Joshua Generation - Part 6

Joshua Generation: Circumcision

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Making Preparation to Take the City

• The Cut

• The Covenant

• The Commander of the Army of the Lord

The Cut

Before you can help a city, you have to be positively different from those who find themselves trapped within.

As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

-Joshua 5:1-9

• What does the reproach of Egypt look like?

• My identity is not my achievements

• I will not sacrifice my mental health for some perceived level of success

Midland and Odessa, Texas, El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio shootings - our hearts break for and we pray for those affected.

An apologist gave a social commentary:

“In the 1950s kids lost their innocence.

They were liberated from their parents by well-paying jobs, cars, and lyrics in music that gave rise to a new term ---the generation gap.

In the 1960s, kids lost their authority.

It was a decade of protest---church, state, and parents were all called into question and found wanting. Their authority was rejected, yet nothing ever replaced it.
In the 1970s, kids lost their love.

It was the decade of me-ism dominated by hyphenated words beginning with self. Self-image, Self-esteem, Self-assertion....It made for a lonely world. Kids learned everything there was to know about sex and forgot everything there was to know about love, and no one had the nerve to tell them there was a difference.

In the 1980s, kids lost their hope.

Stripped of innocence, authority and love and plagued by the horror of a nuclear nightmare, large and growing numbers of this generation stopped believing in the future.

In the 1990s kids lost their power to reason.

Less and less were they taught the very basics of language, truth, and logic and they grew up with the irrationality of a postmodern world.

In the new millennium, kids woke up and found out that somewhere in the midst of all this change, they had lost their imagination.

Violence and perversion entertained them till none could talk of killing innocents since none was innocent anymore.”

-Ravi Zacharias, Recapture the Wonder

Grown men getting circumcised vs. getting circumcised on the eighth day:

We resist circumcision because we think too much of ourselves. We are not open to others’ input. Not everyone should have input, but we should be open to everyone if the Lord is speaking (Psalm 141:5; the donkey with Balaam Numbers 22:21-33).

Stop thinking more highly of yourself than you ought. Plant yourself in a place so that issues can be dealt with in your heart, and commit to building with a people for the long term to take the land.

This circumcision is why people must get baptized. It is the outward sign of the inward covenant with God.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

-Colossians 2:8-15

After circumcision, there’s a time of healing before the conquest. Why is circumcision so important? Because Jericho is on the other side.

The Covenant

Before you can help a city, you have to remember your covenant with God that will anchor your primary identity.

While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

-Joshua 5:10-12

This is why we regularly renew our covenant with the sacrament of communion, celebrating Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb, sacrificed at the cross to make way for the forgiveness of our sins.

The Commander of the Army of the Lord

Before you can help a city, you need to know where your help comes from.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

-Joshua 5:13-15

This was on the cusp of the Israelites going in to take the hard, walled up city of Jericho.

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Joshua Generation - Part 5

Joshua Generation: The Testimony of Christ

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Whereas in other portions of Scripture you can be tempted to individualize it’s application, you can not do that with the Book of Joshua. The only reason something like the Israelites crossing the Jordan would seem irrelevant to us as Christians is if we forget that in following Christ, God is:

• Taking us to a Place

• Taking us With a People

• Taking us for a Purpose

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

-Joshua 3:1-17

The Trials that we face are Systemic Challenges. The Temptation is to revert to the Naturalist Modus Operandi. The Testimony of Christ is the only lasting solution.

Making a Move to Take the City

The Trial

The Trials that we face are Systemic Challenges (every year the Jordan was at flood levels during harvest)

• On a personal level

• On a Body of Christ level

• On a Societal level
  

The Temptation

The Temptation is to revert a Naturalist Modus Operandi (wait for another season, build a dam or don’t cross at all)

• The temptation is to address issues that need a supernatural solution with natural means.

• Your plans vs. God’s plans.

If you think that you need to have a season of disobedience to accomplish your goals, then they are not Christ’s goals for your life. God will always lead you in a manner where his commands, his provision and his timing line up. If you have to break the first to accomplish the second two, it is not the Lord.* God continually provides stones of remembrance to show that if he did miracles before, he will lead us into them again. People have been wondering how to respond as Christians to issues found amidst our national landscape.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”

-George Santayana (1863—1952)

“We live as Naturalists when we talk about issues incessantly but do not devote ourselves to committed corporate prayer through the church to address these issues. Talking more about what needs to be done is not the answer. Appealing to the God of Heaven consistently to intervene (priests standing in the middle of the Jordan until all cross over) and then planning/taking action out of that place is the key.”

(The Life of Reason: Reason in Common Sense. Scribner’s, 1905: 284)

i.e. - The history of the civil rights movement made much of its progress through the impetus of the church.

The Testimony

We need the miracle power of Jesus Christ and his gospel to address the systemic issues of our day. The Testimony of Christ (Red Sea to the Jordan) is the only lasting solution.

At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

-Joshua 3:2-4

When you follow God long enough, you will need to believe him for miracles to follow Him forward. When making major life’s decisions, you need to follow the ark of the covenant. The goal is that next time you will know the ways of the Lord, which way to go, how to go about doing things. The Ark of the Covenant was the relic in Israel that both symbolized and mediated God’s presence amongst the Hebrews. Its contents included:

1. The two stone tablets of the Testimony (the Ten Commandments) - God’s Prescriptions for Living

2. A Golden Urn holding Manna the Israelites were fed with in the desert - God’s Provision

3. Aaron’s Staff that Had Budded

God’s Person (Delegated authority)

• On a Personal level - I need consecration. (Christ)

• On a Body of Christ level - Following the Ark into the Waters

I need to plan to address the challenges that I find (whether familial, financial, health-related, job-related, etc.) and contend for miracles, together with my church community.(Community)

On a Societal Level (Culture) -

The priests were to remain in the MIDDLE OF THE JORDAN where the miracle needed to take place until the people crossed over (we are a Kingdom of Priests - I Peter 2:4,5)

What can we do now (along with prayer and service) to address systemic societal issues?:

A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

-Proverbs 21:22

Changing the Conversation to a Gospel-Centered one with each opportunity.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious (giving people what they don’t deserve), seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

-Colossians 4:2-6

And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

-Joshua 4:5-7

It is only the redeeming work of Jesus Christ at the cross that can save a soul, change a heart and redeem a nation. He is the stone of testimony and the living ark, the very embodiment of God’s presence that creates the miraculous dry ground for us to walk across.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

-Revelation 12:10-11

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy for things to change in the cities/nations in which we live through the gospel.

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

-Revelation 19:10

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Joshua Generation - Part 4

Joshua Generation: Living In Remembrance

Guest speaker Pastor Kore Bendix

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Kore Bendix 2019

Joshua Generation - Part 3

Joshua Generation: Your Hiding Place

Pastor Rollan Fisher

• Your Hiding Place

• The Scarlet Cord Of Christ

Your Hiding Place

Joshua 2:1-24
And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. 8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”

View the land, especially Jericho.

HAVE YOUR EYE ON THE HIGH WALLED UP CITY

The people of Jericho heard the reports of all that God had supernaturally done to deliver the Israelites from slavery and win their battles.

The people were scared because of the judgment that would come against those who stood against the God of Heaven and Earth, the God of Israel. The good news, as always, is that this God gave an opportunity for reconciliation with himself through faith and repentance. This is what Rahab would exemplify.

RAHAB CHOSE THE RIGHT SIDE

Rahab put her faith in the one whose power was greater the human forces that she saw in front of her.

Some, however, still resisted.

The enemy will try to stamp out the purposes of God since he knows the work of God that’s been done in people’s lives in times past. He knows that if the people of God rise up, God will deliver again.

In what ways is there resistance to the life of God in us?

We’ve all hidden in the things that we think will give us comfort, security, a sense of belonging and keep us safe. What is that for you?

Rahab had to make a choice of with whom she’d hide.

Have you made your choice?

Some hide in their work. Some hide in their favorite tv programs. Some hide in a relationship. Some hide in their habits or additctions, their forms of escape whether illicit or though cyberspace. Some hide in their objections to faith because of misunderstandings about the faith.

“The older idea of the body being bad and the soul being good - of the emotions (resident in the body) as bad and reason as good - changed under Christianity. And these new views of the importance of the body and the material world laid the foundation for the rise of modern science. The material world was no longer understood as an illusion or simply something to be spiritually transcended. Nor was it just an incomprehensible mystery but, according to the Bible, it was the creation of a personal, rational being. Therefore it could be studied and understood by other personal, rational beings.” - Timothy Keller, Making Sense of God (pg. 45)

The coming conquest by the Israelites became good news to Rahab even as the gospel of the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ is good news to us.

Luc Ferry wrote the informative book A Brief History of Thought that helped to illuminate the following realities, which you can imagine would be mind-blowing for an ancient prostitute. These are the things she could have hope in as she put her trust in the God of the Israelites:

“In general, Christianity brought an unprecedented idea of the importance of the individual. “For the Buddhist, the individual is but an illusion, something destined for dissolution and impermanence; for the [Greek] Stoic the individual self is destined to merge into the totality of the cosmos; Christianity on the contrary promises immortality of the individual person: his soul, his body, his face, his beloved voice - as long as he is saved by the grace of God.” It also undermined the elitism of antiquity. “Salvation” for the Greeks had to do with philosophical contemplation, something only people with training and leisure could do. For Christians, however, salvation came through dependent, trusting faith that Jesus had saved them, doing what they could not do. In this sense it was much more egalitarian than other kinds of ancient and classical thought.” - Timothy Keller, Making Sense of God (pg. 45-46)

The cross of Jesus is the great equalizer for Dealing with Discrimination

Rahab was a prostitute who would have a community stigma attached to her. However, she cane into the same grace which the Israelites were now standing.

(Racism and Champ Bailey’s Hall of Fame speech - listen to those experiencing something different from you.)

There should be a depolarization in the church.

Why I Love the Church of Jesus Christ

Once given the hope of this salvation, Rahab was taking the action necessary to keep faith alive in the midst of hostile territory? Are you?

A Devotion to The Word of God, Regular Christian Fellowship, The Sacraments, Prayer and a Commitment to Church Involvement are Essentials in this Modern Fight (Acts 2:42-47).

Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Who’s Hiding Who?

Are you hiding Jesus amongst your co-workers, family and friends?

OR

Do you, like Rahab, find yourself hidden in the hope of Christ and his salvation?

Though Rahab did not grow up with the law or covenants of God. Upon her change of allegiance to the God of the Hebrews, she, through faith, became one of four women named in the genealogy of Christ as an heir.

Hebrews 11:31
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

The Scarlet Cord Of Christ

The Scarlet Cord:

A Looking Back to the Passover Blood

A Looking Ahead to the Shed Blood of Jesus on the Cross for the Forgiveness of Your Sins.

Repent and Bring Your Household into the Household of the Lord, under Christ’s Scarlet Cord so that they might be saved.

Why is it important to stay in church?

*You must remain in the house, underneath the covering of the scarlet cord to avoid the destruction coming on others.

Just as the spies remained three days in the hills to escape their pursuers, so we must remain in the faith, in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ for our salvation.

Matthew 21:28-32
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Joshua Generation - Part 2

Joshua Generation: A Purpose Greater than Me

• A Purpose Greater than Me

• A God Greater than My Purpose

A Purpose Greater than Me

***You are not independent in the body of Christ. Your calling and destiny is wrapped up in others.

You have not ultimately fulfilled your purpose in Christ until you’ve done all that you can to see those to whom he’s connected you come to know Jesus and fulfill their call in him. ***

Joshua 1:10-18
And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’” And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

It starts with the leaders.

The congregation repeats back to Joshua the charge given him by God.

So many Christians live dissatisfied lives because they focus and rejoice in their own achievements and not the success and progress of their brothers and sisters.

3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

*Your strength is found in how well you help others take their land and walk in the truth of Christ.

As James Earl Jones voices Mufasa in Disney’s the Lion King, we’re also reminded of wisdom from another role he voice-acted -

Numbers 32:1-22 (NIV)
The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon — the land the Lord subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan. ” Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. The Lord’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’ The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone. “And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel. If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction. ” Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. But we will arm ourselves for battle and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their inheritance. We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.” Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle and if all of you who are armed cross over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him — then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord.

The lesson of Dan, Reuben and the Half-Tribe of Manasseh:

They gravitated to what seemed like calmer pastures, where the battle against the kings of Canaan had already been won. They surely would have asked the question, “What would be the best grazing area for MY flocks?” rather than “What ground has God called me to take with my people?” Moses’ response was clear (Numbers 32).

There is no living out the gospel without some measure of suffering (the battles of Israel; Acts 14:22). We can be too loaded down with the pleasures and comforts of this world to long for the next, which God says will be far sweeter and superior (Colossians 3). It is hard to live for Jesus in this state. (Think about the rich young ruler, Jesus saying it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom, the explosion of faith in the non-western world, the reality that if you make above $32,400, you are part of the world’s economic 1%).

“So if you’re an accountant, a registered nurse or even an elementary school teacher, congratulations. The average wage for any of these careers falls well within the top 1 percent worldwide.“

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/050615/are-you-top-one-percent-world.asp

“Christianity, then, saw the battle for human virtue as no longer one of head versus heart (becoming more rational), nor mind over matter (getting more technical mastery over the world). The battle was over where to direct the supreme love of your heart. Will it be toward God and your neighbor, no matter who your neighbor is? Or will it be toward power and wealth for yourself and your tribe? Augustine was the first to formulate this, drawing in Biblical teaching. Cambridge historian Henry Chadwick argued that Augustine “marks an epoch in the history of human moral consciousness.” For the first time the supreme goal of life was not self-control and rationality but love. Love was required to redirect the human person away from self-centeredness toward serving God and others. Augustine’s Confessions laid the groundwork for what we would call psychology in a way that non-Christian classical thought could not have done.” - Timothy Keller, Making Sense of God (p. 45)

Remember the cross of Jesus Christ.

"When God becomes a Man and lives as a creature among His own creatures in Palestine, then indeed His life is one of supreme self-sacrifice and leads to Calvary."

C.S. Lewis

Do not think you will fulfill the call of God without it coming with great COST to you.

"Those who give much without sacrifice are reckoned as having given little."

- Erwin Lutzer

(Luke 21:1-4)

The problem is we are myopic by nature and easily fall into traps that say as long as I and my family are accomplishing our goals, we’re well provided for and happy then that’s all that matters. We feel like we don’t have time or motivation to take the gospel to the land that God has called us to take with the people with whom he’s called us to take it.

A God Greater than My Purpose

*The only one who can free us to live in such love, free of a selfishly motivated altruism is Jesus Christ.

As we remember this, the fruit of the flesh that we are resisting is rivalry or selfish ambition (Galatians 5:20). The command we are obeying is fighting as one man for the faith of the gospel.

Philippians 1:27-2:4
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

How do we live this way?

Decluttering Our Lives

We need to daily and intentionally make room for God and his Kingdom Purposes (reconciling the world to himself through the cross/gospel of Jesus Christ) with the people he’s given you (Acts 2:42-47).

Out of his mercy toward us, God will allow anything that we trust in before and besides him to be taken away that our hearts might be freed and our lives ultimately saved.

(Genesis 22)

What needs to be cleaned out of your life?

Mark 8:34-38
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

It is impossible for us to live faithfully this way without being inwardly redeemed by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Joshua means “the Lord saves”, again foreshadowing his transliterated name Jesus.

Jesus alone is both our establisher and propeller to greater works. His salvific work on the cross brought the means for our forgiveness of sins and establishes us in true righteousness - reconciliation with God through faith in the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He then calls us to understand that we are “blessed to be a blessing” seeing those around us come into the saving knowledge of the gospel and all of the good news that it brings.

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Joshua Generation - Part 1

Joshua Generation: Advancing in the Promises and Purposes of God

Part 1: Be Strong and Courageous

• A Land

• His Word

• A Command

Joshua 1:1-9
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

A Land

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.

In life, God will give you the land of your own soul as well as the places that you set your feet to grow the influence of the gospel, spreading the good news of the Kingdom of God. (Prayer Walk Plug!)

Personally:

“If you are ready to partake of grace you have not to atone for your sins–you have merely to accept of the atonement. All that you want to do is to cry, “God have mercy upon me,” and you will receive the blessing.” - Dwight L. Moody

Every effort that you make for forward advance in the promises and purposes of God (whether with your marriage, with your child rearing, ministry, finances or career) will be met with demonic resistance that you can not face on your own. Thus you need the cross, Christ paying for your sins and his ever present help in times of need.

5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

Be strong (Hebrew Word - chazaq): has primitive roots in words including: to fasten upon, hence to seize, repair, fortify, obstinate, conquer, confirm, contend, establish, hold firm, harden, grasp, maintenance, make one stay, become (grow) mighty, overcome, persevere, prevail, recover, resolutely, retain, severe, seize, stand firm, support, be sure, take, urge, be urgent, withstand.

Publicly:

Everywhere you go, because of Christ in you (and the fruit of the Holy Spirit through you), you become the thermostat, rather than the thermometer, in the room.

“God doesn’t just give us grace; He gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace.” -Joni Eareckson Tada

His Word:

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

“If Jesus is the Son of God, his teachings are more than just good ideas from a wise teacher; they are divine insights on which I can confidently build my life.” -Lee Strobel

You are what you eat, even when working out regularly.

Dieters can feel like they’re never getting anywhere - they are in the gym every day but still feeding on Dunkin Donuts.

Picture a barbell in one hand and sweets in the other.

What are you consuming that is short-circuiting your progress?

We need to not just acknowledge God, but give Jesus the reigns of our lives (Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel).

“God does not guide those who want to run their own life. He only guides those who admit their need of His direction and rely on His wisdom.” -Winkie Pratney

We all want the blessings. We don’t always want what it takes to get them - allowing Jesus to be Lord of the DECISION-MAKING in our lives.

Proverbs 3:5-12
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. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

“Individuals could profess to not be secular people, to have religious faith. Yet, at the practical level, the existence of God may have no noticeable impact on their life decisions and conduct. This is because in a secular age even religious people tend to choose lovers and spouses, careers and friendships, and financial options with no higher goal than their own present-time personal happiness. Sacrificing personal peace and affluence for transcendent causes becomes rare, even for people who say they believe in absolute values and eternity. Even if you are not a secular person, the secular age can “thin out” (secularize) faith until it is seen as simply one more choice in life - along with job, recreation, hobbies, politics - rather than as the comprehensive framework that determines all life choices.” -Timothy Keller

A Command

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We will all try and fail at some point. So often, our confidence is based on a sense of being able to achieve perfection. However, Jesus alone lived the perfect life and now offers grace and forgiveness to those who would abandon their self sufficiency and fall on the strength of God.

“Christ not only supplies the necessities of his people, but he gives them abundant and superabundant joy in the luxuries of his grace. You do not really preach the gospel if you leave Christ out; if he be omitted, it is not the gospel. You may invite men to listen to your message, but you are only inviting them to gaze upon an empty table unless Christ is the very center and substance of all that you set before them.” -Charles Spurgeon

There is no being strong and courageous for the promises and purposes of God without reconciliation with God. Repent of your self sufficiency, come to the cross of Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of your sins and move forward knowing that Immanuel is with you.

Acts 3:17-21
“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.”

Second City Church - Joshua Generation - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Hope

Second City Church - Hope - Guest Speaker Pastor Przemyslaw Sielatycki 2019

Worship In Songland - Part 3

Worship in Songland: Worship in Spirit and Truth

Pastor Cole Parleir

Main Scripture

John 4:1-42

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

‭‭John‬ ‭4:1-42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Point

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

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

a) What is not worshipping in spirit?

i) Lip service and ministry won't cut it

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

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

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

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

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

iv) Good deeds won’t cut it

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

v) Money won’t cut it

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

vi) Any ole Sacrifice/gift

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

b) What is worshipping in Spirit?

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

(1) Clean hands and Pure heart

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

(2) Our bodies as a living sacrifice

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

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

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

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

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

a) 1 John 1:5-10 ESV

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

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

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

i) How did he do this?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quotes

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

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

Application

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

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

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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

More scriptures to meditate on

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

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

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

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

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:3-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

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

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

Worship In Songland - Part 2

Worship in Songland: Know the the One for Whom You Write

• Praise that Pleases the Lord

• Worship that Pleases the Lord

• Turning to the Lord

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

We Worship With:

• The Head

• The Heart

• The Hands

In the Studio - Why it's important what we do in praise and worship

Of David

Psalm 22:3-5
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men." - C.S. Lewis

The Hands (You’re Body in Worship)

"Our entire being is fashioned as an instrument of praise. Just as a master violin

maker designs an instrument to produce maximum aesthetic results, so God

tailor-made our bodies, souls and spirits to work together in consonance to produce

pleasing expressions of praise and worship. When we use body language to express

praise, that which is internal becomes visible."

"A Heart For Worship" by Lamar Boschman

Praise that pleases the Lord

• Clapping

• Shouting for Joy

• Singing

• Playing Instruments

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” —Victor Hugo

• Dancing

CELEBRATION!!!

This is praise.

Of the Sons of Korah

Psalm 47:1-9
Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

Of David

Psalm 30:1-12
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord , be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Worship that Pleases the Lord

• Bowing

"The first element in worship is adoration. The Hebrews expressed this by their posture

and not alone by their word. For they prostrated themselves before God. “O come, let

us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” They did not come

with an easy familiarity into the presence of God, but were aware of his greatness and

majesty, and came with a sense of privilege to His house."

"Worship in Ancient Israel" p. 257

H.H. Rowley

• Kneeling

• Prostrating

“At the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls. It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds; in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.” - Screwtape speaking to Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters

• Humbling Ourselves

• Lifting Hands in Surrender

Holy of Holies before the awesomess and Majesty of God

I’m more focused on the glory (kabod) of God than who or what’s going on around me.

Intimacy (people act like if they don’t post something on Instagram, the life event isn’t validated or didn’t happen. This destroys the secret life and intimacy with Jesus and people that you love. Turn these moments instead to worship of God to testify to his life of blessing and deliverance Matthew 6; Revelation 12)

Getting off the phone - destroys intimacy with spouse, children, world around you. We are more irritable

• Exchange

• Crying out to God

“If this fails, you must fall back on a subtler misdirection of his intention. Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him towards themselves. Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills. When they meant to ask Him for charity, let them, instead, start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves and not notice that this is what they are doing. When they meant to pray for courage, let them really be trying to feel brave. When they say they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to feel forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling; and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment.” - Screwtape speaking to Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters

Of David

Psalm 145:14-21
The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Turning to the Lord

“The purpose of this Christian society called “the church” is first to glorify God by our worship. We do not go to church just to hear a sermon. We go to church to worship God.” —Billy Graham

It’s not a matter of culture, it’s a matter of freedom

2 Corinthians 3:15-18
Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The cross of Jesus and his Resurrection Give us access to this freedom. Repent and believe the good news for the forgiveness of your sins today!

Second City Church - Worship In Songland - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Worship In Songland - Part 1

Worship in Songland: The Story Behind the Song

• Christ Our Song

• Before the Song

Before the Song

We all have a story. We don’t have a song until we realize who Jesus is and from that which he has actually rescued us.

Isaiah 42:10-17
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands. The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”

Today, people’s convictions are more emotional than intellectual, more populist than spiritual or submitted to God.

“To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men.” - A.W. Tozer

The attempt to normalize sin can deaden our convictions in regards to God’s character and the inner holiness that should be evoked in a life of worship to God (think about the commercials you watch).

Isaiah 5:20-23
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

The images being presented by our culture try to strip the understanding of our salvation, and thus the source of our joy.

“About a century ago, the Soviet formalist filmmaker Lev Kuleshov conducted a series of experiments with filmic montage. In the most famous one, he edited a short film consisting of short clips of various subjects: an actor’s expressionless face, a bowl of soup, a woman on a couch, a girl in a coffin. The same clips edited into different sequences produced different interpretive results in the viewer. The deadpan face of the actor appeared to take on different emotions depending on which image preceded or followed it—he appeared dolorous, for example, when seeming to “look at” the dead girl in the coffin. This effect of filmic editing has been called the Kuleshov effect, and it’s had an enormous influence on filmmakers including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Francis Ford Coppola. It also forms the backbone of reality television, in which meaning is almost entirely produced in the editing room.

Kuleshov’s disciple Sergei Eisenstein would eventually call editing, and montage in particular, the key formal property of cinema (the famous Odessa-steps sequence in his 1925 film Battleship Potemkin is the canonical example). These traits allow film to link together seemingly unrelated images, relying on the viewer’s brain to make connections that aren’t present in the source material, let alone the cinematic composition.”

From: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/viral-clash-students-and-native-americans-explained/580906/?fbclid=IwAR0Y567YTbxPFLfY_0x8UOtca2okOPt8Xncq5FJ0Nh81P89PCpyCW7UEzLs

We are living in a culture where backsliding is affirmed by the majority, and lukewarm living will not evoke a second glance. What people need is to be born again.

“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” - Rick Warren

Christ, Our Song

You sing about the things that make you come alive.

When we realize who Jesus is and the destruction that he saved us from on the cross, He becomes our joyous, daily song of eternal salvation.

*Encourage our songwriters to write

Psalm 92:1-15
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Christ is our righteousness.

“You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you.” - Charles Spurgeon

Second City Church - Worship In Songland - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Turn to Immanuel

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” Brennan Manning

Deism

Bob Johnson said, “God gave us reason, not religion”, this has become a popular quote among proponents of Deism 

Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005) by sociologists Christians Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton introduced the term Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. 

Moralistic

God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions

Good people go to heaven when they die.

Therapeutic

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about ones self.

Deism

A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.

God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.

2 Chronicles 20 (I’m going to read the whole thing at the beginning and highlight certain verse later.)

Where do you turn when you alarmed, afraid, anxious, angry, ashamed?

“Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” 2 Chronicle 20:3 

An Active Community

“And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,” 2 Chronicles 2:4-5

“Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” 2 Chronicles 20:13 

Jehoshaphat follow Davids example

• David’s Active community:

• Levites 1 Chronicles 23

• Priests 1 Chronicles 24

• Musicians 1 Chronicles 25

• Gatekeepers 1 Chronicles 26a

• Treasurers and Administrators 1 Chronicles 26b

• Military Commanders 1 Chronicles 27a

• Tribal Leader 1 Chronicles 27b

• Gift Givers 1 Chronicles 29

• 1 Chronicles 28 passes it on to Solomon

(These can just be bullet pointed like this as a reference, the scripture doesn’t need be written out)

An Immanent and Active God

Jehoshaphat’s prayer 2 Chronicles 20:6-12

Trusting the Lord’s Power

2 Chronicles 20:15-19

Ephesians 6:10-20

Trusting the Lords Power

An Immanent and Active God

Ephesians 2:11-18

An Active Community

Where are you going to turn when you are alarmed?

Second City Church - Turn To Immanuel - Guest Speaker Daniel Henry 2019

A Good and Gracious Father

He wants you home

The Situation

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

The Word of God

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

‭‭Luke‬ ‭15:11-32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Point

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

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

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

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

      1. 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

         1. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

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

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

         1. 1 John 2:15-17 ESV

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

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

   2. Father God desires us all to come home

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

      1. Matthew 6:10 ESV

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

      2. Matthew 4:17 ESV

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

      3. Luke 17:20-21 ESV

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

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

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

• John 6:44-45 ESV

  • “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”

‭

Our Response

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

More scriptures to meditate on

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preparation

What does it say?

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

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

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

What does it say about God?

God is wealthy.

God is a father who has more than one child.

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

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

God is not easily angered or offended.

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

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

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

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

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

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

God raises the dead and finds the lost.

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

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

What does it say about me?

I am spoiled

I am rude.

I am disrespectful.

I am self absorbed.

I am reckless.

I am a victim of my bad decisions.

I am stupid.

I am prideful.

I am forgetful.

I have needs that drive me.

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

I have the capacity for repentance and returning.

I don’t have to stay in my situation.

I am loved by my father.

I am pitied by my father.

I am served by my father.

I am provided for by my father.

I am celebrated by my father.

I am defended by my father.

What does it say about the world around me?

The world is not my home.

The world is not trying to help me.

The world is using me.

The world is full of ways to be reckless.

The world can not control me.

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

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

What do I do?

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

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

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

CELEBRATE praising our good, gracious, Heavenly Father!

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

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church Bringing Life to the Dead

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Church Bringing Life to the Dead

1. The Challenge of Modern Stoicism

2. Christ’s Power to Resurrect the Dead

The Challenge of Modern Stoicism

We repeat instruction because it is repeated in Scripture.

It is a safeguard (Philippaians 3:1; II Peter 1:12-15; I John 2:21)

Those who start strong but fizzle in the end do so because they do not employ the ways of the Lord

Acts 20:1-6
After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

"By flooding the consciousness with gnawing unpleasantness, pain provides a temporary relief from the burdens of self-awareness," researchers who investigated the phenomenon are quoted as saying. "Pain helps consumers create the story of a fulfilled life." -Inc. Magazine article Jack Dorsey Just Said He Sometimes Doesn't Eat for Days. Why Do So Many Founders Like to Torture Themselves?

There's one more possible explanation for the extreme behavior of a strikingly high percentage of successful founders, which comes from the New York Times' Nellie Bowles. Many of these fans of extreme self-deprivation, she points out, are equally enthusiastic followers of the ancient philosophical school of stoicism (though not Dorsey, at least not publicly), which "argued that the only real treasures in life were inner virtues, like self-mastery and courage."

If you're rich and bored and have it all, the only thing left to strive for may be the discipline to not eat or walk barefoot in the snow.

But from Roman times on up to today stoicism has also always been a favorite philosophy of the elite. At least in part that may be because of its relentlessly inward focus. It calls on the individual to shape him or herself to be better, not to shape the world to be better.

"Stoics believed that everything in the universe is already perfect and that things that seem bad or unjust are secretly good underneath. The philosophy is handy if you already believe that the rich are meant to be rich and the poor meant to be poor," Bowles writes.

Christ’s Power to Resurrect the Dead

Acts 20:7-16
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted. But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church for All Seasons

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Church for All Seasons 

Life is a journey traveled out in seasons. The ups and downs of life will come. Times of celebratory victories and fiery trials will come. God is an ever present leader, help and guide during each of these seasons. His church is a ship he has designed to sail through all seasons.

Acts 19:21-41
Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Who was Artemis and what did she represent that was worshiped?

The economic and social impact of the gospel.

The church allows you to avoid the trappings of “group think”.

Understanding the things and principalities worshiped in our culture will help you navigate and stand for the unchanging truth of the gospel in the midst of shifting tides.

From people who are believing for children to new parents to empty nesters; from those starting careers to being in the middle of life-altering job transitions, to retirement, God has his church to remind you of his person, his purpose and his provision for you.

In every season, God gives you his church to be strengthened in the:

Person of God (i.e. - his comfort and faithfulness as you wait on children; his protection as you look to overcome sin)

Purpose of God (i.e. - when you’re sorting through life direction)

Provision of God (i.e. - when you’re looking for a spouse)

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Martin Luther King Jr

How do we live with such a mentality?

Romans 12:9-21
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Jesus went to the cross to take the punishment for our sin. It shows us that he is familiar with suffering. He rose from the dead victoriously to give us the hope of forgiveness as we turn from our sin to the joy of new/eternal life in him. In whatever season you find yourself, he has given you his church with which to walk out this gift.

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church Known By the Lord

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Church Known By the Lord 

We need Holy Spirit power and the authority of Jesus to drive out evil because we are facing down demonic powers on a daily basis.  You may see the enemy binding people in your city, your home, your workplace or even your own soul.  God wants to deliver.  Christ came to destroy the works of the devil to set you, people, cities and nations free by the power of the cross and God’s resurrection gospel.  He has called his people to usher in this freedom. 

It’s Not About What You Know, It’s Who You Know

Acts 19:11-20
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Desire to grow in the authority of Christ. 

People say, “But I feel so weak, so I’ll-equipped, so unworthy...”

“The biblical model is that God deliberately chooses imperfect vessels - those who have been wounded, those with physical or emotional limitations.  Then he prepares them to serve and sends them out with their weaknesses still evident, so that his strength can be made perfect in that weakness.”  

- Christine Caine

Our culture suffers today because of the idolatry of self and independent calling.  Many are whipped by the devil like the sons of Sceva because they are both formulaic in their ministry rather than relational, and disconnected from the body of Christ from which we are to derive the Lord’s strength.  

The only way to walk in the power of God exemplified in Acts is to first have an intimate walk with Jesus and be full of the Holy Spirit.  The believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They were then filled repeatedly with joy, boldness to be witnesses, skill to reap a harvest of souls and authority to push back the Kingdom of darkness in their everyday lives (Acts 4:8, 31; 7:55; 13:45, 52...). 

What does it look like to be this in tune with Jesus?

Devote yourself to being close to Jesus. 

Mark 3:13-15
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.

It is not a matter of time so much as a matter of heart; if you have the heart to pray, you will find the time.

- Charles Spurgeon

*Don’t get used to footholds of the enemy in your life from which God wants to deliver you.  

You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything but Christ.

- Charles Spurgeon

It’s Not About Who You Think You Know, It’s Who Knows You

Determine to be known by God. 

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 
Now concerning  food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Knowledge has its limits (Deuteronomy 29:29; I Corinthians 13:8-13).  Faith, hope, love and obedience can be ever increasing. 

Satan can fill your heart as surely as God the Holy Spirit can (John 13:27; Acts 5:3).  You must be on guard.  Walk in the ways of God with and through your local church body.

Matthew 7:15-23 
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

You are known by God when you repent of your sin, walk with Jesus, love him and obey his commands.  This is proven when you are knit together and serve Christ faithfully in and through his church.  This is when you come into alignment with God’s will, increase in his authority and become known to the enemy because you join Christ and his people in his Kingdom advance.  In Christ, we are always led in triumphal procession (II Corinthians 2:12-16) and have the eternal victory by his resurrection from the dead.  

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church With More To Learn

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Church With More To Learn

• A Matter of Perspective 

• A Matter of Exposure

A Matter of Perspective

Acts 18:24-28 
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

How big things can seem in our youth 

Psalm 37:23-26 
The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

The immensity of the trial is felt in proportion to your present capacity (think weight lifting).  God uses it to grow and strengthen you (Romans 5:5-8)

Experience Brings a Weight of the Glory of God

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other 

A Matter of Exposure

Acts 19:1-10 
And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

The person of the Holy Spirit 

Summer Reading List:

1. The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris

2. Surprised by the Power of the Spirit by Jack Deere 

3. Holy Fire by RT Kendall

Amongst other things, we see here that the Holy Spirit has a role in testifying to the crucified, risen Christ, filling people with boldness to preach, convicting men and women of their sin, opening their eyes to the truth of the gospel through signs, wonders and miracles and conforming people to the image of Jesus.

John 16:4-15 
4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Chicago Fire - A heritage of faith in Jesus Christ

Chicago Fire: A heritage of faith in Jesus Christ

Main Scripture

Acts 16:1-5 ESV

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

2 Timothy 1:1-7

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The Point

God uses family relationships and dynamics to bless the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ while filling our relational needs.

1. We receive the blessing God wants us to have through honoring the parents He has sovereignly given to us.    

   1. Exodus 20:12 ESV

      1. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

   2. A natural honor leads to supernatural heritage of faith, and God’s manifest presence and favor..

2. We receive the blessing God wants us to have through honoring the leaders He sovereignly given us

   1. Hebrews 13:17-18 ESV

      1. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.”

3. We walk in blessing by the support of family members

   1. Acts 18:9-11 ESV

      1. “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

We interpret this in natural and we also interpret this in the spiritual.  Timothy received the faith of Christ we believe either through his grandmother Lois or mother Eunice.  What was a natural relationship led to a supernatural salvation of Timothy and all that would believe the message of Christ through Timothy.

Who are some people God uses to get a supernatural heritage of faith in God and trust in Jesus Christ to us?

1. Parents

2. Step-parents

3. Adopted parents

4. Foster parents

5. Guardians

6. “God” parents

7. Grandparents

8. Teacher

9. Preacher

10. Prophet
    

Exodus 20:12 ESV

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

What does it mean to “honor your father and your mother”?

1. The word honor in Hebrew means to ‘treat someone with proper respect due to the person and their role”

2. How we treat our earthly and spiritual parents reveals our heart toward our Heavenly Father and Jesus as Lord

What does the promise “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” mean?

1. Peace with God as He is rooting you more and more in Christ and His kingdom

2. Favor from God as He gives you more spiritual fruit (He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much)

3. Treasure in Heaven as you prepare for His kingdom coming
   

How do we show this God commanded, Holy Spirit led proper respect to our biological and spiritual parents?

1. Treat parents with deference, be submissive

   1. Ex 21:15

      1. “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.”

         1. don’t fight with them

   2. Ex 21:17

      1. “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.”

         1. don’t curse them.

   3. Luke 2:49-51 ESV (Jesus as a child deferred to the parents God gave him)

      1. And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

   4. Eph 6:1-3 ESV (Paul commanded deference)

      1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

   5. 1 Tim 5:1-2 ESV (treat older women as mothers and encourage them, not rebuking them)

      1. Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

2. Providing for them and looking after them in their old age

   1. Proverbs 3:9 ESV (it honors the Lord)

      1. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

      2. Honoring the Lord comes with a blessing as does honoring our parents

   2. Mark 7:9-16 ESV (Jesus equates honor with financial help)

      1. 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)[d]— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” 14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

   3. 1 Tim 5:3-8 ESV (we should provide for our parents in their distress)

      1. Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, 6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. 7 Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

A Mom and Wife as the personification and capstone of wisdom

Proverbs 31

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?

   What are you doing, son of my vows?

3 Do not give your strength to women,

   your ways to those who destroy kings.

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

   it is not for kings to drink wine,

   or for rulers to take strong drink,

5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

   and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,

   and wine to those in bitter distress;

7 let them drink and forget their poverty

   and remember their misery no more.

8 Open your mouth for the mute,

   for the rights of all who are destitute.

9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,

   defend the rights of the poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

10 An excellent wife who can find?

   She is far more precious than jewels.

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,

   and he will have no lack of gain.

12 She does him good, and not harm,

   all the days of her life.

13 She seeks wool and flax,

   and works with willing hands.

14 She is like the ships of the merchant;

   she brings her food from afar.

15 She rises while it is yet night

   and provides food for her household

   and portions for her maidens.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

   with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

17 She dresses herself with strength

   and makes her arms strong.

18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

   Her lamp does not go out at night.

19 She puts her hands to the distaff,

   and her hands hold the spindle.

20 She opens her hand to the poor

   and reaches out her hands to the needy.

21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,

   for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes bed coverings for herself;

   her clothing is fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is known in the gates

   when he sits among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them;

   she delivers sashes to the merchant.

25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,

   and she laughs at the time to come.

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,

   and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27 She looks well to the ways of her household

   and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;

   her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women have done excellently,

   but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

   but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,

   and let her works praise her in the gates.

The Prayer

Heavenly Father help us receive the heritage of faith from Abraham, to David, to Jesus, to Barnabus, to Paul, to Timothy, and eventually to us.  Let this faith in the risen Christ dwell in us and work in us to love and honor you our Heavenly Father as well as the mothers and fathers you have given us.  In Jesus name amen.

Invitation to follow Jesus

The Rich Young Ruler

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers[b] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Cole Parleir 2019

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church Submitted to His Will

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Church Submitted to His Will

In our own minds, we all have hopes and dreams - plans for your family, children, career, ministry, and life. 

But somewhere along the road, we’re all thrown curveballs, diversions to the roadmap we were laying out for ourselves.

Do these feelings sound familiar?: 

Frustration, dissatisfaction, anger, lack of contentment.  

Moving forward in faith with holy ambition 

vs. 

Being disgruntled and discontent

Why do we so often end up in the latter?

*Knowing God’s will and submitting to his will are two different things.  Knowing God’s will involves being aware of HIS objectives and goals (whose are you following today, HIS or your own?). 

Submitting to God’s will involves process, timing and circumstances we would not have chosen for ourselves, but in the wisdom and sovereignty of God, are necessary for our development and his glory.  

Knowing God’s Will 

Submitting to God’s Will

Knowing God’s Will

Acts 18:18-23 
After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Paul knew the will of the Lord by (Acts 13):

1. The Word of God

“Your call will become clear as as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God's Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention.”

Swindoll Charles R.

2. The Holy Spirit directing through times of worship, fasting and prayer 

3. Christ-ordained confirmation through God-given and vetted counsel. 

It’s an issue of Control vs. Confidence (Trust) in the Lord

Proverbs 16:1,3,9 
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Submitting to God’s Will

“If you aren't vigilant, if you aren't daily humbling yourself before Him, seeking His face, discerning His timing, operating under the Spirit's control, you may push and shove and force your way prematurely into that place where God wanted you, but you will not have arrived in His own time.”

Charles R. Swindoll, Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication

Job 42:1-6 

Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

“God doesn't work on our timetable. He has a plan that He will execute perfectly and for the highest, greatest good of all, and for His ultimate glory.”

Charles R. Swindoll

God’s plans vs. Our Own

-Timing 

-Manner

-Results 

We know in part and we prophesy in part 

(I Corinthians 13)

“To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss.”

-Elisabeth Elliot

Joseph (Genesis 37-50)

Disappointment, discouragement and disillusionment are the result when we project our plans onto God’s.  

“You and I can become so dedicated to the will of God, we can be so driven by a false sense of purpose, that we might inadvertently take matters into our own hands and leave God completely out of the loop.”

Charles R. Swindoll, Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication

Fruitfulness, Joy and Longevity result when we make faith-filled plans, trusting God and submitting to his will

When the Lord makes it clear you're to follow Him in this new direction, focus fully on Him and refuse to be distracted by comparisons with others.

Swindoll Charles R.

Be fruitful while you wait (through your church)

Acts 18:22-23 

When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

How not to miss the will of God: 

***Counsel and the will of God!!

Who will you let into the decision-making part of your world?

Proverbs 24:5-6 
A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Paul eventually ended up back in Ephesus, where he would minister for almost three years (Acts 19:1-10) and through his ministry, the entire province of Asia would come to hear the gospel.  He had to submit to God’s process and timing for this to be done, while moving forward with faith-filled plans in the light of his then present revelation. 

Our Posture: We advance (with the gospel) by faith

The Result: Increasing fruit and fruitfulness wherever the Lord wills

“I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame, and I choose it above all things on Earth or in Heaven.”

A.W. Tozer

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Chicago Fire - Jesus and a Church of Eternal Friendships

Chicago Fire: Jesus and a Church of Eternal Friendships

We all want friendships that will last.  People with whom we will experience love, loss, devotion, care and mutual concerns are naturally one of our greatest desires.  We’ve all experienced these relationships to varying degrees, but eventually, you ask, “What’s the point of it all?”  Is the point of friendship just to have another barbecue or share another Pinterest post together?  Though these things are good, they are not the full extent of God’s plan. 

For the Faith

For the Trial

For the Purposes of God

Acts 18:1-17 
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

For the Faith

We all need people who will stand with us as we look to grow in the knowledge, grace and life of God.  This is what gives friendship its foundation. 

Emerson said, Do you love me? means Do you see the same truth?-Or at least, "Do you care about the same truth?

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

There is a difference between carnal companionship and God ordained friendship. We should yearn for the latter, the greater. 

Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or burden). The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, "What? You too? I thought I was the only one." 

... It is when two such persons discover one another, when, whether with immense difficulties and semi-articulate fumblings or with what would seem to us amazing and elliptical speed, they share their vision - it is then that Friendship is born. And instantly they stand together in an immense solitude.

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends. Where the truthful answer to the question "Do you see the same truth?" would be "I see nothing and I don't care about the truth; I only want a Friend," no Friendship can arise - though Affection of course may. There would be nothing for the Friendship to be about; and Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice. Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travellers.

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

The purpose of friendship is to both introduce those who don’t know God to Jesus and to reach those who don’t know Christ alongside of those who do.  To truly act in love, there must eventually be an intentional “turning of the corner” for us all.  This is where the friendship between Paul, Aquila, Priscilla, Silas and Timothy found eternal significance and meaning.

On the cross, Jesus expressed the greatest level of friendship by laying down his life for the world that he loves.  As we come to Jesus in faith and repentance, he then gives us a family of fellow travelers, his church through whom we find eternal friendships.  Not only does Christ give us family, but in those friendships, purpose, value and meaning as we advance the Kingdom of God together.  

John 15:12-17 
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Second City Church - Chicago Fire - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Resurrection

People have often missed the point of Easter:

For the Christian, the skeptic and the prodigal looking to come home, we hope to answer these questions:

Why does the empty tomb matter?

How can I historically have confidence that there was an empty tomb?

What does the empty tomb mean about Christ?

What does the empty tomb mean for me?

Why does the empty tomb matter?

*The resurrection matters because Jesus came to reconcile us to God, redeeming our sin scorched and broken lives.

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

Focus

Identity

Reverence

Suffering 

Trust

1 Peter 5:1-14 
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,  not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;  not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:17-20 
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

How can I historically have confidence that there was an empty tomb?

Mark 15:42-47 
And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Mark 16:1-8 
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back— it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Taken from crossexamined.org article written on the evidence for the empty tomb (https://crossexamined.org/the-evidence-for-jesus-resurrection-part-4-fact-2-the-empty-tomb/):

1. The Jerusalem Factor

2. All Four Gospels Feature Women As Witnesses To The Empty Tomb 

3. The Enemies Of Christianity Presupposed The Vacancy Of The Tomb When They Said That The Disciples Stole The Body

4. The Empty Tomb Is Multiply Attested

5. Mark’s Account Is Simple And Lacks Signs Of Embellishment

6. Multiple Literary Forms 

7. The Reason The Women Went To The Tomb – Historical Fit/Coherence

8. Archeological Evidence Presents An Edict That Makes The Most Sense In Light Of Jesus’ Tomb Being Empty 

9. Jesus’ Tomb Was Never Venerated As A Shrine 

“In Palestine during the days of Jesus, at least fifty tombs of prophets or other holy persons served as sites of religious worship and veneration. However, there is no good evidence that such a practice was ever associated with Jesus’ tomb. Since this was customary, and since Jesus was a fitting object of veneration, why were such religious activities not conducted at his tomb? The most reasonable answer must be that Jesus’ body was not in his tomb, and thus the tomb was not regarded as an appropriate site for such veneration. . . . It seems, then, the lack of veneration at the tomb of Jesus is powerful evidence that the tomb was empty.”  - Philosopher and Apologist J.P. Moreland 

I was thinking of the resurrection in light of the recent Mueller reports investigating alleged collusion with the president and Russia during our latest presidential elections.  It brought me naturally to an even earlier time of confirmed scandal in our country with Richard Nixon and Watergate.  One of the men involved was a man named Charles Colson, who after his conviction and imprisonment, became a Christian.  Here is what he had to say about the resurrection. 

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

Charles Colson

What does the empty tomb mean about Christ?

John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Romans 1:1-6 
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David  according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

We can be hesitate and prolong responding to Jesus fully because we are afraid of what acknowledging his reality in our lives would mean. 

What does the empty tomb mean for me?

For the Christian:

God can resurrect things that seem dead when we’re attempting to follow him faithfully. 

For the skeptic:

It means there’s a judgment to come when I will give an account of my life to a holy, righteous God.  It means my sin has earned death and condemnation for me but that Jesus paid a substitutionary price for me on the cross.  It means because Jesus was innocent and sinsless, death couldn’t hold him down.  It means there is life after the grave and Jesus calls me to an eternal peace in him.  It means that he offers me forgiveness that covers over all of my wrongs as I repent of my sin and put my trust in Him.  It means that Jesus calls me to healing can begin now and power to begin a new life today because of his resurrection from the dead.  

For the prodigal:

Jesus has came to deliver me and set my life back on course.  It means that he can restore broken lives, resurrect dead relationships and provide a purpose and a future to those who were once hopeless. It means the devil is defeated and you have one who can tame the roaring lion who looks to tear to your family, your finances, your mental health, your body and your soul apart.  It means that though up to this point so many things seemed to have fallen apart, there is a God who gives life to the dead because he is the resurrection and the life!!

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

In conclusion: 

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ best explains the empty tomb which was known, could be located, was well guarded by Roman soldiers yet at the end of the day, was missing its most important contents.  

The empty tomb also best explains God’s intention for your life - to leave the death, sin, endless life altering mistakes and bitterness behind at the tomb.  It is to choose Christ and allow him to forgive you, heal you and set you on a new course because of the price he paid for your sins on the cross.  It is to allow him within his church to take off the grave clothes (John 11 + 12) and allow you to live a resurrected and redeemed life through your faith in the Son of God.  Let him be your Lord and Savior today and come into his resurrection life!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 
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.

Second City Church - Resurrection - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019