The Greatness of Grace

The Greatness of Grace

Bishop Ron Lewis

Focus: God’s grace in Jesus Christ finds you, saves you, keeps you, and empowers you for his glory.

Points:

 I shouldn’t be here…except for the grace of God. 

14 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. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. - John 1:14-17

• Jesus is full of grace.

• It doesn’t matter how bad or good we’ve been.

• Grace is mentioned 4 times in these 4 verses.

• Jesus came to the lowest place in the world: Israel (geography), manger (like an animal), cross (like a criminal).

• All we can do, is RECEIVE the grace of God. 

• 39 of the 40 miracles in Acts were outside the church.

• Where we are, God is there. 

What is grace?

• God’s→Riches→At→Christ’s→Expense

• Jesus did it all and we can only receive.

• The blood of Jesus Christ for our sins is God’s grace toward us. 

• If we reject God’s grace we must rely on our obedience to the Old Testament standard of righteousness based on perfect obedience to 600+ laws.

• Grace guarantees that we have been acknowledged, accepted, redeemed, chosen, loved, ransomned, adopted and adored by the living God through Jesus Christ. 

We Become New 

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. - 1 Corinthians 15:10

• Grace makes us brand new.

• Grace restores us to God and others 

6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”- Malachi 4:6

We Are Kept 

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, - Titus 2:11-12

• The grace of God brings salvation.

• The grace of God trains us to live godly lives here and now. 

• Before grace sin was normal.

• ‘Hesed’ is God’s covenant kindness to love us, never leave us, or forsake us. 

• This Hesed empowers us to do God’s work.

• We are now living in grace and we can expect good things to happen. 

• Grace is the gift of God that help you be who you’re meant to be.Questions:

• Are you too proud to receive God’s grace in Jesus Christ?

• Does your success keep you from God’s grace?

• Are your failures keeping you from God’s grace?

• No matter what you’re going through God is with you, never leaving you, and is giving you his grace.

• All we can do is say thank you.  

Pray

Thank you God for your grace that finds me, saves me, makes me new, and empowers me to be who you’ve called me to be in Jesus Christ. Fill me again now. Amen.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:16-17

Second City Church - Bishop Ron Lewis 

Set Apart: Holiness Restored

Set Apart: Holiness Restored

Notes prepared by William Murrell

Focus: Jesus displayed perfect holiness as a man and bore our sins so that we could share his holiness.

Hebrews 7:23–28 ESV

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 

28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

The Hebrews’ author wrote to first-century Jewish Christians tempted to give up because of severe persecution.

Some were tempted to stop gathering for corporate worship—perhaps to protect themselves from the social consequences of following Jesus (10:25). Others were tempted to abandon their Christian confession and return to the familiar rituals and practices of Judaism (10:23)—and in some cases paganism.

To encourage this group of beleaguered disciples, the author of Hebrews calls them to focus on the person of Jesus—our only hope in life and death.

Throughout this rich letter, the author develops two interrelated themes to help us see Jesus more clearly—the Word of God (revelation) and the Work of Christ (redemption). Recognizing that his primary listeners were Jewish believers, the anonymous author roots these themes in the story of Israel in the Old Testament. 

Many potential authors have been suggested for the book of Hebrews. Some have suggested Paul while others have suggested one of Paul’s close ministry associates—like Barnabas, Apollos, or Priscilla.

For the first ten chapters, he demonstrates how Jesus brings about “a better covenant” (7:22) as the ultimate revelation of God (Hebrews 1:2) and the redeemer of God’s people (1:3). Then, in the last three chapters, the author explains how these truths about Jesus can help us live in confidence (10:19), perseverance (12:1), and holiness (12:10).

Because of these thematic links with the Old Testament, Hebrews is an appropriate place to continue our holiness study—and to bridge this theme in the Old and New Testaments. While every New Testament book testifies to Jesus as the Messiah and fulfillment of God’s covenant to Abraham, Hebrews systematically works through specific elements of the Jewish sacrificial system and demonstrates how Jesus brings about “a better covenant.” This theme crescendos in our passage in Hebrews 7.

1. The Problem with Priests

In this passage, the author of Hebrews highlights two weaknesses of the sacrificial system.  Priests die and priests are sinners.

7:23: The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office . . .

7:27: . . . those high priests, offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people . . .

• On Priestly Finitude

It is important not to run past this point without considering the significant implications of human mortality.

Throughout the Old Testament, great spiritual leaders arose, like Moses, Samuel, David, etc., and everyone died. This is a feature of our mortality and a typical pattern in Scripture and history.  A great leader emerges who leads the people well and oversees an era of covenant faithfulness, and then they die. No matter how outstanding and beloved these spiritual leaders are, their work is temporary.

• On Priestly Fallenness

However, most priests weren’t great leaders. For every Moses on the mountain, there is an Aaron in the valley molding a golden calf. For every Samuel serving God from his childhood, there are the sons of Eli preying on women serving in the Tabernacle. For every David—a man after God’s heart, an Ahab leads the people away from God. Even the great priests and spiritual leaders were sinful. Moses, Samuel, and David were all deeply flawed spiritual leaders who needed a substitute to atone for their sins.

This highlights the perennial problem with priests. They all die. They all sin. None of them live forever, and none of them—even the good ones—are holy.

2. The Problem with Lambs

In this passage, the author of Hebrews highlights two weaknesses of the sacrifice itself. All lambs die, and because people keep on sinning, they need more lambs.

• On Sacrifice and Mortality

Most of us live in modern societies that are not structured around a sacrificial system, so it is easy to forget that sacrificial animals are slaughtered at the altar. Because we don’t see it (and smell it) regularly, it is easy to forget that the animal brought to the temple does not come home. When the worshiper returns to sacrifice, he must always bring a new animal. How many goats and lambs were killed to atone for the sins of God’s people over thousands of years? This was an unsustainable solution to the sin problem because “in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:3–4).

• On Human Fallenness

The reason why sacrificial animals have been slaughtered in the thousands (millions?) over the millennia is not because they deserved death. It’s because unholy people deserved death. Because of human fallenness, more animals were needed day after day, year after year, and century after century. (How often have we repented of our sins and vowed never to do “that” again—only to find ourselves back where we started?) Another day, another innocent lamb killed.

This is the perennial problem with lambs (and all sacrificial animals). They all die. And we all sin. None of them live forever (as perpetual sacrifices), and none of us—even the “good” ones—is free from sin.

3. The Promise of Jesus

In this passage, the author of Hebrews tells us how Jesus offers “a better covenant” as a better priest and a

better sacrifice.

• A Better Priest

Jesus’ priesthood is the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament priesthood. But he is different from every other priest because he lived a perfectly holy life (7:27) and lives forever (7:23). This is good news because, in Jesus, humanity has finally found a truly holy priest who won’t die.

7:24: . . . he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

7:26–27: For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily . . .

• A Better Sacrifice

The author points to the stunning fact that our perfect high priest also “. . . once for all . . . offered himself up” as the sacrifice (7:27). Not only did Jesus solve the problem with priests but he also simultaneously solved the problem with lambs. All sacrificial victims die, but Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, was sacrificed and rose again from the dead. Moreover, Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate sacrifice—the last one ever needed for sins. Though people keep sinning, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and atoned for the sins of his people—the dead and living saints and those who will one day put their trust in him.

7:27: He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

4. The Promise for Us

The author packs a lot of good news into this pivotal text in the middle of Hebrews. Even though every priest in human history has sinned and died, Jesus lives forever as a sinless priest making intercession for us. He was the perfect sacrifice who died and rose again, satisfying the problem of sin and death once and for all.

There’s one more promise we should not miss—implied in this text and developed elsewhere in the New Testament. Not only is Jesus our better priest and our better sacrifice, but his mediatorial and sacrificial work also makes us holy.

7:25: . . . he is able to save to the uttermost . . .

The verb to save (sozo) is used absolutely, which means that Christ will save in the most comprehensive sense; he saves us from all we need saving from. Christ’s salvation is a complete deliverance no matter what our need is.

The verb is able (dynatai) refers to power. Christ has the capacity (as other priests did not) to bring complete salvation to all who approach God through him. This is salvation from the guilt of sin, the effects of sin, and the power of sin. Christ’s mediatorial priesthood empowers us to be holy as he is holy.

Through Jesus, God secured our pardon from sin and restored our purpose as humans—to be kings and priests with God. This idea is put beautifully by Peter.

1 Peter 2:9–10

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

This idea of God’s people being redeemed by Jesus to be made holy and to participate in the priestly work of God on the earth is reiterated and cherished in church tradition.

Athanasius, the 4th-century African theologian, discussing God’s goal for our holiness, put it succinctly, “He became what we are so that He might make us what He is.”

Martin Luther, discussing one of his favorite theological topics—the priesthood of the believer, wrote this: “Not only are we the freest kings of all, but we are also priests forever. This is more excellent by far than kingship because through the priesthood we are worthy to appear before God, to pray for others, and to teach one another the things that are of God. For these are the priestly duties that absolutely cannot be bestowed on anyone who does not believe. Christ obtained this priesthood for us if we trust in him so that as we are colleagues, coheirs, co- rulers, so we are co-priests with him, daring to come with confidence into God’s presence in the spirit of faith and cry, ‘Abba, Father,’ to pray for another and to do all the things that we see are done and prefigured by the visible and corporeal office of priests.”

Conclusion

1. No priest was holy, and no priest was immortal—until Jesus, the resurrected and holy high priest.

2. All sacrifices died, and their atoning efficacy always fell short—until Jesus, the resurrected and holy lamb of God.

3. Jesus’ work as a perpetual priest and a holy sacrifice saves us completely.

4. Jesus’ saving work enables us to live a holy life.

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

God is glorified in this text because he is the hero of the story. Jesus is the better high priest and the better sacrifice. He is the primary “grammatical subject” in almost every sentence, and we [believers] are the “grammatical objects” of God’s gracious actions.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our hearts are transformed when we contemplate the reality that Jesus saved (past tense) us as the perfect sacrifice and is interceding for us (present tense) as our high priest. More than any mentor, pastor, or parent, Jesus cares about the state of our soul and wants to lead us into holiness, worship, and mission.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

When we understand that Jesus’ redemptive work has a “missional telos”—that of being a royal priesthood—

then we realize, as Luther put it, that “we are worthy to appear before God, to pray for others, and to teach one

another the things that are of God.”

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

Athanasius says it best: “He became what we are [human] so that he might make us what he is [a holy priest].”

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Running In The Rain

 Running In The Rain

Pastor Jim Critcher

1 Kings 18:41-46 (NIV84)

[41] And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” [42] So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. [43] “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” [44] The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' ” [45] Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. [46] The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1. Running In The Rain - 1Kings 18:46; Psalm 20:7-8; Joshua 3:3-4

2. Rain and Revolt - 1Kings 19; 2Cor. 4:4

3. Rain Reveals - Isaiah 6:5; Romans 7:24-25

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV84)

… since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Set Apart: Holiness Revealed

Set Apart: Holiness Revealed 

A Biblical View of Holiness 

Notes prepared by Paul Barker

Focus: God’s holiness is deadly to sinful humanity, but he creates a way for people to have a relationship with him.

Leviticus 16:1–5, 20–22, 29, 30 ESV

1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die.  For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

20 And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

29 “And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.

30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Leviticus is the middle book of the Pentateuch. It details the answer to the question continually raised in Exodus:

“How can a holy God have a relationship with a sinful people?”

The Exodus narrative contains two events concerning fire. The first is the fire in the bush (3:1–5), and the second is the fire on the mountain (19:18). In both cases, the fire represents the holiness of God and the threat that holiness is to sinful humans. The Passover narrative in Exodus answers how a holy God can dwell with sinful people.

Passover night redefined Israel’s problem. Hitherto, they had lived under the threat of a genocidal king, but now another king is on his way, even more fearful than Pharaoh. With this King, there is no negotiation. The ensuing death of the firstborn of Egypt showed how real the threat was. But while there was no negotiation, there was a provision: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

Without the lamb’s blood, Israel was naked before the avenging angel. But covered by the blood, they were protected.

The concluding chapters of Exodus lead naturally into Leviticus. Leviticus explains how God’s covenant people will maintain the relationship God established through the Passover blood. 

The Passover solution finds its highest expression on the Day of Atonement—the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Commentators agree that Leviticus 16 is one of the mountain peaks of the Scriptures. They have called it the Good Friday of the Old Testament. It is the day when the holiness and grace of God find their fullest Old Testament revelation.

“In Leviticus 16, the sacrificial law of Moses attains it supreme expression, the holiness and the grace of God, their fullest revelation. If every sacrifice pointed to Christ, this most luminously of all. What the fifty-third of Isaiah is to his Messianic prophecies, that, we may truly say, is the sixteenth of Leviticus to the whole system of Mosaic types—the most consummate flower of the Messianic symbolism. All the sin offerings pointed to Christ, the great High Priest and Victim of the future; but this with a distinctness found in no other.”

-S. H. Kellogg, The Book of Leviticus (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903), 272.

1. Our sin is much worse than we think.

Leviticus 16 begins with a reference to the death of Nadab and Abihu.

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died . . . (Leviticus 16:1) 

The death of Aaron’s sons provides the context for the events that unfold throughout the chapter.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:1–3)

The death of Aaron’s sons vividly illustrates that no sin is small in the presence of a holy God.

God is fearsome in his holiness, and his holiness is intense and dangerous to sinful humans. It is little wonder that the vision of the Holy God is both awe-inspiring and frighteningly terrible.

Humans either retreat in dread or bow in contrite worship. The glory would devour anyone who approached the Holy unclean or unworthily.

Leviticus reveals the great gulf that exists between us and God. Nadab and Abihu were confused because their actions blemished God’s holiness and did not glorify the Lord. The Scriptures record many other times when seemingly small sins had enormous consequences. Adam ate some fruit (Genesis 3:6). Lot’s wife looked back at a burning city (Genesis 19:26). Moses hit a rock twice (Numbers 20:11). Uzzah touched the ark (2 Samuel 6:7).

Ananias and Saphira lied about real estate profits (Acts 5:1–11). What do we learn from these events? There are no small sins against a holy God.

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6) The term “polluted garment” refers to “ornamental dress.” The analogy is clear. When we try to dress ourselves up to look good, we are still polluted. Even though sin defiles us, we try decorating ourselves with our deeds to masquerade our true state.”

-Paul Barker

Sin only seems trivial to us when God’s holiness seems trite. God is an all-consuming fire who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 12:29). There is no impurity in him whose eyes are too pure to look on evil (Psalm 92:15; Habakkuk 1:13). Sinless angels who unceasingly cry “Holy! Holy! Holy!”—while covering their eyes and feet—do so because God’s unfiltered holiness is unbearable to endure (Isaiah 6:4; Revelation 4:8). When righteous Isaiah stood before God, he exclaimed, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). When we see God as holy, we see that no sin is small. 

2. God’s grace is much greater than we think.

The priests sacrificed two goats on the Day of Atonement, each illustrating a different aspect of God’s grace. The High Priest chose the first goat by the lot and then sacrificed it for the sins of the nation. The death of this goat as an innocent substitute represents the atoning sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world. (The following verses confirm this truth.)

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats . . . but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats . . . sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrew 9:11–14) 

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2 NIV)

The first goat pictures atonement—the theological truth that God has restored our broken relationship with him and paid for our sins; they no longer have a claim on us. If you wreck someone’s car and their insurance pays the damage, that person has no more claim against you. The debt is settled.

God settled our debt through the death of his sinless Son—an event prefigured in the death of the innocent goat. 

And though it is “impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4), the Israelis who had faith in God had their sins taken away by “the Lamb of God who was slain from the creation of the world”

(Revelation 13:8 NIV).

“Surely, Sinner, there is nothing that should move you to repentance like the thought of that great Sacrifice of Christ which is necessary to wash away your guilt. Law and terrors do but harden, but I think the thought that Jesus died is enough to make us melt. It is well, when we hear the name of Calvary, always to shed a tear, for there is nothing that ought to make a sinner weep like the mention of the death of Jesus.”

“Alas! And did my Savior bleed?

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

Drops of grief ought to flow—yes, streams of sympathy with him—to show our grief for what we did to pierce the Savior. Afflict your souls, O you children of Israel, for the Day of Atonement is come! Weep over your Jesus! Weep for him who died, weep for him who was murdered by your sins! Then, better still, we are to ‘do no work at all,’ as you find in the same verse, the twenty-ninth. When we consider the Atonement, we should rest and ‘do no work at all.’ Rest from your works as God did from his on the great Sabbath of the world. Rest from your own righteousness, rest from your toilsome duties—rest in him. Now I will no longer seek to save myself—it is done, it is done forever!”

-Charles Spurgeon, The Day of Atonement, August 10, 1856.

The second goat was called “azalea.” This Hebrew word means “the goat that departs”—traditionally called the “scapegoat.”

The High Priest would lay his hands upon the scapegoat and confess all the nation’s sins. This symbolic act transferred the transgressions of the people onto the scapegoat. A chosen Israelite would then lead the goat into the wilderness, where the goat would wander off and, presumably, die.

The second goat pictures the result of the atonement. We see what has become of our sins—they are gone forever. When the man returns from the wilderness, he informs the people that the scapegoat is gone, and the people clap their hands, for their sins are all gone too. This is cleansing—the theological truth that God pays for our sins and removes them as far from us as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12 NLT).

3. Jesus is our High Priest that solves the problem of our sin.

The noted author Corrie Ten Boom often said, “When we confess our sins, God casts them into the deepest ocean, and they are gone forever. I believe God then places a sign there that says, ‘NO FISHING ALLOWED.’”

“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man puts himself where only God deserves to be; God puts himself where only man deserves to be.”

-John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 160.

Usually, all the priests participated in the sacrifices, but on the Day of Atonement, only the High Priest performed any work. He did everything that day: lighting the candles, the fires, the incense, and all the required offices. He was the only one to take the blood beyond the veil into the Holy Place. Jesus is our High Priest who provides our atonement; only he can go beyond the veil.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever . . . (Hebrews 6:19–20)

But after the Day of Atonement, work was complete; the High Priest would put on his golden garments again.The High Priest wore his golden garments every other day of the year, but on the Day of Atonement, he shed his royal robes and donned simple linen vestments. Jesus Christ, then, when he made atonement for our sins, laid aside his glory and took on humble human flesh. He did not atone for our sins arrayed in the glories of his ancient throne. There was no royal diadem upon his brow save the crown of thorns.

Christ, having suffered once for sin, is never to die again. He will return as a royal king.

4. We must receive God’s grace by faith.

God required the Israelites to respond to the events of the Day of Atonement by humbling themselves and doing no work.

And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work. (Leviticus 16:29)

The High Priest was to do all the work, and the people could do none. “And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people” (Leviticus 23:30). This is a clear picture of the gospel. We add nothing to the finished work of Christ.

Paul wrote to the Galatians concerning this topic, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6–9). In this passage, the contrary gospel Paul refers to is a religion that places human effort at the center. Anyone who embraces that religion is accursed just like anyone who works for their atonement is cut off from among the covenant people.

The Apostle Paul summarized the message of the Day of Atonement with these words, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

The pardon God issues on the Day of Atonement must be received by faith. If an Israelite did not believe in the work of God’s grace, he would not receive the pardon offered.

In 1829, George Wilson robbed the US Mail, jeopardizing the mailman's life. He pleaded guilty to the charges, and the court sentenced him to death by hanging. Friends arranged for President Andrew Jackson to issue Wilson a pardon. But Wilson refused the pardon, and the case went to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the official ruling for the court. “A pardon is an act of grace,” he said, “the validity of which is not complete without acceptance. It might be rejected by the person to whom it was offered, and the court could not force it upon him. The court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon unless he claims the benefit of it.”

We cannot receive the benefits of Christ’s atonement unless we receive it by faith.

5. Holy living results from our experience of God’s grace.

The first fifteen chapters of Leviticus lead to the Day of Atonement. These chapters teach us about worship and the way to God. The last eleven chapters follow from the Day of Atonement. They are about holy living and our walk with God. This is an essential pattern in the Bible: God’s work of salvation comes first; our obedience is done in response. Holy living always follows worship.

Worship is our response to God’s complete work to secure our redemption. Holy living is what follows our experience of the grace of God.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Set Apart: Holiness Lost

Set Apart: Holiness Lost

A Biblical View of Holiness

Notes prepared by Pastor Brian Taylor

Focus: Sin caused man to lose what could only be found in God.

Genesis 3:1–8, 21 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 

5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

The Text in the Story of Redemption

Up to this point in the narrative, there has been no mention of sin, brokenness, or anything unholy in God’s creation. The consistent response of God to his creation in Genesis 1 is, 

“And God saw that it was good.” 

When we reach Genesis 1:31, “God saw that it was very good.”

However, from Genesis 1 and 2 to Chapter 4 onward, the question arises: How did we get from a good creation to murder, wickedness, pride, and all manner of unholiness? Genesis 3 gives us the context of the rest of Genesis and all history.

We refer to Genesis 3 as the Fall, and if you have grown up in church, it is easy to rush past this story with a few general details: 

• Satan deceived Eve.

• Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit and disobeyed God.

• God sent them out of the Garden.

However, if we slow down, we will notice some details of this story that will shape our lives and reveal something lost.

Textual Exegesis

Last week we saw how Scripture reveals God’s holiness. Holiness is a weighty word. When we see angels and other heavenly creatures worshiping God in Revelation 4:8, they cry, 

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.”

When we say that God is holy, we recognize that he is set apart, unlike anything or anyone else. In this message, we will examine how sin has affected our ability to relate to a holy God and understand what was lost in what we know as “The Fall.” 3:1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

The serpent is part of the created order, made by God but not equal to God. In Revelation, we learn that the serpent is the devil (Revelation 12:9). He is crafty (arum [Hebrew] cunning or shrewd, usually in a negative sense) with a deceiving nature, and he plans to deceive Eve.

The first thing we hear from the serpent is, “Indeed, has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?”

This statement implies that the serpent was aware of God’s command in Genesis 2. Here we see that the true motive of the serpent is to question God’s Word.

3:2, 3: He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

Eve adds something not found in God’s command in Genesis 2:17, indicating that she was familiar with the command even though it was spoken directly to the man. She recognizes God’s authority to command because she deemed his words as binding, at least at first.

3:4, 5: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The conversation is not over yet; the serpent still has deception planned. The tactics of the serpent still ring true today: question God’s words, minimize the cost of disobedience, and paint a false reality of freedom apart from God.

The devil used three strategies against our first parents.

# 1: Undermine the word of God: “Has God said . . .” This question challenged God’s truthfulness.

# 2: Deny the reality of divine judgment: “You will surely not die . . .” This statement challenged God’s authority—especially his authority to execute judgment.

# 3: Attack the character of God: “For God knows . . . your eyes will be opened . . .” This statement challenged God’s goodness.

3:6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Now the story turns for the worse: Eve considers what she once knew was restricted. The text highlights the positive attributes of the tree with these adjectives: good, delightful, and desirable. It’s as though Eve had never noticed these attributes before. She trusted what she saw and what she desired above what God said. Not only did she sin, but she also passed it on to her husband, and he ate. 

3:7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Their eyes were opened to the point that now they recognized they were naked. There was an innocence lost.

This shows that the serpent was not entirely dishonest about the fact that their eyes would be opened (verse 5).

Satan doesn’t always approach us with outright lies but rather with little half-truths that cause us to entertain what we know is forbidden.

3:8: And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

This could be God physically walking in some anthropomorphic state or his presence felt and heard through the wind. Either way, Adam and his wife recognized it was the Lord and hid. Adam later explains in verse 10 why he did this, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked.” Interestingly, God’s eyes were not the ones that were opened. Their shame was not the result of God seeing them; it was the result of them seeing themselves with sin in the picture.

1. What We Lost through Sin

To understand what was lost through Adam’s cosmic decision, let’s examine what mankind had before it:

Genesis 1:26 God made them in his image and likeness.

Genesis 1:26 God created them to rule over his creation.

Genesis 1:27 God commissioned them to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue creation.

Genesis 1:29 God provided food for him.

Genesis 1:31 God placed them in a very good creation.

Genesis 2:8 God placed them in a luxurious garden.

Genesis 2:16–17 God gave them permission to eat freely except from one tree.

But sin changed everything.

• We lost our connection with God , and we now experience separation.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1–2)

• We lost our right standing with God, and we now are children of wrath.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

(Ephesians 2:1–3)

• We lost our purpose, and we now go our own way.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6)

• We lost our provision, and we now sweat for our existence.

Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. (Genesis 3:17–19)

• We lost our confidence, and we now experience shame.

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Genesis 3:7)

• We lost our connection with others and now experience alienation and broken relationships.

He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me. The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes. (Job 19:13–15)

• We lost our awareness of how terrible sin is, and we now attempt to justify our sin.

“There is not one man who fully knows the evil of sin. Men who have lived underground all their lives do not know how dark the mine is, nor can they know it until they stand in the blaze of a summer’s noon. This is one of the most deplorable results of sin. It injures us most by taking from us the capacity to know how much we are injured. O you demon, Sin! You do not only poison us but make us imagine our poison to be medicine—you defile us and make us think ourselves the more beautiful. You slay us and make us dream that we are enjoying life.”

-Charles Spurgeon, The Monster Dragged to Light, February 9, 1873

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

(Genesis 3:12)

[The one thing that was not lost because of sin was God’s pursuit of fallen humanity. This leads us to our second point.]

2. What We Gained through Christ

“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man puts himself where only God deserves to be; God puts himself where only man deserves to be.”

-John Stott, The Cross of Christ

Fortunately, the Fall of mankind is not the end of the story.

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

In Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves. But God clothed them by making garments of skin crafted from a dead animal. Blood was shed to cover Adam and Eve’s sin. This is the foreshadowing of how God would heal humanity. In our fallen state, we try to create our own coverings to deal with the shame, fear, and brokenness caused by sin. However, just as with Adam, our attempts to cover our own sin is inadequate so God had to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Now, everything lost in sin is restored in Christ.

• He restores our connection to him.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9–10)

• He restores our right standing with him.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

• He restores our purpose.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14)

• He restores his provision for us.

J. R. R. Tolkien writes: “Such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.” 

(The Fellowship of the Ring, 287) 

The good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is of such a quality that the past, present, or imagined future, “good or ill, are not forgotten, but cease to have any power over the present.” We could write pages of application on this. If you are prone to worry about tomorrow, you need the gospel. If you tend to fear people or circumstances, you need the gospel. If you are paralyzed by regret or plagued by guilt, you need the gospel. Only the gospel can free us from these things.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19)

• He restores our confidence before him.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19–22)

• He restores our relationships.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (Acts 2:42, 44)

Four Questions

1. How is God glorified in the text?

The text glorifies God through the revelation of his authority, holiness, and mercy. As we understand and respond to these attributes, we bring him glory by acknowledging his greatness, embracing his provision, and participating in his work.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

The text challenges us to acknowledge the consequences of sin, recognize our need for a Savior, and embrace the restoration offered through Jesus Christ. As we grasp the implications of the Fall and the redemptive work of Christ, our hearts are filled with gratitude, worship, and a renewed desire to walk in obedience to God.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

The text advances God’s mission by exposing our need for a Savior and explaining the redemption available in Christ. It highlights the contrast between what was lost in the Fall and what is regained in Christ, motivating us to actively participate in the mission of redemption.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

The text applies the gospel by showing us the severity of sin and our inadequacy to resolve it on our own. This encourages us to embrace the salvation offered through Christ, live out our new identity as redeemed children of God, and share the gospel with others.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Set Apart: A Biblical View of Holiness

Set Apart: A Biblical View of Holiness 

Part 1: God is Holy

Notes prepared by Jessica Lee

Focus: Our personal holiness is grounded in the holiness of God. When we see him, we worship him in the beauty of his holiness.

“Holiness is one of the central themes in the Bible. The word and its derivatives occur more than 700 times in the Bible. You can’t make sense of the Bible without understanding that God is holy and intends to make a holy people to live with him forever in a holy heaven.”

-Adapted from Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness

Psalm 96:1–9 ESV

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

The Text in the Story of Redemption

God’s holiness is the underpinning of the entire narrative arc of Scripture. His holiness means that all the created order functions within a fixed moral order wherein good and evil are never simply relative terms contingent upon a culture’s moral taste buds. Human flourishing is always a function of delighting in that which God delights and desiring that which God desires.

In Psalm 96, we find a hymn of praise for divine kingship. The Lord is king over all creation, and he is the one who has provided salvation for his people. He is the Creator-Redeemer-King. This psalm calls the redeemed people of God to worship him in response to who he is and what he has done. But this call to worship is not only for the Israelites; the invitation goes out to “all the earth.” The psalmist invites the whole world (Gentiles included) to come and worship Yahweh in the splendor of his holiness. 

The universality of this psalm looks back to the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1–3). In the call of Abraham, God’s redemption story advances when he calls Abraham and his descendants to be the channel to bless all the families of the earth. Psalm 96 foreshadows the Abrahamic Covenant fulfilled in Jesus when all the nations are blessed in him, and all people worship God in the splendor of his holiness.

Introduction

Our personal holiness is grounded in the holiness of God. 

“A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.”

-D.L. Moody

Therefore, to be holy, we must understand the holiness of God.

There are two aspects to God’s holiness. First is God’s uniqueness. As Creator, he is separate and unique from his creation. This is sometimes called the “majesty-holiness” of God. Second is God’s absolute goodness. He is untouched by sin or evil.

This psalm paints a picture of God’s majestic holiness by multiplying descriptive words.

1. He is glorious.

96:3, 7–8: Declare his glory among the nations . . . ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.

2. He is great.

96:4: For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”

3. He is the Creator.

96:5: For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

(Unlike the powerless gods of surrounding nations, the Lord is the Creator. )

4. He is majestic.

96:6: Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”

And it all crescendos in the psalmist’s call to worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

“The Psalmist means that we cannot be said to know God if we have not discovered that there is in him an incomparable glory and majesty.”

-John Calvin 

How does the psalmist call the people to respond to God’s majestic holiness? In these three verbs: sing, declare, and ascribe.

1. Sing

96:1–2: Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name.

The psalmist says that the people’s first response should be to sing. The call to sing is not just going out to the nation of Israel but to “all the earth.”

The phrase “a new song” doesn’t necessarily mean they are singing a song that has been recently composed; instead, it is a song that overflows from a recent encounter with God and his majestic holiness.

2. Declare

96:2–3: . . . tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Next, the psalmist charges the people to declare his glory among the nations and his marvelous works among the people.

As they worship God, they become aware that the Holy One is also the one who has saved them. And so, their response to God’s majestic holiness should be to declare his glory to the nations—to testify of what he has done.

3. Ascribe

96:7–8: Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!

The repetition of ascribe parallels the repetition of sing at the beginning of the psalm, but with a new development. In the opening verses, the psalmist calls the people to sing in response to God’s majestic holiness.

But now, the psalmist takes it a step further and calls the people to ascribe (to attribute or give) to the Lord the glory he is due. “He expects that proper honor be given to his name in recognition of his greatness, majesty, and strength.”

Gospel Reflection

96:9: Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

There is a fourth verb that informs us how we should respond to the majestic holiness of God—tremble.

1. When we look upon God’s holiness—his complete otherness and his moral purity—we can’t help but tremble in fear and awe.

“In today’s world, holy is the most offensive of all four-letter words. Why is holiness so reviled? Because the pursuit of holiness involves the acknowledgement of sin and the necessity of repentance—two words as unfashionable as the word holy.”

-Adapted from Brett McCracken, Uncomfortable

2. The psalmist goes on to speak of how God will come to judge (“He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.”)

3. He comes to judge. Can we pass his judgement? He is untouched by sin and evil. Are we?

4. The university of this psalm harkens back to the Abrahamic Covenant when God says that through Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And so, it foreshadows the day when that will be true, when all people will be able to approach Yahweh in the splendor of his holiness.

5. That fulfillment is found in Jesus. Jesus is our Great Mediator. He lived the perfect life we should have lived and died the death we deserved for our sins.

6. He comes to judge. Can we pass his judgement? Only in Jesus can we stand in the splendor of God’s holiness, his complete otherness and moral purity, and not be consumed because, in him, we trade our sin for his righteousness.

7. And so, as it says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

When we experience again and again the grace offered to us in Jesus that allows us to enter the holy of holies, to worship God in all his splendor, majesty, strength, and beauty, then our lives will erupt with new songs, just like perennial flowers deliver fresh blooms each spring. (Perennial flowers bloom each spring; annual flowers bloom once and then fade.)

Applications

1. Sing when you don’t feel like it.

I perceive that our minds are more devoutly and earnestly elevated into a flame of piety by the holy words themselves when they are thus sung, than when they are not.

2. Sing in community.

. . . addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart . . . (Ephesians 5:19)

The Christian church sings . . . its singing is not a concert. But from inner, material necessity it sings. Singing is the highest form of human expression. . . . What we can and must say quite confidently is that the church which does not sing is not the church.

3. Sing with a life offered to Christ.

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)

1. How is God glorified in the text?

The psalmist paints a picture of God’s majestic holiness. He is unlike any other. He is full of glory, splendor, majesty, strength, and beauty, and we are called to worship him in the splendor of his holiness.

2. How is our heart transformed in the text?

Our heart is transformed as we look upon the beauty and splendor of God’s holiness. As we encounter his majestic holiness and reflect on what he has done to save us, our hearts will erupt in a new song.

3. How is the mission accelerated in the text?

The psalmist charges the people to “sing” and “declare.” As we come into contact with the majestic holiness of God, we are reminded of what God has done to save us. And so, we will tell of his salvation and declare his glory among the nations.

4. What is the gospel application of the text?

He comes to judge. Can we pass his judgment? The answer is yes, but only in Jesus. Only in Jesus can we stand in the splendor of God’s holiness, his complete otherness and moral purity, and not be consumed because, in him, we trade our sin for his righteousness.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Invitation To An Open Heaven

Invitation To An Open Heaven

Pastor Cole Parleir

Finish with hope because…

Focus: This year has been God's divine setup for you to experience more of Him and His coming kingdom next year.

• Incorporating the past

• Kingdom Transition

• Weeds in the kingdom

• Heavenly momentum 

 

Incorporating the past (Romans 8:31-39 ESV)

Your past has divine purpose.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be[i] against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.[j] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Your past sins don't have to condemn you. 

Rather they can bring you great comfort when brought to Christ. 

This is the Good News called the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God knew your past when it was still your future and he still sent Christ to die for your sins. 

Your past with it's sin can be proof of God's great love for you as displayed in his patience and provision in Christ.

The priceless gift of Christ dying for us while we were still sinners confirms that our sinful past, when given to Christ in repentance, does not forfeit future blessing.  (vs 32)

You are free from the devil's direct accusation as well as those unknowingly employed by him to be his mouthpiece.  This can be lies or reminders of sin you've repented of. (vs 33-34)

The devil is the master gas lighter, but Christ is the Judge and dispense of mercy and grace.

Have hope knowing that God's willingness to give you a second chance in Christ is also a third chance, a four chance and so on because Christ now intercedes for you until His Kingdom comes in full one day.

Do not let your failed attempts at righteousness or ministry to others this past year inform your hope for the future.  

Because of Christ we can truly can count trials, challenges, and persecutions as successes in forming Christ in us. James 1:2-4

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Because of Christ, the Christian who perseveres by pursing righteousness can never fail.

Your past has divine purpose.

Kingdom Transition

Plan for Righteousness (James 4:13-17 ESV)

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

God has plans and you have plans. 

You have to choose life or death, blessing or cursing, eternal success or failure this coming year.

Though these decisions have to be played out daily, like a marriage covenant you can pre-choose with a plan for righteousness and to be led by the Spirit of God.

Be clear in your understanding:

• God's blessing on your life comes when you choose to participate in what he says he is doing.  

• God's wrath (absence of blessing) comes when we engage in rebellion. Rebellion is choosing to use our life (time, talent, and treasure) in our own plan rather than God's.

Prophesying is kingdom planning.

When you choose to surrender your life to Christ and his kingdom of heaven coming through your life, and are committed to enacting what his Word and Holy Spirit says, then you are choosing to prophesy in your planning.

In God's reality your life and mine are blips on the radar, drops in the ocean, dust specks in the universe, and to imagine I can construct and implement on my own a plan for eternal impact is nonsensical.

 

Question:

• Do you know the 'right' thing to do and are you doing it? (vs 17)

 

Planning is an act of faith AND discipleship and therefor will take some work and power.

 

The old word comes with new power (Matthew 13:51-53 ESV)

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Matthew 13 is a series of parables and prophecies.  The theme of the parables are people who recognized the value of God's kingdom and sold everything to secure their place in it. 

The disciples ask Jesus for the meaning of the parables while others went away perplexed and later some in his hometown who were familiar with him ended up rejecting him.

To enter into God's plan of His Kingdom coming in and through your life you will

• Need to follow Jesus as Lord and have the Holy Spirit abiding in you

• need to become a 'scribe who is trained for the kingdom of heaven' who knows God's revealed will in his Word (Bible).  You do this by interpreting the Old Testament through the New Testament asking God to reveal Christ as you do.   (John 5:37-40 ESV)

• listens to the Holy Spirit for implementation and receive power.

When God's will is your plan you will have God's power to accomplish it.  

Now you can transition with the strength of God's blessing and promise for life and mercy.

Questions:

What did you treasure (sacrifice for) in 2023? 

What has this treasure done for your faith and life in Christ?

If your treasure was Christ and His Kingdom you can expect a firm foundation to build on in 2024.

Everything else is a weed crowding out the life God has for you in his kingdom.

Weeds in the Kingdom (Matthew 13:24-30)

Even when you do everything right there will be weeds only God can deal with.

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds[c] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[d] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The reality of pursuing God's Kingdom as a disciple of Christ, making disciples of Christ, and doing good works as you go, is that there will be weeds.

Jesus defines the weeds as "sons of the evil one".

These people along with their leader come to kill, steal, and destroy the work of God. 

These means that even when you are perfectly in sync with the Holy Sprit, knowing and doing God's will, you will still be in a spiritual fight.

This fight will continue until the end of 2024…joke…but until the end comes.  Probably your whole life.

Illustration:

• My father-in-law meticulously digging up dandelions in my yard

  • Helped…but the wind is still blowing from others peoples yards (lives) into mine

  • Keep digging and casting

  • Until all dandelions in everyone's yards IN THE WHOLE WORLD are burned up…I'm digging.

The promise of Matthew 28 is yours: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The result of that promise is hope to fight until we win.

Heavenly Momentum (Matthew 16:18-19 MSG)

The good work of the past will multiply into the future.

17-18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.

19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

God is building you, your family, and His Kingdom.

When you and your family live out a confession of faith in Christ Jesus you become rocks on which God build's his church and kingdom. 

Though the devil may rage you can be assured that any past, present, or future work done in the name of Jesus Christ  will not be burnt up.

Even more, momentum will be developed as last years work becomes a spring board for this years work. 

 

Prophetic Summary

• I don't know exactly what 2024 holds for you, your family or Second City Church…but I do hear God saying He invites us to more of his manifest kingdom in 2024 IF we will work with him by faith.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

From Beginning to End

From Beginning to End

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: From beginning to end, Jesus is the Savior and King who deserves all that we have to give.  

• An Epic Beginning 

• The Coming of the King

• How it All Ends

An Epic Beginning

Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise of covenant nearness with supernatural origins.  

In authoring salvation, Jesus came so that God could be near and present with us.  

He is the everlasting God whose love never dies and our relationship with whom will have to know no end.  

“Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose. If love is to be a blessing, not a misery, it must be for the only Beloved who will never pass away.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

 In the gospel according to Matthew, the apostle gives us seven prophecies fulfilled in the first advent of Jesus - seven reasons to worship and praise the Lord.  

• God always has a plan - he is powerful to complete it. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).”

God chose to introduce Jesus through a preordained virgin birth - meaning he always has a plan that he is working to fulfill supernaturally.

Christ’s life, miracles, death on the cross, burial and resurrection paved the way for the Holy Spirit to forever be in us and to come on us in power.   

• God has unlimited resources from unexpected places to bring about that plan.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"”

Jesus drew near through humble beginnings and continues to give his grace to the humble today.   

• God knows what he is doing - even in the detours.  

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."”

God’s plan of redemption comes with detours - you may have deviated from your plan but are not off of God’s path.  

The Coming of the King

The prophetic fulfillment of Jesus’ birth meant there would be a new ruler in town who would need to be king of our hearts. 

• God allows trials to bring us to the end of ourselves and into the strength of Jesus. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."”

God means for trials to point us to Jesus that we might be comforted in our pain and given an eternal hope. 

In what ways have you encountered challenging times but are reminded through the first advent of Jesus that God is in control?

• God expects his word to us to be honored that we might fulfill his plan. 

‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

When we look to God, he directs our steps to fulfill his plan in Jesus Christ, even down to the place we will live and the things we will do there.  

• God’s plan is for you to glorify Jesus with your life - pointing the way to him. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"”

God divinely arranges the right relationships for you to fulfill his will in Jesus.  

• God brings us into his blessed life through repentance and faith. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."”

God’s promise of hope was fulfilled in Jesus who would lead people through their repentance and faith into his kingdom.  

“Addiction is giving up everything for one thing.  Recovery is giving up one thing for everything.”

-Unknown

How it All Ends

In the end, when we realize all that Jesus is and all that he has done, the only proper response is to give him our all.  

‭‭

Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"”

To Jesus belongs:

1. Power

2. Wealth

3. Wisdom

4. Might

5. Honor 

6. Glory 

7. Blessing

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Hopeful Expectations

Hopeful Expectations

Anthony Connington

Focus: Have you prepared your heart for the arrival of the Messiah?

Part 1: Setting the Stage

Part 2: Simeon’s Prophetic Praise

Part 3: Anna’s Testimony

Part 1: Setting the Stage 

Isaiah 29:13-14 (CSB)

13 The Lord said:

These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service,[h] yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.[i]

14 Therefore, I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.

Sometimes when you study Scripture, digging into the historical and cultural context of the time reveals insights you may have otherwise missed. We are going to attempt to summarize 400 years of history in a very short time. Basically, from the end of Malachi to the birth of Jesus. 

Questions to consider: What was it like for God’s people? How did they prepare their hearts for the arrival of the Messiah? What was it like politically, socially, economically, and religiously? 

Intertestamental Period 

We see at the end of Malachi that God promised to send a prophet who would be like Elijah and turn the hearts of the fathers towards their children. This is like a … (dot dot dot) that is designed to show the reader that something, or more specifically someone, is coming next in the future. This was meant to lead the people to have a hopeful expectation for the long-awaited Messiah who would come into the world. 

After the death of Alexander the Great, the world was thrown into chaos for several centuries. Wars and battles raged. Many factions fought for dominance and control. As Israel was thrust into these new realities, two notable things happened.

The First is what we call the Maccabean revolt. Many in Israel attempted to set up their own empire and use military might and political power to affect change. For a time, this revolt gained traction, and they were able to establish a momentary kingdom. However, this experiment ultimately failed due to internal conflicts and eventually the might of Rome would eclipse everything. 

A second notable event to take place during this time was the Judean civil which broke out 93-87BC. The Sadducees were the minority group in this conflict, and they supported King Alexander Jannaeus against the Pharisees. The political infighting and brutality done in the name of religious correctness was unimaginably horrible. Jewish brothers fought and killed one another endlessly until finally a truce was called. All parties involved eventually looked to Rome to help mitigate a peaceful resolution. As a result, many syncretistic practices found its way into everyday temple life and worship of God. 

Israel was fractured, politically, socially, economically and religiously. Fractured. This is the scene in which the Messiah comes into the world. God was moving and setting the stage to prepare for Jesus’ arrival, but by in large, those that were meant to receive Him missed what God was doing. Their focus and attention were divided and given to other priorities. 

Now Let’s take a moment and look at the spiritual climate of the nation. How did the religious people live in response to the invitation to watch and look for the coming Messiah?

The Sadducees

• They were very sectarian in their beliefs and practices. 

• They generally held high positions within the religious system and prioritized the finer things in life like gold jewels and the like as they worshipped.

• They thought of themselves as the elite priestly class within Israel. This meant that they did not usually associate with those who were not in their own circles. They often secluded and isolated themselves from their own people. 

• They did not believe in a resurrection or an afterlife.  

Pharisees

• They were the majority religious group within Judaism at this time.

• They believed in the Oral-Torah, which means they made the Torah divine. In effect, they elevated the status of the Torah to be God Himself. This is why so often in their pursuit of purity and holiness they developed and practiced other rules and regulations.

• They rejected the virgin birth of Jesus and missed the Messiah.

Zealots

• They were known to be militant and radical.

• By any means necessary they attempted to inaugurate the coming of God’s kingdom through their own efforts.

• They had a misplaced trust in their own political and social efforts to bring forth change and in turn they missed what God was doing.

The Essenes

• They were a very communal people who believed in the prophesies and lived with an expectation that the Messiah would come soon.

• They commonly proclaimed the truths about the Messiah and were willing to tell anyone one who would listen, including men, woman, and children. 

• Early church fathers record that John the Baptist as a member from their community. 

In Summary: The most monumental moment in the history of the universe, the Incarnation of Christ in the person of Jesus was about to take place in Bethlehem and most people missed it. Even with all the prophecies in His Word, the signs in the heavens, and the miraculous angelic visitations, most people still missed it. Why? Because they hadn’t prepared their hearts.

You may be asking at this point, so what? Why does all this history matter?

As we think of this Christmas season, in 2023 I venture to think that some of us are just like so many in the first century who missed out on what God was doing. Some of us are much like the Sadducees. We may not have an error in our doctrine about the resurrection, but our hearts are still far from Him. Maybe Christmas has become all about our own families. Maybe our focus has turned to be all about me and mine. Maybe we have lost our ability to see outside of our own situations and look at what God might be trying to do in and through you right now, today. Maybe we have been struggling as of late and our reaction to the pain and suffering in our life is to isolate and segregate ourselves out of community. In doing so we are missing the Messiah. We are missing out on all that Jesus wants to bring into your life this Christmas season.

Maybe we are like the Pharisees. Maybe Christmas for you is all about tradition. Maybe for you things need to be a certain way. The food served and cooked at the right time, and the schedule and timing must be just right. Maybe the hustle and bustle of our own lives have gotten in the way of what is truly most important. Could it be that all the distractions of this season have gotten us off course. Maybe we have forgotten to just take a moment to just breath and bask in the presence and light of Jesus. Have we taken a moment to pause and reflect on what a gift God has given us through the incarnation. Or have we legislated out the presence of God through our own rules, expectations, and traditions? Have we taken a moment to behold the face of God to find life anew this Christmas season?

Or maybe we feel like we are in a war and this Christmas is has been hard for you to find peace. Maybe we are not as radical as the zealots, but maybe the weapons of our warfare have become our words. Maybe our words have cut deep and have caused great damage. Maybe we have neglected to speak the things of God into our lives and encouragement is far from our lips. Could it be that we have forgotten that our words help shape and change the perspective of the realities of our situations? Our words have the power to bring healing and life this Christmas. Maybe much like the zealots, we have misplaced our trust. Maybe we are looking to our strength, our own understanding, or our own effort to create the change we so desire to see. Maybe we have a misplaced trust in someone or something else outside of the person of Christ alone. 

Or could it be that some of us are like the Essenes, we have been faithfully serving God in every season. We have given ourselves over to His service and have answered the call on our lives with great passion and zeal. But maybe for some of us this Christmas we are feeling the weariness of life creep up into your soul. Maybe the everyday rhythms of life have tired you out. Though we have great affection for the Lord Jesus, we are just feeling weary. Let me encourage you…Breakthrough is coming. The Light of Christ is coming. Just like Christmas morning so many years ago, the promises of God will be fulfilled. He did it back then, and He will do it again for us today. Do not give up. Keep pressing, Keep believing. New and days are ahead. 

Part 2: Simeon’s Prophetic Praise 

Luke 2:25-35

25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles[m] and glory to your people Israel. 33 His father and mother[n] were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed[o]— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts[p] of many hearts may be revealed.”

• Simeon was watchful. 

  • He had an expectation for God to show up and fulfill his promises.

  • He understood the moment in which he lived and didn’t miss the opportunity.

• Simeon was guided by the Holy Spirit

  • He had an intimate walk with God.

  • He opened Himself up to receive form God, He listened well.

  • He longed for God’s presence and excitedly beheld the face of God.

• Simeon spoke forth God’s Word

  • He accurately assessed the times in which he lived and boldly proclaimed the truth of the Messiah into the culture around Him.

  • He encouraged Mary with a word that would later sustain her in her darkest moment and in her deepest pain. 

Questions: Have you positioned yourself this Christmas season to receive from God all that He desires to give you? Have you postured your heart to be guided by the Holy Spirit or do you run the show in your own life? Are you speaking the Word boldly into your life and using it to encourage and build up others around you?

Part 3: Anna’s Testimony 

Luke 2:36-38

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,[q] 37 and was a widow for eighty-four years.[r] She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. 38 At that very moment,[s] she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.[t]

• Anna was faithful with her commitments.

• Anna noticed God’s movement in the moment.

• Anna praised God and gave thanks for all He was doing.

• Anna spoke about Jesus to all those who were looking forward to His coming

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Foundation of Hope

Foundation of Hope

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Our foundation of hope is God’s peace which was promised and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  

• Family Planning 

• Prophetic Promises 

• Our Benevolent King

Family Planning

We have hope because Jesus came in God’s perfect timing through an imperfect family to save a lost and dying world. 

There are those that say that Jesus attempted, like others before and after him, to intentionally present himself as the promised savior of the world. 

However, in his first advent, some of the greatest evidence for the identity of Jesus as the Messiah were the prophecies fulfilled about him regarding elements Jesus could not control - including God’s sovereignty in arranging Christ’s exact family line.   

To Abraham, God spoke:

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."”

Of Jacob’s line, the Scripture predicted a ruler would come:‭‭

Numbers‬ ‭24‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”

God made it clear that rulership would continue through Judah’s line:

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭49‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

Isaiah would bring things home through Jesse:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

And keep it in the family through an eternal lineage established through King David, Jesse’s son:

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

Despite challenges, how has God used your natural and spiritual family line to bring you into his Kingdom purposes?

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Prophetic Promises 

God has a plan to bring peace that has been and will ultimately be fulfilled through the first and second advent (coming) of Jesus Christ.  

The prophetic promises of God spoke of Jesus who, though having humble beginnings in a manger, would be prophet, priest and ultimately the world’s eternal ruler and King. 

In addition to being unable to control his family line, Jesus could not determine his place of birth if not for the intervention and direction of God.  

‭‭Micah‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

This ruler in Israel would have the wisdom to define and shape all of life because he is from of old, from ancient days. 

“God made life, and God alone can tell us its meaning.”

-J.I. PACKER

Our Benevolent King

In the first advent of Jesus, we have the benevolent king revealed who was God in the flesh to initiate God’s Kingdom rule without end.   

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Isaiah’s prophecy, delivered approximately 700 years before Christ’s birth, is a beautiful picture of the incarnation and Jesus revealing the triune God through as he took on flesh.  

In coming to the earth, Jesus fulfilled in his person four of the greatest needs that we have as humanity and paved the way for our salvation.  

• Wonderful Counselor (a name later given to the Holy Spirit - John 14-16)

• Mighty God (as Jesus was recognized in the early church - John 1:1; Titus 2:11-13)

• Everlasting Father (the one with whom Jesus would say he is one - John 10:30; 14:9; Philippians 2)

• Prince of Peace (Jesus as the Son of God came to bestow the peace of which Isaiah speaks through the cross - Romans 5)

“A God whom we could understand exhaustively, and whose revelation of Himself confronted us with no mysteries whatsoever, would be a God in man’s image, and therefore an imaginary God, not the God of the Bible at all.”

-J.I. Packer

What we do understand fully is the good news that:

The government will be on his shoulders.

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  

He would sit on the throne of David. 

His rule would be marked by justice and righteousness. 

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.  

This will all be fully accomplished through the second coming (advent) of Jesus Christ.  

How should we respond?

Another prophecy that many believe would speak of the three wise men coming to worship Jesus:

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭72‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!”

“We cannot worship the suffering God today and ignore him tomorrow. We cannot eat and drink the body and blood of the passionate and compassionate God today, and then refuse to live passionately and compassionately tomorrow. If we say or sing, as we so often do, ‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit’, we thereby commit ourselves, in love, to the work of making his love known to the world that still stands so sorely in need of it. This is not the god the world wants. This is the God the world needs.”

― N.T. Wright

We can turn to Jesus in repentance and faith to serve him through faith and enjoy the new life and peace the prince has come to bring!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

The Way of the Exile

THE WAY OF THE EXILE 

Pastor Nathan Lewis

Main text; 
Jeremiah 29:4-7, 11 4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. (Genesis 1!!)  7 But seek the welfare of the city (Shalom) where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare… 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Supporting Text: 
John 17:14-18 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

Summary Thought: 

When we are able to recongnize that God is working thought the circumstances that brought us to where we are today (the city), we can find fresh calling and mission where he has placed us. Even when we feel like we don’t belong somewhere God can use us to be a blessing

Potental questions: 

1. What brought you to live in this area? Do you see any evidences that God brought you here or do you see it as entirely upon your choices and circumstances? 

2. How do you think God feels about Chicago? Why might God want his people to move into areas of density and diversity like cities? 

3. Jesus’ teaching in John 17 is often summerized as, “be in the world, but not of the world”. What does this mean to you? What difficulties do you face to not be “of Chicago?” 

4. Why does God call his people to live so differently from their surrounding culture? In what ways is God calling you to “seek the welfare of the city”? 

_______________Message Notes______________

Exile - 605 BC- Kingdom of Judah captured by Babylon - Cultural assimilation - Brought IN!

RESIST // ASSIMILATE - 3rd Way  — THE WAY OF THE EXILE 

False Prophet Hananiah - don’t settle down, stay outside- 2 YEARS! 

Jeremiah 29:4-14 4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. (Genesis 1!!)  7 But seek the welfare of the city (Shalom) where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare… 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Living in tension of GLORY and EXILE - Meaning for life & disciple follow JESUS Teach how to live FOR GOD - in a broken & Fallen world - Way of Exile - 6 points 

1. Purpose In Your Placement. 

God - “I have sent you into exile” 

                           If God has sent you — There is Purpose in your Placement

2. Make a Home Here - “Build houses and live in them” - Chebar Canal vs. Babylon 

Scotland — “let your heart move to the city” 

Put the call out — Move into the city, move into the place of power, influence, culture

-geographic - Encourage you to stay connected with the city. SO many come to take, degree, career bump, — Get involved here, stay here, raise kids here, build community here, 

-emotionally - don’t check out. Don’t turn off the news, draw the curtains, wait for the rapture, don’t hide in christian subculture or wait for some sweet by and by

3. Plant & Eat  - “plant gardens and eat their produce”

Longterm vision for Livelihood - Not just self promotion — be PRESENT. 

Start tending the relationships at — your work— apartment block — 

Treat it like you’re going to be there for a while. 

Decorate your home — Meet your neighbors — Particulate in local elections — Get involved in your kids school.  — PLANT. 

The twist - you’re in but not of. You’re on a mission. We know our home is temporary. 

For some - Plant, commit 

For others - Stop seeking only personal gain - Make a difference 

4. Make Covenant Commitments - 

A. think multigenerational        

6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

GROW THE FAMILY!  Genesis 1 — Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 

Make disciples. Be a disciple. 

Discipleship - Helping others Know God… commit to this church 

— Serve something!    Tithe,    Turn UP (REGULARLY!),       Let your name be known.

B.Think Covenantally 

Give yourself deep covenantal relationships — commit to each other. Ask the hard questions. Invest in people in our church.     Go out of your way.     

5. Pray & Seek Shalom — J.29:7 But seek the welfare (shalom) of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Your job has purpose — you can influence for JESUS 

- Also work is participating in Shalom  — Bringing flourishing 

70 Years — God’s ppl. left a mark! - Kings came to know God  

The 1 True God became so famous - Persian King knew him

6. Follow The Ultimate Exile 

a wicked king could bring Israel OUT — but only a righteous king could bring us IN 

GOAL: Not just OUT of Babylon (not OF the world) - IN a relationship with GOD (garden)

Jesus is the ultimate exile — left HEAVEN to rescue EARTH  

John 17:14-18 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

The way of the exile = The way of Jesus - Being in the world, but not of the world

leave behind - achieving identity and purpose form this world

to follow Jesus means stop playing the world’s game - Join Jesus’ mission. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Thankful (Part 2)

Thankful (Part 2)

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: In Jesus, we have full redemption - therefore, we should serve him with thankfulness and gladness of heart.  

• Out of the Depths  

• Watching 

• For Full Redemption 
  
  
  

Out of the Depths  

We thank God because he meets us in our depths, as well as on our heights. 

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭130‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

Biblical praise and worship can not be reduced to emotionalism, but is giving the God who created emotions what he desires. 

Barriers in our minds and feeling self-conscious (thinking who’s looking at me?) are normal until you realize that Biblical praise is an exercise in becoming God conscious rather than people conscious.  

Crying out to the Lord that he might hear your voice is a part of it.  

God is not with us solely in our good moments, but hears our cries from the depths of challenge and despair.  

The Hillsong song “Highs and Lows” wonderfully expresses this sentiment.  

We are thankful because the gospel of Jesus Christ enables us to go to the Father in the midst of iniquities (sins), not merely in the absence of them.  

When the Psalmist says “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”, it is clear that the answer is no one but Jesus.  

However, this does not give us a license to sin without reservation. 

It gives us the grace to come to Jesus in repentance and faith, living a life of ongoing gratitude to him for his love expressed at the cross.  

If we truly want to live in the freedom of thankfulness, let’s stop glorifying our trials and instead rejoice in the victories that Jesus has won and continues to win for us!  

“We are too prone to engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand.”

-Charles Spurgeon 

Watching 

We watch and wait for the Lord because he is faithful to instruct even as he forgives us, answering our prayers. 

“But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

We fear, honor and respect God because he is the righteous judge of all the earth, to whom we will give an account of all of our actions from all of our days.  

Yet we fear, love and are devoted to God because as we run to the cross of Christ to bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:7-12), he is faithful to forgive us and make us the men and women we are called to be in our families, our communities and the world.  

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”

When we watch for the Lord, we are waiting not only for his intervention, but are looking to his example that we might follow him out of our mess as we employ his ways.  

“this world is not going to be trampled and smashed by brutal, amoral regimes for ever. A day will come when God will bring to an end the state war-machines, the terrorist bombs, the consummate evil of totalitarian oppression, the gas chambers, death camps, killing fields, and countless other infamous instruments of death. There will be a judgment.”

John C. Lennox, Against the Flow: The inspiration of Daniel in an age of relativism

The Bible commands us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we might test and approve what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will is for our lives. 

It is ultimately in God’s word that we put our hope.  

A key to child-rearing is learning that redirecting and correcting are not the same thing. 

The 1971 rendition of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory gave a perfect example of the dangers of mere redirection with Veruka and Henry Salt.  

God’s word is our tutor turning us to Jesus - to his example and his sacrifice on the cross - that we might be corrected in our failings and not merely redirected with momentary remorse.  

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

For Full Redemption

In Jesus Christ, there is full redemption, therefore we live a life of love to him with a thankful heart.  

“O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

Full redemption was ultimately accomplished through the propitiation of Jesus Christ by his blood spilled at the cross.  

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

This propitiation was significant because it did not just wipe away our sin but allowed God’s justice to be simultaneously satisfied through the crushing of Christ.  

Therefore God could be both just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.  
This is the only way that we can live free of the guilt, shame and consequence of our sin - because Jesus has fully paid for it all, buying us back from all of our sins by his blood.  
This means neither the past, present or future can separate us from his love (Romans 8).  

And it is in this confidence that each day, in highs and lows, God’s grace has us march forward in the security and peace of his full redemption.  

Therefore, each of my days become meaningful and full of hope in him as I look to advance his gospel Kingdom purposes.  

“God takes the most broken part of people and turns it into their ministry.”

-Pastor Adam Mabry

When we have experienced Christ’s redemption, we become his agents of redemption in the midst of a fallen world.  

“Our task as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to a world that has discovered its fallenness, to announce healing to a world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust to a world that knows only exploitation, fear and suspicion...The gospel of Jesus points us and indeed urges us to be at the leading edge of the whole culture, articulating in story and music and art and philosophy and education and poetry and politics and theology and even--heaven help us--Biblical studies, a worldview that will mount the historically-rooted Christian challenge to both modernity and postmodernity, leading the way...with joy and humor and gentleness and good judgment and true wisdom. I believe if we face the question, "if not now, then when?" if we are grasped by this vision we may also hear the question, "if not us, then who?" And if the gospel of Jesus is not the key to this task, then what is?”

N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was & Is

What way has Jesus redeemed you and now given you a ministry to help bring his gospel redemption to the world?

Let’s be thankful today for all that Jesus has done for us by his love and called us to by his grace.  

Let’s be thankful that today we can go to him at the cross through repentance and faith to be fully redeemed and become carriers of that redemption hope to the world!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Thankful (Part 1)

Thankful (Part 1)

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: We need to learn to praise and worship Jesus, giving thanks to him in a manner that God desires. 

• Praise

• Postures

• Presence 

Praise

When we are appreciative of who Jesus is and what he has done for us, the right response is to praise the Lord.  

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭100‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Our goal in praise and worship is to honor our God and Father through our Lord Jesus Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit. 

The aim is to glorify God, give him honor for all that he is and give him thanks for all that he has done.  

As opposed to our preconceived notions and cultural norms, God lets us know specifically what pleases his heart in praise as he moves various writers to pen the Psalms by the Holy Spirit.  

Do you think about the things that God says will bless his heart when you worship?

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!”

This is where all of our interactions with God should begin, no matter what went on before you entered his space.  

When we do this well, it puts all of life’s circumstances into right perspective. 

It allows us to remember that when we’ve repented of our sin and put our faith in Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross for us and his resurrection from the dead, we’ve been adopted by the maker and King of all creation!

“It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

Subsequently, all of the goodness and mercy that is from the Father is destined to literally chase me down all the days of my life (Psalm 23), and I have a reason to want to shout in exaltation of God!

Therefore, we should praise the Lord with a right attitude - with gladness!

“Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.”

— John Wimber

Postures

Our posture in our praise and worship matters more than we realize.  

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

We are to enter the presence of God with thanksgiving and praise. 

The question is - “what blesses God when we praise him?” 

Your posture - what you do with your body - prepares your heart before God.  

The Bible speaks about several postures in praise and worship that God both enjoys and prescribes:

1. Singing (Psalm 100)

2. Lifting Hands (I Timothy 1:8)

3. Kneeling (Ephesians 3:14-19)

4. Bowing (Psalm 95:6)

5. Laying prostrate (Deuteronomy 9:25; Psalm 38:6)

1. Playing Loud Instruments (Psalm 47:5)

2. Leaping (II Samuel 6:16)

3. Dancing (Psalm 30:11,12)

4. Shouting (Psalm 33:1)

5. Clapping (Psalm 47:1)

Think about what each of these postures and actions evoke in your heart and mind before God. 

In the quote below, “the patient” is a Christian being tested by demons.  

“The Enemy” is here represented as God, the adversary of the demons. 

“The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. When the patient is an adult recently re-converted to the Enemy's party, like your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember, or to think he remembers, the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood. In reaction against that, he may be persuaded to aim at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal, and unregularised; and what this will actually mean to a beginner will be an effort to produce in himself a vaguely devotional mood in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part. One of their poets, Coleridge, has recorded that he did not pray "with moving lips and bended knees" but merely "composed his spirit to love" and indulged "a sense of supplication". That is exactly the sort of prayer we want; and since it bears a superficial resemblance to the prayer of silence as practised by those who are very far advanced in the Enemy's service, clever and lazy patients can be taken in by it for quite a long time. 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 (an elder demon) to his nephew Wormwood in C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters

The right posture can help us engage God and his presence.  

Presence 

Being cognizant of God’s presence is cultivated through praise and enables us to live in the benefits of Christ’s resurrection life.  

“The most holy and important practice in the spiritual life is the presence of God.”

-Brother Lawrence

Presence has more to do with our awareness of God than his actual proximity to us (Psalm 139). 

When we give God thanks and worship the way he prescribes, we receive the benefits of a walk with him - freedom in the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ (Psalm 22:3; II Corinthians 3:17). 

Though at first some things may seem foreign or uncomfortable, the more we practice the “presence of God” through Biblical praise and worship, the more we become comfortable with it and are able to enjoy grace-filled lives full of thankfulness, not bitterness.  

Christ’s broken body on the cross tore the veil so that you might have access to the throne of God (Matthew 27:51).  

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and promised Holy Spirit enables you to remain in this reality, no matter what you are doing or who you are with.  

“The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

Brother Lawrence, author of The Practice of the Presence of God 

This is fantastic news for the stay at home mom searching for quiet moments and the high demand business person, the artist practicing their craft, the engineer coding, the salesperson preparing their products, the physician in the midst of surgery, the lawyer defending a case, the retiree caring for grandchildren, the barista preparing coffee and the student studying for exams! 

Let’s enter his courts daily with thanksgiving and praise and have every encumbrance from the abundant life of Jesus shaken off as we do!

“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

The Book of Judges (Part 8): The Right Side of History

The Book of Judges (Part 8): The Right Side of History

Pastor Rollan Fisher

As we move through this series in Judges, we will continually come back to a theme that runs the course of the book. 

Judges was a time when “Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

What we’ll see played out in Judges and reflected in our own lives are the repercussions of living before God as if he were not king, and living by simply doing what is right in our own eyes.

Our goal will be to return to a life of faith and love for Jesus that ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.  

Focus: We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus to make sure that we stay in step with his Kingdom purposes with his Kingdom people.  

• The Wrong Side of History

• The Right Side of History

• A Faithful King

The Wrong Side of History

When searching for God, we want to make sure that we are on the right side of history as revealed by the good news of Jesus Christ.  

‭‭

Judges‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then the men of Ephraim said to him, "What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?" And they accused him fiercely. And he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger against him subsided when he said this. And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. So he said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." And the officials of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?" So Gideon said, "Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers." And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. And he said to the men of Penuel, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."”

The Ephraimites accused the camp of Gideon when they felt like they were not in the middle of the fight against Midian.  

Gideon reminded them that they are on the same team and what God had already done in conquering two of the rulers of Midian by their efforts.  

The lesson here: don’t let accusations divide you in the middle of the fight of faith for God’s Kingdom.  

As Gideon came to the Jordan, he and his men find themselves in a place that many of us have before - “exhausted yet pursuing.”

God’s supernatural grace is there to win battles for you, even when we are fatigued, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:6-10). 

‭‭

Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

How have you been exhausted in the pursuit of God and his purposes, yet found the grace to continue the pursuit?

Gideon and his men come to Succoth and Penuel asking for refreshment.  

However, the responses were stark:  "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?"

This is a twofold sin. 

First, the people of Penuel and Succoth were not looking with the eyes of faith. 

They would not throw their lot in with Gideon’s army until they had the finished product, the proof of their victory.  

*The people of Penuel and Succoth did not realize that they were meant to help the army get there, not criticize or discourage Gideon’s efforts.  

Secondly, this is the concern that Joshua had when the Reubenites, Gadites and Half Tribe of Manasseh remained on the other side of the Jordan in the first place. 

*They would become so consumed and content with their own affairs that they would fail to fight for their brothers and sisters in other regions for whom they no longer felt responsibility (Joshua 1:13-16).  

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"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.”

Their focus would become myopic rather than having a national identity as the people of Israel.  

When we belong to Jesus, we care for not only ourselves but are to always also be attentive to the needs of others. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

*You are not only here to win your battles in the Lord, but are to help others win theirs.  

‭‭Judges‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword. And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic. Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. And he came to the men of Succoth and said, "Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?'" And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king." And he said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you." So he said to Jether his firstborn, "Rise and kill them!" But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.”

God’s desire is that we’d be a people of one faith, fighting in unison in love for others for the advance of the gospel and the glory of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2).  

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”

-A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine

The Right Side of History

Even being on the right side of history in Christ, we need to make sure that those things that are meant to be blessings do not consume our lives.  

‭‭

Judges‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬-‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian." Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you." And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.”

An ephod was a linen used for priests as they ministered before Yahweh.  

Gideon made a huge ephod of gold - mixing what should have been a sign of his devotion to God with what would become an idolatrous snare to him, his family and the people of Israel. 

We need to always make sure that we are not going through the motions, pursuing the perceived outward signs of God’s blessings, but in reality living in the fruit of idolatry.  

“Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate things.”

— Timothy Keller

What has there been in your life that seemed like it would be a blessing, but has actually become a snare to you?

Here’s the irony:

The more you focus on your idol that you do not have, the more unhappy you become thus making you more unattractive to the objects of your idolatry. 

The paradoxical freedom in Jesus is that the more you focus on him, the more he frees your heart from finding value in anything but him, the more joy you have emanating from your soul as a fruit of the Spirit and the more attractive you become to the world around you.  

Jesus said that you must lose your life to find it, and whoever who hopes to save his life, will lose it.  

Another example:

The more you focus solely on meeting the needs of your own family, the more isolated you are, the lonelier you ultimately become, even in your marriage trying to derive happiness from the wrong source.  

However, the more you focus on serving God and others, the more you connect with other families and the fuller your own family life and soul becomes. 

Gollum and the ring exemplifies the paradox of idolatry well. 

My attraction to B was largely based on her fixed gaze upon Jesus.  

“Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token homage to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who or what is ABOVE, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However the man may protest, the proof is in the choice he makes day after day throughout his life.”

-A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine

A Faithful King

Jesus is the faithful king who rules faithfully and justly as God’s righteous branch.  

‭‭Judges‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.”

Gideon would die and his people would soon forget the Lord or what Yahweh and Gideon had done for Israel.   

This is a tragic cycle and it is a sad fate for those who do not know or trust in the Lord.   

“This is the humbling truth that lies at the heart of Christianity. We love to be our own saviors. Our hearts love to manufacture glory for themselves. So we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive, whether they are religious (Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing) or secular (Grab hold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now).”

-Timothy Keller

The truth is that those who have sought glory and immortality in their lifetimes without Jesus will die, be judged by God and forgotten by the generations to come.

“The two things we all want so desperately — glory and relationship — can coexist only with God.”

-Timothy Keller

Jesus was the king who lived faithfully in full obedience to the commands of God, took responsibility to die sacrificially on the cross for our sins and rose again to rule faithfully for all eternity.   

We have access to the eternal life that he purchased for us through repentance and faith in his atoning work.  

As we remember his sacrifice, he is also faithful to remember our works done in love and service to him.  

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.'”

Jesus is and will forever be our righteousness, the source of our salvation,  right standing before God and ultimately, our eternal reward.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

Guest Speaker: Pastor Reggie Roberson

Participation in Visitation

Guest Speaker: Pastor Reggie Roberson

God is visiting our nation in a special way. There is a river of power flowing through our nation because God has chosen to pour out HIs spirit.

• New York stories: (Bound 3 million g of porn suspended in hell, guy drugged by girl encounters Christ.)

• One lady came to our church to door dash food and heard the audible voice.

• San Antonio - 14 people the majority over 60 baptized in the Holy Spirit

• Austin guy (Muslim)

Brothers and sisters, this is just the beginning of God’ visitation to our country.

Second city church

• Vision of a ball of light spinning and bringing things quickly into itself. Acceleration of growth and maturity

○ Young people who responsibly handle the word and push aside temptations mightily.

○ Transplants of people who are looking to live on the edge of their faith.

○ Resources

I want to exhort you today, family, that God doesn’t want you to miss his visitation but instead God’s wants your Participation in His Visitation

I want to talk about this today.

Luke 19:35-44 ESV

35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,

38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side

44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.””

Let’s pray!

Context:

God through Jesus Christ was visiting the Jews. He was longing for the Jews to see him and his work so they could believe in him and have life.

Jesus was a walking revival and with signs, wonders, miracles and people had radical turn arounds.

Yet there were also those who would reject Christ despite the evidence of His messiahship in the work.

It is very puzzling to me as to how it could be that the Jews, who had extensive knowledge of the scripture and 400 years before Christ they had no prophets or miracle workers until John the Baptist and then Jesus and the Jews missed the time of God’s visitation.

Not accepting the day of God’s visitation in Christ had dire consequences for the Jews; they would see a Roman invasion at 70 ad in which they would take out their temple and do things predicted by Christ in this passage.

Jesus says I longed to give you the things that make for peace but you would not have it.

The question of the hour is:

● Will we miss the good things that God longs to give us?

● Will we perceive the day of God’s visitation in Christ?

God’s wants your Participation in His Visitation

How does your participation look in the visitation?

Devoted Exaltation

v. 38 (Pharisees rebuke your disciples not the rocks will cry out v. 40)

There were two things these people got right: Praising God and following Jesus where He was going.

● We need to praise God. Declare out of our mouths who he is and what he has done; this keeps our hearts ready for what God wants to do. “But You are holy, enthroned (visit) on the praises of Israel.” Psalms 22:3 HCSB

● We also need to follow Jesus in our lives. We should seek to discern his will and obey it.

Obeying God means we do God’s will God’s way in God’s Time.

They got the exaltation right but the devoted part was wrong. Many of those who praised Jesus, even the disciples, would abandon Jesus and betray Him.

We know how to celebrate people when things are going as we expected but we struggle to do so when it is not as expected.

● Your favorite sports team.

● A project at work;

● a kid in school.

Our praise and obedience can be silenced by circumstances.

Has your praise of God been silenced by your circumstances?

Here’s the thing: God is good all the time even when things are not looking like we expected.

He works things out for our good Romans 8:28. You see, God is looking for the ones who will be faithful to him regardless of what happens in their lives so He can show himself strong on their behalf and use them powerfully during the time of his visitation.

This brings me to my next thought:

Adjust Expectation

V. 42 Jesus goes from this high moment to weeping over the city. What happened? He knows their hearts and how they will lose devotion.

They lack devoted exaltation because they had not adjusted their expectations.

This is what caused them to lose their devotion.

They expected God to move and work in a particular way and it did not happen. They expected

Jesus to march into Jerusalem and set up his Kingdom and kick Rome's butt. Of course that meant that their lives would be easier because they know Jesus. Jesus totally violated this because instead of dominating his enemies, he died for us enemies. Instead of taking back power he gave up power.

When expectations are unmet it leads to frustration or offense and sometimes passivity, quitting, or taking matters into your own hands.

If we do not adjust our expectations we may not participate in God’s visitation.

Illustration: Jesus Revolution Movie

What are some blessings you’ve had that didn’t come in the way you thought they would have come?

During a time of visitation, devoted exaltation is possible when we adjust our expectation as we Contend for Revelation.

Contend for Revelation

Jesus says that visitation was hidden from their eyes v.42 Many scholars agree that this hiding is spiritual and sinister in nature. It is the same hiding that is spoken of in 2 Corinthians 4:4 where Paul says the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.

This blinding of the heart or a lack of revelation is what is at the root of the Jews missing the day of visitation. Here’s the thing, everyone needs revelation from God in this hour; none of us are exempt.

Revelation helps to adjust your expectations and stirs your heart for devoted exaltation.

We need to read, listen to and study the Bible like we have never done before. God speaks to us and reveals things to us from his scripture.

When we get the Bible chapters and verses in our heart we are able to push back the blinding power of sin and binding power of the enemy.

Psalm 119:11

Ephesians 6:17

When we get the word of God in us we have a renewed mind in which we can discern the will of

God including the time of visitation. Romans 12:2

We need to be praying like we have never prayed before. The type of prayer I am talking about is not like a prayer to bless your meal for dinner.

It is a prayer where we go deep and constant.

● It’s deep means less distraction, more time if possible where you have the opportunity to sense God’s heart.

● Constant means prayer doesn’t stop because you finished your devotional time.

○ It means during your classes, at work, in your favorite places to eat, or in your

recreation you are consciously aware that God may choose to move or move you

to do something.

○ You have conversations with God as you live out your daily life.

■ God may speak to you about giving;

■ God may speak to you about serving;

■ He may speak to you about sharing his gospel with a family member, friend, or stranger.

■ He may give a strategy on how to pray for someone and bless them.

We need a revelation of what God wants in our lives. We need precise and targeted revelation knowledge.

Shane’s Mandeville story

If you are not a follower of Christ, God is visiting you today. You must understand and know today that Jesus took this road to Jerusalem for you. This is the road where he would be betrayed and handed over to the Romans and die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and your sins so that you could have forgiveness of sins, and all the blessings that come from a loving relationship with him would belong to you. He did this for you and you can receive what he has done if you put your trust in him today.

Summarize

Prayer If you want to participate in God’s visitation, stand to your feet and I will pray for you.

Salvation

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

The Book of Judges (Part 7) : Soli Deo Gloria

The Book of Judges (Part 7) : Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor Rollan Fisher

As we move through this series in Judges, we will continually come back to a theme that runs the course of the book. 

Judges was a time when “Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

What we’ll see played out in Judges and reflected in our own lives are the repercussions of living before God as if he were not king, and living by simply doing what is right in our own eyes.

Our goal will be to return to a life of faith and love for Jesus that ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.  

Focus: When we approach God with holy desperation, he moves in power on our behalf and he alone gets the glory.  

• Holy Desperation

• Predetermined Victory

• Soli Deo Gloria

Holy Desperation 

God will meet us in power and deliver when we have a holy desperation for him.  

‭‭

Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. The Lord said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.' Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'" Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' shall not go." So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, "Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink." And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. And the Lord said to Gideon, "With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home." So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.”

Have you ever felt like you didn’t have enough for the task to which God has called you?

Here, in Gideon’s story, we see God saying you may not have too little, but too much.  

If we can get the job done with our resources or acumen alone, then the frequent temptation is for us to try to take the credit.  

God widdles down the army of Gideon so at the end of the day, Yahweh alone would get the glory for the deliverance he provided for the Israelites.  

He first tells those who are scared to go home, following the pattern of Deuteronomy 20 where instructions are given to those who would prepare for war.  

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭20‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, 'Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.'”

When we are in Christ, we are the righteousness of God (Romans 3:21-26) and therefore have a new, loving boldness provided by the Holy Spirit. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

When we are daily filled with the Holy Spirit, we are able to be bold as lions as we follow Jesus into his Kingdom purposes.  

We are to daily encourage one another in these truths as we look to be a light for Jesus to the world.  

Yahweh then shows us a curious picture.  

There are those who go to the water and kneel to drink with an element of reserve, whom Yahweh dismisses from the fight.

But those who get on their bellies to lap like a dog, throwing out all pride or ego, those who demonstrate a desperate thirst for the water, Yahweh chooses to be his vessels of deliverance. 

The Israelites were left with 300 chosen men with whom to fight the army of the Midianites that vastly outnumbered them, like a locust swarm.  

God specializes in seemingly insurmountable odds, and will even arrange things so that we have to move forward by faith in his ability alone.  

This should be encouraging for us as we go to God in prayer.  

“Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” 

– D. L. Moody

What seemingly insurmountable odds have you been up against as you follow Christ’s leadership?

You may be in just the right place to meet the God of miracles.   

Predetermined Victory

When we come into alignment with God, he fights for us and we have a predetermined victory in Christ. 

‭‭

Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“That same night the Lord said to him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat." And his comrade answered, "This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp." As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand." And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. And he said to them, "Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.'"”

God sent Gideon with his servant Purah to get some encouragement. 

You either need to be called by God to a mission or join with the vision of one who has - but either way, herein is another reminder that we are never to fight alone!

God allows Gideon and Purah to overhear the ways that the Midianites already realize that God is working to bring victory to the Israelites.  

*When Gideon and Purah went down to the Midianite camp, they realized that God was already moving before Gideon’s crew even got started.  

This should be the same confidence that we have as we pray for Jesus to open doors for us that no man can shut as we follow him. 

“It is possible to move men, through God, by prayer alone.” 

– Hudson Taylor

*Ultimately, the victory had already been won by God and Gideon simply organized the men to enter into it.  

How can you see that God has already been working even before you step foot into his mission for you?

Soli Deo Gloria

God alone gets the glory as Jesus saves completely those who come to him in repentance and faith.  

‭‭Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭19‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.”

God used unconventional means to begin the deliverance for Gideon and his men.  

There is no account of God giving Gideon and his crew instruction about the trumpets, torches or jars to start the panic amongst the Israelites.  

Gideon and his crew were simply using what was available to them.  

What has God made available to you and our church community to see the love of Christ communicated so that people can tangibly be invited into the good news of Jesus?

Again, we are asking God in prayer to breathe upon all of our efforts so that he alone may get the glory from the miraculous results.  

”Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” 

– Max Lucado

When Jesus saves, it is by his grace alone.  

He went to the cross to die for our sins, not because of any of the good things that we had done, but because of his own mercy and grace.  

*When Jesus saves, he saves completely. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭23‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

Because God alone is the author of salvation, he alone gets the glory as we walk into his predetermined victories by Christ’s resurrection from the dead.   

We await his return when he will truly make all things right.  

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Judges (Part 6): A Sign from Heaven

The Book of Judges (Part 6) : A Sign from Heaven 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

As we move through this series in Judges, we will continually come back to a theme that runs the course of the book. 

Judges was a time when “Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

What we’ll see played out in Judges and reflected in our own lives are the repercussions of living before God as if he were not king, and living by simply doing what is right in our own eyes.

Our goal will be to return to a life of faith and love for Jesus that ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.   

Focus: God calls us out of our caves to tear down idols and experience the transformative power of Jesus’ resurrection life. 

• Working With Nothing to Show For It

• Coming Out of the Cave

• Tearing Down Idols 

• To See a Sign From Heaven

Working With Nothing to Show For It

All that we hold near and dear, that which we were actually working for, can be lost through sin. 

‭‭Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord. When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.' But you have not obeyed my voice."”

When we live a sin, the consequence is fruitlessness - where our enemies eventually steal and destroy everything that we worked for.  

This can be in our marriages, our friendships, relationships with our children, our mental health, our finances, our careers and even our physical well-being.  

God will always bring us back to his word to remind us where we’ve diverged and not obeyed his voice.  

He is gracious enough to send people as prophetic voices in our lives to bring us back to his law, his commands. 

Has there ever been a point in your life where the things valuable to you have been destroyed or stolen through sin?

Coming Out of the Cave

God calls us out of the caves to face our enemies of our souls that have plundered our lives.  

‭‭

Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor." And Gideon said to him, "Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian." And the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?" And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the Lord said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man." And he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you." And he said, "I will stay till you return." So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them." And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face." But the Lord said to him, "Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die." Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.”

Before God calls us out, he is kind enough to find us where we’ve been hiding. 

He calls us out of a place of oppression by declaring over us who we were created to be, as opposed to what we’ve become.  

In Gideon’s case, the angel of the Lord says:

 "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor."

Like Gideon, we all have doubts and baggage that we need to work through to become who God has called us to be. 

Yahweh’s response to Gideon is the same as it will always be to us, no matter if you think that your pedigree has been weak and your place in the world makes you feel like the least.  

"But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

*Gideon’s success was in, and our’s will forever be, that God is with us and is leading us!

And because of this, and this alone, does he call Gideon a mighty man of valor.  

This is the great comfort of the great commission as Jesus (Immanuel - “God with us”) sent us into all the world to make disciples of all nations promising to be with us always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:18-21). 

Some doubt God and his goodness because of the experiences in their lives.  

“Perhaps God permits my father, or my daughter, or my friend, or me to suffer in the most appalling way. I may then find myself thinking as follows: “No doubt he has all those dandy divine qualities and no doubt he has a fine reason for permitting this abomination — after all, I am no match for him with respect to coming up with reasons, reasons that are utterly beyond me — but what he permits is appalling, and I hate it!” I may want to tell him off face to face: “You may be wonderful, and magnificent, and omniscient and omnipotent (and even wholly good) and all that exalted stuff, but I utterly detest what you are doing!” A problem of this kind is not really an evidential problem at all, and it isn’t a defeater for theism.”

-Alvin Plantinga, Knowledge and Christian Belief

Trial can be the result of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6) or God allowing circumstances to develop our trust in his sovereign goodness and glory (John 9).  

However in many cases, trial can be the result of our own sin and we are slow to connect the dots. 

In Gideon’s case, he made no such connection from the Midianite oppression to Israel’s sin, and simply questioned God regarding he and his people’s then present struggles without dealing with the root.  

Before God calls us to do anything, he calls us to know his peace.  

Gideon is given the opportunity to interact with Yahweh’s aide, known as the angel of the Lord.  

As Yahweh was coming to confirm his call of Gideon, he first spoke peace over him.  

In building his altar of worship and sacrifice, Gideon would continually reference Yahweh Shalom to know the Lord is Peace and makes all things well.  

This Shalom from God is ultimately made available through the sacrifice of Jesus, who becomes our peace with God through his death at the cross for our sins.  

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Through repentance and faith we enter into that peace that God initiates which we see as an ongoing theme in Gideon’s story. 

Tearing Down Idols

God calls us into freedom by having us tear down the idols of our own hearts and the culture’s. 

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Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬-‭32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“That night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down." So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And after they had searched and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing." Then the men of the town said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it." But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down." Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal contend against him," because he broke down his altar.”

God calls Gideon to begin the process of deliverance by tearing down the altars to the false gods that the Israelites had begun to worship. 

In essence, God says, “the false masters that your family served, tear down and build the altar to Yahweh on top of it with the stones (the priorities of his word) laid in due order.”

Gideon attempts to tear down the altars at night, when he thinks the confrontation will cost him the least.  

However, what God does with you privately must and will always impact your public life, your relationships with others, when you are obedient.  

“Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal contend against him," because he broke down his altar.”

Gideon’s obedience helped bring his father to repentance, to side with Yahweh, and allowed Baal’s false power to be exposed.  

The question is:

How do I know what has mastered me?

“The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention.”

-Timothy J. Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

“An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.”

-Timothy J. Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

Why it matters:

“If we look to some created thing to give us the meaning, hope, and happiness that only God himself can give, it will eventually fail to deliver and break our hearts.”

-Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

“An idolatrous attachment can lead you to break any promise, rationalize any indiscretion, or betray any other allegiance, in order to hold on to it. It may drive you to violate all good and proper boundaries. To practice idolatry is to be a slave.”

-Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

What are the masters in our culture that have been mastering you and your family?  

How do we attempt to do what is right in our own eyes?

What are the Asherah poles, the visible images of worship, that you are trying to hold onto that God is calling you to tear down? 

Don’t guise your idolatry in a vestment of religion and God’s blessing.  

To See a Sign From Heaven

Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection was the sign that we needed to prove that God can make all things in our lives truly new!

‭‭Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬-‭40‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. Then Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said." And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, "Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew." And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.”

The focus is not Gideon, but God and how great his grace is to propel us in the midst of our shortcomings. 

God is obviously not demanding perfection or a self-derived sense of strength to deliver his people through a vessel like Gideon. 

The Scripture says:

Judges 6:34

“But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.” 

The Hebrew translation actually reads, “Yahweh’s Spirit clothed itself in Gideon”, meaning Yahweh was doing his work through Gideon. 

Gideon in essence becomes the clothing. 

We can not see God’s Spirit, but we see the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in Gideon as he is transformed with power from one who was too scared to confront his village to one who is going to take on the Midianites, Amalek and the easterners. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭38‬-‭42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sins, burial and resurrection was the ultimate sign that heaven is for us, is ready to forgive and redeem damaged, broken lives.  

As we turn to Christ in repentance and faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross, we too are transformed, becoming the clothing of the Spirit of God to see bound people healed and restored!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Judges (Part 5): Be Counted!

Judges (Part 5): Be Counted!

Pastor Rollan Fisher

As we move through this series in Judges, we will continually come back to a theme that runs the course of the book. 

Judges was a time when “Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

What we’ll see played out in Judges and reflected in our own lives are the repercussions of living before God as if he were not king, and living by simply doing what is right in our own eyes.

Our goal will be to return to a life of faith and love for Jesus that ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.  

Judges (Part 5): Be Counted!

Focus: When God calls, make sure you answer to be counted in Christ. 

• Those Who Are Counted 

• Those Who Stay Behind 

• The One Who Died and Rose

Those Who Are Counted

When serving God, our aim is to know him, love him and be counted in his cause. 

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Judges‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: "That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord! "Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. "Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel. "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord. "Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. "Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.”

What was Deborah’s commendation?

Deborah was commending those who heard the call of God and were counted as leaders in the fight against Jabir and his forces.  

The Israeli leaders offered themselves willingly to help advance Yahweh’s Kingdom purposes.  

The people who followed were also commended for offering themselves willingly.  

This should be our attitude as a people as we know and respond to the Great Commission of Christ to go and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching people to obey everything Jesus has taught. 

What is your attitude when asked to join the cause of Christ with your time, talent and resources?

Is it begrudging or is it willing?

God moved in seemingly impossible circumstances for the Israelites to win their victory when the people decided to act.  

“The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.”

-Corrie Ten Boom

Noble faith is praised in the songs of Israel because it has been modeled and is to be emulated.  

Deborah arose as a mother in Israel. 

We need men and women to be counted as fathers and mothers in the faith for the gospel to advance in our city, this nation and the nations.  

Those Who Stay Behind

Civilian affairs come to choke the life and purposes of God out of us.    

‭‭Judges‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty. From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's staff; the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds, to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. "The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! "Then loud beat the horses' hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. "Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord, curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”

What was Deborah’s rebuke?

Deborah rebuked the clans of Reuben, Gilead Dan and Asher for staying in their places of comfort - with great searchings of heart and amongst their normal business affairs while highlighting that Zebulun and Naphtali allowed themselves to be inconvenienced, risking their lives to the death for Israel’s deliverance. 

“Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds, to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. "The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver.”

Think about this:

How was this Israel doing what was right in their own eyes? 

“Religion used to be the opium of the people. To those suffering humiliation, pain, illness, and serfdom, religion promised the reward of an after life. But now, we are witnessing a transformation, a true opium of the people is the belief in nothingness after death, the huge solace, the huge comfort of thinking that for our betrayals, our greed, our cowardice, our murders, we are not going to be judged.”

-Czesław Miłosz, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature

The challenge of this sentiment is that people around us every day still face the consequences of their sin.

God will judge both sins of commission and sins of omission.  

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

What are the civilian affairs, the business and the ponderings of heart that come to suffocate your love for Jesus, your faith and your zeal for Christ’s Kingdom?

A persistent fruit of the flesh that we overlook is selfish ambition, which can also be recognized as living a life revolving around mere pleasure and self preservation.  

Paul said it this way:

‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.”

The One Who Died and Rose 

Jesus was the perfect leader who not only knew the will of the Father, but was sacrificially obedient unto death and ultimately ushered in eternal life through his resurrection.  

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Judges‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble's bowl. She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead. "Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice: 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?' Her wisest princesses answer, indeed, she answers herself, 'Have they not found and divided the spoil?— A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed materials for Sisera, spoil of dyed materials embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' "So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might." And the land had rest for forty years.”

Here again, we see Jael’s actions highlighted.  

It is evidence of the ever merciful eye of God and his desire to continually draw people from outside his camp, in, through his saving grace. 

It is important to remember that though a relative of Moses, Jael was a Kenite, not an Israelite.  

Her response to Deborah’s call to action was contrasted with the Israelites who stayed behind and did not engage in the battle of the Lord.  

It is once again clear that the point is being made that being an Israelite does not guarantee blessing even as being a foreigner does not exclude one from being used as a servant as a part of God’s deliverance story. 

Think of Rahab in Joshua who would align herself with Yahweh and the spies and would ultimately be included in the hall of faith and the earthly lineage of our Savior, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 11; Matthew 1:1-6).  

Christ’s own recorded lineage includes men, women, adulterers, prostitutes; heroes and Gentiles of questionable character - and Jesus would be savior of them all. 

This is good news as we embrace his gospel today to die to our old way of life at the cross, be forgiven because of Christ’s atonement and be made new to live in Jesus’ resurrection life.  

The question is, are you thereafter doing the will of God? 

Have you died to a life of self-preservation and selfish ambition so that you can now be counted in his eternal Kingdom cause?

Jesus said:

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"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.'”

It is our faith in Jesus’ sinless life and substitutionary death at the cross alone that saves us from our sins.  

Yet that reconciling work bringing us back to God also brings us into his loving service to live like Jesus who was counted, died for us and now truly and forever lives!

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

Judges (Part 4) - Rise Up!

Judges (Part 4) - Rise Up!

Pastor Rollan Fisher

As we move through this series in Judges, we will continually come back to a theme that runs the course of the book. 

Judges was a time when “Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

What we’ll see played out in Judges and reflected in our own lives are the repercussions of living before God as if he were not king, and living by simply doing what is right in our own eyes.

Our goal will be to return to a life of faith and love for Jesus that ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.  

Judges (Part 4): Rise Up!

Focus: The God of glory sends people into our lives to help us rise up to be all that we were created to be and do in Christ.  

• Rise Up!

• Lose Yourself

• To Gain (in) Christ

Rise Up

God will send people into our lives to challenge us that we might rise up to become all that we are meant to be in Christ.  

‭‭Judges‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.”

Deborah was a prophetess who was calling Barak and the men of Israel to rise up and fulfill their God given roles.  

In a patriarchal society, God broke cultural norms to deal with the sin into which Israel had again fallen.  

Deborah was not just called a prophetess, but she was judging Israel at that time, meaning that she was leading them.

The people of Israel would come from long distances to her location in the center of territorial Israel to get judgments from the Lord because of her walk with God.  

How reflective this is of much of our church community even to this day, and the indebtedness that we have to the amazing women of God - church mothers, intercessors and prophetesses who have been holding their ground, fasting, praying, serving, discipling and leading in the things of God throughout modern history when others would not show up!  

We give God thanks and honor even the many women of God in our midst who’ve been just as amazing as Deborah!  

Barak’s name meant “Lightning” and was a portent of the catalyst that he was called to be amongst the Israelites, who seeing his example would rally to fight their oppressors leading to God’s deliverance.  

Yet he was unwilling to go without Deborah’s presence.  

Deborah’s name meant “bee” and her words definitely came with a sting as she was the first prophetess of Israel mentioned since Miriam, the sister of Moses in Exodus.  

The truth is that God will not stop the continuation of his purposes and the advance of his kingdom, even when we are not doing our ordained part.  

Regardless of your upbringing or culture, the Scripture is clear that God has and does anoint women to be full of might, strength and the Spirit of God for the advancement of God’s purposes!  

The issue here is not whether or not a man or woman should get the glory.  

Scripture emphasizes that God uses women in important, influential roles throughout history, just as he does today (think of Ruth, Esther, Pricilla in Acts 18 or the list of faithful female ministers that Paul commends in Romans 16).  

The issue is that God is calling men to rise up to take their place as warriors and servant leaders as the heads of their homes, in the church and in society.  

*Men are called by God to reject passivity and lead courageously.  

"A real man is one who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects a greater reward, God’s reward."

-Robert Lewis of Raising Modern Day Knights

Think of the patterns that you see in the modern church world.  

As with Barak, men are receiving a call to be courageous initiators, and not passive spectators in the Kingdom of God; to be on the tip of the spear in advancing God’s purposes, and not merely commenting as to what they see wrong from the bench.   

Lose Yourself

The key to becoming all that you were meant to be in Jesus is to lose your preconceived notions of the way that you thought life would go so that you might find your true purpose in Christ.  

‭‭Judges‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.”

You must lose your life in Jesus to find out who you are truly created to be.  

“But there must be a real giving up of the self. You must throw it away "blindly" so to speak. Christ will indeed give you a real personality: but you must not go to Him for the sake of that. As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you are not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it.

Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

To Gain (in) Christ

When we are focused on the cross, we are able to put lagging encumbrances to death that we might be fulfilled and free in Jesus.  

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Judges‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my Lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.”

Being overly concerned with political correctness can keep us and others bound by sin.  

Jael is another woman of God whose courage God uses to help solidify Israel’s deliverance.  

Heber and Jael were related to Moses, and though at that time there was an alliance with Sisera’s boss, Jael chose to side with vanquishing the Lord’s enemies rather than the political correctness of her day.   

Jael used hospitality to invite Jabin into her home, and once there she drove the peg into the temple of Jabin - right into his center of thought. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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

When people understand the holiness, justice and love of God all demonstrated at the cross of Jesus, they can be brought to a genuine repentance (which is a change of mind and direction) and faith. 

We can use hospitality to invite those bound by the world’s ideologies and sin into loving environments to them set free by the truth and cross of Christ.  

• Invite people to church.

• Invite people to your community group.

• Invite people into your home.

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Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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.”

Again, is this not how we can use hospitality to invite those bound by sin into our faith environments to see them set free by the truth and cross of Christ?  

The Gospel Comes with a Housekey is one of my wife's favorite books.  

I highly recommend this and Rosaria Butterfield’s story. 

With kindness, we must be diligent to explain the need for Jesus’ sinless life, sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, even as we apply the cross to controversial issues.  

Like Jael, we must find our security and identity in Christ more than worldly alliances to have the courage to love others as Jesus does (which includes telling them the truth).   

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬-‭38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? 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."”

The question is:

In what ways has political correctness kept you or those you know and love bound in sin? 

Deborah had to risk being misunderstood in the midst of the social conventions of the day to call Barak and the people of Israel to a zeal necessary to serve the Lord.   

Barak had to deny his timidity and reluctance and rise up in faith to save himself and his people. 

Jael had to forsake her comfort and security to embark on the risky effort to finally put the tyranny of Jabin to rest. 

How is God calling you to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Jesus for the sake of his gospel that you might find your life and see others find theirs as well in Christ? 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 

GUEST PASTOR KORE BENDIX

GUEST PASTOR KORE BENDIX 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher