Father is satisfied and we are able to draw near to the Father again.

Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are able to live eternally with the robe, the ring and the fattened calf of God's blessing.

One father was proud and the other humbled himself when offended to reconcile with his wayward child. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, reconciliation is made possible with our Heavenly Father.

Both come looking for idols in their child's life. One wants to destroy us if he found them - the other wants to destroy them so they won't destroy us.

In the story of the prodigal son, redemption was able to take place for the wayward child not because of who he was but who he belonged to. It is the same for us in Christ.

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2015

Redemption: Behold What You Want to Become

Genesis 30:25-43 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. Name your wages, and I will give it.” Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock. Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Strength comes by setting your eyes and heart on the things that will draw you closer to Jesus, bring you strength as you dwell with the author of life.

Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

God designed you in such a way that the relationships, messages and environments that you feed upon will either bring you into the health that He created you to live in, or it will slowly tear apart your life.

What are the music, entertainment, relationships and messages that you are feeding on doing for your relationship with Jesus?

Are they drawing you closer or giving you an uphill battle towards intimacy with Him?

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption: Our Reach, Our Reasons and Our Rest

Part of our redemption begins when we start to find the source and foundation of our joy in God and His eternal pleasures. We are then released from the tyranny of circumstances which are ever in flux, relationships which are out of our control and even trials that begin to strengthen rather than break us.

Our Reach

Genesis 29:31-35

When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

Whether it be a career, a marriage or romantic relationship, children or wealth, we think that once we've obtained it, we'll truly be happy, satisfied, only to be disappointed time and again.

Our Reasons

We are tempted to get shaken from our joy when hopes are deferred.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Genesis 30:1-24 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher. In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”

Reuben - means "See, a son" Simeon - sounds like the Hebrew for "heard" Levi - sounds like the Hebrew for "attached" Judah - sounds like the Hebrew for "praise" Dan - sounds like the Hebrew for "judged" Naphtali - sounds like the Hebrew for "wrestling" Gad - sounds like the Hebrew for "good fortune" Asher - sounds like the Hebrew for "happy" Issachar - sounds like the Hebrew for "wages" Zebulun - sounds like the Hebrew for "honor" (Dinah) - means "justice" Joseph - means "May he add, and sounds like the Hebrew for "taken away" (Benjamin)

God's desire is for character developed in the midst of our pursuits.

Our Rest

The joy of the Holy Spirit is unshakable, constant, replenishing and is built on the rock of God's character. This joy is founded upon the eternal truth of Christ's Word, gospel, kindness and forgiveness.

Psalm 62:1-12 For God alone my soul waits in silence;from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a manto batter him,like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.They take pleasure in falsehood.They bless with their mouths,but inwardly they curse. Selah For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory;my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people;pour out your heart before him;God is a refuge for us. Selah Those of low estate are but a breath;those of high estate are a delusion;in the balances they go up;they are together lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion;set no vain hopes on robbery;if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken;twice have I heard this:that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.For you will render to a man according to his work.

Cultivating that joy

Psalm 16:8-11 I have set the Lord always before me;because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

1) Set a distinct time and place that you'll meet with God daily. 2) Turn each hope to an eternal one.

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - Eye of the Spirit, Eye of the Flesh

 

As we traverse the landscape of the stories God is unfolding for us, it is imperative that we begin to see our circumstances, relationships and opportunities through the eyes of God. Doing so very well determines the difference between years of trouble or success. As Jacob continued on his road to redemption, we see that whenever he took his life in his own hands, strife and frustration were the result. When Jacob opened his eyes to God's redemptive purposes, provision and blessing followed. It will be the same for us.

Trusting God on the Journey

Open your eyes to God's redemptive provision in every season of your life.

Genesis 29:1-14 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father. As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

As Jacob fled from his brother Esau, he was instructed to go to the house of Laban, his mother's brother, to find a wife and begin to build a new Iife for himself.

Even as Jacob went to an unfamiliar land, God was directing his steps to find the relationships that would lead him into the purposes of God.

Where are you today and have you opened your eyes to God's provision for you in the land?

Responding to What You See

Give up building your life by your own wisdom, the eye of the flesh.

Genesis 29:15-30 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant. And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant. So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

We have a daily choice to make decisions by what we see in the flesh or to discipline ourselves within moment by moment prayerful decision-making.

How do you make decisions in life? In relationships? With your finances? With your time? In your work and career pursuits? How often have we ended up in more than unhealthy relationships, job environments and spiritually dry seasons because we took our lives in our own hands, making decisions merely by what our eyes can see?

Leah was the one through whom Jesus would come. Rachel was an idolater. You will be affected by who you yolk yourself to.

Jacob did not expect or appreciate Leah as his wife. If Jacob had sought God, he might have been able to discern what was in her heart rather than what was under her garments.

Neglecting to seek God brings trouble and strife in the end. Because He is loving and merciful, Jesus gives us tokens in the midst of our journey - wells for connection and lifeline relationships as in the case of Leah. Will you recognize them even when they may not look beautiful to you?

Responding to What God Sees

Begin to order your life by God's redemptive Word, developing a sensitivity to the discerning eye of the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

The road to redemption: 1) Begins when we seek God and His kingdom perspective first, and make decisions based on what we see second. Always go to His word for a plumb-line and for a precedent. 2) Embrace the circumstantial surprises as part of God's providential purposes in forming your character and directing you towards His gospel ends. He always has redemption in mind for you and others when we choose to repent and obey His commands.

What are the lifelines that God is giving you to lead you to Christ and His purposes?

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:11-19 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Second City Church- Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - Redemption Road

The everyday choices that we make define our story more than we'd like to realize. After having stolen his brother Esau's blessing, Jacob finds himself displaced from family and home in a flight for his life. In the midst of this, God mercifully intervenes to show Jacob that if he'll trust and obey Him, God will turn Jacob's flight into redemption's road. God intends to meet us in similar ways.

On the Fast Track to Where You Didn't Think You'd Be

Genesis 27:41-28:9 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?” Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?” Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Life is a sum total of the choices that we make in response to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

This is our constant message to youth - everything counts.

We often think that the choices we make in life will lead us one place, but they often take us somewhere completely different, where we don't want to be.

Making Moves

Genesis 28:10-22 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

You may not have realized that God is in your midst, even in distressing circumstances, to lead you to Himself, but now that you do, set up an altar and commit to your Bethel for worship.

Redemption requires repentance.

Jesus said where your treasure is, your heart is as well. Generations before the Lord had Moses ratify that Israelites give God the tithe (tenth) as an expected act worship indicating that He was the source of all of their provision, Jacob demonstrated his understanding of this covenant principal.

The Road to Redemption

John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The good news is that as in Nathanael's case, Jesus knows where you've been and where He wants to take you.

Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, you have the opportunity for reconciliation with God and continued access to the throne of heaven. You go up the stairs and get God's heavenly perspective regarding your situation. You come back down, empowered by Christ through the Holy Spirit to implement His ways on the earth. Along the way you will have divine intervention by God and His angelic host working on behalf of His purposes.

Second City Church- Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - To Be or Not to Be Blessed

 

Genesis 26:34-27:29 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,“See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you,and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!"

Esau was Isaac's son, but through his choices made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Esau lived in such a manner that he would take whatever his eyes saw without regard for God or his parents' instruction.

Are you living your life in such a way that God's blessing can be with you?

What does God bless?

How do you obtain God's blessing?

Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Proverbs 14:21 Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

Proverbs 16:20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

In Genesis 25, we saw Jacob finagle Esau out of his birthright. This time he came for his blessing.

The difference is subtle but powerful:

BIRTHRIGHT had to do with INHERITANCE (reward).
BLESSING has to with God's INTERVENTION and INCREASE on your behalf (fighting for you rather than against you).

Why does it matter?

Jesus said in this world you will have trouble. You do not want to face it without Him. Ultimately, you want the blessing of the Heavenly Father because you need Him not only now, but will face Him in judgement not in His death, but in your own.

What does a curse look like? Resistance.

Here's the point: We never want to lose the blessing of God being with us, backing us, opening doors and fighting battles for us when we are first aligned with His purposes.

Esau had worldly success yet lacked the blessing of his father. Do not mistake financial or relational "success" for the pleasure of the Father.

1 Corinthians 10:1-5 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

How does this relate to our relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Jacob's mother came as an advocate for her son. She makes provision for him. She called for any curse to be upon her rather than Jacob.

Because of the exchange made with us at the cross, Jesus has become the covering before the Heavenly Father, not in deceit, but in true righteousness that we might receive the Father's blessing.

Romans 3 - God comes as our advocate through Christ to be both just and justifier in regards to our sin by taking our punishment that must be paid for on the cross.

Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Rebekah told Jacob to put on garments that would allow him to be associated with Esau and garner his father Isaac's blessing. In response to Christ's work, we are instructed to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus.

Romans 13:11-14 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The voice is Jacob's, but the arms are Esau's. God the Father knows it is you and relates to you as such, but sees the covering of Jesus.

Just as Isaac called for game from his son, the game that we are able to give God are the good works the Holy Spirit empowers us to do.

The Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.

Outside of God's blessing, we are left to ourselves like Esau. Bitterness and enmity follow.

What good will my life be to me? God does not want to give you blessing while you are turned over to serving other gods.

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?

Where are you today? In Jacob's camp with the advocate or with Esau on your own - trading material and earthly satisfaction for the pleasure of the Father?

Practicals - what to do:
1) Take an evaluation of your life. Are you comfortable with where you are because you have worldly success. Is there a deficit in your devotion to God?
2) Find your position of blessing by coming to Christ alone for salvation, coming under His covering.
3) Begin to order your life in such a way that you bring daily sacrifices to Jesus, works unto God in and through your church in the community that you might receive and walk in the blessing of the Father.
4) Repent and believe the Good News. Find your place wholly in Jesus.

Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - Sins of the Fathers

 

Identifying Patterns

Genesis 26:1-5 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Abraham went down to Egypt in famine.

We can not be driven by fear.

We need to recognize and break generational patterns that don't align with God's Word.

The patterns that shaped you do not have to be the patterns that keep you. Build on God's Word.

God reminds us of His promises repeatedly to keep us on track and give us perspective, hope in the midst of trials.

What promises has He spoken to you? How have you needed to be reminded of it during times of testing?

You first need to identify where God has placed you (and with whom - i.e. your present marriage and children) to have the faith to sow in times of famine.

Breaking Patterns

Genesis 26:6-16 So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’” Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father. And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

Even in obedience, there are times of testing.

Isaac responded the same way as Abraham, out of fear because of the beauty of his wife.

It may be the same place, the same marriage, the same children and the same circumstances, but as we sow in faith we believe God to bring about increase and blessing.

Sowing into new things in the familiar famine, you can reap a reward in the same year.

Sowing Into Something New

Genesis 26:17-33 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well. When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

Sowing into something new may be digging up the old wells that provided life to you in the beginning or that others set a clear godly example for you regarding. Through God's redemption, wells that have been stopped up can be unplugged.

Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - The Fight for Your Birthright

 

So much of our lives are a struggle for satisfaction, trying to find out who we are and what our place is in the world. We pursue careers, relationships, positions and wealth hoping to finally become the man or woman we think that we should be. Along the way, we make decisions that have long term consequences in shaping both our temporal and eternal destiny. Esau and Jacob were no different, and as we will see in the account of how these two brothers handled their birthright, we will find out why we need to strive to truly find our rest in God.

The Things That Drive Us

Genesis 25:19-28 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

What have you been known for? What were you esteemed for and what do you wish you had been esteemed for?

These desires drive us far more than we realize.

Jacob means one who grasps the heel, a colloquialism for deceiver. This was the way Jacob was identified from his youth.

Esau and his natural talents brought him favor with his father. He was his father's favored son, while Rebekah bonded with Jacob in the tents.

These affiliations were no doubt felt by each member of the family and drove what Esau and Jacob were willing to do to find peace and satisfaction.

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." - St. Augustine in Confessions

The Truth About Your Birthright

In ancient Near Eastern culture, the firstborn received the division of the material possessions divided by the number of sons plus an additional share. Thus, the firstborn received a double-portion of the inheritance. This is what Isaac's favored son, Esau, was in line to receive.

1) Your birthright from God has to do with an eternal, not just temporary, reward.

You are an eternal being.

Your birthright can be something temporary but also eternal. In a culture obsessed with the reward of immediate gratification, we need to focus on things that are eternal and unseen.

Matthew 6:1-18 II Corinthians 4:1-18

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Matthew 20:1-16

What is a birthright?

Your birthright speaks of an inheritance that your parents have prepared for you. In the natural, it can consist of property, possessions and titles. In the spirit, it is that and far more.

You begin to know your birthright through the natural gifts and talents God has given you. Like Esau, these aptitudes lead to natural interests and opportunities.

Esau started well in the natural, becoming a great hunter and man of the field.

How have you already excelled in the endowments that God has given you?

Esau, however, took his birthright for granted by never considering its redemptive purpose or connection to God. Because he thought so little of it, he was willing to sell it at a moment's notice, to satisfy a very real, but passing, carnal desire.

Jacob was content to be in the home and would have had time to consider and think through the significance of the birthright, so that he was willing to position himself to attain it. He would go about obtaining it the wrong way, however, and, because of this work of the flesh, would pay dearly for it with many years of anxiety, strife and reciprocal manipulation. What you sow, you will reap. If you are willing to deceive, backstab and steal to get ahead, it will eventually come back to you, as Jacob discovered with Laban. If you sow good, .... , it will also return to your doorstep. (An older woman, his mother Rebekah, would eventually mentor him in how to attain it).

Don't be deceived. Both sets of struggles can be a trap. Those who, like Esau, seem to have most things in life go their way are tempted not to think about the eternal because they are consumed with life's temporary pleasures. Those who have to fight uphill like Jacob can be distracted by life's struggles, being so earthly bound that they miss the divine.

2) Your birthright needs to be protected.

Like Jacob, you will be grasping, striving, clamoring for security, acceptance and approval all of your life if you are not satisfied in the inheritance of your Heavenly Father. Like Esau, you will be willing to sell your inheritance for moments of carnal gratification if you are not focused on the eternal judgments and rewards of God.

Despising Your Birthright

You despise your birthright when you trade eternal pursuits for the temporary.

Genesis 25:29-34 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” That is why he was also called Edom. Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

How can I despise my birthright?

You can despise/trade your eternal birthright by over-indulging in temporal things. God has given us all things for our enjoyment, but if your sole goal is to consume as much pleasure in life as possible, if work is simply a means to finance weekend excursions and expeditions unattached to the worship and building of the Kingdom of God, then you will not have your heart or mind set on the eternal where God the Father has prepared an inheritance for you.

Don't let the concept of "work-life balance" tip the scales so that you become ineffective and unproductive for the Kingdom of God.

The devil wants to steal your birthright. Jesus wants to restore it.

Jesus and Your Birthright

Jesus comes to redeem your birthright, buying back through the cross what you once sold in your sin.

Jesus is the ultimate firstborn, son of preeminence amongst all humanity. Because of His sinless life, no title or authority can ever be stolen or taken from Him. He is the sole and rightful heir to His Heavenly Father's throne. Yet because He is benevolent and good, he voluntarily shares the inheritance with us. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, you have the opportunity to become a co-heir with Christ. In this, there is no more striving or fear, but peace because He makes your lot secure. Repent of sin, put your trust in Jesus' redemptive work and allow Him to restore every gift, relationship and dream within the context of His inheritance for you, the birthright contextualized in His gospel purposes for the world.

Ephesians 1:7-14 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Psalm 16:5-6 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016